The following was posted by Cyber Surfer to alt.culture.internet on Sun, 02 Jul 95. Only the URLs have been changed...
I consider that choice to be a luxury. Some of us may be free enough to give away information, while others are not. For me, it depends on the nature of the info. Some kinds of info can be sold by an information broker, while others might not be so easy to sell.
So, I may be happy to tell you where you might obtain a particular CD, but if you want some software written, or HTML, then I might not feel so comfortable sharing some info with you for free. Whether we like it or not, there may be a price attached. If I told you how something I did was achieved, then perhaps you could also do it, and so my own use of that info would have less value. I'm not in a position where I can just give away "trade secrets".
Of course, we were simply discussing the quality of WWW authoring. If you find a site that looks particularly impressive, or you just like the style, you're free to look at the HTML and learn from it. That's exactly what I've done!
Ok, now you know the easy bit. The rest of it, which involves writing HTML etc, takes time and some thought. Have I lost anything? I don't think so, judging by the number of people who think that "cool" pages need lots of graphics. Someone like that probably won't learn anything from looking at my pages, or by reading this thread.
Here's some info that I'm happy to give away:
Many of my favourite writers have come from there, and one of them also teaches there. By giving away this little gem, I may cause a few more writers to go there and learn. I hope so, coz I'd like to see more good writers. I'm not actually losing anything, but potentially gaining something.
I can also use it to make a point. There are writers who don't give away their writing skills for nothing, even when teaching others. Clarion isn't free. Some information can be expensive. You just have to decide how much you're willing to pay for it, or to sell it for. We all make that choice, just as we're all information brokers of one kind or another.