So many of the dissenting are conflating ethical (or moral) with legal. Just because ethical = legal is good and unethical = illegal is also good doesn't mean that legal = ethical or most importantly illegal = unethical.
ethical is a cultural norm. Legal is a political tool. As much as our elected representatives would like to claim, history has shown that political != cultural. Although any political decisions that deviate too far from the cultural norm will be changed.
Having just gone college hunting last week, the colleges are competing not on content but the student to prof ratio and the number of TA's involved in the teaching.
I think this is a reaction to the complaints on paying $50K per year for crappy content delivery, not the content itself.
Personally I used it to access out of print or out of store volumes that would otherwise never result in a sale. If I like that volume, I often end up buying the whole series.
If you want to see Indentured Servitude in action just review a recording contract. The definition is the same. Funds are advanced (for transport or apprenticeship) and the person is expected to work until the funds are recouped.
I doubt that would work because it ignores the nature of these laws. Instead an org like the RIAA would be assigned the responsibility to collect royalties from the stations that play music, regardless of source. Then they would distribute to the labels major and indie on the basis of something like sales or market share. the majors would have another source of funds to stay alive.
When I catch the train in the morning, I pick up a free dead tree newspaper. It may not be the NYT but for it's purposes it works.
When I pay for a newspaper,I consider that I am paying for the newsprint and distribution (with some money going to the seller) The news, sports, etc. are all advertising paid IMO.
when I get the news online, no trees are killed and no distribution but I still get the advertising paying for the articles.
If they can't figure a way to get enough money from advertising, they aren't offering a sufficiently desirable product.
I whole heartedly agree with the multiplicity of sources. I don't need the WSJ if I can get the same information from BW, NYT, Forbes or the FT. Do I appreciate the WSJ analysis, yes. Is it worth the paywall? not to me.
If the social networks need to be monitored, then that is a job for the police.
What? they don't have the time or tools or money or legal justification to do that? So let's sue a private company for not doing what the police can't do.
The US isn't far behind in classifying types of speech as undesirable. Never underestimate the desire of society to define acceptable and punish the deviant.
As righteous the courts may be about hate speech, it is really only a form of censorship.
Once you start enshrining the ability to censor, no matter what the 'good' cause you have given up free speech.
The UK can no longer protect any expression of speech from other countries claiming that it violated their rules. they have forfeited any jurisdictional rights.
As to the example of child porn, you can write about it and publish, you can't create and publish images. Unlike speech/writing there are real consequences in the production of the images.
Most of these arguments have a common failing in that they don't recognize what they are really selling or believe that they are selling something else.
Newspapers don't sell news, they sell advertising. The news is the value add to the consumer to pick that version of advertising over a different one.
the teachers don't sell knowledge, they sell time. the knowledge is just what adds the value to their time.
On the post: Misguided Outrage At NY Times' Ethicist Over Ethics Of Downloading A Book
ethical vs legal
ethical is a cultural norm. Legal is a political tool. As much as our elected representatives would like to claim, history has shown that political != cultural. Although any political decisions that deviate too far from the cultural norm will be changed.
On the post: Paywall/Open Debate Applied To University Education As Well
Prof to Student ratio
I think this is a reaction to the complaints on paying $50K per year for crappy content delivery, not the content itself.
On the post: Publisher Experiments With 'Free' And Sees Book Sales Increase 20x
Baen
http://www.baen.com/library/
Personally I used it to access out of print or out of store volumes that would otherwise never result in a sale. If I like that volume, I often end up buying the whole series.
On the post: Rep. Conyers Compares Lack Of A Performance Right Tax To Slavery
Indentured servitude
On the post: Rep. Conyers Compares Lack Of A Performance Right Tax To Slavery
Indie Radio
On the post: Free Is Not An Aberration; It's Basic Economics
Metro
When I pay for a newspaper,I consider that I am paying for the newsprint and distribution (with some money going to the seller) The news, sports, etc. are all advertising paid IMO.
when I get the news online, no trees are killed and no distribution but I still get the advertising paying for the articles.
If they can't figure a way to get enough money from advertising, they aren't offering a sufficiently desirable product.
I whole heartedly agree with the multiplicity of sources. I don't need the WSJ if I can get the same information from BW, NYT, Forbes or the FT. Do I appreciate the WSJ analysis, yes. Is it worth the paywall? not to me.
On the post: Philly City Council Members Want To Sue Facebook And Twitter Over Flash Mob Snowball Fight
Monitoring
What? they don't have the time or tools or money or legal justification to do that? So let's sue a private company for not doing what the police can't do.
On the post: UK Court Says It Has Jurisdiction Over Racist Material Stored On California Server... If Content Created In The UK
Re: Interval
On the post: UK Court Says It Has Jurisdiction Over Racist Material Stored On California Server... If Content Created In The UK
Thought Police
Once you start enshrining the ability to censor, no matter what the 'good' cause you have given up free speech.
The UK can no longer protect any expression of speech from other countries claiming that it violated their rules. they have forfeited any jurisdictional rights.
As to the example of child porn, you can write about it and publish, you can't create and publish images. Unlike speech/writing there are real consequences in the production of the images.
On the post: Confusing Economic Factors With Moral Ones; Explaining Economics Is Not Anti-Intellectual
Common thread
Newspapers don't sell news, they sell advertising. The news is the value add to the consumer to pick that version of advertising over a different one.
the teachers don't sell knowledge, they sell time. the knowledge is just what adds the value to their time.
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