Recently there was kind of a discussion, with one user being a bit mean towards the other regarding the latter posting a link to Amazon.
While I do not agree with how they brought the discussion, I think it would be great to read everyone’s opinion about what should be link, and if linking to specific websites should be forbidden.
For example, we have Open Library, BookWyrm, Inventaire, etc, if you only want to link to a book’s information, and while it is harder to find a replacement to a web site where you can buy books, users can always search for it if they want.
What are your thoughts?
Personally, I think that one can post links to Amazon or other closed systems from time to time, especially when it comes to books. Yes, Lemmy is OpenSource and here are also many present who condemn Google, Amazon, Facebook, … because of tracking, work ethics, privacy issues, etc. Still, it is the case that some authors and self publisher may not know better or even have no idea about systems outside Amazon. In addition, one should also consider that Amazon, for example, as evil as such companies may be, can be a stepping stone to more reach for aspiring authors.
If one doesn’t like something, one doesn’t have to comment on it, give it a bad rating or even start a riot. One can also ignore it and let the new things to those who don’t have an extremist aversion to something.
Just my 2 cent.
What about recommending these libre web sites in the side bar but still allowing proprietary ones?
I think it’s a great idea. Authors only can find libre sites, when someone recommends them. I also think it’s a good idea, when they are made aware of possible alternatives in the comments. Not everyone looks at the sidebar in detail or directly knows, what the links are useful for.
Or writing a bot that tries to resolve the Amazon product to a libre site equivalent and replies with a comment?
The flagship instance forbids bots, so I don’t think that will be possible.
BookWyrm is a secondary source, so I don’t think it’s a good idea. Personally, I’d link to:
- The book’s website, if there is (which usually just links to amazon)
- Wikipedia page
- OpenLibrary
As for where to buy books, I’ve recently heard of Libreture, which have DRM-free books (see other DRM-free book source), though its database might be lacking because it’s rather new.
What do you mean that it’s a secondary source? It crawls data from Inventaire and OL but it also has it’s own database, for example there are books that are present there but not in OL and I think at some point OL will start crawling data from BW, too.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a lot of information on books if they are not super well known ones, so I don’t think that’s a good idea, but it can work sometimes.
Having links to Libreture and the other DRM-free options would be awesome, too, maybe we could create a thread with some recommendations and link it to the sidebar.
for example there are books that are present there but not in and I think at some point OL will start crawling data from BW, too.
I thought it only takes book from OpenLibrary, because the last time I checked the only way to add a book was to add it on OpenLibrary. Maybe I just couldn’t find where to add it directly to BW and/or it has developed much since then.
I don’t remember if this was added more or less recently, but yes, it doesn’t have that much metadata as OL yet but I don’t think that matters a lot in this community.
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IM0 is not so much about that but about recommending web sites that are more healthier for the web.
I think if someone recommends a website like Amazon, it should be up to the OP to find an Alternativeto site that is similar. But the courtesy of the Alternativeto should be encouraged. The person replying is (usually) just trying to help.
Can you explain what you mean by “healthier for the web”? Imo, Amazon is a legit site to get info on books from, with reviews and ratings and the ability to buy them.
I don’t think it’s the posters responsibility to shield others from sites a specific person may not want to click onto (as long as the site doesnt contain malware or a virus or whatever). It should be each individual person’s responsibility to steer away from sites they don’t want to visit, specifically when we’re talking about legitimate sites.
users can always search for it if they want.
Fwiw, this is super difficult for books in my experience.
Definitely better to encourage linking up an amazon than have a proliferation of content on this community where one can’t figure out (now or in the future) exactly what the post was really about.
How is it hard to find them, though? If you look by ISBN you have a unique and precise ID to search for them, the only case where this could not help is if the book is a bit niche and does not show up on Amazon but on some more local place, probably where it was edited.
For German books it usually works well to link to the book’s entry on the publisher’s website. I don’t know how publishers do it elsewhere.
Thriftbooks!
I am Goodwash Thriftbooks, mighty pirate!
One could almost think the joke hadn’t quite hit home. 🤣
Games like Monkey Island are not this popular anymore 🙁
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No, I think this was because people were doing stuff like “Hey look at this book how nice” and it was an amazon link, which sure fine if you want to buy it but IMO it’s more important to link to OpenLibrary, BookWyrm or GoodReads and then to something like that. It was never established as a rule, though.
An alternative could be something like bookshop.org which is an online book store that supports independent retailers
Not sure i can post the link, anyway…
Easy to do a blacklist (amazon, goodreads) than a whitelist, it seems.
Hey there! Great topic for discussion. I totally get why someone might feel strongly about linking to Amazon—there are definitely pros and cons. But I think it’s all about balance and providing value to the community.
For example, linking to sites like Open Library or BookWyrm for info on books is awesome because it gives us alternatives to big corporations and supports more community-focused platforms. On the other hand, sometimes Amazon links are just super convenient for purchasing, especially if users are looking for something specific and fast.
Maybe we could encourage sharing info-rich links for general discussions and offer purchasing links when it genuinely adds value. Also, a friendly reminder to keep discussions respectful never hurts. Diversity of opinion is what makes forums like this great, but keeping it civil is key!
Just my two cents!
Choosing where to link is always a bit tricky, isn’t it? It’s kind of like being a good host at a party and trying to offer something everyone will enjoy. Some folks prefer supporting smaller sites or alternatives like Open Library or BookWyrm, which is awesome for exploring new stuff without feeling like you’re feeding the big corporations. Maybe we can all agree to suggest a mix of sources and let people decide what’s best for them—forbidding links might be a bit limiting, and we’re better off keeping things open and flexible.
Wikipedia has an ISB# search system, but the only way I know-of to use it,
is to bash around on wikipedia until one succeeds in finding a link that uses that search-system, in some page’s References section,
…and then when I get to that system, then change the ISB# to the book I’m trying to find…
I WISH that Lemmy had an inbuilt facility for giving it a book, and it would produce the wikipedia-book-search link that is required for that book,
because then the viewer gets ALL venues for the thing, plain as day.
: )
Here’s seconding your vote for OpenLibrary, btw: they showed me that a couple of textbooks weren’t skippable or replaceable ( “Principles of Yacht Design”, e.g. )
As for links to Amazon: I do that, specifically because the reviews for the books are so important to deciding what the worth of the book is, for any individual reader!
You need to read the sample AND the reviews, often, to decide if it’s worth that amount of money.
I wish I could provide both the Amazon link AND the Wikipedia ISB# link ( for the paper version, obviously, as every ebook platform has its own ISB#'s ), and then people could see the sample, the reviews, AND could see all the options for getting it, laid-out before their eyes.
( :
