Federico Heinz Re: [A2k] Bookshare DRM and selling out

[Manon Ress]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
From: Federico Heinz <fheinz@vialibre.org.ar>
Date: May 4, 2009 2:13:56 PM EDT
To: <Jim@Benetech.org>
Cc: <a2k@lists.essential.org>
Subject: Re: [A2k] Bookshare DRM and selling out


On 03/05/2009, Jim@Benetech.org wrote:
> Some helpful folks forwarded me an A2K post last week from Richard
> Stallman accusing us of selling out the blind and print disabled with
> DRM.  I found that somewhat surprising [...]

Quoting from the message you attached at the bottom of your message,
RMS said:

> However, I expect it rather to have the opposite effect:
> schemes like Bookshare, which subject blind readers to DRM, will
> reassure and support the legislators that hate our freedoms.

You may, of course, choose to read the above as "Bookshare has sold
out", but
it's not what it says. Choosing to read it that way is seeking a
confrontation
where none exists, and I don't think that is ever a good idea, so please
refrain from doing so.

What it does say, however, is very simple: when you used the exception
to
make those works available to reading-impaired people, you didn't
*need* to
encumber the works you published with DRM. The exception didn't
*force* you to
do it, and you could have published the books without DRM, yet you
*chose* to
deliver the works with DRM.

Now, works that could be available to blind people without DRM are
delivered to
them with DRM. Even works that were originally published without any
DRM may
be DRM-encumbered for blind people, after passing through Bookshare.

I think it is pretty clear that Richard is right in pointing out that
the fact
that Bookshare *chooses* to ship its works with DRM indirectly
supports the
stance of DRM advocates.

	Fede