Why are there no websites willing to give out free information?

hmm, I think I see what you mean. 

Google has legal problems, too. Nonetheless, there are other non-American sources of old digitized books (out of copyright and with dead authors). I like this source for old magazines: http://web.telecom.cz/vaclav.kotesovec/.

@Ziryab: it turns out I was wrong about googlebooks availablity in my country. Another poster has told me that other people in my country do indeed read google books successfully. I have opened a forum "Reading google books" where I'm asking for help in determining what the problem is on my end with reading on google books. Could you please include a link to a chess book that you can actually open and read the entire pdf on google books? I want to see if I can too. Thanks. Alejandro

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/google-books

here's the little mini forum where I ask for the help. Thanks

It probably depends on the book, or at least the publisher. There's no wholesale licensing of all books, but separate for each. In any case try this link: http://books.google.com/books?id=xJtJAAAAYAAJ.

It contains an article about William Lewis that batgirl drew upon in her blog a month or so ago. 

well, I've established that I just can't open google books. I tried that link above about William Lewis,  and I can't open it;  it unfortunately changes to a google address in my country, and the books do not open. so googlebooks just won't work here, for me anyway. But I have just tried archive.org and it works perfectly. So I'll be using archive.org as needed. Thank you. 

I use Chrome and have at least three ways to open a book. The read eBook on the left, clicking on the book cover, or the menu on the right (which includes download PDF). I also use GooglePlay on mobile devices.

I suspect, however, that copyright issues in your country are the source of the problem. Most of the chess books that I have found in Google Books are also available via Internet Archive.

@RogerOT: he's also done plenty of insulting of me, and lots of insulting of others, he's just edited his posts after doing so. Nasty people get a chance of redeeeming themselves by doing good. People are capable of all kinds of things, saints and sinners all in one. Get used to it. Its complex. We're complex.  Thank you for your help Ziryab. Don't get drawn into RogerOT's busybodiness. You and I (and possibly he) have better things to do, more worthwhile contributions to make. 

yes, I see. None of those are available to me, neither the read ebook, nor download pdf or click on the cover. It must be a country licensing issue. But the archive is a decent second best I gather. At least I'm able to open something in it. Thanks again. 

I simply try to be helpful whether I'm telling someone that he's wrong or answering questions or shamelessly promoting my blog. I carry no grudges. Even the poster whom I blocked after he called me a cheater was only blocked temporarily.

so Guavaberryguy!! How are you doing with this information? Haven't heard from you for awhile...

Such an epic moment...

...for a while this thread was my favourite daily reading ;(

I still think you are missing that fact that what I said could be construed as an accusation, but there is still another possibility for what I meant. The fact it could be construed that way was incidental. You apparently felt threatened for some reason. If you aren't guilty, why get so upset if someone didn't make a direct accusation ?

Seriously, I challenge you to go back and read the posts. I welcome you to create a thread about it, in the cheating forum and we will let the jury decide.

We aren't supposed to accuse anyone of anything here falsely, that includes accusing someone of making false accusations because, they are false accusations in and of themselves.

We also aren't supposed to discuss cheating and cheating accusations outside of the cheating forum. Are you really interested in operating within the rules, or do you just say that for show ?

when I was in high school a friend told me this saying: 

the optimist says this is the best of all possible worlds, the pessimist sadly agrees. 

And Churchill said something similar to the effect 'democracy sucks, but its better than the alternatives'. 

...known alternatives

nice. very nice. 

If the discussion of alternate meaning of your words belongs in the cheating forum, then you have admitted than their plain sense (which is a clear accusation) is the correct understanding.

We can all interpret what ever we'd like , how ever we'd like, to support our own opinions, regardless of the place or subject matter. I keep asking for you to remove your biases from this and yet you insist only giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt in your thread that, though maybe you don't put 2 and 2 together well all of the time, you might have one hell of a database to draw moves from and some how you construe that as, I was accusing you of foul play, simply because it appeared to me that your intelligence alone, didn't support your chess skills. Perhaps your database that, you admitted you created in SCID does ?

I really don't care whether you consider it a bad joke or an accusation. I wasn't sure how else to get my point across about whether creating a database, far more comprehensive should be considered cheating, but your double standard over this matter clearly shows that you think it should be considered cheating, if it can prove I accused you of it, but not when it refers to your move choices and performance in your games....seriously dude...like I said you wouldn't make a good attorney...

I have never used SCID. You do need some reading lessons.

I think I actually need to check with staff because, I could have sworn you mention the three links provided by the OP and you creating your own database on SCID but have since edited it try quelling my argument. In the even that I did read it else where, though I don't see it anywhere in the rest of the thread either, which by the way is quite peculiar to me, It is possible I was confused and wrong. However, until such a time that I can verify it, I certainly am sticking to my guns. I am way too young to be going senile already.