Shut Up & Read discussion

Guest post on epiracy by Michael Cargill...what do you think?
http://makingconnectionsgroup.blogspo...

I think he is wise beyond his 33 years on this planet.

Great post! I really enjoyed it.

Thanks Christie! I left a link to a guide about torrents, though it may appear overwhelming if you aren't familiar with them...

To be honest, I was kind of worried about a backlash of some kind when saying anything like this - but I'm glad that I managed to get at least one person to think about it from a different perspective.

Great post Michael. I like how you think, and write of course! Not a writer and I don't go for pirated books, but I can see the angle now. Not too shabby sir.

You guys are going to give him a big ego!

Michael wrote: "Thanks Christie! I left a link to a guide about torrents, though it may appear overwhelming if you aren't familiar with them...

To be honest, I was kind of worried about a backlash of some kind w..."

Thanks, Michael. I'll have to look into it.

Sheri wrote: "You guys are going to give him a big ego!"

Can't give him something he already had *winks*

Laura, for some reason I keep thinking you're a writer as well. I think it's the avatar you use that does it, it looks kind of authorly.

About my ego, it tends to swell and then blow up, so I end up back at the beginning again.

Haha, Michael. I was giving you a bad time. You haven't presented a huge ego that I've seen.

You have managed to write something which provoked some interesting comments and engaged people. Congratulations.
I'm a very controlling person. It is a character defect I try to accept so I can modify the behaviour. So forgive me if I say while you might state because you download your books for free, it follows all books should be free because it cannot be stopped (in a nutshell, that appears to be your logic), I disagree.
I wrote my books, which I periodically give away for free. I even agree with several of your points, but I am not a Communist. Nobody helped me but my cover artist. I want to control which revision is presented and the format. What will I do if I get pirated? Nothing. But just because I can't stop it doesn't mean I sanction it.

PJ, my point about it being almost impossible to stop piracy was only one aspect of my argument, and I'm not saying all books should free - my books are up for sale on Amazon, just as yours are.

However, the people who pirate these things, are also the people who buy the most as well.

I agree, thank you for posting.

You may be right, but the studies you cite don't necessarily support your point. Music and book production may not be impacted by piracy, which seems difficult to prove, but this might only mean people have other motives than being reimbursed financially for creative effort.

The legal penalties for illegal file sharing are ridiculous. People are looking at jail time for what is essentially stealing a library book. Yet, just because I steal a library book doesn't make it morally right, or even something I have to rationalize.
Downloading your own book for free is not illegal, it is a marketing plan, and a clever one. Uploading someone elses book illegally restricts freedom of the artist's expression.