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Comment by DanBC

> If the artist wants money he should set up a donations account so I can pay him directly. I'm tired of these middlemen.

The middlemen play an important role in some industries. Many people ask cstross why he doesn't have a donation link so that people who've read a pirate version of one of his books can pay him. He is very clear - he wants you to buy a book of his (any book) so that his publisher can get some of the cash as well. Books need to be written, edited, typeset, 'printed' / 'put into ebook format', distributed, etc.

Some of this could be taken away from the middlemen. Kindles could have a "highlight typo / highlight grammar error" mode, which sends possible corrections to the publisher who reviews, then corrects them, and they get updated on the device.

I've never trawled through a slush pile. But having seen some of the rubbish that comes out the end I dread to think what goes in the other end.

> If you think piracy is unethical you are either a dolt or benefiting from current copyright and patent laws.

I am happy to pirate a lot of content. But I try hard to pay for everything I pirate. Sometimes that's not possible (out of print book, no longer distributed video, etc.) There are lots of things about content distribution that really suck. But I do try to pay for my content.

It is wrong to suggest that wanting to pay people for the work they do is something that only a dolt would do.

parent DanBC 14 years ago

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