While I certainly appreciate Cory's POV on this issue, I think it should be acknowledged that TAG is merely asking its members to refrain from hosting links to Amazon on their websites. That's all. Compliance is completely voluntary, as is membership in TAG - it is not a union, or other type of mandated membership organization. Hey, I like (and buy) used books, but I would not expect *all* authors to feel likewise, and I certainly would not expect them to support Amazon through linking if they felt negatively towards the practice of used book sales.

And please, lets not bring up used bookstores and libraries. I think that we all implicitly understand that the leveraging power of the internet has a far greater impact upon the distribution of used books than the dusty old bookstores with their haphazard title availability, or local libraries with their limited collections. The web removes many if not all of the "barriers of inconvenience" that limited the impact of libraries and used bookstores on the average author's income.

No one is arguing against the existence of the first sale doctrine. But likewise, no one should argue against the right of authors to link to whatever bookselling sites they wish (including Amazon). If an author feels that used book sales hurt, he may omit such links. If he feels that used book sales help bring new readers to his work, then he can show his support by including links to Amazon, Half.com, etc.

I think that TAG (purposefully or otherwise) has managed to focus attention on an important issue, which shall become even more important if DRM-governed digital content should ever catch on in the book environment.