You can't save an institution by betraying its mission: Supporters will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no supporters.

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11418781…

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Cory Doctorow

2025-03-19 07:02:05

Paula Le Dieu's one of the smartest, most committed archivists I know. Years ago, she shared a neat analogy with me about the paywalling of public archives, a phenomenon that has become rampant as public institutions have been pushed to seek private funding to close the gaps left by swingeing cuts.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/03/19/sel…

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Pluralistic: You can’t save an institution by betraying its mission (19 Mar 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

Hey look at this

* GIMP 3.0 Released testing.gimp.org/news/2025/03/…

* Cell phone bans in schools don't work, new study finds usermag.co/p/cellphone-bans-in…

* Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow freedom.press/issues/wired-is-…

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#20yrsago Yahoo! bought Flickr! web.archive.org/web/2005032801…

#10yrsago Suspicious people, American Airlines edition flickr.com/photos/doctorow/166…

#5yrsago Republican senators told us everything was fine as they secretly panic-sold their stocks pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Right to Repair during pandemics pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Judge overturns terrible copyright decision against Katy Perry pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

5/

#5yrsago Patent trolls spin their shakedown of covid testing tech pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Dafoe's plague diaries pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Open source hardware ventilator enters testing pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Ifixit's new database of med-tech repair guides pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Simon Pegg's coronavirus Sean of the Dead remake pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

#5yrsago Trump is outbidding state agencies for medical supplies pluralistic.net/2020/03/20/plu…

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#1yrago Working class Dems who campaign on economics beat Trumpists in elections pluralistic.net/2024/03/20/act…

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Yesterday's threads: AI can't do your job; and more!

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11418221…

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Cory Doctorow

2025-03-18 07:17:44

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: AI can't do your job; and more!

Archived at: pluralistic.net/2025/03/18/asb…

#Pluralistic

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Pluralistic: AI can’t do your job (18 Mar 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

My last nationally bestselling novel was "The Bezzle," an ice-cold revenge story of high-tech finance crime starring the forensic accountant Martin Hench.

us.macmillan.com/books/9781250…

Signed copies from Chevalier's Books:

chevaliersbooks.com/product-pa…

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My latest nonfiction book is "The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation" from Verso Books:

seizethemeansofcomputation.org

Signed copies available from Book Soup:

booksoup.com/book/978180429124…

Both are national bestsellers!

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Book details - Macmillan Publishers

New York Times bestseller Cory Doctorow's The Bezzle is a high stakes thriller where the lives of the hundreds of thousands of inmates in California’s pris...

^Macmillan

My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

craphound.com/shop/

10/

Upcoming appearances:

* Virtual: Picks and Shovels at Imagine! Belfast, Mar 24
youtube.com/live/SXhEh8yU1M0

* #Chicago: Picks and Shovels with Peter Sagal, Apr 2
exileinbookville.com/events/44…

* #Chicago: ABA Techshow, Apr 3
techshow.com/

* #Bloomington: Picks and Shovels at Morgenstern, Apr 4
morgensternbooks.com/event/202…

* #Pittsburgh: Picks and Shovels at White Whale Books, May 15
whitewhalebookstore.com/events…

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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #Pittsburgh: PyCon, May 16
us.pycon.org/2025/schedule/

* #PDX: Teardown 2025, Jun 20-22
crowdsupply.com/teardown/portl…

* #PDX: Picks and Shovels at Barnes and Noble, Jun 20
stores.barnesandnoble.com/even…

* #NewOrleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12, 2025
contraflowscifi.org/

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Recent appearances:

* The internet that could have been was ruined by billionaires (Real News Network)
therealnews.com/the-internet-t…

* Organized Money
audio.buzzsprout.com/6f5ly01qc…

* Did Nothing Wrong
didnothingwrongpod.com/p/episo…

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You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!

Here's today's edition: pluralistic.net/2025/03/19/sel…

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I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel *Picks and Shovels*.

Catch me in SAN DIEGO on Mar 24:

mystgalaxy.com/32425Doctorow

And in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on Apr 2:

exileinbookville.com/events/44…

More tour dates here:

martinhench.com

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