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Many comments here compare the cost of a physical library to near-zero cost of the internet, but that's not a fair comparison itself. The cost of a physical li
by gayprogrammer 11y ago
Many comments here compare the cost of a physical library to near-zero cost of the internet, but that's not a fair comparison itself.
The cost of a physical library is physical, not informational. The article describes a situation where information sharing was challenged by the industry that has a physical monopoly on media (books). They were not granted informational monopoly, they only have monopoly on physical manufacturing.
Thus the absence of physical cost (or difference in efficiency) of sharing information does not change the concept of a library.
- librvf 11y agoIt's a one-dimensional argument that relies heavily on rhetoric. It's hard to draw any practical conclusions from such an argument. The point is mostly just to persuade you that file-sharing is good and anyone who opposes file-sharing is dumb.
- gayprogrammer 11y agoThe only practical conclusion I can draw about file-sharing is that it does not look like it will stop. Information sharing is only going to increase--that's what the internet was designed for. Publishers will probably need to focus on physical means of revenue that the internet can not inherently provide.