Cecil wrote: > While not totally disagreeing with your viewpoint I don't share your > evangelical attitude towards sharing. Sharing as defined by you seems to > have no altruistic motive but is just a tool to wider coverage and, > hopefully, returns.
Cecil, you seem to have shifted ground from what you were saying earlier. Which was: > Why I write this is because in recent weeks there have been requests from > many quarters to host all of Domnic's superb writings on one > website/webpage. Now this, we feel, would not be conducive for the sale of > the book when it finally comes out. Very few people would actually purchase > a printed book when they can read all the articles at one place online for > free. >From what you say below, you make me out to be more scheeming, shrewd and selfish an individual than what I already am. > Cyberscape is a medium that you have exploited well to make a niche > category for yourself. Nothing wrong with that. > For you to have your writings archived all over cyberspace, as they > are, is eventually beneficial for you as you get remunerative paid writing > assignments as a result of your visibility. Anyone wanting Goa related > content for commercial (or other) distribution knows that Frederick Noronha > can provide such content. What I maintain simply is: if you're a selfish kind of a guy, then look at sharing content as an alternative business model. Have faith, it works. Unless one is a Bill Gates and wants that kind of huge returns. If you are more altruistic, then you can go about promiscuously sharing your content (text, photos, video, audio, whatever) just because it makes you feel good deep within, and because you know you've contributed something back to humanity, and that your sojourn here is not a waste. Either way, you don't lose! > But Fred, there is a vast difference in content between what Domnic writes > and what you write. Besides Fred you write for a living, while Domnic does > not All the more reason why there's no need to fear sharing content. And, people will still buy the book! More people would get to know of it. > Also, Fred, you seem to look at the Internet (and GoaNet) as the end-all of > everything. That is a very limiting vision. There are thousands of Goans > with no access to Internet leave alone having even heard of GoaNet. You are further contradicting your own argument. All the more reason why you need not fear sharing via the Net. Or is it just taking a position to defend a position? > You have experimented and benefited from a particular model and that is your > due. Anyone is free to follow the model of sharing content widely via the Net. Beats me why so few do so. I wish your statement above would convince dozens and more of writers, photographers, creative people and others to share their work via the Net. I didn't make (and don't plan to make) tonnes of money by sharing information, nor would I have made it by hoarding it. That's not my intention. But yes, I did have a lot of fun while doing my writing (and continue to do so), and feel good if a venture for BytesForAll actually works, if kids in Goa get access to tonnes of freely-copyable Free Software, if we can encourage a few more people to add content to the Wikipedia, or if expats in some distant part of the globe get a chance to see photographs that encourage them into thinking that Goa is special and we need to do our bit to retain it for the future. Surely, it doesn't hurt ;-) > I don't think you should run down Domnic's model for publishing his work just > because it doesn't fit in with your views. Everyone has his own objectives. To be honest, I don't think this is "Domnic's model". It's the globally-dominant model that works great for the big players, but causes a large number of small players to *neither* make their millions or get the audiences they deserve. My fear is that everytime the if-you-share-you-lose-out logic is repeated, more writers and small players would get the wrong impression that this is the only model that works or needs to be explored. As a supporter of, and believer in, Copyleft -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft -- you can trust me to subversively do my bit to challenge this thinking. Nothing personal. For more ideas about this, please see http://creativecommons.org/ ("Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators. We have built upon the "all rights reserved" concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights reserved" approach. We're a nonprofit organization. All of our tools are free.") For an even stronger idea, see http://www.free-knowledge-communities.org/ Needless to say, all the best to Dominic. He deserves it. He has been sharing his excellent pieces for long. I will buy a copy of his book. And, maybe this "controversy" will encourage others to do so too ;-) FN -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Frederick 'FN' Noronha | Yahoomessenger: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org | [EMAIL PROTECTED] Independent Journalist | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9822122436 ---------------------------------------------------------- Photographs from Goa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/popular-views/ _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s