Re: Spaghetti Publishers want your FAQ!

Snakes of Medusa (mathew@mantis.co.uk)
17 Jan 1994 12:07:19 -0000

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In article <199401141719.KAA05779@longs.lance.colostate.edu>,
L. Detweiler <ld231782@longs.lance.colostate.edu> wrote:
>Tim Freeman <tsf@cs.cmu.edu>
>>a) I permit this. Then I get nothing, the spaghetti publishers get
>>some money, and some customers get my FAQ in a book. I break even,
>>the spaghetti publishers win, and the customers win (assuming they
>>made an intelligent choice when buying the book).
[...]
>I think your opinion is so atrocious, so obnoxious, that it can hardly
>be limited to FAQ maintaining. I suspect your opinion originates from
>some other field. Maybe you work in Tabloid Journalism. There, I agree,
>the rule is that you profit from the hard work of others by dragging
>down their own accomplishments, by pretending to represent people's
>work when you really are nothing but a social parasite. Perhaps some
>other people can invent a hypothetical occupation for Mr. Freeman.
>Maybe `prose pimp' would be a better analogy. Yes, the publishing
>industry is filled with pimps, who call their clients (readers and
>writers) whores and steal their money. Thank you for your eloquent
>defense of this practice. Thank you for attempting to recruit FAQ
>authors to your noble cause.

Let's recap here:

Tim Freeman advocates writing FAQ files and making them completely free,
so that anyone who wishes can copy them for any purpose whatsoever.
Even for profit. He points out that that way, more people gain.
FAQs become a gift; something freely given, not a piece of property to
be squabbled over.

And for that, Detweiler calls him a "social parasite" and "prose
pimp"?

>It has been my experience that only tentacles practice this kind of
>reprehensible `hit and run' or `drive by shooting' tactic you refer to.

But of course, this is L. Detweiler, who sees conspiracies everywhere.
(See alt.conspiracy for documentation concerning his doubtful
sanity.)

mathew

-- 
I have a flawless philosophical and scientific model of reality.  
Unfortunately, it's actual size.

Next message: Michael S. Shappe: "Re: Spaghetti Publishers want your FAQ!"
Previous message: Snakes of Medusa: "Re: Condensing a series of FAQ versions"
Maybe in reply to: Bernard D. Aboba: "Spaghetti Publishers want your FAQ!"
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