There have been several Bonaire shore dive books written over the years -- some expensive and some not. BSDME has a fairly long history (first written By Jessie Armacost, if I recall correctly) and, IMHO, is the best. Whenever a new version has come out, I have purchased it. Sometimes the updates were worth it but I always felt that supporting the project was of value as well. (And I dove several times in Bonaire when there was not really much of a guide at all and I got along just fine).
I understand Susan's issue -- it can be pretty scary to see someone taking your pride and joy and changing it -- and even displaying what it would look like. And calling it a "divemaster edition." It is her intellectual property and, likely, a source of income and a great investment of time. The internet is a brave new world and, as an author, all you used to have to worry about was the photocopy machine. If it were published on the internet, most of the monetary value of the product would go poof. (A few people would have not known it was available on-line and maight be it in a LDS). And that genie never goes back into the bottle.
That said, this was NOT the case here. CJ made clear (early and often) that this was a project he was doing for his personal use. He further made clear he had bought (and valued) the original book. CJ made clear that he had no intent of sharing anything that was not his intellectual property. (Note: the format of BSDME is probably also a protected element although Susan has not asserted that). Further, he stated he would be happy if Susan incorporated some of his concepts in a future edition. Whether he has a legal right to do so, IMHO Susan should have been fine with the effort provided that: a) it is for his use only; b) he never distributes it in any way -- not to friends, not in person, etc, -- without an contract in place; c) he add a note at the bottom of each page stating that the text is the property of Susan.
As to the future, in terms of here, it is clearly the call of NetDoc. I hope Susan figures a way out of the box she is in at this point.
Personally, I would hate to see BSDME go away. I tell every diver new to Bonaire to buy their own copy. A book just feels good in the hand and travels well. You can add stuff in the margins. I think Jessie and Susan have done a nice job with it. And it is not easy to stay up to date with all of the minor changes from time to time (entries, in particular, change).
That said, much of the material in any guidebook is factual and that makes it much harder to protect. All it would take is a very dedicated group of divers, a digital camera, and a wiki site to record their observations...
