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I just donated $100 to PGLAF because they are fighting the good fight. Their donation page [0] includes "Think of this as a contribution to your grandchildren."
by CO-VAX 9y ago
I just donated $100 to PGLAF because they are fighting the good fight. Their donation page [0] includes "Think of this as a contribution to your grandchildren." However in this instance I think of it as a contribution against publishers (ab)using the justice system much like so-called patent trolls.
> Q: The plaintiff is S. Fischer Verlag, GmbH. Is that the international conglomerate?
> A: Yes, it is part of a family of companies all under single ownership and control or majority stakeholdership, from Germany, reaching around the world. S. Fischer Verlag, GmbH is a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg Holtzbrinck GmbH. Internationally it is known in the US and elsewhere as Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC. Readers in the US know this as Macmillan, which is one of the largest publishers in the US by revenue, and owns many familiar imprints. US readers might also recall that Macmillan was one of four companies accused by the US Dept. of Justice in 2012 of price fixing. The companies eventually settled the antitrust claims, including by giving credits to customers who had overpaid for eBooks.
[0] https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Project_Gutenberg_Needs_Your_Donation https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Project_Gutenberg_N...
- MrBuddyCasino 9y agoI hope you don't mind that I take this opportunity to tell about he GFF, because it is very much related. If you are European and care about freedom rights, there is now an equivalent to the EFF/ACLU, called the "Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte" (short GFF), which translates to "Society For Freedom Rights". They are mostly lawyers fighting strategic court battles in one of the cheapest country to do so, which in Europe happens to be Germany. This is a cost-effective way to further the cause of human and freedom rights. If you are upset about * excessive surveillance * anti-whistleblower laws * laws against freedom of information then consider joining, they need your support to do what they do: https://freiheitsrechte.org/join/ https://freiheitsrechte.org/join/ Disclaimer: I'm not involved with the GFF except as a paying member.
- nabla9 9y agoEuropean Digital Rights EDRi is the closest equivalent to the EFF in Europe. EDRi is an association of civil and human rights organizations from across Europe. It has existed since 2002. https://edri.org/ https://edri.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Digital_Rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Digital_Rights https://edri.org/members/ https://edri.org/members/ (EFF from USA is also a member) GFF is more German centered organization. I don't know how it relates to other German organizations like https://digitalcourage.de/ https://digitalcourage.de/ and https://digitalegesellschaft.de/ https://digitalegesellschaft.de/
- MrBuddyCasino 9y agoI have no idea why I never heard of them before, but this is the first time. Thanks!
- krylon 9y agoThanks for reminding me! I donated to them last year, guess it's time for another one.
- FabHK 9y agoI'm somewhat hesitant to post this as I don't condone online bullying, but if you wish to send a polite message explaining your opinion about this, here are some contacts: Fischer Verlage: Twitter: @Fischer_Presse Phone: +49 69 6062-0 Fax: +49 69 6062-214 Fischer Verlage, Sales: https://www.fischerverlage.de/kontakt/verkauf_vertrieb https://www.fischerverlage.de/kontakt/verkauf_vertrieb Fischer Verlage, Legal and Licenses: https://www.fischerverlage.de/kontakt/rechte_lizenzen https://www.fischerverlage.de/kontakt/rechte_lizenzen Holtzbrinck: Phone: +49 711 2150-0 Fax: +49 711 2150-269 E-mail: info@holtzbrinck.com
- aaron695 9y agoDoxing is doxing. Phones are pretty personal and threatening. It'd take a very experienced person to call them and be polite and not come over as threatening and be productive all at once. Maybe they deserve it, or maybe it's the best way forward for society but be aware of what you are calling for.
- _Microft 9y ago> However in this instance I think of it as a contribution against publishers (ab)using the justice system Enforcing that Project Gutenberg actually respects german copyright law when offering service to german users is abusing the justice system? That's a surprising interpretation of these events, in my opinion.
- UncleEntity 9y ago> Enforcing that Project Gutenberg actually respects german copyright law when offering service to german users is abusing the justice system? That's a surprising interpretation of these events, in my opinion. Being a US entity acting 100% legally under US law with no physical presence in Germany but somehow being required to comply with German laws seems a bit abusive to me, in my opinion. Next time I go trolling because I have karma to burn I suppose I'll have to answer to German hate-speech laws?
- CO-VAX 9y agoThe "publishers" I was implicitly referring to was the plaintiff.
- oemerax 9y agoI can log in from Germany.