Saturday, December 15, 2007

Warning: Saturday Snippiness

“PLUNDER, v. To take the property of another without observing the decent and customary reticences of theft. To effect a change of ownership with the candid concomitance of a brass band. To wrest the wealth of A from B and leave C lamenting a vanishing opportunity.” - Ambrose Bierce

I'm feeling a little snippy this morning. Fact is, one of the things that has made me snippy is something that shouldn't surprise me. So, warning... rant ahead.

[begin rant]

It started about two weeks ago when my SIL told me she'd bought the ENTIRE series of "Little House on the Prairie" and would I like her to copy it for my DD? Then, I found out that the series she'd "bought" off of eBay was a bootlegged copy to start with.

Hello? Bad enough to copy and GIVE away stuff. Highly illegal to copy and SELL stuff.

I told her no. DD will have to do without. And when I commented on copyright violations, and that it's theft, etc., my SIL -- who is a very God-fearing person -- basically shrugged and said, so what?

Then, all week long, I've been reading about sites online that offer eBooks for free -- one message board has folks requesting specific ones and folks sending them out. When one of the Samhain authors pointed out that this was illegal and why she had a problem with it, the basic response was: you don't complain about the library, do you?

Well... no. BUT... the library only has ONE paper copy to share. You can send out thousands... millions... of the same eBook. And, when the library's ONE copy wears out, they can buy a new one. AND, you don't get to KEEP the library's ONE copy in your own personal collection. Do you? But, you surely do keep the eBooks you like, right? You don't read them and delete them after two weeks if you like them, do you?

I'm a library patron myself. I read too much to buy everything. BUT... when I read a book I love, I run out and buy a copy for myself to keep.

And, folks, fact is -- most authors make next to nothing on their work. My royalties barely keep me in printer ink.

What amazes me is that people who would NEVER reach into your purse and take out a dollar would think nothing of doing basically the same thing by sharing eBooks.

When I give away a copy of my eStories as a promotion -- I buy a copy. Do I have one on my hard drive? Absolutely. That's not the point. If it was a paper book, I'd have to buy one to give away. It's the SAME THING.

I hear people say they can't afford to buy all the books they read... well, prior to eBooks, what did you do? Did you walk into WalMart or Barnes and Noble and shoplift?

Give it some thought the next time you "borrow" an eBook from someone. Or share one with a friend. It's not the same as a library.

[/end rant]

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It's sunny today. Blindingly so because of all the white stuff on the ground. Boy, oh boy, does that reflect the light!!! No worries, though. We have another Nor'easter coming in tonight that will take care of that pesky sunlight.

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Worked on my writing again yesterday! How is that possible?? Two days in a row? Woot! I'm loving layering in the little touches, and innuendos. Still haven't layered in a puppy. Think I will. Maybe today, as I am shooting for THREE days in a row *G*.

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You Communicate With Your Body

This isn't as bad as it sounds, it just means that you're a "touchy-feely" person.
You need a lot of affection in your life. And for you, this means both giving and receiving little touches.
Warm hearted, you bond with people easily. In fact, you often feel a little sad when you're not in the company of others.
A little moody, you tend to be controlled by your emotions. But a bit hug always comforts you!


Um. NO. Except maybe the "moody" part. *G*

7 comments:

Dru said...

I was out early this morning and yep, the snow is coming, I could smell it.

You Communicate With Your Eyes

When you say, "I'll believe it when I see it" - you really mean it.
For you, what you see is a lot more important than what you hear.
You don't take someone's words at face value. You judge people by their facial expressions, body language, and appearance.
You tend to be quiet, but when you talk, you tend to make eye contact and describe things in colorful detail.

Sarita Leone said...

Like Dru, I'm an eye communicator. Wish my big mouth would get that memo... :)

Melissa Blue said...

Lol, Sarita.

And yes "lending" millions of e-books is stealing. The e-book author should have wrote "support a starving artist and buy the d$%n book."

Tori Lennox said...

RE why you're feeling snippy, all I have to say is AMEN!!!!

You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker.
What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions.
You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself.
Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.

Brandy said...

I seem to communicate with my eyes. I can kinda see that.
I agree with you on the Ebook piracy issue. New laws need to be passes to reflect the growing emmergence of new issues brought forth by the internet age.

Have a nice weekend and happy writing!

Melissa McClone said...

Oh, Marianne. I'd be a bit upset if that happened to me too. I was on a loop and someone posted a Ebook they'd purchased. I quickly wrote the moderator and explained that it was against the law to do so. Luckily she's an aspiring writer so understood exactly what I was talking about. Good for you for saying something.

Ceri Hebert said...

You go girl!! I'd be really ticked off it someone did that with my books. Who knows, maybe they do!

I've been trounced on by thhis lousy cold and not feeling like doing much but burying myself under a blanket and staring at tv. but I did get some writing done today. And tomorrow will be another good day. I'm kind of hoping we'll lose power (though it'll get a bit chilly) so I can camp out on the couch with a notebook.

Have fun tomorrow!