One difference, in the 18th century, they cared about the format.

Now if only ebook publishers (a) hired proofreaders (b) could figure out how to properly render diagrams, specialized fonts and pictures such that reading an ebook containing such was anything other than a disappointment.

I thought the "sloppy" era would be over by now as the technology and acceptance increased, but for whatever reason, ebooks still are given lesser priority than printed matter when it comes to editing and layout (and still are kind of a ripoff compared to the printed edition because of that).