

Off-topic: Why do people put [scribd] in a post title when linking to a pdf? - ncarlson

Wouldn't putting "[pdf]" in the title be more accurate?
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RiderOfGiraffes
They don't. If you submit a PDF, the scribd system takes a copy and the link
to their copy is inserted automatically.

I will never put a link to a PDF again. I submitted a link to someone's work,
and scribd has effectively appropriated the traffic for themselves. It smacks
of theft.

I contacted scribd to say that the author had not authorised them to take a
copy and asking that they remove it, but they are aggressive in their defence
of their actions. They require legal statements from the owners, and even then
I'm not convinced.

Only submit a PDF if you're happy to have it copied without permission.

~~~
rewind
This happens automatically within the HN system when you post a link to a PDF?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
It happened to me.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=690526>

I never put that link to scribd, never uploaded it.

I'd love to discover I'm wrong, as I think it's utterly iniquitous.

~~~
ErrantX
Im not 100% sure about the process. I wasnt too happy at first BUT reading the
Scribd site it is a possibility thatthe "slurped" document is brought in on
demand (i.e. not stored on the Scribd server). That seems ok to me because it
amounts to using a piece of PDF reading software - only it's web based.

Scribd is pretty handy for reading the documents because it lets you read them
in a more dynamic way (bookmark etc.).

If their saving it then that's another matter. Im still down with doing that
at times - but only on documents with permission. Automatically is just bad
manners!

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
> _it is a possibility that the "slurped" document is brought in on demand
> ..._

If that's true then it's even worse. They use the owner's bandwidth, _and_
they prevent people from going to the owner's site. Getting the traffic to my
site is important, especially if I'm paying for the bandwidth. I'm sure many
people make papers available on the understanding that people are therefore
coming to their site.

~~~
ErrantX
Im not sure I agree much there.

I really don see the difference between Foxit reader browser plugin and
Scribd.

The bandwidth is going to be used anyway so that's a bit of a moot point
perhaps?

In terms of site traffic... yeh the argument has merit. But tbh I cant recall
a time I clicked a PDF link and then later surfed the related site.

I see what your saying though - I can see how it would annoy someone
(personally if they arent taking creidt then it wouldn't worry me too much - I
consider the content more important then where they read it per se)

~~~
Radix
I think RiderOfGiraffes comes from an academic background. Those little html
only professor sites frequently have more that one interesting paper or essay.
I think you're right about the slurping (because clicking more>document_info
in Scribd shows the uploader as Slurp) but they're making a mistake to not
give you a link to the original document.

Can anyone explain what Scribd is trying to accomplish? pdf is already an open
standard. Both require a third party viewer. Until iPaper doesn't use flash
there is no reason for Scribd to be the youtube of documents.

Although an embeddable document viewer that allows you to force layout, keep
the data on your server, supports math notations, and doesn't use flash might
be worth having on the internet.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
I was once an academic, but these days I'm both in industry and science/maths
popularisation. I try to attract people to my site to get them engaged with
the material I write, and then try to keep them engaged and interested.
Perhaps they will then ask me to come and speak for them.

When I write something and put it on my web site it's because I want people to
visit. Their engagement with the site lets me get sponsorship to run the site,
and potentially speaking engagements. Speaking engagements lose me money,
because I take unpaid leave from my job in industry to do them, but I think
enrichment in education is important, and I'm willing to give up money to help
make it happen.

Think of it effectively as volunteer work.

If material is ripped off wholesale and stored somewhere else, or if
essays/articles are shown on another site without the visitor coming to my
site, I lose my traffic, potentially I lose my sponsorship, and certainly I
lose my opportunities to provide enrichment in schools. Doing what scribd does
undermines that.

Other people have other reasons for people to visit their sites, but mine
alone mean that I hate what scribd does. I think it's unethical and
parasitical.

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ErrantX
When you link to a PDF I think the site puts the [scribd] in - which links to
a scribd'd version of the PDF.

(it took me a while to figure this out :) stumped me for an age when I first
noticed)

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mjl
scribd doesn't have pdf. it has documents in flash. i don't use flash (only
flash video outside a browser). [scribd] makes me not click the link. seeing
[pdf] might make me click the link. the sooner people stop using scribd for
things i find interesting, the happier i am.

