# Encyclopædia Britannica Is Now Free
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 20, 1999, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111 "1999-10-20T21:29:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)
#### Post date: [October 20, 1999, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/1 "1999-10-20T21:29:00Z")
Just in case you hadn’t heard.
[http://www.britannica.com/](http://www.britannica.com/)
Unfortunately, the site is so swamped you can’t get in.
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [October 20, 1999, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/2 "1999-10-20T21:33:00Z")
Now shouldn’t this topic be in MPSIMS? Maybe we can ask our moderator to move it? 🙂
I’ve been trying since yesterday to get in, haven’t been successful once.
* * *
J’ai assez vécu pour voir que différence engendre haine.
Henri B. Stendhal
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### Author:  [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)
#### Post date: [October 20, 1999, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/3 "1999-10-20T22:21:00Z")
I just arrived at the site and all that’s there is a letter of apology for the technical problems and that they’re hoping to be up again in a short while.
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### Author:  [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)
#### Post date: [October 20, 1999, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/4 "1999-10-20T22:34:00Z")
And are they surprised at the business? Jeez, it’s only the largest compiled compendium of human knowledge on the planet. 'S not like anyone will want to see it for free . . .
I’ve been asking for a copy of the Britannica on CD-ROM as a Christmas prezzie all year. This morning I was excited to think I didn’t need to mess with disks.
Now they’re looking better all the time.
-andros-
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/5 "1999-10-21T00:08:00Z")
Largest amount of knowledge, eh? Think it explains how Nick got that ‘a’ & ‘e’ together?
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/6 "1999-10-21T00:09:00Z")
Also, try [www.eb.com](http://www.eb.com) much better & reliable.
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### Author:  [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/7 "1999-10-21T01:28:00Z")
Andros said:
> [@](#):
>
> Jeez, it’s only the largest compiled compendium of human knowledge on the planet.
Ahem! Just what the hell do you think _this_ site is, pal?!
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### Author:  [@typertrphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typertrphy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/8 "1999-10-21T01:38:00Z")
\<—HURLING A LIFE PRESERVER TO ANDROS…lol…he didn’t mean it that way, Unca Cecil, HONEST.
( the poor fool… )
Typer 🙂
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### Author:  [@typertrphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typertrphy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/9 "1999-10-21T01:39:00Z")
As a more serious side note, my brother was sold a set of the real dealio- the Books…about…18 years ago. they were $ 1400 and he could not really afford them. He got suckered by the salesman. Now? free? Holy moley, hot patooties !!!
Typer 🙂
" If you want to kiss the sky you’d better learn how to kneel "
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/10 "1999-10-21T03:21:00Z")
They ran a promotion like this last Spring (about a week after I had renewed my annual membership ☹ ). Enjoy it now because I suspect that it will only be available for a couple of weeks.
You guys worried me. I don’t mind a free promotion after I’ve already paid my dues, but if I had been unable to reach the site because of promotional traffic, I was going to go look up Ex-Tank and see what punitive remedies he could devise. (It seems OK; I come in through a separate address.)
**Handy**? æ is Alt + 0230 and Æ is Alt + 0198.
* * *
Tom~
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### Author:  [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/11 "1999-10-21T08:12:00Z")
I thought those characters were:
æ . . . ampersand hash 230
and
Æ . . . ampersand hash 198
Ray
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### Author:  [@TheIncredibleHolg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheIncredibleHolg)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/12 "1999-10-21T08:26:00Z")
Well, _I_ think those characters are Compose-a-e and Compose-A-E, respectively.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/13 "1999-10-21T09:34:00Z")
Nope, this is not a promotion. This is the real deal … forever.
Britannica hopes to recoup falling sales of the paper version of their encyclopedias by advertising on the site.
See [http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/britannica990919.html](http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/britannica990919.html)
for the full story.
–puff
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### Author:  [@Momotaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momotaro)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/14 "1999-10-21T11:47:00Z")
What does Æ (A-E) stand for anyway? How about Œ (O-E)? I figure it’s from Latin origin, but I don’t know how it’s supposed to be pronounced. I’ll understand an analogy to French pronounciation (i.e. é, ê, è, a, â, etc)
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### Author:  [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/15 "1999-10-21T13:44:00Z")
Well, in really-o truly-o Latin, “ae” rhymes with “high”.
The difference in spelling is a quarrel over what to do with Greek words that got into English via Latin. British tradition (now waning under American influence) is to use the Latin spelling. American tradition is to pretend the word came directly from the Greek.
* * *
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
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### Author:  [@Lucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/16 "1999-10-21T14:56:00Z")
## Well, I work for Broderbund/Mindscape and while the big guys don’t fill me in on everything, I can help you out a bit regarding the E.B. deal. It’s the 1997 version. Though there is no official pronouncement, don’t expect that it will be updated. IMO, even a 1997 version is good for free.
Don’t get me wrong–I love life. I’m just finding it harder and harder to keep myself amused.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 1999, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encyclopaedia-britannica-is-now-free/4111/17 "1999-10-21T15:17:00Z")
Seems to be some confusion on just _what_ is
free.
Since I can’t logon, it must be that you can use the books online? This is _not_ the same as them mailing you their cdrom set, which seems like a pretty nice deal around $50 after rebate.
But, ah, if only it were so easy cause when you try [eb.com](http://eb.com) & click on the buy eb cdroms link you get thrown into a loop that doesn’t do anything…ack