I think this is a serious and yet sticky issue.
Most of us expect to get paid for our work yet we want access to others'
work for free. Many us have (or have had in the past) institutions who
provide such access as a perq or means to do OUR work.
Among us there are many retirees and a significant number of
independents/entrepreneurs who may or may not have that kind of access
but do have that kind of appetite! Few of those in *literally* cannot
afford these expenses if the material is important to us. We may not
*like* spending that money and may be *spoiled* by having had access as
a previous perq of employment (or education).
Among us as well are a number of people living outside the first world
or are apprentice/student class without any resources whatsoever. A $35
magazine subscription is out of there range, much less a $35 single
paper. It just isn't gonna happen. We can tell them to "get a job",
"enroll in a University", "immigrate to Europe/US" but that is hardly a
solution if we want them to be included in our grand experiment.
On the other hand, the publishing industry is in crisis... as readership
(paid) goes down, their prices go up which drives (paid) readership
down. And while we are screaming that "information just wants to be
free!", we don't want it to go away or return to it's state of raw
materials for lack of care? If we don't need publishers and journals
and editors, then let's all just publish on our own blogs and web
pages! There is still value added by peer review and copy editing and
lots of other things. I don't *want* to pay for it, but I don't *want*
it to go away either. BEER wants to be free, but if we don't pay for it,
it will return to it's raw materials. It is *wonderful* that I can
order any book I want from Amazon (anywhere in the world?) and have it
arrive a few days later, or instantaneously if it is a free book. But
it is sad that most all of the indies and now even many of the big boxes
are going away.
No venue to browse books except our computers? Go to your local
bookstore and BUY a book, don't just go there to decide which one you
want to order via Amazon and save 1/2 the price of the overpriced Latte
you drank while browsing the books nobody will ever buy any books, just
coffees?!
- Steve
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