> From: "Mark Winchester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Newsgroups: perl.beginners > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2001 6:43 PM > Subject: 15 O'Reilly computer books free for download > > > Just found this posted on another site. Many free Perl > > books.... > > Please don't pass around pointers to these sites (mostly in Russia), which take our CD bookshelf products (which are licensed for single-user use) and put them up on the web. Encouraging piracy is not the way to go if you want to see O'Reilly and our authors continue to produce quality books--and to make online versions of them available. (I actually don't mind the online access in countries like Russia where many programmers really can't afford our books, but it bothers me when people here in the US, and especially people on lists like this, recommend pirated ebook sites.) I feel particularly strongly about this because I've taken a stand *against* strong copy protection, preferring to trust in the goodwill and honesty of users. I've done this because I believe that eBook schemes that will require everyone to register in order to read online content are ultimately bad for fundamental freedoms. (For example, if you have to register to read an online book, then someone knows what you're reading; what's more, you don't have the ability to share it legitimately (e.g. loaning it to someone else.)) There have recently been attacks by groups such as the Association of American Publishers on libraries, for instance. This is an extreme counter-reaction to fears that once electronic content gets out on the net, no one will be able to profit from it. Unless we want to feed these fears and reactions, there need to be strong social norms around respecting the wishes of authors and publishers regarding their content. There are times when the creators of software or documentation make things freely available because it serves their goals; there are others where they ask to be paid. (So for example, O'Reilly funds a lot of the freely available info on www.perl.com, not to mention sites like oreillynet.com and xml.com; but in other cases, such as with our safari ebook service (safari.oreilly.com) or our CD bookshelves, we ask to be paid.) This gives us the revenues we need to continue doing the work that (presumably) you all appreciate so much. Thanks very much. -- Tim O'Reilly @ O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 101 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472 +1 707-829-0515, FAX +1 707-829-0104 [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.oreilly.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
