2 ms·
I love ebooks and audiobooks. But the fact that I can’t legally lend or sell them (same with steam btw) means that it’s at best a lateral step.
by yoz-y 3mo ago
I love ebooks and audiobooks. But the fact that I can’t legally lend or sell them (same with steam btw) means that it’s at best a lateral step.
- kccqzy 3mo agoLending or selling ebooks necessarily requires DRM. A large part of the community thinks having DRM is way worse than not being able to lend or sell.
- WolfeReader 3mo agoSelling books doesn't require DRM at all. I buy DRM-free books all the time. As an example: Kobo will tell you, at the bottom of each book's page, if it has DRM or not. And it will happily sell you a book without DRM and let you download it.
- themadturk 3mo ago"Selling" doesn't require DRM; publishers require DRM. So not every book you want to buy or can buy is available without DRM. Not even authors especially want DRM. Kobo will only let you buy a book without DRM if the publisher makes it available that way.
- WolfeReader 3mo agoIf you say "publishers require DRM" and then say that publishers sometimes sell books without DRM, you might need to review the definition of the word "require". Some publishers require DRM. Which is entirely different than the false claim made earlier that "selling ebooks necessarily requires DRM".
- themadturk 3mo agoWhen DRM is used, it is because publishers have required it, not because booksellers require it. Is that a better way of putting it?
- WolfeReader 3mo agoIt's a completely different statement, so yes.
- yoz-y 3mo agoAnd we mostly get neither. Some stores do offer drm free ebooks and audiobooks. My comment was mostly about the “steam for books” being lauded better as physical books. To me it would only be strictly better if you could sell and lend (which you can’t on steam)