(OT) Re[2]: [ale] GAH

Sun Jul 11 13:57:45 EDT 2004

> You are mistaken on many points.  The original Constitution is a
> singular irreplaceable document that is also extrememly fragile, and
> those measures are designed to protect it.

I understand that, but you missed the entire point of the analogy. I would
argue that the original document, while it would suck tremendously if
lost, is easily replacable. There are billions of copies of the original
text out there. Our government wouldn't collapse if the original paper
copy of the constitution burned up. 

> By the way, you are not restricted from making copies of the gift-shop 
> purchase either, though the cost of the copy available at the gift-shop 
> should not be profit-making either as it should only be enough to cover 
> just the production and distribution costs involved for the purchase.

No, there is a profit motive there; much of the costs go into maintaining
those security measures of which you spoke, along with the facilities
themselves, paying the staff, etc. 

> Other than a few hundredths of a cent for distribution,
> what costs are involved with the production (paid for by tax dollars)
> and the distribution (also paid for by tax dollars *and* also volunteer
> mirrors) of an E-Book?  We all know the answer is *none*, of course.

You're assuming that it's the government that is selling this document.
You're incorrect. Amazon is selling the e-book document, and its publisher
is NuVision Publications - both of which are for-profit entities. Tax
dollars don't factor into this equation anywhere. 

> The E-Book was created with tax-payer dollars, and belongs 
> to the government

No, it wasn't. The original text was created by the founders of the US
government, and the e-book of that document was created by NuVision
Publications using licensed technology from Microsoft - also a for-profit
entity. 

> There should be no charge whatsoever for the U.S. Government
> produced E-Book, and absolutely no DRM attached to said E-Book.

I agree. But this is not the case here. 

-- 
Christopher R. Curzio     |  Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax
http://www.accipiter.org  |  si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
:wq!

Thus Spake "Robert Reese" <ale at sixit.com>:
Sun, 11 Jul 2004 10:52:43 -0400

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> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
> On 7/11/2004 at 10:06 AM Christopher R. Curzio wrote:
> 
> >You also can't take or give away the original copy of the constitution.
> >Nor can you ask that it be photocopied and have the copy given to you.
> >As a matter of fact, you're not even allowed to TOUCH it. I don't think
> >you can even take photographs of it. You're only allowed to look at it
> >through its case. That's some pretty strict RM, no? But you're free to
> >purchase a copy in the gift shop. So why aren't you complaining about
> >that too?
> >
> >Now that's not to say that e-book DRM is nearly as important as
> >protecting the original copy of the constitution. The point is,
> >restrictions are everywhere. It's just that some people choose to
> >complain about only some of them for silly reasons. 
> 
> You are mistaken on many points.  The original Constitution is a
> singular irreplaceable document that is also extrememly fragile, and
> those measures are designed to protect it.  Yes, you can photograph it
> but only with the flash OFF.  The reasoning is obvious for these
> protective measures. However, E-Books have no such fragility, nor is
> there a demonstrative uniquity of electronic documents.  By the way, you
> are not restricted from making copies of the gift-shop purchase either,
> though the cost of the copy available at the gift-shop should not be
> profit-making either as it should only be enough to cover just the
> production and distribution costs involved for the purchase.  Other than
> a few hundredths of a cent for distribution, what costs are involved
> with the production (paid for by tax dollars) and the distribution (also
> paid for by tax dollars *and* also volunteer mirrors) of an E-Book?  We
> all know the answer is *none*, of course.
> 
> You also need to keep in mind that the E-Book in question is a PUBLIC
> DOCUMENT, both in content and in object.  The E-Book was created with
> tax-payer dollars, and belongs to the government, which ironically
> enough due to the Constitution, means it belongs to the people which in
> turn means*us*.  There should be no charge whatsoever for the U.S.
> Government produced E-Book, and absolutely no DRM attached to said
> E-Book.  One last thing... DRM is suitable for copyrightable material. 
> There is no such copyrighted material in an E-Book of the Constitution.
> 
> Cheers,
> Robert Reese~
> 
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> -------------------------------------
> "We shall soon be obliged to meet in cellars, or in darkened rooms with
> closed doors, and speak in whispers lest our next door neighbors should
> hear that freeborn citizens dare not speak in the open".
>   - Emma Goldman, 1902
> -------------------------------------
> 
> 
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