Hi Jochem, Monday, July 16, 2007, 11:04:43 AM, you wrote: > is the world so black and white? none of the authors mentioned will > be going hungry any time soon ... How do you know this? How do you know that perhaps because of a dropped royalty rate due to poor sales, some author isn't struggling to meet his mortgage payment this month. Yet hundreds of people downloaded his book for free, which took him probably over a year to write. As a published author I would *rather* people read a PDF of my work, than not read it at all because they couldn't afford the printed version. But that is my choice to make, not yours. I would never be so two-faced as to rant about pirates and 'stealing' software, but I hate with a vengeance those who claim what they've done *isn't* stealing. That's just insanity. When it comes down to it, it IS black or white - you either paid for it, or you didn't, and anyone who claims there is some "middle ground" based on the digital nature of the item is living in a fucking fantasy world. Wake up and smell the coffee. > not to mention the trees, they don't feel bad when you 'abuse > someone's hard work' by stealing a pdf. > and if I gave my great, great grand children the choice, would they > have me abuse IP/copyright or natural resources? Why don't you give them the choice of not using up the planets natural resources by having your computer switched on? Or using natural resources by the very sending of that email? Resources that can never be claimed back again, ever. It's not all just the trees. Someone ought to create a 'carbon footprint per email sent' calculator. Total up how much energy is literally wasted in the transmission (and consequent receiving) of just one message. I bet if you add it all up it'd put a printed book, which afterall *can* come from a sustainable resource, into perspective. Cheers, Rich -- Zend Certified Engineer http://www.corephp.co.uk "Never trust a computer you can't throw out of a window" -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
