I'm using this image because I once paid for a copy of the NYT...
eth·i·cist –noun - a person who specializes in or writes on ethics or who is devoted to ethical principles.
Read the article here.
What kills me, and has “killed” so many others who have read this, is the complete and utter failure to support what is written as less of an argument and more of an excuse. Mr. Cohen tries to defend his stance with analogies with about as much relationship to one another as I have with a Rockefeller:
“Author and publisher are entitled to be paid for their work, and by purchasing the hardcover, you did so. Your subsequent downloading is akin to buying a CD, then copying it to your iPod.
Buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform.”
Really.
So one does not need to be burdened with the guilt associated with stealing a programmer’s work, or the fact that you are paying for an implied “service” that comes in the form of portability that an e-book affords. In fact, this is the central “point” the reader is trying to make in his request of Mr. Cohen’s salving response. C.D., the self-proclaimed (yet somewhat remorseful?) thief cites the books unusually hefty weight, a +1000 page three and a half pound Stephen King novel entitled “Under the Dome” – C.D. complains of the weight and that an “official” e-book version hasn’t been released yet. He originally wanted the e-book format, but went with the hardcover. Buyer’s remorse set in, and the joy of owning the book he sought was overshadowed by his growing disdain for the physical dimensions of the book, and perhaps a bit embittered by the fact he had to buy the hardcover instead of his “preferred” format.
But that is the price you pay for adopting the first version of anything isn’t it? You wanted that story so bad you went out and bought the version you didn’t really want, but you couldn’t wait. Now you decide you want the digital version, and explain it away and seek absolution from a stranger with a newspaper column?
Any platform.
Of all the reactions I’ve seen so far, Nathan Bransford put it best, on his site:
“Should we get the paperback for free when we buy the hardcover? Should we be able to get into the movie for free when we own the paperback? Those are just different platforms, right?”
While I think the movie argument is a little different, I’d have substituted “audio book” perhaps. But the point is made. How can you reason like that and not wind up in jail? Ah, entitlement. Add buyer’s remorse, mix in a little greed, voila.
Ethicist.
