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The problem even with DRM-free epubs is that: A) I don't see a reason why some mega-cooperations should know about every book I buy. B) You don't know if they

by TekMol 3y ago

The problem even with DRM-free epubs is that: A) I don't see a reason why some mega-cooperations should know about every book I buy. B) You don't know if they have been watermarked. I don't want every book I own to be watermarked with god-knows-what metadata about me. Let me pay with Bitcoin, and I'll buy books again.

timidger 3y ago
Your solution to a privacy problem vis-a-vis mega corporations involves moving your transaction to a public block chain?
- TekMol 3y ago
  From the outside, the blockchain is just a giant bunch of transactions. No company like a Amazon or Visa has a clear picture of what those transactions are about. Now in the times of lightning, there is not even a transaction for the payment of a book. Payments are bundled into channels. Individual lightning payments do not leave any trace on the blockchain.
  - moffkalast 3y ago
    > No company like a Amazon or Visa has a clear picture of what those transactions are about. That's where you're probably wrong. If the NSA can listen to anyone on the planet through their phone, they surely have the data that exchanges are legally obligated to collect in terms of validating all users by their government documents, aka the place 99% of bitcoin users probably get their coin. The rest is just mapping it all together and correlating the remaining blank accounts with the piles of other data they've got on each person, which I'm sure they're easily capable of. A bitcoin transaction and a book download coming from a the same IP at roughly the same time are surely mappable to a physical person.
- brutusborn 3y ago
  Not a bad solution if you consider systems like Monero where transaction info isn’t easily obtained from the ledger.
- csomar 3y ago
  Lightening transactions are mostly private and anonymous.
ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
Why would A apply if you're acquiring DRM-free files? "Mega-corporations" wouldn't know about them.
- TekMol 3y ago
  Which payment provider do you use? I only know payment providers who are mega cooperations: Visa, Paypal etc.
  - jrflowers 3y ago
    What payment provider do you use to buy Bitcoin?
    - Rufbdbskrufb473 3y ago
      There are plenty of anonymous (even decentralized) P2P market places for trading crypto for cash, bank transfers, or other agreed upon forms of payment. I have over 2x my fiat savings in crypto and none of it could easily be traced to my real identity. Just last week I walked into a random "crypto exchange service" in the city I was visiting and sold them USDT and walked out with $10k in cash. No kyc. They didn't even ask my name. They were buying and selling for only 0.5% commission.
      - jrflowers 3y ago
        It’s cool that you got cash for the USDT that you had but that had very little to do with my asking somebody that wants to only buy books with Bitcoin what payment processor they used to get the Bitcoin that they have.
        Rufbdbskrufb473 3y ago
        What do you mean? As I mentioned, the reverse is just as easy. You give then cash, they give you USDT or BTC. Now you can buy all the ebooks you want with anonymous crypto.
kwanbix 3y ago
Maybe unpopular opinion, but I worked at "mega-coorporations" and nobody cares what you buy. You are just a number in a system that at most uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy.
- watwut 3y ago
  > that at most uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy There you have it. And beyond that, the corporation will sell the data to whoever if profitable. They will abuse them any time there is anything to gain.
  - knowriju 3y ago
    I think getting recommendation of similar books to read is a feature rathen than a bug. If you ask your friend to recommend a book the first question they'll usually ask is 'what kinds of book do you like'. Either that or you get recommended whatever NYTimes says is the bestseller (which may not match your taste).
  - kwanbix 3y ago
    There you have it, what is the horrible thing about a company suggesting you books? They won't sell it because it is their advantage.
- barnabee 3y ago
  > uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy So they do care and intend to use the information to practice psychological tricks and deception to make me buy more things (probably not just books) and also sell it to others who want to do the same. No thanks!
  - kwanbix 3y ago
    Yeah, right. So what do you rather have when you get into a website, tailored recommendations or generic ones which do not apply to you? I rather have targeted adds of things that I might need than porn and poker adds.

by TekMol 3y ago

timidger 3y ago

Your solution to a privacy problem vis-a-vis mega corporations involves moving your transaction to a public block chain?

TekMol 3y ago
From the outside, the blockchain is just a giant bunch of transactions. No company like a Amazon or Visa has a clear picture of what those transactions are about. Now in the times of lightning, there is not even a transaction for the payment of a book. Payments are bundled into channels. Individual lightning payments do not leave any trace on the blockchain.
- moffkalast 3y ago
  > No company like a Amazon or Visa has a clear picture of what those transactions are about. That's where you're probably wrong. If the NSA can listen to anyone on the planet through their phone, they surely have the data that exchanges are legally obligated to collect in terms of validating all users by their government documents, aka the place 99% of bitcoin users probably get their coin. The rest is just mapping it all together and correlating the remaining blank accounts with the piles of other data they've got on each person, which I'm sure they're easily capable of. A bitcoin transaction and a book download coming from a the same IP at roughly the same time are surely mappable to a physical person.
brutusborn 3y ago
Not a bad solution if you consider systems like Monero where transaction info isn’t easily obtained from the ledger.
csomar 3y ago
Lightening transactions are mostly private and anonymous.

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago

Why would A apply if you're acquiring DRM-free files? "Mega-corporations" wouldn't know about them.

TekMol 3y ago
Which payment provider do you use? I only know payment providers who are mega cooperations: Visa, Paypal etc.
- jrflowers 3y ago
  What payment provider do you use to buy Bitcoin?
  - Rufbdbskrufb473 3y ago
    There are plenty of anonymous (even decentralized) P2P market places for trading crypto for cash, bank transfers, or other agreed upon forms of payment. I have over 2x my fiat savings in crypto and none of it could easily be traced to my real identity. Just last week I walked into a random "crypto exchange service" in the city I was visiting and sold them USDT and walked out with $10k in cash. No kyc. They didn't even ask my name. They were buying and selling for only 0.5% commission.
    - jrflowers 3y ago
      It’s cool that you got cash for the USDT that you had but that had very little to do with my asking somebody that wants to only buy books with Bitcoin what payment processor they used to get the Bitcoin that they have.
      - Rufbdbskrufb473 3y ago
        What do you mean? As I mentioned, the reverse is just as easy. You give then cash, they give you USDT or BTC. Now you can buy all the ebooks you want with anonymous crypto.

kwanbix 3y ago

Maybe unpopular opinion, but I worked at "mega-coorporations" and nobody cares what you buy. You are just a number in a system that at most uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy.

watwut 3y ago
> that at most uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy There you have it. And beyond that, the corporation will sell the data to whoever if profitable. They will abuse them any time there is anything to gain.
- knowriju 3y ago
  I think getting recommendation of similar books to read is a feature rathen than a bug. If you ask your friend to recommend a book the first question they'll usually ask is 'what kinds of book do you like'. Either that or you get recommended whatever NYTimes says is the bestseller (which may not match your taste).
- kwanbix 3y ago
  There you have it, what is the horrible thing about a company suggesting you books? They won't sell it because it is their advantage.
barnabee 3y ago
> uses your buying history to suggest you books to buy So they do care and intend to use the information to practice psychological tricks and deception to make me buy more things (probably not just books) and also sell it to others who want to do the same. No thanks!
- kwanbix 3y ago
  Yeah, right. So what do you rather have when you get into a website, tailored recommendations or generic ones which do not apply to you? I rather have targeted adds of things that I might need than porn and poker adds.