2 ms·

What if those laws hold back the society at large? There is no evidence that the availibilty of Tor decreases sales in the works themselves. Quite the contrary

What if those laws hold back the society at large? There is no evidence that the availibilty of Tor decreases sales in the works themselves. Quite the contrary, while i don't use z library specifically, i often use the open librarys to speed read through certain sections before i decide to buy the print, or through kindle just because the experience is that much better. The powers that be offer us a contract where all our data is open and available for selling, training, marketing and general manipulation but yet when someone maintains a decentralized directory of books they get punished by the full extent of the law. In this particular case, the United States can't even provide a list of copyrights that are being violated and the judge was removed for collusion. This is where my taxpayer dollars are going?...

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago
> There is no evidence that the availibilty of Tor decreases sales in the works themselves. Quite the contrary, while i don't use z library specifically, i often use the open librarys to speed read through certain sections before i decide to buy the print, or through kindle just because the experience is that much better. Seriously. If you're an author, do you know how much it costs to have your book distributed, for free, via NetGalley? The answer is anywhere from $700 to $1500. It costs anywhere from $1500 to $6000 to have an "Open Access" scientific paper published. As an author, I love to see my stuff available on free platforms. To me, there's no downside. I've even paid open access fees out of pocket.
- nullindividual 2y ago
  As an author of two technical books, it cost me $0 to distribute because that was the publisher's job. I got paid a pittance for the amount of time put into the works. I wouldn't have seen any more or less if someone pirated the books.
  - alfiedotwtf 2y ago
    To add to this, I pirate books to see if it’s worth me buying the physical copy.
- carlosjobim 2y ago
  > It costs anywhere from $1500 to $6000 to have an "Open Access" scientific paper published. Of course it doesn't. It costs just as much for you to publish any material as it cost you to publish this comment. If you need to pay up to $6000 in industry bribes for some career reason, that's some cost. But it isn't a cost of publishing.
  - anigbrowl 2y ago
    If you're an academic, or want to be taken seriously by other academics (eg you're a self-educated expert) you want to be published in a journal because citations that link back to your blog will get you tagged as a crank - perhaps fairly, perhaps not. If your target audience is open-minded you can compromise by publishing on Arxiv.org or a similar site, but a lot of people will reflexively dismiss your work because it hasn't been through the peer review process. The idea of peer review is a very sensible one. But (much like search engines) the process can be gamed by unethical actors; and where scarcity (of academic prestige) is enforced, rent-seekers invariably follow. Peer-reviewed journals charge a lot of money to submittants, but they generally don't pay the reviewers any of that. The money mostly goes into 'editing' - which is a little bit of curation and mostly proofreading - and administrative costs.
    - carlosjobim 2y ago
      > If you're an academic, or want to be taken seriously by other academics Ie, industry bribes (or call it levies) to benefit one's career. Rent-seeking, as you put it. We have all the tools to move on from that. Many sectors already have. Public discourse and free debate is enough of peer review for any idea of enough importance, in my opinion. Especially considering that the public today is almost everyone in the world, including very special interests.

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago

> There is no evidence that the availibilty of Tor decreases sales in the works themselves. Quite the contrary, while i don't use z library specifically, i often use the open librarys to speed read through certain sections before i decide to buy the print, or through kindle just because the experience is that much better. Seriously. If you're an author, do you know how much it costs to have your book distributed, for free, via NetGalley? The answer is anywhere from $700 to $1500. It costs anywhere from $1500 to $6000 to have an "Open Access" scientific paper published. As an author, I love to see my stuff available on free platforms. To me, there's no downside. I've even paid open access fees out of pocket.

nullindividual 2y ago
As an author of two technical books, it cost me $0 to distribute because that was the publisher's job. I got paid a pittance for the amount of time put into the works. I wouldn't have seen any more or less if someone pirated the books.
- alfiedotwtf 2y ago
  To add to this, I pirate books to see if it’s worth me buying the physical copy.
carlosjobim 2y ago
> It costs anywhere from $1500 to $6000 to have an "Open Access" scientific paper published. Of course it doesn't. It costs just as much for you to publish any material as it cost you to publish this comment. If you need to pay up to $6000 in industry bribes for some career reason, that's some cost. But it isn't a cost of publishing.
- anigbrowl 2y ago
  If you're an academic, or want to be taken seriously by other academics (eg you're a self-educated expert) you want to be published in a journal because citations that link back to your blog will get you tagged as a crank - perhaps fairly, perhaps not. If your target audience is open-minded you can compromise by publishing on Arxiv.org or a similar site, but a lot of people will reflexively dismiss your work because it hasn't been through the peer review process. The idea of peer review is a very sensible one. But (much like search engines) the process can be gamed by unethical actors; and where scarcity (of academic prestige) is enforced, rent-seekers invariably follow. Peer-reviewed journals charge a lot of money to submittants, but they generally don't pay the reviewers any of that. The money mostly goes into 'editing' - which is a little bit of curation and mostly proofreading - and administrative costs.
  - carlosjobim 2y ago
    > If you're an academic, or want to be taken seriously by other academics Ie, industry bribes (or call it levies) to benefit one's career. Rent-seeking, as you put it. We have all the tools to move on from that. Many sectors already have. Public discourse and free debate is enough of peer review for any idea of enough importance, in my opinion. Especially considering that the public today is almost everyone in the world, including very special interests.