[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
www/philosophy .symlinks rms-ebooks-freedom-or-...
|
From: |
Yavor Doganov |
|
Subject: |
www/philosophy .symlinks rms-ebooks-freedom-or-... |
|
Date: |
Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:45:13 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Yavor Doganov <yavor> 07/06/13 14:45:13
Modified files:
philosophy : .symlinks
Removed files:
philosophy : rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html
Log message:
* rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html: Removed, identical with rev
1.1 of ebooks.html (Addresses: RT #22929).
* .symlinks: Added a temporary symlink just in case.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/.symlinks?cvsroot=www&r1=1.23&r2=1.24
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.1&r2=0
Patches:
Index: .symlinks
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/.symlinks,v
retrieving revision 1.23
retrieving revision 1.24
diff -u -b -r1.23 -r1.24
--- .symlinks 9 Jun 2007 13:50:45 -0000 1.23
+++ .symlinks 13 Jun 2007 14:44:53 -0000 1.24
@@ -89,3 +89,4 @@
wsis-2003.zh-cn.html wsis-2003.cn.html
wsis-2003.zh-tw.html wsis-2003.zh.html
wsis-2003.zh-tw.html wsis-2003.zhs.html
+ebooks.html rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html
Index: rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html
===================================================================
RCS file: rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html
diff -N rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html
--- rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html 2 Mar 2003 06:08:38 -0000
1.1
+++ /dev/null 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 -0000
@@ -1,155 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
-<HTML>
-<HEAD>
-<TITLE>E-Books: Freedom Or Copyright - RMS</TITLE>
-<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>
-</HEAD>
-<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1F00FF" ALINK="#FF0000"
VLINK="#9900DD">
-<H3>E-Books: Freedom Or Copyright</H3>
-<P>
-by <A HREF="http://www.stallman.org/";><STRONG>Richard Stallman</STRONG></A>
-<P>
-
-<A HREF="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><IMG
SRC="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
- ALT=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] "
- WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="200"></A>
-
-[
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical!!! -->
-<A HREF="/philosophy/rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html">English</A>
-]
-
-<blockquote>
-<em>
-(This is a slightly modified version of an article published in
-Technology Review in 2000.)
-</em>
-</blockquote>
-<p>
-Once upon a time, in the age of the printing press, an industrial
-regulation was established to cover the business of writing and
-publishing. It was called copyright. Copyright's purpose, stated in
-the US Constitution, was to "promote progress"--that is, to encourage
-publication. The method used was to make publishers get permission
-from authors for using recent works.
-</p><p>
-Ordinary readers had little reason to disapprove, since copyright
-restricted only publication, not the things a reader could do. If it
-raised the price of a book a small amount, that was only money; it did
-not contort readers' way of life. Copyright provided a public
-benefit, as intended, with little burden on the public. It did its
-job well--back then.
-</p><p>
-Then a new way of distributing information came about: computers and
-networks. The advantage of digital information technology is that it
-facilitates copying and manipulating information, including software,
-musical recordings and books. Networks offered the possibility of
-unlimited access to all sorts of data, an information utopia.
-</p><p>
-But one obstacle stood in the way: copyright. Readers who took made
-use of their computers to share published information were technically
-copyright infringers. The world had changed around this law, so that
-what was once an industrial regulation on publishers had become a
-restriction on the public it was meant to serve.
-</p><p>
-In a system of real democracy, a law that prohibits a popular, natural
-and useful activity is usually soon relaxed. But the powerful
-publishers' lobby was determined to prevent the public from taking
-advantage of the power of their computers, and found copyright a
-suitable weapon. Under their influence, rather than relaxing
-copyright to suit the new circumstances, governments made it stricter
-than ever, imposing harsh penalties on readers caught sharing.
-</p><p>
-But that wasn't the last of it. Computers can be powerful tools of
-domination, when a few people control what other people's computers
-do. The publishers realized that by forcing people to use specially
-designated software to read e-books, they can gain unprecedented
-power: they can compel readers to pay, and identify themselves, every
-time they read a book! That is the publishers' dream.
-</p><p>
-So they prevailed upon the US government to give them the Digital
-Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, a law giving them total legal power
-over almost anything a reader might do with an e-book. Even reading
-it without authorization is a crime.
-</p><p>
-We still have the same old freedoms in using paper books. But if
-e-books replace printed books, that exception will do little good.
-With "electronic ink", which makes it possible to download new text
-onto an apparently printed piece of paper, even newspapers could
-become ephemeral. Imagine: no more used book stores; no more lending
-a book to your friend; no more borrowing one from the public
-library--no more "leaks" that might give someone a chance to read
-without paying. And judging from the ads for Microsoft Reader, no
-more anonymous purchasing of books. This is the world publishers have
-in mind for us.
-</p><p>
-Why is there so little public debate about these momentous changes?
-Most citizens have not yet had occasion to come to grips with the
-political issues raised by this futuristic technology. Besides, the
-public has been taught that copyright exists to "protect" the
-copyright holders, with the implication that the public's interests do
-not count.
-</p><p>
-But when the public at large begins to use e-books, and discovers the
-regime that the publishers have prepared for them, they will begin to
-resist. Humanity will not accept this yoke forever.
-</p><p>
-The publishers would have us believe that suppressive copyright is the
-only way to keep art alive, but we do not need a War on Copying to
-encourage a diversity of published works; as the Grateful Dead showed,
-copying among fans is not a problem for the artists. By legalizing
-the noncommercial copying of e-books, we can turn copyright back into
-the industrial regulation it once was.
-</p><p>
-For some kinds of writing, we should go even further. For scholarly
-papers and monographs, everyone should be encouraged to republish them
-verbatim on line; this helps protect the scholarly record while making
-it more accessible. For textbooks and most reference works,
-publication of modified versions should be allowed as well, since that
-encourages society to improve them.
-</p><p>
-Eventually, when computer networks provide an easy way to send someone
-a small amount of money, the whole rationale for restricting verbatim
-copying will go away. If you like a book, and it pops up a box saying
-"Click here to give the author one dollar", wouldn't you click?
-Copyright for books and music, as it applies to distributing verbatim
-unmodified copies, will be entirely obsolete. And not a moment too
-soon!
-</p><p>
-Copyright 2000 Richard Stallman
-</p><p>
-Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are permitted
-in any medium, provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved.
-</p>
-<hr>
-[
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical!!! -->
-<A HREF="/philosophy/rms-ebooks-freedom-or-copyright.html">English</A>
-]
-
- <HR>
- <P>
-
-Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>.
-<P>
-FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-Other <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">ways to contact</A> the FSF.
-<P>
-Comments on these web pages to
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>,
-send other questions to
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-<P>
-Copyright 1996 Richard Stallman
-<P>
-Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
-permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
-<P>
-Updated:
-<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2003/03/02 06:08:38 $ $Author: gurhanozen $
-<!-- timestamp end -->
-<HR>
-</BODY>
-</HTML>
| [Prev in Thread] |
Current Thread |
[Next in Thread] |
- www/philosophy .symlinks rms-ebooks-freedom-or-...,
Yavor Doganov <=