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> I think it's fine if libraries die out. Honey, a new copypasta just dropped! This made me laugh almost as much as the first time I read the navy seal 'nothin
by magnetowasright 3y ago
> I think it's fine if libraries die out.
Honey, a new copypasta just dropped! This made me laugh almost as much as the first time I read the navy seal 'nothing personnel, kid' copypasta. Amazing.
I genuinely cannot tell if this is sincere or satire (a hallmark of satire!). It's peak HN. I don't know what's funnier, this being sincere or it being a well crafted satire of the utterly insane beliefs of the deeply out-of-touch rand apologists (who genuinely don't seem to be aware that other people experience the world differently than them) that plague the tech industries. Beautiful.
- ghaff 3y agoMy guess is it's real. But you're right that it's peak-HN that one can't be sure it's not satire (or trolling).
- perihelions 3y agoI'm absolutely sincere and I'll reply to any well-intentioned questions. I don't think I'm out of touch. I think this is the future of society and technology—meaning for the future for absolutely everyone, not just a few tech elites. It's jarring to me to see that flavor of accusation, when pirate libraries are freely available to billions of people who don't even have theoretical access to the stuff you people are talking about.
- ghaff 3y agoWho is going to create all this content once it's going to be put up on this pirate library that billions of people use for free? I've written a couple free books but you don't need a pirate library to access them. They're on my website. But if I were thinking of writing a book partially to make money and I knew it was just going to be given away and there was no reason for anyone to buy it, I wouldn't bother. Especially given most books have cost in addition to the author's time associated with them. Few authors are going to make a living off lectures and book readings. And most readers aren't going to buy physical books when they can get an e-book for free.
- beej71 3y agoData point: my stuff is all free online, yet people still buy for-profit paper copies. So it's not impossible.
- ghaff 3y agoI'm sure some of that happens. But generationally (and what's happened with vinyl notwithstanding) I have to believe that large bulging bookshelves in homes will become less common than in the past. Especially to the degree that more people may be inclined to live in smaller urban apartments.
- beej71 3y agoMy personal bookshelf is tiny and evershrinking. But you never know--maybe books will pull a vinyl. But I think I'd still sell ebooks if I offered them, given the number of requests I've had. (They're programming books and those don't lend themselves well to ebooks.)
- ghaff 3y agoCertainly. "How to" books generically I tend to prefer as physical books. I'll buy a super-discounted cookbook now and then if it looks interesting but I much prefer physical cookbooks in general. Same for home repair, etc.--though a lot of that is YouTube these days. I'm slowly depopulating my house of books I almost certainly won't open again by taking a couple bags to my town library for their annual book sale--and am absolutely not adding any new bookshelves.
- CatWChainsaw 3y agoYou are out of touch, however much you think you aren't.
- pastage 3y agoThese are feelings not argumentation. Since the dawn of ebooks this has been true. Referencing electronic material is amazing. Books are incredible with physical libraries being one of the most important aspect, but the current form of digital libraries is a dead end.