What is most underrated things on the public domain? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 weeks ago by Joker@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I like surfing in the public domain to find any great thing worth using and archiving.

Do you know of anything that is in the public domain and is very valuable or worth archiving?

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[-] Libb@jlai.lu 22 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Books. Every single masterpiece that was printed before... a certain date (it will depend the country you live in), is available for free online. They are not just 'free', they're concentrated thoughts/cleverness/creativity available to anyone willing to take the time and, sadly nowadays, to make the effort of reading them.
Not really public domain but close enough: public libraries, most of them will be free and they will also let you access non-public domain books too, even the most recent titles.

For me, it's an everyday little miracle that publishers have not yet managed to convince lawmakers public libraries should be made illegal... because a lot of those publishers only want us to buy their books, much more than they want us to read them.

Public libraries are one of the most undervalued resource in many countries. One day, they will be gone, and a majority of us will not even care. Sad.

edit: typos.

[-] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

standardebooks.org is a great site for reading classics.

They make very nicely formated ebooks for our enjoyment. Defiantly better than the wall of text you'll get from the .txt version or a lazily converted ebub.

[-] Libb@jlai.lu 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

+1 they're doing a good job, as well as for @fraksken@infosec.pub suggestion (even though Gutenberg don't focus as much on ebook layout ;)

If anyone is interested reading in French:
En français pour quiconque serait intéressé:

If all of those links (also the two French ones I just mentioned) are 100% legit, unlike brick and mortar public libraries they offer little in guise of advice. If you have never tried talking with a librarian to get tailored reading suggestions, give it a shot. You may be surprised how useful they are. Also, they very rarely bite... only after they have been transformed into a vampire, or a werewolf.

(nope, I am no librarian but, yep, I may bite... in certain situations I won't publicly disclose :p)

edit: removed a quote from another post.

[-] fraksken@infosec.pub 4 points 2 weeks ago

The Gutenberg Project aims to archive the public domain books

[-] bkr78658@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Whenever I get into discussion about piracy libraries gets brought up. Libraries are just pirates. One person buys a book and shares it with others for free. Same shit as piracy. With the books is the same as with digital content. You are not buying the paper, you are buying the content. Except if you buy a book online you are for some reason not allowed to share it. And yes I support piracy.

this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024

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