Project Guterotica: Is PG Still PG ?

On his deathbed at age 94, George Bernard Shaw iced his place in history, with the "immortal" last words: "I knew if I hung around long enough, something like this was bound to happen."

The same thing might be said about Project Gutenberg (PG), a repository for free literature in the public domain, the venerable grandfather of the free ebook movement. This morning, on PG's list of newly added works, some books appeared that might be classified as that 19th-Century Viagra known as "Victorian erotica".

We have no objections, and we have one suggestion: Is it possible for Project Gutenberg to label this material as "Adult Content" ?

Diligent journalists as we are, we did manage to download some of these offerings, written by "Anonymous". One is titled Forbidden Fruit: Luscious and exciting story; and More forbidden fruit, or Master Percy's progress in and beyond the domestic circle. Two other titles that sounded suspiciously salacious are Laura Middleton; Her Brother and her Lover; and The Power of Mesmerism: A Highly Erotic Narrative of Voluptuous Facts and Fancies.

Put the kids to bed before downloading any one of these.

Project Gutenberg: let's get those "Adult Content" labels up, and keep them up.

I thought that with 50 I had discovered every possible benefit of ebooks, but for the 2010 edition, this could be one more.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks


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Save the Internet — Support Net Neutrality

What is Net Neutrality ? A belief that the Internet should remain equal for all users, and free from interference from the telecommunications companies who provide broadband service to consumers. These broadband companies want to destroy Net Neutrality, to create a "two-lane" information highway system. Those who pay more would get the fast-lane service, and those who pay less would get the slow lane, with the possibility that some content from the Internet would be filtered out according to the whims and whams of your ISP.

Net neutrality is the way that, for the most part, the Internet is working now. But the big companies are trying to change the laws to allow them to control the content-flow, and thereby create an undemocratic Internet.

Lots of people are not happy with this move by the telecommunications giants. But the solution is not as easy as "change your ISP." Broadband buyers often have little or no choice all.

What can we do? ... An excellent group, Save the Internet, is organizing an effort to preserve net neutrality. And Congressman Ed Markey is attempting to pass a bill that will protect our Internet freedom.



Learn more, with these Resources For learning about Net Neutrality:


Save the Internet:


Ed Markey's Proposed Law:


Net Neutrality in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality

Net Neutrality Supported by John C. Dvorak
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2269835,00.asp

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