gregfeeler
Dances With Sheep
Umm...I have a copier 10 feet from me right now and nothing standing in the way of making as many copies as I like. I also have the ability to scan documents and convert them to PDF files. This evil technology already exists yet myself and countless others with access to it resist each day!
That's always been out there, but the logistics of that certainly would deter most people from going to the bother. Plus, if they did, it would be a copyright violation and prosecutable if done on a large scale. However, the question at hand here is about using a PDF format. If the 'MOA distributed the Anon Book in a PDF format it would be like we were actively encouraging people to treat it like a free and unrestricted resource.
I think that we're on two different pages here too. If you prefer a paper copy and can have one, and I prefer a digital copy and can have one, what is lost to either of us?
No, we're not. I would love some kind of on-line access to the Anon Book - BUT - it has to be provided in a way that reduces the risks of widespread electronic duplication and distribution. There are several ways of doing that using on-line viewers and search systems. However, a PDF file fails that test, and in the past we've gotten a lot of feedback from members - who wanted electronic access themselves - who said they would drop participation in the Anon Book if it were available in an unprotected format, like a PDF.
Speaking to that fact, I would like to see a show of hands of how many people on this thread are listed in the Anon Book? My point is we need to make sure we get the opinions of the people who are volunteering to be listed there, since it is their information we're talking about. I'm in there, and have been for many years.