Re:An embarassment, really... (Score 1)

most people who go through the trial by fire to become bona fide authors are pretty firm when it comes to intellectual rights. In fact, I don't think I've met a single pro author who isn't.

Well, you may not have met him, but I'm sure you know of one. Tim O'Reilly has a different view, which seems pretty well thought out to me. And he's not only an author, but a publisher too!

Although the article linked above is a couple years old, its ideas and reasoning are still completely valid today.