Anathema Device 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (607) comment rss

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 06:19pm

    Last time I tried, Calibre wouldn't work with the latest Amazon DRM. Or perhaps, it could work with it, but the developer didn't feel like being sued.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 06:18pm

    "Even the authors who bitch about publishers still use those same publishers. " Not all of them. And also, plenty of times an author starts with one publisher, which ends being bought by another company. And also, sometimes, authors who write for a living have to eat their principles. People talk about the freemium model or using Patreon, but they have no idea how big a difference there is between the income from those models, and book advances are. I mean, do you ever use Google to search for something? OR Amazon? Or Facebook? Or any of their subsidiary companies? Are you sure you haven't? I boycott Nestlé. Have done since I was a teenager. But I've still bought their products unknowingly because of corporate buyouts etc.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 06:15pm

    your point?

  • On the post: Matt Taibbi Can’t Comprehend That There Are Reasons To Study Propaganda Information Flows, So He Insists It Must Be Nefarious

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 05:10pm

    But do we know what Steve Bannon, Alexander Ali, Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones think? I mean, we do want perspectives across the entire political spectrum - from very right wing to ultra ultra right wing to Actual Nazis - correct?

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 05:04pm

    "There’s constantly new ebook reader software, and file formats the ebooks are stored" Not entirely correct. Even Amazon's Kindle format is just epub with a DRM wrapper. It's the wrapper on these things that changes, not the book itself. "they can actually last shorter than physical books" Um. I have ebooks which are a lot older than 15 years. If I'd been reading a paperback - or even a hardback - once a week for that long, it would be in pieces by now.

  • On the post: Marvel So Angry About Leaked ‘Ant-Man’ Dialogue That It Seeks To Unmask Google, Reddit Users

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 04:59pm

    Oh FFS. I bet the real reason they didn't want people to know about the dialogue was because it was absolute shit. As was the entire movie, from all reports.

  • On the post: Matt Taibbi Can’t Comprehend That There Are Reasons To Study Propaganda Information Flows, So He Insists It Must Be Nefarious

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 04:02pm

    "I think the actual effect is much smaller than many people believe" The Overton window is never moved right in one great shove. Small effects are very important, and ultimately productive.

  • On the post: Matt Taibbi Can’t Comprehend That There Are Reasons To Study Propaganda Information Flows, So He Insists It Must Be Nefarious

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:59pm

    He is, however, a nasty piece of work, and not very bright.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:58pm

    The extreme and ridiculous length of copyright over music literally contributed to a member of Men At Work committing suicide That case was an abominable abuse of copyright extension.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:55pm

    Unfortunately, with the continuing consolidation of publishers into megacorps, that will become a very difficult exercise :( Especially if you need non-fiction. You can find plenty of readable fiction outside the big publishers, but getting stuff for study, research and reference limits your choices severely.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:53pm

    "small-time filesharer" Hah. You're vastly underplaying the sheer volume of stuff most of these people share. We're talking terabytes of material on average. However, they are also not a reachable market. It's a waste of time trying to stop them, and always rebounds on anyone trying. A lot of them don't even use what they grab. It's a game to them. Exploitation of small creators by big commercial outfits is a much greater issue and one you should care about.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:49pm

    How to say "I don't create content" without actually saying "I don't create content". I would love it if people could try and wrap their minds about the idea that people who made content that other people consume have a right to control how that content is consumed ARE NOT THE SAME as the industries which have grown up to market and package that content. If you blog, and found that someone had collected all your blog entries into a book and was (a) claiming them as their own work and (b) making bank on it, on what basis would you stop that happening without the concept of "intellectual property" For "blog entries", substitute "fan fiction", "art", "code", "research" etc, and the same thing applies. You have the right to give your stuff away for free should you choose (and the majority of creators do for the sheer love of creating) but no one else has - because "intellectual property" rights allow you that control. The worst thing about science publishing right now is that the people who do the work have to give away those rights to publishers just to be published for academic purposes - and those publishers then abuse the privilege by charging exorbitant fees. If that was made illegal or unenforceable, the world and academia would be a much better place.

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:41pm

    that's a fucking horrible idea :(

  • On the post: Book Publishers Won’t Stop Until Libraries Are Dead

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 03:39pm

    "This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only." Er, this is the notice I put on my ebooks. Never seen it on a physical book. That's insane, and contrary to everything I believe about book ownership. Ebooks are different because you are never transferring the original copy of the book when you 'give' it away or sell it to someone else. However, sensible authors like me license sales to libraries for one purchase, and unlimited lending*. Anything else is just a pain in the arse for libraries, and counterproductive. People who borrow from libraries, unlike most e-pirates, love books, love reading, and aren't just grabbing them because they're free. Whether they go on to buy books from the author or not is immaterial - at least to me. *I think Australia has some kind of fee they pay to authors per loan, but I've never had it or asked for it. I don't even know how it works.

  • On the post: Why Link Taxes Like Canada’s C-18 Represent An End To An Open Web

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 02:06pm

    “So when nameless nobodies stroll up to the site and say things like “Criticizing suing innocent grandmothers hurts legitimate copyright holders”, you shouldn’t expect a pat on the back.” A comment made by someone who can’t ever make up a name to distinguish themselves from all the other anonymous cowards. Also you’re replying to someone who: 1. Uses a distinguishing name 2. Has signed in 3. is a “techdirt insider”, meaning i’ve donated to the site 4. Has written to Mike under her real name and linked that to her username here Yet you airily dismiss the inevitability of harassment should I deanon myself, and grandly accuse me of demanding something i have not asked for, anon or not anon. Puhlease. Take your hobby horse out to the park and cease trying to exercise it all over my back.

  • On the post: Why Link Taxes Like Canada’s C-18 Represent An End To An Open Web

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 01:57pm

    “ And where do you think that billion dollars is going?” Publishers, retailers, and authors. The cut authors get varies from 10% for pro publishing, to 70% for self-publishing. “How much do you, as a content creator, make from link taxes and blank media levies, which we have to pay because you think that you’re owed the money in case of piracy?” None, and I don’t think that. Your conflating creators, and publishers - and trolls - is ridiculous and insulting. Also there are different industries involved in copyright, with vastly different levels of creator reward. Music is notoriously bad at rewarding artists. Visual artists are frequently shafted by clients and art thieves alike. Book publishing is pretty civilised compared to all that, but most authors don’t make a living out of it. Most authors are lucky if they sell a thousand copies of a single book. I rake no blame for the stupidity of link tax proposals or anything Rupert Murdoch pushes. Do you really think your average journo thinks this is a good idea either?

  • On the post: Antisemitism On Twitter Has More Than Doubled Since Elon Musk Took Over

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 01:43pm

    Breaking news!! House troll reveals his secret antisemitism in one stunning explosion of excreta! Completes full set of hate figures after previously collecting transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, racism - Wins Techdirt Booby Prize!* *Opportunity to win a free dinner with Donald Trump, one scoop of icecream included, for voluntary donation of $5000. (Rubles accepted)** **Losers can compete for opportunity to share a bathroom sink with Donald Trump, Jr. Voluntary donation of five $100 bills required.

  • On the post: Italy Decides That Leonardo da Vinci’s 500 Year Old Works Are Not In The Public Domain

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2023 @ 01:09am

    "You answered every one of them the last time" And look where it got me. A lost, frustrating weekend. "How would you know this?" I read the post. Did you? Not doing this again. You can chase it up if you're interested, but you're not. You just want to kick me because I dared to try and parse out a different copyright decision, and on this blog, there must be no suggestion creators have any rights. Learned my lesson, so you can piss off.

  • On the post: Antisemitism On Twitter Has More Than Doubled Since Elon Musk Took Over

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2023 @ 11:59pm

    Techdirt sane regulars: Gee, antisemitism is increasing on Twitter. That's a bad thing. Techdirt house troll: FREEZEPEACH!! NO RESTRICTIONS ON FREEZEPEACH!! FREEZEPEACH!! FREEZEPEACH!! FREEZEPEACH!! Techdirt sane regulars: Gee, the posts on Techdirt about [copyright twitter moderation weasel testicles] are interesting, and here are my thoughts Techdirt house troll: DOUBLEPLUSBADSPEAK! MIKE MUST SHUT UP NO MORE POLITICS MY BRAIN IS HURTING FROM TOO MUCH MUSK I DON'T LIKE THIS BADSPEECH SHUT UP MIKE FOREVER!!!!

  • On the post: Reminder: Section 230 Protects You When You Forward An Email

    Anathema Device ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2023 @ 11:52pm

    and how many states still make it illegal?

Next >>