Slashdot Mirror

It is amazing how long it takes some things to show up on Slashdot. This was reported on hpana.com last Friday. Actually, that was an update to the story, which was reporting an article she wrote on her website. There is an an older update from November 1st that also talks about it. I cannot find the original article, it has rolled off of the old news page.

If you read on and visit Rowling's site you will notice something. The story is quite different from what the grandfather-post suggests. Rowling has been helping the lexicon so for. But now the makers of the lexicon intend to make money by publishing a book, and that is where Rowling has to draw the line. She's happy helping fans, but selling books based on her work is a bridge to far.

I take no pleasure in the fact that publication has been prevented for the present. On the contrary, I feel massively disappointed that this matter had to come to court at all. Despite repeated requests, the publishers have refused to even countenance making any changes to the book to ensure that it does not infringe my rights. (source

AMEN.

This is my biggest problem w/ people posting their own works. Because while maybe they have some good stuff to contribute, I know they are really just looking for people to get clicks on their page.

And overall, I think the official release on site or any of the numerous sites that cover this would have done better.

And why no props for JK Rowling herself?

RonB

By market share, all have failed; all that has survived is the web browser and its basic standards.

And for those (like me) too lazy to actually Google for it... JKRowling.com

It is amazing to read all the blacklash concerning the Target suit. First if you run a business in this United States of America you cannot disallow any group from purchasing your services. Sorry no blacks allowed does not go anymore. Sorry little woman, you need to bring your husband in to make the purchase does not go anymore.

Sorry blind guy you cannot use our website has not been judged yet. But it would be reasonable to expect that Target will settle/loss this. The point of the lawsuit and I am certain that Target was selected, was to purchase anything from Target website a buyer was required to create an online account. Not a big problem, except at Target where the submit button required the use of the mouse. Two lines of code was needed by Target to fix the problem the day after they were sued. In the six months of negotiation Target said it was to difficult. That is not the only problem but that is why Target will loss the lawsuit.

Second, I am certain that to create an accessible web site or a standard based web site requires a web developer of superior skills and knowledge. Other wise you would see more of them. To mention two great web sites please see http://www.jkrowling.com/ and http://www.afb.org./

That http://www.jkrowling.com/ site uses something called Flash and it's accessible. Obviously from the various posts on slashdot that web designer must be a magician.

For the rest of you who said fuck the blind, what do you expect braille monitors, or I am a sorry ass college professor in computer science who does think I have to have an accessible web site. Get a grip and grow up. Life continues to evolve. and yes one day we will be reading about how hard it is to make web sites accessible for cognitively impaired. And from reading the various posts I think we need to start now.

It is amazing to read all the blacklash concerning the Target suit. First if you run a business in this United States of America you cannot disallow any group from purchasing your services. Sorry no blacks allowed does not go anymore. Sorry little woman, you need to bring your husband in to make the purchase does not go anymore.

Sorry blind guy you cannot use our website has not been judged yet. But it would be reasonable to expect that Target will settle/loss this. The point of the lawsuit and I am certain that Target was selected, was to purchase anything from Target website a buyer was required to create an online account. Not a big problem, except at Target where the submit button required the use of the mouse. Two lines of code was needed by Target to fix the problem the day after they were sued. In the six months of negotiation Target said it was to difficult. That is not the only problem but that is why Target will loss the lawsuit.

Second, I am certain that to create an accessible web site or a standard based web site requires a web developer of superior skills and knowledge. Other wise you would see more of them. To mention two great web sites please see http://www.jkrowling.com/ and http://www.afb.org./

That http://www.jkrowling.com/ site uses something called Flash and it's accessible. Obviously from the various posts on slashdot that web designer must be a magician.

For the rest of you who said fuck the blind, what do you expect braille monitors, or I am a sorry ass college professor in computer science who does think I have to have an accessible web site. Get a grip and grow up. Life continues to evolve. and yes one day we will be reading about how hard it is to make web sites accessible for cognitively impaired. And from reading the various posts I think we need to start now.

And, much like the Passion of the Christ, it shows glaring the massive double standard being applied. Violence, blood, and gore are bad and will scar and ruin our children... except for when it's an accurate reproduction of a Bible story. Magic, magical creatures, and fantasy worlds are evil and the devil trying to corrupt the children, unless it an accurate reproduction of a beloved Christian author's work.

Monopolies do exist in the real world. For example, transmission of electric power, national defense, and law enforcement are usually provided by monopolies. That is, you don't have a choice who to get a particular class of service or good from. Sometimes you don't even have a choice whether or not to get the service. Monopolies are also used in a more limited sense where you may even have viable alternative products outside of the measured niche. Only J. K. Rowling can legally produce Harry Potter books. She has a monopoly on writing books with these characters. In that case, you can still write stories about Harry Potter-like characters in Harry Potter-like situations, so her monopoly is very limited. In the days before the breakup of AT&T in the US, AT&T had a monopoly on telephones, but there were other means (eg, telegraph or travel) for communicating with people.

The strongest monopolies are in law enforcement and national defense. For example, private US citizens can't legally wage war on another country except as members of an official US government unit (historically, the US has allowed US citizens to join the militaries of allies who were in desperate need, eg, the UK during both the First World War and the Second World War). Many countries have laws on the books banning mercenary activities, for example. While there are examples of private companies managing prison systems, the power to imprison people resides solely with the state in most places.

JK Rowling has denied that

I thought it stood for Joanne K. Rowling

That said, (a) Do you ever regret doing so? and (b) Do you think it's fear of unstable people, overwork, or a holier-than-thou attitude toward the proles (or a combination of the three) that keeps other celebs from being as visible, open, and honest?

I say this because I'm amazed at the down-to-Earth nature of those like yourself, J. K. Rowling, and others who aren't afraid to speak out for what they think and feel. With technology, one may wonder why others might not do so.

Like your blog, btw. Good to see you back on /.!

Q: Will there be a book about Harry's Mum and Dad, about how they became friends and how they died?

A: So it would be "Harry Potter: Episode One". [Laughter]. No, but a lot of people have asked that. It is all George Lucas's fault. You won't need a prequel; by the time I am finished, you will know enough. I think it would be shamelessly exploitative to do that. I am sure that Mr Lucas is doing it only for artistic reasons, but in my case I think that by the time you have had the seven books you will know everything you need to know for the story.

"Artist reasons" -- She is hilarious.

Oops. corrected link.