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www/education drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-im...
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From: |
Dora Scilipoti |
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Subject: |
www/education drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-im... |
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Date: |
Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:16:33 -0400 (EDT) |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Dora Scilipoti <dora> 21/09/29 10:16:33
Modified files:
education :
drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html
Log message:
Apply improvements as per the version in staging.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/education/drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.1&r2=1.2
Patches:
Index: drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html
===================================================================
RCS file:
/web/www/www/education/drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html,v
retrieving revision 1.1
retrieving revision 1.2
diff -u -b -r1.1 -r1.2
--- drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html 29 Sep
2021 06:09:40 -0000 1.1
+++ drm-in-school-ebooks-when-life-imitates-dystopian-stories.html 29 Sep
2021 14:16:31 -0000 1.2
@@ -27,12 +27,13 @@
<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" -->
<div style="clear: both"></div>
-<div id="last-div" class="reduced-width">
+<div id="last-div" class="article reduced-width">
<h2>DRM In School eBooks: When Life Imitates Dystopian Stories</h2>
<address class="byline">by Barra O'Cathain <a href="#barra"
id="barra-rev"><sup>[*]</sup></a></address>
+<div class="article">
<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
something you've read is a dystopian story warning about the dangers of
@@ -42,12 +43,12 @@
<abbr title="Association for Computing Machinery">ACM</abbr></cite>
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 “piracy”<a
-href="#piracy" id="piracy-rev"><sup>[1]</sup></a> to a massive extent.</p>
+publishers and the government crack down on so-called
“piracy” <a
+href="#piracy" id="piracy-rev">[1]</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
-tool for writing her midterm project, brakes down. She asks her friend Dan
+tool for writing her midterm project, breaks down. She asks her friend Dan
Halbert to borrow his computer. This is a big problem for Dan. If Lissa were
to read his books, the SPA—a government agency created to combat
sharing—would arrest him for copyright infringement and brand him
@@ -57,7 +58,8 @@
<p>Stallman predicted a lot of bad things in that piece of fiction. Sadly,
they have already come true. <cite>The Right to Read</cite> is no longer
-a hypothetical, no longer just a story warning about a possible future.</p>
+a hypothetical scenario, no longer just a story warning about a possible
+future.</p>
<p>It is our <em>present</em>.</p>
@@ -69,13 +71,12 @@
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 technique the dis-service in question is using,)
+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>
+of a certain geographical area (Ireland, in my case). For some examples of
+Digital Restrictions Management, take a look at the page on “<a
+href="/proprietary/proprietary-drm.html">proprietary DRM</a>.”</p>
<h3>A Real-Life Encounter With Becoming Illegal</h3>
@@ -84,14 +85,14 @@
things up by leaving his textbooks in his locker over a mid-term break.
Silly mistake aside, I thought nothing of lending him a modified version of
my password so that he could access my copies of the ebooks, hosted at the
-publisher's platform (the “service”.) He'd be able to
+publisher's platform (the “service”). He'd be able to
study and pass the upcoming exams, no harm done. Little did I know that,
according to the terms and conditions of the dis-service, I had just
committed the most vile, despicable act a human being could commit:
help my friend—or, in the eyes of the publisher,
“piracy.”</p>
-<p>The terms and conditions <a href="#terms" id="terms-rev"><sup>[2]</sup></a>
+<p>The terms and conditions <a href="#terms" id="terms-rev">[2]</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.
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@
<p>The terms and conditions are very, very clear about one thing: you're not
allowed to share the ebook in any way, with any means, under any
-circumstance.</p>
+circumstances.</p>
<p>Let me clear up one thing. I don't actually own the ebook. The physical
version of the book proudly displays a notice on the cover saying you'll get
@@ -121,9 +122,9 @@
<p>Some new schools where I live in Ireland are using iPads (which have a
whole host of <a href="/proprietary/malware-apple.html">privacy and ethical
-concerns</a> in and of itself) with the goal of moving all their student's
-books to these online “services.” Benefits cited often include r
-educed weight in student's bags, ease of organization, and multimedia
+concerns</a> in and of themselves) with the goal of moving all their student's
+books to these online “services.” Benefits cited often include
+reduced weight in student's bags, ease of organization, and multimedia
capabilities. All of which are true, but what is often neglected is that the
move to digital devices requires students to agree to terms of service
imposed by companies. These terms restrict the student's ability to explore,
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@
<p>When schools use physical books, students at least have the option of
buying them second-hand, or getting them handed down from a friend or a
sibling. If the practice of getting an ebook access code from a single
-centralized publisher continues, we may see a publisher monopoly
+centralized publisher continues, we may see a publisher's monopoly
where textbooks needed for our free education are held away from us with a
massive price tag. We may end up with a situation like Texas Instruments,
where a company with a stranglehold on education can charge astronomical
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@
<p>Students don't have much of a say about which platforms they'll be
required to use. The school may give them an email address, provided by
-Microsoft Office 365, and require them to agree to the terms imposed
+Microsoft Office 365, and require them to agree to the terms imposed
by the publisher. Students may need books from different publishers, and may
have to agree to multiple contracts. And even if they do agree to a given
version of a contract, most publishers reserve the right to change it.
@@ -236,22 +237,16 @@
<p>Let's make sure <a href="/philosophy/ebooks-must-increase-freedom.html">
ebooks increase our freedom, not decrease it</a>.</p>
+<div class="column-limit"></div>
+</div>
-<h3>Thanks</h3>
-
-<p>Thanks to Richard Stallman, Andy Oram, and the GNU Education Team for
-the idea and the help.</p>
-
-<div class="infobox">
-<hr />
-<h4>Author's Notes</h4>
-
-<p><a href="#piracy-rev" id="piracy">[1]</a> “Piracy” is a
-<a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Piracy">smear word</a>.</p>
-
-<p><a href="#terms-rev" id="terms">[2]</a> Some notes from the Terms and
-Conditions of dis-services: </p>
+<h3 class="footnote">Author's Notes</h3>
+<ol >
+<li><a href="#piracy-rev" id="piracy">↑</a> “Piracy” is a
+<a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Piracy">smear word</a>.</li>
+<li><a href="#terms-rev" id="terms">↑</a> Some notes from the Terms and
+Conditions of dis-services:
<ul>
<li>Passwords must not be shared. </li>
<li>The publisher reserves the right to later charge for access to the
@@ -265,9 +260,18 @@
Republic of Ireland. </li>
<li>No warranties are provided. The dis-service shall not be liable for any
damages, yet expects you to be liable for damages to them.</li>
-</ul>
+</ul></li>
+</ol>
+
+<h3 class="footnote">Thanks</h3>
+
+<p style="font-size:1rem">
+Thanks to Richard Stallman, Andy Oram, and the GNU Education Team for
+the idea and the help.</p>
+
+<div class="infobox extra" role="complementary">
+<hr />
-<h4>Footnote</h4>
<p><a href="#barra-rev" id="barra">[*]</a> Barra O'Cathain is a young hacker
from Ireland. He is currently persuing a bachelor's degree in Computer
Science. His fascination with free software and programming began when he
@@ -335,7 +339,7 @@
<p class="unprintable">Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/09/29 06:09:40 $
+$Date: 2021/09/29 14:16:31 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>