www/server/staging drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-l...

[Dora Scilipoti]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Dora Scilipoti <dora>   21/09/22 20:11:23

Modified files:
        server/staging : 
                         
drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html 

Log message:
        More editing.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/server/staging/drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.2&r2=1.3

Patches:
Index: drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html
===================================================================
RCS file: 
/web/www/www/server/staging/drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html,v
retrieving revision 1.2
retrieving revision 1.3
diff -u -b -r1.2 -r1.3
--- drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html  22 Sep 
2021 13:22:49 -0000      1.2
+++ drm-in-schools-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-literature.html  23 Sep 
2021 00:11:22 -0000      1.3
@@ -31,9 +31,7 @@
 
 <h2>DRM In Schools' eBooks: When Life Imitates Dystopian Literature</h2>
 
-<address class="byline">by Barra O'Cathain
-<a href="#thanks" id="thanks-rev"><sup>[1]</sup></a></address>
-<hr class="thin" />
+<address class="byline">by Barra O'Cathain <a href="#barra" 
id="barra-rev"><sup>[*]</sup></a></address>
 
 <p>It always feels surreal to come across situations that are just a little 
 too close to something you've read. It's even worse when you realize that 
@@ -45,7 +43,7 @@
 published Richard M. Stallman's <a href="/philosophy/right-to-read.html">
 <cite>The Right to Read</cite></a>, a cautionary tale of a future where 
 publishers and the government crack down on so-called &ldquo;piracy&rdquo;<a 
-href="#piracy" id="piracy-rev"><sup>[2]</sup></a> to a massive extent.</p>
+href="#piracy" id="piracy-rev"><sup>[1]</sup></a> to a massive extent.</p>
 
 <p>In <cite>The Right to Read</cite>, a college student named Lissa Lenz has 
 an issue. Her computer, which contains all her textbooks and is the only 
@@ -71,11 +69,11 @@
 It refers to any means used to control copyrighted and proprietary digital 
 works and hardware. Its purpose is to restrict what users can do. DRM is an 
 umbrella term for various tools aimed at achieving that goal, such as legal 
-agreements (which is the one I'm talking about in this article,) or malware 
-that seeks to prevent specific actions. For example, to prevent users from 
-connecting to a website through the TOR network or from outside of a certain 
-geographical area (Ireland, in my case.) For some examples of Digital 
-Restrictions Management, take a look at <a 
+agreements (which is the technique the dis-service in question is using,) 
+or malware that seeks to prevent specific actions. For example, to prevent 
+users from connecting to a website through the TOR network or from outside 
+of a certain geographical area (Ireland, in my case.) For some examples of 
+Digital Restrictions Management, take a look at <a 
 href="/proprietary/proprietary-drm.html">
 https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-drm.html</a>.</p>
 
@@ -92,7 +90,7 @@
 help my friend&mdash;or, in the eyes of the publisher, 
 &ldquo;piracy.&rdquo;</p>
  
-<p>The terms and conditions <a href="#terms" id="terms-rev"><sup>[3]</sup></a> 
+<p>The terms and conditions <a href="#terms" id="terms-rev"><sup>[2]</sup></a> 
 of the dis-service are somewhat hard to find, which makes one feel the 
 publisher is untrustworthy. They are not readily available on the login page 
 or on the main library page; instead, they are hidden in the help section. 
@@ -172,19 +170,19 @@
 <h3>Challenging the Assumptions</h3>
 
 <p>Some may say that these terms are reasonable, that students aren't 
-entitled to learn how the tools that they use during their education work or 
+entitled to learn how the tools they use during their education work, or 
 to share information with their peers.</p>
 
-<p>Would you object to a student reading her or his schoolbooks while on 
-holidays in France? If she or he read it while traveling to Northern 
+<p>Would you object to a student reading her or his schoolbook while on 
+holidays in France? If she or he reads it while traveling to Northern 
 Ireland? On a bus? In a public library?</p>
 
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
-<p>Would you also object to, say, a student lending a copy of a book for a 
-few minutes? Allowing someone sitting next to them to look at their book? Is 
-it theft if a student copies down a sentence from their textbook? Piracy? 
-Should the teacher report them for illegal activity?</p>
+<p>Would you also object to, say, a student lending a copy of her book to a 
+friend? Allowing someone sitting next to them to look at their book? If a 
+student copies a sentence from a book into her notes, is she a thief or a 
+pirate? Should the teacher report them for illegal activity?</p>
 
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
@@ -196,26 +194,28 @@
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
 <p>And finally, would you object to students selling their textbooks when 
-they no longer have a need for them? Giving away their notes, made using 
-information from the book, to other students? That they shouldn't be allowed 
-to give away their book if it has a line crossed out and rewritten?</p>
+they no longer have a need for them? To giving away their notes, made using 
+information from the book, to other students? Would you say students 
+shouldn't be allowed to give away their book if it has a line crossed out 
+and rewritten?</p>
 
 <p>Of course not.</p>
 
 <p>My friend made quite an apt summary: <q>It's like [school systems] put 
 the rights of companies over the rights of the students.</q></p>
 
-<p>With the current landscape of educational institutions looking towards
-new technologies, we need to be careful. Without proper consideration and 
action, 
-we may find ourselves in a reality even more similar to the one described in
-<cite>The Right to Read</cite>. Education boards have already made mistakes 
-in the past, like with Texas Instruments. I would urge everyone to start 
-pushing against this sort of terms. Here are some suggestions:</p>
+<p>With the current landscape of educational institutions planning to 
+introduce new technologies, we need to be careful. Without proper 
+consideration and action, we may find ourselves in a reality even more 
+similar to the one described in <cite>The Right to Read</cite>. School 
+boards have already made mistakes in the past, like with Texas Instruments. 
+I would urge everyone to start pushing against this sort of terms. Here are 
+a couple of suggestions:</p>
 
 <ul>
-<li>During the decision process about which textbook to use, you could 
-petition your school to consider the terms and conditions of an ebook 
-service and make it a requirement that the ebook be DRM-free and 
+<li>During the decision process about which textbooks to use, you could 
+petition your school to consider the terms and conditions of ebook 
+services and make it a requirement that ebooks be DRM-free and 
 downloadable.</li> 
 
 <li>You could start the preparation of a textbook for your local 
@@ -232,20 +232,24 @@
 
 <p>Let's make sure schools don't punish learning.</p>
 
+<h3>Thanks</h3>
+
+<p>Thanks to Richard Stallman, Andy Oram, and the GNU Education Team for 
+the idea and the help.</p>
+</div>
 
 <div class="infobox">
 <hr />
-<p><a href="#thanks-rev" id="thanks">[1]</a> Thanks to Richard Stallman and 
-Andy Oram for the idea and the help.</p>
+<h4>Author's Notes</h4>
 
-<p><a href="#piracy-rev" id="piracy">[2]</a> &ldquo;Piracy&rdquo; is a 
+<p><a href="#piracy-rev" id="piracy">[1]</a> &ldquo;Piracy&rdquo; is a 
 <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Piracy">smear word</a>.</p>
 
-<p>
-<a href="#terms-rev" id="terms">[3]</a> Some notes from the Terms and 
+<p><a href="#terms-rev" id="terms">[2]</a> Some notes from the Terms and 
 Conditions of dis-services: <br />
 * Passwords must not be shared. <br />
-* They reserve the right to later charge for access to the dis-service.<br />
+* The publisher reserves the right to later charge for access to the 
+dis-service.<br />
 * The reader can't distribute any information from the dis-service unless in
 ways explicitly allowed.<br />
 * It is forbidden to attempt to learn how the dis-service works by
@@ -253,8 +257,10 @@
 * The books are region-locked (only accessible in a certain area) to the
 Republic of Ireland. <br />
 * No warranties are provided. The dis-service shall not be liable for any
-damages, yet expects you to be liable for damages to them.
-</p>
+damages, yet expects you to be liable for damages to them.</p>
+
+<h4>Footnote</h4>
+<p><a href="#barra-rev" id="barra">[*]</a> Barra O'Cathain is...</p>
 </div>
 
 </div>
@@ -316,7 +322,7 @@
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/09/22 13:22:49 $
+$Date: 2021/09/23 00:11:22 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>