One of the best ways to deal with the war on drugs is to spread accurate and honest information.

When a person downloads a book with accurate information along these lines they may as well be working for the DEA, by preventing the author from receiving money then the loans taken out to publish the book are not paid off and the author becomes unable to continue to present accurate information.

There is no profit in writing books about psychedelic drugs from a scientific perspective. While pseudoscience like Straussman and Pinchbeck type work may make some money other legitimate and far better researchers are being totally screwed by the drug culture itself.

Consider the case of Shulgin, he is broke and in need of health care funds, what other person has contributed so much to this culture and what other person has been so utterly betrayed by it.

Downloading and uploading copyrighted drug culture books is worse than being a rat or a narc. It destroys lives and harms the very people who have dedicated themselves to reducing harm and otherwise helping people explore hyperspace in a safe and productive manner.

If you find someone scanning, uploading or downloading books like this, treat them like the rat the are.

what would you do to a rat?

Sorry...how exactly does Strassman engage in pseudoscience? All his work related to TSM seemed legit to me. I heard he had some wonky religion/dmt theory coming out now, but I don't see how that impacts his past scientific work.

I understand that this is not the main point of your post but if Shulgin would launch Dirty Pictures on DVD I'm sure he could recoup some funds.
Ramblings:
- scientists do studies not books
- there are other ways to share info, not just books
- can you name an example where pirating books has "destroyed" someones life in the drug community ?

Which works are you refering to ? Uncle fester's, McKenna's, etc ?

On that note, does anyone know approximately how much money goes to the author or is it all very contract specific ?

It seems the sixties really are dead

I agree with some of what your saying, but i definitely wouldn't consider Strassmans research pseudoscience..or even pinchbeck for that matter.. if pseudoscience is "a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method"- since on the back of pinchbecks book it literally says "spirituality/metaphysics" and he doesn't present it as a scientific work, just his experiences, thoughts and ideas.

feed it cannabis infused cheese and enjoy the show

i agree with some of what you're saying, but the way i look at it..the more free info is out there (including pirated books/videos, the more people will evolve, and more accurate information will spread faster. the author may be losing money, but it compensates in the knowledge of the whole. my viewpoint is also different regarding this because if i was to write a book, i wouldn't care about money more than global evolution.. but to each hir own..

word

Albert,

I sense an opportunity here for you-- and for the Nexus. If this matter is important to you, why not reach out to the authors and invite them to the Nexus (the ones that are still alive,anyway)? I imagine many of the folks on this site would consider donating funds directly to the authors for their work. This site would also benefit from the direct participation of the authors in the forum.

With moderator approval, they could perhaps provide a Paypal address for donations. Alternately, Traveler could allow for dedicated donations to the authors through the 'Donate' button already in place.

I'm just kicking ideas around. If you want to pursue it, check in with some Mods first-- they have ultimate say in the matter.

feed it RC's and probe it with patch clamps.

I'm gonna dl these books regardless of what you think.
do you work for a publishing interest group?

Q: What if I, like a very large percentage of the human race, cannot afford to buy these books?

Do you consider it morally tenable that access to knowledge by predicated upon one's earning power? I don't, thus I share.

Saying downloading is worse than narc-ing is a bit exagerated dont you think? Ask anybody who went to prison after being narc-ed, if they would choose being narc-ed and going to jail or having their book downloaded, and what answer do you think you'll get?

Even if we consider that indeed people should support authors by buying their books and not download, still, that kind of tone will more likely shut people off from your message.

If you have ever read a bibliography then it is clear that many scientists read books, including Shulgin.

Straussmans work is worth a new thread, considering his work is beyond the scope and aim of this thread. Start a new thread and send me a link and I will provide my reasoning regarding him.

Shulgin and KTrout are good example of authors betrayed by online drug culture.

I cannot afford many books, I do not believe that I have a right to read them and choose not to betray the authors. I have however contacted authors about their books and been sent copies of their works free of charge.

The idea that stealing from people contributes to human evolution is despicable. The idea that preventing an author from publishing by undermining their work through theft is somehow part of the greater good is just an argument of justification after the fact that is nothin less than part of the mentality we need to evolve away from.

Betrayal of trust is terrible, be it in the form of downloading or narcing, both do immense harm to people's abilities to contribute to society as well as undermine their own personal liberty. I don't think any better of a downloader than I do a narc, to me both are selfish untrustworthy people whose betrayals of others harm peoples lives and lively hoods.

To believe that costing someone their job is contributing to human evolution is absurd.
That is like saying you are narcing on people for the good of society, but really it is all about self interest and psychological justification, there no narcs or downloaders that are justified, no matter how much they claim otherwise.

Take Ott for example...He would fit the criteria you put forth. If he really wants more money etc why does he not just sell more books? Why limit the printing to 1000 books, leather bound that you have to search the planet for so that you can pay $800 or something just to read it? Why not just sell more books? People would buy them there is NO doubt. Do you really think these people are at home curing others who cant afford to buy some limited edition books etc so instead read it online?

Piracy is NOT theft.

If you can't be bothered to elaborate on your accused pseudoscientists I assume you don't have good reason to accuse them. I shouldn't have to start an entirely new thread for you to answer a question on something you brought up in this thread.

Additionally, the way you present it, checking out library books equates to betraying the authors and stealing their books.

"Additionally, the way you present it, checking out library books equates to betraying the authors and stealing their books."

Good point.

What if I, like a very large percentage of the human race, cannot afford to buy a luxury car?

By your logic I am justified in stealing a car, because it is a car I cannot afford.
that is not the type of reasoning I consider morally tenable.




Libraries pay for the books you check out, they didn't steal them.

How much do you know about Otts books and demand for them and how they sell?
Do you know him or anyone that knows him?
Maybe he is a good example after all.

Again, piracy is NOT theft.

My downloading or checking out a book does not prevent someone else from buying it, reading it or otherwise using it.

Welcome to the 21st century my friend.

It's simply a fact of the times that all media and information is free and readily shared.

The "business" of media has become public domain.

Decommodification is the future.

☮

I look at downloading a book as the equivalent of going to a library and checking it out for an extended period. If 200 people read that book in the library, it is still only generating the revenue of 1 book. A library does not pay a licensing fee to the publisher based on usage.

I am sure that publishers would like to do away with printed books and then charge a license fee each read/checkout of a book. The technology is here already to do that for the most part.

I have purchased some of the books that I have previously downloaded for free when I could afford it. I have purchased the printed books because a part of me is pretty old fashioned and I hate looking at a screen all of the time. For the good part of the last 30 years I have looked at a screen most every work day for hours at a time.

I'm rambling....

I have no commercial interests regarding this topic, my motivation is compassion alone, having seen this type of behavior ultimately harm individuals and also harm their ability to publish important material.

The bottom line is that this type of behavior prevents publication of information that would be better to have in the public domain, via citation and discussion. It also costs people their jobs by stealing their income, it is disrespectful but disrespect is part of our culture now, there is no doubt there.

regarding a library book, there tend to be only one or two copies of the book available and one cannot keep them, stealing from libraries is also immoral

I believe that authors should have the choice of whether or not a library may legally purchase and loan out their work, but that is just my opinion.

I have seen an author put material into the public domain, such as older editions, while retaining newer editions for sales, however putting the material online cost the author time and money. Having their new works pirated ended up harming their ability to even publish in the public domain and future plans for that had to be set on indefinite hold. That ends up sucking for everyone...

Every thief feels justified, even carjackers and muggers, they think that they are the victims.

..different reality tunnels..different interpretations..