Fòram na Gàidhlig

Ceanglaichean air an toirt air falbh.

Most of the authors of the books mentioned are active in the development of Gaelic services.

Downloading illegal copies of their books robs them of their incoming and puts the development of further materials at risk. There's already too little money in Gaelic for most publishers or authors to take a risk on it. If you don't have the money and you really need a book, please go to your local library or ask a friend at your local Gaelic group if you can borrow a copy for a week or two.

Downloading illegal copies is just rude.

Níall Beag wrote:Most of the authors of the books mentioned are active in the development of Gaelic services.

Downloading illegal copies of their books robs them of their incoming and puts the development of further materials at risk. There's already too little money in Gaelic for most publishers or authors to take a risk on it. If you don't have the money and you really need a book, please go to your local library or ask a friend at your local Gaelic group if you can borrow a copy for a week or two.

Downloading illegal copies is just rude.

Yes i agree with all of the above, and i have bought all the above books legitimately myself.

However, my library cannot get a hold of these books at all which seems unbelievable but it's Clackmannanshire... they don't care. There are hardly any Gaelic resources in local libraries - and that goes for the Highland area too! Also, for people that live abroad it is just not possible to get these books unless you wish to pay extremely high prices for them and import them.

Also, a lot of the books that are available on that site are old copies that have been outdated several times by now. As most folk say on the site these are good for making a few print offs and writing on - they hardly substitute for the real books.

I am not condoning this site, but sometimes you have to ask yourself why people do it? If it was easy, and cheap enough, to pop out and get said books why does this exist? It's the same with the music and film business... i guess books are the in thing now too.

*Alasdair* wrote:Also, a lot of the books that are available on that site are old copies that have been outdated several times by now. As most folk say on the site these are good for making a few print offs and writing on - they hardly substitute for the real books.

That's entirely disingenuous. You know full well that the majority, if not all, of the books you linked to are still in print (I can't see now that you message has been deleted) and that they have rarely, if ever, been issued as new editions. There is no way you can justify ripping off books currently on the market on the grounds that the site they're on also links to out-of-print items on the same website. It's like saying "don't arrest this drug dealer, he also sells bottles of legal lemonade!"

I am not condoning this site,

Christ on a bike! If telling people to go to a website isn't a sign of condoning it, I have no idea what is!

but sometimes you have to ask yourself why people do it? If it was easy, and cheap enough, to pop out and get said books why does this exist?

Sorry, but if going to Amazon and spending £20, then waiting a week isn't easy enough or cheap enough, nothing is. The postage argument is pretty weak, too.

I'm sorry, but these things are as cheap as they can realistically be -- Morag MacNeill doesn't drive a Ferrari, you know.