Re: Net publication of Jewish Music Conference papers, London 2000

[Joel Bresler <jbresler...>]

Hi, Elliott. There is little doubt in my mind that Napster, Scour.com, etc. 
as companies and their user communities are breaking the law. But I have to 
respectfully suggest we may be mixing and matching issues here. Whether 
internet users don't understand the idea of intellectual property or not 
does not bear directly on the issue of publishing scholarly papers on the 
internet. The issue of payment is also not at the forefront in this case, 
because I don't think any of the conference participants expect to be 
compensated for their work (at least, I don't) and I don't expect the LICJM 
to ever do much more than cover their costs on any print versions.

So for me it comes down to accessibility and the quality of the editorial 
environment in which something is placed. On the acessibility front, I 
would not be very happy if my work ended up in a volume or periodical with 
a circulation that meant that no one could get 'hold of it if necessary. On 
the editorial environment front, I want the publishing entity, either in 
print or online to speak for something in the mind of the reader.

If all I wanted were a URL for a paper it could be hosted at Geocities! 
That's dumping on the internet, as you say. I don't think anyone's 
suggesting that. Publishing these papers in a well designed site (or part 
of a site) where they are clearly part of a larger corpus of respected work 
or allied with a respected institution would be fine with me. As I noted in 
my earlier message, EOL is doing an excellent job at online publishing in 
this field.

My $.02, anyway.

Best,

Joel

At 10:13 AM 8/2/00 -0400, Eliott Kahn wrote:
>My feeling is that many internet users simply have no concept of the idea 
>of "intellectual property." When people write music or books, paint 
>pictures or take photos, it is usually the sum of years of their own hard 
>work. Scholars who present papers or write essays usually receive little 
>or no financial recompense, yet it is tacitly understood that they might 
>possibly be rewarded with publication in a respected journal or special 
>edition. Simply to dump scholarly papers on the internet DOES devalue the 
>work and I, personally, would find little reason to produce a paper--or 
>song or recording--if I weren't recompensed with either some money or 
>prestige. To me it doesn't seem "ethically right" to bust my ass for free.
>
>Eliott Kahn
>
>
>
> >I understand that funds are always extremely short and that independent 
> arts bodies are always looking for ways to raise extra revenue, but I 
> think this path is a misconceived one and will ultimately bear little 
> fruit. After all your work putting on such a fantastic festival it would 
> be a shame if others could not continue to share in it.
> >
> >Anyone else have any feelings on this?
> >Yours
> >Jonathan.
>
>
>
>
>



Joel Bresler
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