> For instance, I consult the UNIX FAQ so that I can set up my company's
> computers so that it (and I) can make money. I make money from the work
> of the FAQ maintainer.
> No flame intended, I'm just trying to understand this subtlen (to me)
> distinction:
> How is making money (albeit indirectly) from the information contained in
> the FAQ different from making money (directly?) by publishing the FAQ?
The ethics of *whether* or not someone wants to, or can, make money
from it is secondary to the loss of control over what people feel
is their intellectual property, because of the medium in which it
was originally presented.
Also, if publishers want to sell books, they should pay writers.
If writers don't want to "publish" *books*, they shouldn't be
forced into it by the first organization that comes along
(or at least the first one with the legal expertise to legally
shaft them by declaring the stuff "public domain".)
There is a fundamental power imbalance between the corporate
powers-that-be trying to churn out these guides at a low cost,
and the authors of the truly GOOD, substantial material
that would make the books valuable on the market.
+--------------------------+---------------------------+---------------------+
|Tony Rzepela |<rzepela@cvi.hahnemann.edu>| |
+--------------------------+---------------------------+---------------------+
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