Pirated digital books

Discussion in 'Electronic Publishing' started by GingerCoffee, Jun 28, 2015.

  1. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Yes, but some books aren't in libraries. I remember a while back some books were censored or restricted in libraries. Or just plain not available.


    It wasn't that long ago that the bible was pirated.
     
  2. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    What country are you in?
     
  3. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    ....you do realize that there are many editions of the Bible that are well out of copyright, right?
     
  4. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Funnily enough, the UK.

    Yes, I do know many editions of the bible are out of copyright. Are you going to go on about how those people were wrong too?
     
  5. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    What people? The people who wrote copyright law so that copyright would eventually expire?
     
  6. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Sorry, I thought you meant bibles that are out of copyright, as in they are illegally copyrighted. There's a couple of old bibles in the UGLE building in London that were illegally copied, by the old laws.

    Long story short, the people that did it just wanted to read. But nasty people said they weren't allowed to.

    Kind of like this whole subject really.
     
  7. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    In both of your examples in the first paragraph, while I can empathize with the people involved I do not agree that they have the higher moral ground. I think there are a ton of things you could try first before stealing from the pharmacy or killing the bomber. Going directly to the last resort is lazy and selfish. If I had tried everything possible first, I might be able to stomach stealing from a pharmacy (though I would never convince myself it was moral or right), but I don't believe I could ever kill another human being under any circumstances even if it would save others. I'd rather kill myself and not live to see what happens.

    And I had to laugh at "I know it's giving something back in exposure". I used to be a professional dancer, and we had a saying when someone would try to get us to perform without pay. "Exposure? You know people die from exposure, right?"
     
  8. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Project Gutenberg has a free and completely legal Bible online. That red herring isn't going to work.

    Meanwhile, your arguments would be relevant--not right, still, but relevant--if you had gone to the library seeking every book that you wanted to pirate, looking for it both locally and on loan. I'm not seeing you advocating that action.
     
  9. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Haha, that's a good saying.

    I still maintain the point that it's not going away though, and you don't have to agree, like or use it, but piracy isn't just take take take no matter what the intention was. To be fair, it's bad that piracy exists, but it's afforded a lot for the world.
     
  10. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    What? What has it afforded that wouldn't already exist?
     
  11. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Project Gutenberg has a bible for free online? I guess I'll just call the 1600's and tell them to get the internet then.
     
  12. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    So...you're advocating online piracy for the peasants of the fifteenth century? How, exactly, is that going to work?

    You do realize that there have been a few government and societal changes since then, right?
     
  13. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    A sense of entitlement that everything someone wants should be something they should be able to obtain regardless of monetary investment?
     
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  14. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    To be fair, ChickenFreak, neither of us is going to get through to the other. You won't shift off of 'Theft is theft, and theft is bad whatever the case' and I won't shift off of 'Theft is bad, but sometimes there's a good reason for it.'. So how about we call it quits now? Otherwise this will just go on forever.
     
  15. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Not much, just education, governmental reform, revolution, information. You know. The every day stuff.
     
  16. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Actually, I never said theft is bad whatever the case.

    Your stealing medicine to save a life? Sure.

    Stealing a book because if you don't you might have to (gasp) go to a library or (gulp) risk some of your own money or (sob) not read every little thing you want to read? No.
     
  17. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    Yeah, but you can't say "There's a free bible online" in a direct response to me talking about people who existed before the internet was created.
     
  18. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    I have no idea what the relevance of your fifteenth century people was. Would you care to explain?
     
  19. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    So you're saying, only the ones with money to spend, and only the ones with the luxury of a working library system, and those without either of those can get boned for improving themselves? Otherwise they're dirty criminals and deserve to be punished, or they could just go without?
     
  20. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    So you don't have a working library system?
     
  21. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    One of the few things that made it into major print were bibles 'back in tet day'. As such, preachers, pastors and all the rest were trained to read. The common masses? Not so much. Copied bibles were made back then by an enterprising bunch, despite the fact the church expressly forbade it, and used to teach reading and writing to those that wanted to learn. Highly illegal and punishable by death back then.
     
  22. Samuel Lighton

    Samuel Lighton Senior Member

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    I don't have a library system that works, no. I have a fake library that has two bookshelves and 50 computers, mingled with public desks for the council.
     
  23. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    And this is relevant to a present day packed with libraries, free public education, and new and used bookstores, how? (Now, I would argue that the free public education should extend through college, but I don't see that as particularly relevant to pirating books.)
     
  24. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    And when you ask if they have interlibrary loan, they tell you to go away? You have asked, right?

    In that case, you have fractionally more excuse for the temptation to pirate, but still not enough of an excuse.
     
  25. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    It may not be going away, but it doesn't mean I have to be okay with it, or that it's a morally defensible practice.
     

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