Survey saaaaays....

[elf]

A poll! Because we all need more polls! Or rather, because I looked at the membership list and said, mygods, who ARE all these people, and also, I bet they'd like more ... posts about ... something ebookish.. In order to figure out what kinds of posts those should be, I bring you ... TICKY BOXES! Confirm your ebookish identity, knowledge, and DRM skills!

Poll #5653 Who are you people?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 86

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What kind of ebook person are you?

View Answers

I read ebooks
67 (77.9%)

I buy and read ebooks
58 (67.4%)

I write ebooks
6 (7.0%)

I write and sell ebooks
1 (1.2%)

I convert/reformat ebooks
49 (57.0%)

I don't write or read ebooks (yet?), but I'm interested in them
6 (7.0%)

Your ticky boxes cannot contain my ebookery
20 (23.3%)

Ticky box, ticky boox, e-tickery abounds
30 (34.9%)

If you read ebooks, what do you read them on?

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I don't read ebooks.
2 (2.4%)

Desktop computer
26 (30.6%)

Laptop or netbook.
40 (47.1%)

E-ink dedicated reader.
56 (65.9%)

LCD screen dedicated reader
1 (1.2%)

Phone or PDA
25 (29.4%)

Tablet computer
6 (7.1%)

Something else, which you have failed to describe
3 (3.5%)

TICKY OF DOOM!
21 (24.7%)

Do you have a device/ereader preference? (Or: what do you think you'd prefer, if you don't have one yet.)

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I don't read ebooks.
2 (2.3%)

I don't have a preference.
1 (1.2%)

I prefer to read on a computer
0 (0.0%)

I prefer to read on a dedicated ebook reader.
49 (57.0%)

I prefer a multifunction device (iPad, phone, etc.)
17 (19.8%)

I have different preferences in different circumstances.
16 (18.6%)

I prefer something else.
1 (1.2%)

What do you know about ebook formats?

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Ebook for mats? No, ebooks for bed, chairs, couches ...
5 (5.8%)

There's a lot of them. They're a confusing mess.
32 (37.2%)

One is better than the rest, and it's my preference.
14 (16.3%)

One is better than the rest, and I prefer something else anyway.
1 (1.2%)

They all have different pros & cons; I don't think any is best.
25 (29.1%)

I know which ones work on my ereader.
61 (70.9%)

I know which ones work on most ereaders.
36 (41.9%)

My knowledge of ebook formats exceeds your ticky-talents.
8 (9.3%)

What do you know about DRM?

View Answers

What does Dating Republican Men have to do with ebooks?
4 (4.7%)

It's evil.
42 (49.4%)

It's a way for authors to avoid getting ripped off.
12 (14.1%)

I know what kind works on my ereader.
25 (29.4%)

I know what kinds work on most ereaders.
14 (16.5%)

I know how to remove it from ebooks I buy.
14 (16.5%)

I could figure out how to remove it if I wanted/needed to.
43 (50.6%)

I have many thinky thoughts about DRM and can expound on them at length.
22 (25.9%)

It's a damned nuisance. I dunno about "evil," though.
42 (49.4%)

Tickety-tickety-tick tick tick.
29 (34.1%)

Comments

[mackiedockie]

I'm trying to figure out how to add ebooks to our library without breaking the existing (already too small) book budget. Downloading and drm issues are totally fogging the issue--how does one pick a format that doesn't leave a significant population out of the loop? Some devices are unaffordable, others are so laced with access issues only those born with an ipod in their hand can figure them out...*le sigh*.

[elf]

You can start with free ebook sources, which won't have much in the way of currently trendy titles, but can give you experience with downloads, formats, and as much of the technical side of things as you care to explore.

For myself, I don't buy DRM at all. I buy from Smashwords and a bit from Fictionwise (the "multiformat" ebooks), Baen and Samhain, and a few other indie presses. I use Calibre to convert to whatever format I want to read. (Usually epub.)

All the devices will read non-DRM'd, not-purchased-from-their-store ebooks; some try harder to hide that fact than others.

Brief format notes:
Right now, there are 2-and-two-halves main commercial formats: Epub & Mobi are the two; PDF and LIT are the halves. (PDF is a half because it's weird as an ebook format, and it's offered with the same DRM as Epub; LIT because it's Microsoft's proprietary format and is on the way out; few places are still carrying it.)

DRM styles for Epub/PDF are:
1) Adobe Digital Editions (authorize up to 6 devices on an account.)
2) Adobe Digital Editions, Nook Style (which uses your credit card # as a password, instead of locking you to a single set of devices.)
3) Wonky things that require you to be logged in online in order to read the PDF. This is mostly some textbook & magazine readers. Also some Googlebooks.
4) Apple's whatever-the-hell that only works on their mobile devices. My guess: if the app ever runs on a non-iThing machine, it'll be cracked in a week. If they keep their DRM'd ibookstore to iPods & iPads only, they'll keep the DRM lock. (But lose customers who want to read their ebooks on something else.)

DRM for Mobi is:
1) Mobipocket DRM, limited number of devices, many ebook stores;
2) Kindle, which is Mobi DRM with a different Magic Number buried in the middle; Kindle books aren't readable by Mobi-blessed devices, and vice versa, without playing DRM-hopping games.

DRM for LIT is
Microsoft's special must-use-Internet-Explorer DRM, which was cracked years ago by a program that'll run from a flash drive. (ConvertLit. Easily googled.) The hassle with Lit is that you need Windows & IE to use it at all.

[jumpuphigh]

I don't know if it is LIT, calibre, or just my own personal brand of bad luck but it seems to me (not a scientific study by any means) that converting LIT to epub causes bad things to happen to formatting and just generally makes me grumpy and more likely to delete the ebook in its entirety than try to sort out the formatting so that I can read it with any sense of ease.

That may be the longest sentence I have ever written.

[facetofcathy]

I think my opinions on ebook reading have been deeply affected by the fact that the first ebooks I read were Baen books in lovely old fashioned HTML. I like it. I might change my mind if I suddenly had a commute and needed a mobile device, but I like the control that I have over how the text looks simply and easily in my browser. I also really like that I can one click kill images on ebooks with my zap images bookmarklet when they're in HTML in a browser.

I got a free sample novelette from one publisher who uses PDF. No font control, no colour control, no zapping the soft core porn cover art, no easy scrolling, no getting rid of those damn paragraph indents or having the margins and font size how I like it. Just like with DRM, the format is trying to control my experience. That makes me cranky. I would never buy ebooks in such a rigid format, just like I won't buy DRM books unless forced to.

I confess I really don't get the point of trying to mimic a physical book with the ebook structure. I seems like throwing away all the benefits of digital technology without really having the paper experience either.

But, then, I typed this comment with 2 spaces after every period, so obviously I tend to stick with what I like.

[elf]

Calibre's supposed to *like* .lit; that's supposed to be its favorite source format.

If it's not working for you, maybe get a copy of convertlit & use that; it explodes the file into HTML.

[elf]

PDF is used by a lot of publishers because it's what they send to the printers so they don't have to do anything extra to release the ebook. (For freebie promos, they tend to leave in the hideous production metadata and sometimes even have the printer's crop marks.)

My first experiences with ebooks were mostly Fictionwise multiformats, and for most of the time I've dealt with ebooks, I've had Acrobat Pro with a cluster of shiny plugins, so I can convert & reformat PDFs.

I've tried a tiny handful of ebooks with DRM, fixed formats that I couldn't adjust the layouts or fonts, and I would've given up entirely if that was my first exposure to them.

[mackiedockie]

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed reply. It will definitely help me explain the parameters to the "Buy Ebooks now!" faction, whose only exposure to ebooks is on prepaid kindles.

[br3nda]

no options for people who get ebooks for "dubious sources", or make their own by OCR etc?
If i own the book, i declare no author lost anything they actually had by me also downloading a digital version without spending. (not that i'd do that cos it's illegal and all).

[dreamatdrew]

I prefer to refer to this as "Creative Acquisitions", personally...

[elf]

Heh. I didn't talk source, just whether or not you buy them. Get free from Gutenberg & Feedbooks, convert your own, torrent like mad... this quiz isn't differentiating.

Some authors are fine with the idea that if they've already been paid for the book in print, that person is free to download a copy if they can find one. (Doesn't mean they won't sic their publisher's lawyers on the uploader if they can find him or her.)

I make some of my own by scan & OCR; it's a frustrating endeavor because it feels like so much effort wasted.

[abbylee]

I don't buy ebooks, I mostly:
(*) Download them from free (legal) sources
(*) Convert long fanfic into a ebook format
(*) Take them out from the library

[tameiki]

Very cool poll and... ticky boxes! *jumps with joy* :)

Just recently I bought two books with DRM on them. After trying to get the damned things off and not succeeding, I went to another source and rebought the books there. The first place was kind enough to refund my money. From now on, if the ebook is only available with DRM, I won't be buying it.

The reason for my wanting to take the DRM off is so that I could convert it into HTML to change the font, font size and such because my eyesight is getting worse. According to the US ADA law, when you purchase one copy of a book (they were talking about print when the law was written), then you get to make one alternative format of it without violating the original copyright. What use is this if I can't get the DRM off? ;p

[isis]

This is me, too.

My thinky thought about DRM is that I'm glad there is a "timed-expire" DRM so that libraries can offer ebooks as loans. If it didn't exist I imagine libraries wouldn't be able to loan ebooks. I would say that 75% of my ebook reading are library books, with the other 25% split between downloaded fic and legal free books.

My thinky thought about formats is that I'm glad my library primarily offers .epub which coincidentally is what my ereader likes best. I hate .pdf.

[abbylee]

Yes, I was just having that conversation this afternoon, that I'm glad that DRM makes the library lending feasable, I'm just sad that it goes hand-in-hand with practices that make me unwilling to buy an electronic copy for personal use. It's why I'm unhappy with DRM but don't think that it, itself, is evil. I LOVE being able to choose library books from home and get them onto my ereader in just a few moments; no extra bus trips in -40 weather, no trying to carry the weight, and no late fees!

My library seems to be weighted so that most of their electronic offerings are pdfs and audiobooks, but it seems like it's mostly the older purchases. I definitely prefer epubs; not only is that the format that my ereader displays the best, but too many pdf have headers and footers on each page so that every few paragraphs there's a random break to tell me the author's name and the book title.

[elf]

I generally call them "unauthorized editions." Which fits with the legality that they fall under civil, not criminal law; if the copyright owner doesn't sue, there's presumably no legal problem.

[rebecca2525]

So far I haven't even bothered with DRM-protected books; it's just too much of a nuisance to be worth it (especially since my computer runs Linux). If DRM-protected ebooks were reasonably cheap so that I wouldn't care too much that I might lose them due to me switching computers/operating system installations/reader devices too often or due to possibly changing ebook formats, then maybe I'd think about it. As long as I can buy a printed book for the same price that will last me a lifetime ... well.

I bought my ereader mainly to read fanfic and free classics anyway. :)

[stormcloude]

Did you purposely leave fanfic out of the options?

[maryavatar]

ABC Amber LIT converter has given me good results in the past.

[maryavatar]

I bought exactly three DRM books, which I now regret. At the time I read eBboks on my XDA Exec smartphone using Mobipocket, so I got the books in .mobi. And now I read on my iPad, which is completely incompatible with the books, and .mobi DRM is very very hard to crack :(

[amaresu]

I wouldn't mind DRM so very much if it didn't actively impede me from buying and enjoying books. There are some advantages to it, as mentioned upthread with libraries, but overall it stops me from purchasing any number of books. Apparently Linux users just aren't the type of people publishers want to sell to.

[isis]

I don't know where you are, but our library belongs to two different consortia which provide downloadable books to members. (Netlibrary has, for our library, mostly audiobooks and a few ebooks, but the Across Colorado Consortium has a really large selection.) I don't know how much that costs but I imagine less than the price of buying and providing individual books. Also, our library has just started offering a couple of Nooks for check-out, which I would have thought sort of weird but they are very popular.

PDF kinda sucks.

[jecook]

PDF started life as a way for multiple platforms (Mac, Windows, *nix) to be able to view the same file in exactly the way the publisher intended- It's been extended and mutated a lot over the decades.

It's actually PostScript with a funny tasting shell wrapped around it, which Adobe invented for printers and typography to get around the same problem. (allowing multiple platforms to send data to a printer and have consistent results regardless of who sent the data to the printer.)

As an E-book format, it kind of blows- Most of my technical manuals are in PDF format, and they are a pain in the butt to read on anything but a proper computer or notebook. (THis includes smartphones- I'm still reeling from looking at a PDF on my shiny new 'droid.)

Re: PDF kinda sucks.

[elf]

I like PDFs only because I can take them apart & rebuild them. I regularly make PDFs for my ebook reader (3.46"x4.57" pages with .02" margins; 10 pt Georgia font with 1.15 line spacing) because I know how to get them formatted the way I want, and I can't do that with ePub (because I am lazy and haven't figured out how). And I've got custom PDF settings for Feedbooks, because that way I can download several at once & combine them into one. But all commercially produced PDFs range from "mediocre" to "sucks rocks" on portable readers.

PDF is terrific for its original purpose: print-ready across multiple platforms from any machine. The bells and whistles on top of that are sometimes useful, sometimes a distraction; I can certainly understand the people who insist that PDF is "not an ebook format."

[elf]

All *GOOD* customers use Windows. Linux users are just too Un-American for publishers to care about. Along with all those people who don't have the decency to live in the US where the publishers want to sell books.

Australians and Linux users are probably communists and shouldn't be reading anyway.

[elf]

I purposefully didn't define "ebook."

I tend to think that reading fanfic at ff.net or archiveofourown is "not reading ebooks," but downloading them as epub or mobi or pdf is. Someday I'll parse out the logic of exactly why; in the meantime, I don't argue if someone tells me she is reading ebooks when she's reading fanfic, or that she's reading fanfic instead of ebooks.