Expensive ISBNs

RE: Expensive ISBNs

Remember DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers). 

http://www.doi.org/

The concept was that each publisher would be issued a prefix (Mine was
10.1125). The first 10 was the country and then a company identifier. After
that you built the rest of the identifier like an internet URL any way you
liked. For example 10.1125/SF/The-Moon-Is-A-Harsh-Mistress/MM or whatever
you like since you owned that prefix's namespace. Each book would be
registered with DOI.org which would provide a search engine and you would
define an Internet URL which they would use to direct searches to you entry
to that product. They even had a protocol definition do you could use it
with browsers. doi://10.1125/SF/The-Moon-Is-A-Harsh-Mistress/PB would take
you to the rights owners web page for that item. I thought it was a good
idea an spend the money for a prefix.

Unfortunately DOI soon mutated. They disavowed my paid for prefix and now
they are sold by Bowker and other agencies just like ISBNs.


-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mary E. Tyler
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 10:08 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [ebook-community] vanity/not vanity and Lulu

>
> I don't use mobibook at the moment (but I probably should, I guess  
> -- part
> of my reason for being on this list is to learn about ebooks and  
> how to
> take the 30+ titles I have in print and get them out as ebooks  
> also. But
> I'm doing poorly at that, since I seem to spend all my time lately
> pontificating about whether or not Lulu is a vanity press :(

How DARE you pontificate, that's MY job (check my sig line, please).

> I wish I knew the answer to your question. While I'm generally in  
> favor of
> a system like the ISBN (I'm open to alternatives, if they arise and  
> are
> practical and preferably less expensive), I think the ISBN doesn't  
> need to
> be an absolute requirement -- especially when certain types of  
> books are
> specifically excluded from the system.

Yeah, but I also think that ISBNs are FAR too expensive and maybe  
should be reformed kind of like ICANN and how domain names got WAY  
cheaper when Network Solutions lost it's monopoly. The monopoly keeps  
ISBN's expensive. I wonder if someone could sue Bowker under anti- 
trust laws...

dej

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