Timeline for Is it morally all right to link to a particular bookseller?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2013 at 9:48 | comment | added | Michael Greinecker | I disagree that convenience for the reader is all that matters. It is certainly legitimate to boycott Amazon for its treatment of workers. | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 21:38 | comment | added | Gerhard Paseman | If I misread or misrepresent your position, I apologize. I do disagree with the phrase (perhaps I mean the intent behind the phrase) "can be quite useful to the reader, and that's all that matters". When I see that, I get the impression that it is straightforward and somewhat universal to determine utility, and once determined the discussion ends there. I think there are implications, that determining utility is neither straightforward nor universal, and more discussion is needed. I do agree that sometimes the links can help. Gerhard "Might Buy Two This Decade" Paseman, 2013.12.18 | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 21:26 | comment | added | Steven Landsburg | Gerhard: I think you perhaps misread me slightly. I'm not saying I welcome the commercial reps. I am saying first that I would welcome the commercial reps in the (counterfactual) case that they were both competent and helpful, and did not allow commercial considerations to trump any of that. And I am saying second that links to commercial sites by users who are not commercial reps are likely to meet the criteria that we would like, but do not expect, the commerical reps to meet. | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 20:53 | comment | added | Gerhard Paseman | I think it's a slippery slope, and that you seem confident of your footing. I certainly don't want to keep publishing representatives from enhancing MathOverflow. However, I am unlikely to buy more than one of their books this decade, and I am not sure how useful links to paywalled items or sales offers really are. If you have a big enough wallet and these links serve you, go ahead and promote them. I am concerned that it will lead to behaviour which in the long term leads to commercialism and the detriment of MathOverflow. Gerhard "I'm Not Saying You're Wrong" Paseman, 2013.12.18 | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 20:31 | comment | added | Steven Landsburg | Gerhard: If a Springer rep were to pepper MO with useful (and relevant) links, I think that would be all to the good. The reason we recoil from such things is, I think, that we don't believe the rep would be either competent to know which links are useful, or willing to restrain himself. But if the links are posted by people who are both competent and well-meaning, then I don't see the objection. Which means, I think, that book links should be subject to the same criterion as anything else in a post: If it's useful to the reader, it's good, and if not, not. | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 19:31 | comment | added | Gerhard Paseman | Unfortunately, it can be abused by someone whose goal is to sell books. I would not be opposed to a MathOverflow member who has a book (or even up to three) which is relevant to answering a question, and that member links to his home page or publisher. I would be opposed to a Springer representative or bot peppering MathOverflow with references to their online store, regardless of how relevant the books are to the answers. Provide the title and publisher name, and let those who desire copy and paste into their own search field. Gerhard "Not Quite All That Matters" Paseman, 2013.12.18 | |
| Dec 18, 2013 at 18:35 | history | answered | Steven Landsburg | CC BY-SA 3.0 |