also Re. "stealing from websites" - I just like the original title more.
Here is the test:
you are invited to give a prestigious lecture and your options are:
(1) deliver the talk to 10 wealthy people behind closed doors and get paid
$1000; or
(2) talk in an auditorium packed with 5000 people who are eager to hear you but
you do it for free.
What's your choice? If your choice is (1), read not further and delete this
message. We are on different pages and need to spend many more hours discussing
to get any closer in our world views.
David Duffy hits the nail right on the head:
"as scientists we need to think about how to keep the web
the subversive place it was, a place to exchange information, not
just to make a profit."
People are obsessed with profits. Unfortunately that is what we pass on to our
students. These days they are much more interested in credits and degrees than
in the joy of studying and learning. I've been offering an on-line interactive
course on modeling that would teach students system dynamics and modeling, but
will not give any university credit, just a certificate from me. Over the past
10 years I've had less than a dozen students who started it and only one (sic!)
student who actually completed the course and got his certificate. Several
hundreds took the course when it was offered through a university.
Learning is no longer for knowledge - it's only for credentials. Teachers used
to be respected by students. Now they are service providers. Students in USA are
clients, who pay for the service. And the client is always right. Therefore the
grade inflation.
Knowledge and information is a different kind of capital. Folks from the open
source community have already figured that out a long time ago. It's called
"gift economy". You prosper and get respect from sharing and giving away.
There is a huge difference between downloading an image or paper from a web site
and stealing a box of cigars from a shop.
1. Cigars are in a shop and for sale. There is a price tag and a clear procedure
for purchasing them.
2. More important, as Jane already noted: When you take that box of cigars from
the shop, they are no longer there. You took them and they are gone for anybody
else to use. With files it does not matter how many downloads occurred - the
files are still there nice and intact for others to use. Information does not
get destroyed when it's used. That's the beauty of information.
So information is perfect for sharing and giving away. The more you give it
away, the more you are left with, since you get feedback and learn yourself from
the process.
Copyright laws and protectionism are like boulders in the stream. They may be a
nuisance, but they are not going to stop the flow. We will always find a good
Canadian to send us the file from Canada.
Cheers,
Alexey
--
Alexey Voinov
_____________________________________________________________________
!!!**** please note new e-mail address: [email protected] ****!!!
_____________________________________________________________________
Chesapeake Research Consortium Community Modeling Program &
Johns Hopkins University Dept. of Geography and Environm. Engineering
645 Contees Wharf Road, P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, MD 21037
TEL: 410 798-1283; 703 880-1178 WWW: http://www.likbez.com/AV
Fellow, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics,University of Vermont
President,Int.Envir.Modeling. and Software Soc.,http://www.iemss.org/
New book: Systems Science and Modeling for Ecological Economics
http://books.elsevier.com/companions/9780123725837
