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Originally Posted by JohnSnow Clearly, this totally ignores things like "what a person can memorize." Obviously, if you can memorize a book, you can "use it" as long as you want. This is because (at least now) no control can be maintained over what people think. "Thought police" (so far, at least) remains just a joke.
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. . . I just wanted to clarify that my position has nothing to do with any theory about "harm" and everything with the distinction between what constitutes "fair use" and what qualifies as "distribution." |
You actually make an excellent point. Fair use is a pretty good measuring stick for this situation. But then, why wouldn't it be okay to download a PDF copy of a physical book that you own? Many people here are saying it's immoral to download anything, whether you own the book or not! They seem to imply that the act of having an unauthorized copy is immoral.
I will agree... Mass distribution is wrong. I don't do it. But you also mentioned the "thought police"
That's my largest concern. Saying that it's immoral to have information that you didn't pay for is ridiculous... now distributing information beyond fair with the intention that NOBODY has to pay for it? Yeah. I'd draw the line somewhere around there.
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