Re: Problems with LWP::UserAgent

From: Dan Anderson (dan_at_mathjunkies.com)
Date: 12/26/03 

To: beginners@perl.org
Date: 26 Dec 2003 12:52:06 -0500

> Call me an old fogy, but I think that some of the mechanization of Web
> communications has gone too far. Providing interactive features in the CGI
> is one thing. It provides services for both sides of any transaction
> involved. Batch harvesting of pages meant for human perusal, like batch
> dialing of persons homes at mealtimes, strays across a line into misuse of
> technology, IMHO. Apparently, the folks at O'Reilly agree. Since some of
> them at least, have been around the CGI since its inception, you might have
> a bit of a challenge in thwarting their intended use of their site.

        Well, Safari *does* provide for printing of pages from a book
and e-mailing copies of them to other people. My intention is not to
twahrt them, but -- for instance -- when I go on a trip for christams
instead of having to print out each and every chapter to the Perl
Cookbook I can just send a script to do it. IMHO not a violation of
the Safari terms of service.

        Not only that Safari has a number of features in place that I
couldn't get around if I wanted to. For instance, all books must be
kept on the bookshelf for at least 30 days -- which (short of hacking
their server) is not going to be circumvented.

        So, all in all, I think that my usage falls under the term
fair use. I have no desire to circumvent Safari's security -- I'm
just looking to speed up something I do which conforms to the TOS of
the web site. :-D

-Dan

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