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"As an aside, many SaaS products have given away their product for free due to COVID and widespread forced WFH." I'm sure a lot of authors would have contribut
by therealcamino 6y ago
"As an aside, many SaaS products have given away their product for free due to COVID and widespread forced WFH."
I'm sure a lot of authors would have contributed their work to the effort, if they'd been asked. But they weren't asked. It's difficult to imagine how you'd similarly force SaaS companies to give away their products for free during the pandemic -- lucky for them -- but if you found a way to do it technically, how do you think they'd react?
- toomuchtodo 6y agoHonest question: how do you propose a non profit online library ask every author for written permission, while also considering the legal interests of their publishers?
- therealcamino 6y agoSounds difficult, but not a justification for breaking copyright laws, or interfering with people's livelihoods without asking.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- gojomo 6y agoAny author who notices the Archive's temporary 'National Emergency Library' affecting their 'livelihood' can opt out quite easily.
- therealcamino 6y agoThe HN consensus is always that only opt-in is acceptable when it comes to online privacy or anything else that affects them personally. Apparently opt-out is fine for everybody else. You put 'livelihood' in scare quotes, but I don't understand what's deserving of mockery. Writers make their living by selling their writing.
- adrianN 6y agoI doubt many authors would have been able to do so, given that they've signed contracts with their publishers that likely prevent them from giving their work to anyone else.