Re:DRM Broke Its Promise
by coldtea on Thursday September 05, 2019 @05:54AM
(#20885247)
>I've never heard of this happening, and certainly have never been offered a kickback myself to take a book.
Well, if you're the type to never have noticed this happening, they surely wouldn't try to contact you.
This is very common all around the world, including the US. In fact, it has been written about since time immemorial, even Feynman mentions his experiences:
"One book in particular drew his attention. It was one out of a three book series. During a meeting he was asked by some of the other committee members what he thought of the book. He responded that he really couldn't say, that he hadn't received it. One of the members continued to press for an answer. After Feynman repeated himself a second time, a book depository employee piped up and explained that he had elected not to send the book on to the committee members. The publisher had missed the deadline and substituted a book with blank pages instead. They had included a note explaining that the book would be ready in time and hoped it could still be considered.
The amazing part of this story is that several of the committee members had nominated the book for inclusion on the approved list!
Feynman went on to talk about the unsolicited gifts he received from the publishers. He kept sending them back but one incident took him completely by surprise. He had arrived in San Francisco the evening before a committee meeting. He left his hotel room, intending to wander the streets to find a place to eat. As he walked into the lobby, two men popped up, greeted him by name and asked him if they could help him in any way. He explained that he was just going out and no thank you. They persisted. He said, "Look, I'm just going out to get into a bit of trouble." They responded, "Maybe we can help you with that too." He demurred and then later kicked himself for not seeing just how far they would go and documenting the evening."
Well, if you're the type to never have noticed this happening, they surely wouldn't try to contact you.
This is very common all around the world, including the US. In fact, it has been written about since time immemorial, even Feynman mentions his experiences:
"One book in particular drew his attention. It was one out of a three book series. During a meeting he was asked by some of the other committee members what he thought of the book. He responded that he really couldn't say, that he hadn't received it. One of the members continued to press for an answer. After Feynman repeated himself a second time, a book depository employee piped up and explained that he had elected not to send the book on to the committee members. The publisher had missed the deadline and substituted a book with blank pages instead. They had included a note explaining that the book would be ready in time and hoped it could still be considered.
The amazing part of this story is that several of the committee members had nominated the book for inclusion on the approved list!
Feynman went on to talk about the unsolicited gifts he received from the publishers. He kept sending them back but one incident took him completely by surprise. He had arrived in San Francisco the evening before a committee meeting. He left his hotel room, intending to wander the streets to find a place to eat. As he walked into the lobby, two men popped up, greeted him by name and asked him if they could help him in any way. He explained that he was just going out and no thank you. They persisted. He said, "Look, I'm just going out to get into a bit of trouble." They responded, "Maybe we can help you with that too." He demurred and then later kicked himself for not seeing just how far they would go and documenting the evening."
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/pajze9/people-are-finally...
https://www.lukethomas.com/the-textbook-industry-greed-its-g...
>Accepting one would be a crime for state university professors where I am, and probably almost everywhere else.
Isn't committing the crime and profiting from it the whole point?