Re: Napster, Planned Obsolescence & Control

[Rick Anderson <Rick_Anderson@uncg.edu>]

David says:

> Rick, why are you and I writing these messages? I can only speak for
> myself, but I am not paid for them, already have our equivalent of tenure,
> and if I am promoted it will be because of whatever administrative skills
> I may possess, not what I may write here or elsewere.

I say:

Actually, David, I'm pretty sure you ARE getting paid to contribute to
this discussion -- I assume that you're doing so on work time.  So am I.  
This is part (albeit a small part) of my job. I don't have tenure yet, and
while my LIBLICENSE-L contributions aren't likely to have any bearing on
future tenure decisions, my ability to publish in other forums will.  I
think it's likely that even in the absence of copyright protection, some
sort of academic publishing forum will continue to exist.  What is less
likely is the continued viability of other publishing forums.  If an
author can't control the information she creates, I don't see how she can
make money creating information (unless she's paid a salary to do work
that happens to include writing -- not a system that typically produces
great novels, for example).  And if she can't make money creating
information, she'll have to get a different job.  This strikes me as a
pretty fundamental issue, and it's one that, as far as I can tell,
anti-intellectual-property folks generally ignore.

--------
Rick Anderson
Head Acquisitions Librarian
Jackson Library
UNC Greensboro
(336) 334-5281
rick_anderson@uncg.edu

"If you enjoy, you understand;
if you understand, you enjoy... 
To like a football game is to 
understand it in the football way."
       -- Gertrude Stein