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Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

justice.gov

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Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#231

Post by thestevesie »

denvrede wrote: post #192
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It is disgraceful how our tax dollars are used to prop up failed business models and oppress the little guy U.S. Government Spending, FY 2022 Top 10 Spending by Category $ 1.22 T Social Security $ 914 B Health $ 865 B Income Security $ 767 B National Defense $ 755 B Medicare $ 677 B Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services How do you explain this data? Source: https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-fin…

Genuine question: I always hear about the gigantic military spending in the U.S. I would've expected it to be on top of this list. It can't be only 7. no?

Its large compared to other similar countries.

So why doesn't the US just spend that money so we can be more like X trendy country I heard about on Y blog/podcast that is a fraction of the size of the US and does "EVERYTHING" better?

Well, the case is that they have more money to spend because the US is subsidizing their military. So many of these countries are able to get away with tiny military budgets because of the US's large military budget. (all of those countries are also unrecoverably in decline)

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#232

Post by jwilk »

denvrede wrote: post #192
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It is disgraceful how our tax dollars are used to prop up failed business models and oppress the little guy U.S. Government Spending, FY 2022 Top 10 Spending by Category $ 1.22 T Social Security $ 914 B Health $ 865 B Income Security $ 767 B National Defense $ 755 B Medicare $ 677 B Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services How do you explain this data? Source: https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-fin…

Genuine question: I always hear about the gigantic military spending in the U.S. I would've expected it to be on top of this list. It can't be only 7. no?

Why 7?

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#233

Post by dmitryminkovsky »

xtracto wrote: post #176

A lot of the typical and expected takes for these sort of discussions: - on one side, people who are in favour of the arrests , because they see their a activities as crimes. They have point - on the other side people that one way or another, believe that the distribution of the information should be free in some sense. Justifications always abound. A d it's Ok I offer a third take: Theres no reason why authors shoul…

Authors and creators are not wage workers. They are taking on the risk that their creations may yield them nothing. In that sense they are entrepreneurs/investors, and along with the risk of failure they have the prospect of great "upside". So I think the question is whether you think there should be limits to how much you can earn, etc, in general.

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#234

Post by [deleted] »

xtracto wrote: post #176

A lot of the typical and expected takes for these sort of discussions: - on one side, people who are in favour of the arrests , because they see their a activities as crimes. They have point - on the other side people that one way or another, believe that the distribution of the information should be free in some sense. Justifications always abound. A d it's Ok I offer a third take: Theres no reason why authors shoul…

[deleted]

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#235

Post by sitkack »

josh_fyi wrote: post #111

I was delighted when my book showed up on Z-library! I of course was never paid for authoring that book; indeed I paid a subvention to publish it with Harvard University Press. At some point, the rights were sold to the giant publisher Brill, which was charging $30 per chapter for a book that has no value by chapter. Luckily, some kind soul at University of Marburg uploaded it and Library Genesis still has it. https:…

I know two instances of authors uploading their own books to libgen. Both esoteric academic books that they were not paid to write.

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#237

Post by connorgutman »

trabant00 wrote: post #208
connorgutman wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very simple actually. You (and most of HN) live in a tech industry bubble. Living wages in the U.S are terrible and disposable income is non-existent. I work a 9-5 just like everyone else but when it comes down to it I don't have the money to buy new books. I can either buy used paperback from a second-hand store, go to the library, or pirate an epub. None of these options pay the original author and are effecti…

I'm going to pretend you are serious and genuine so: - living wages in the US are something most of the rest of world only dreams about. And most can afford to buy a book once in a while, even new (of course it depends on the book). Source: eastern Europe. - second hand and library books have generated revenue for the author already. Going full piracy and decreasing demand for the those two hurts the author, hurts th…

I am absolutely genuine, and I think you do not understand the average American. The rest of the world may dream about our wages but it's still putting lipstick on a pig. Most the people I know can't even feed their families right now, let alone buy a book for pleasure. I'm not sure where you are getting your information from but the lives of college-educated middle-class Americans and above are not representative of the majority. I will clarify, I obviously DO NOT think that my situation compares to someone in another country, specifically under-developed ones. In the context of books and recreational activities, however, I think you are vastly overestimating the US.

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#238

Post by rg111 »

phpisatrash wrote: post #167

Me and my colleagues will be affected by the end of Z library and co related projects. Here in Brazil and for sure in most second and third world countries, people don't have money to spend in books. You can argue that people can go to the library, but in most cases it's even expensive to take a bus or taxi even a Uber. I'm a law student at an university in brazil. Law books are really expensive. Even though my unive…

> You can argue that people can go to the library,

Where I grew up, my town library did not have any tech or programming books. Forget new jornal issues or cutting edge science books.

"Just go to the library" is such a first-world-and-megacity thing to say.

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#239

Post by dublinben »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #157
connorgutman wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very simple actually. You (and most of HN) live in a tech industry bubble. Living wages in the U.S are terrible and disposable income is non-existent. I work a 9-5 just like everyone else but when it comes down to it I don't have the money to buy new books. I can either buy used paperback from a second-hand store, go to the library, or pirate an epub. None of these options pay the original author and are effecti…

BetterWorldBooks.com is excellent. I have bought from them for years. I recommend you try it. Also, you wrote: > Libraries buy millions of books per year in the US -- expensive hardbacks. They must be the single largest buying group. That money pays authors. Also, I never once saw an author upset that a library was lending their book. The same is true for second hand book selling.

Here's an example I found in less than a minute of an author railing against used book sales: https://authorkristenlamb.com/2015/12/pay-the-writer-pirates...

Re: Z-library founders arrested in Argentina

#240

Post by dartharva »

jasmer wrote: post #97
smeagull wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's human culture. The idea that it should be the sole provenance of rich multi-nationals to decide who can afford to read is disgusting. It should all be freely accessible. Removing money from the equation would also solve other quality issues.

It's 'disgusting' to suggest others should have to labour for you for free - and suggesting 'removing money from the issue would solve' issues is more than naive, it's glib. IP is not 'corporate protectionism'. The entire system absolutely depends on it, moreover, the vast majority of IP holders are very small entities. Particularly in this case, authors. The internet is actually a greatly liberating opportunity for…

Yes, indeed, government-mandated monopolies are really the best way to make sure the "creative works" of fundamentally indeterminable values get paid and the "free-market" is upheld /s.

This moronic notion that IP somehow encourages creativity is so delusional it's not even funny. Did Michelangelo and Shakespeare need copyrights to their works to make money? Have thinkers and authors who contributed most to human intellectual evolution across the Golden Ages and Renaissances of science, arts and philosophies ever needed state-enforced punishments against non-consensual copying? Good works are not funded using abusive laws to crack down on those trying to share them, they get sponsored by communities that value them.

There are countless examples of absolutely garbage works that end up making a lot of money and there are countless awesome works that are completely free to the public. IP does nothing to reward good productions, all it does is help publishers and governments abuse individual rights and control information. NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE A MONOPOLY ON IDEAS AND INFORMATION. You are free to keep your ideas and information private, but if you make them public they are NOT your private property anymore. IP laws are probably among the worst inventions the west has ever introduced to the world that has single-handedly held back unfathomable amounts of progress.

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