

How to deal with Pirates - davidw
http://blog.liberwriter.com/2013/12/10/how-to-deal-with-pirates/

======
GrinningFool
I like what the author did here - it was a more-than-reasonable response.

But the blog post author's response is interesting to me, particularly:

"Actually going after one of these sites legally is not likely to work out
well for most self-published authors: It’s like playing whack-a-mole: another
one will spring up in its place if you manage to get one.You don’t have the
resources big publishers do, and those guys still aren’t able to shut this
stuff down."

What he seems to be missing here is that whether your response is to try to
shut these things down, or whether you're going to each site and humanizing
yourself - the cost is the same: you're spending time doing things that aren't
writing, and aren't working.

It seems to have worked out (possibly) for the author in this case, but it's
not scalable as we like to say here. You're still playing whack-a-mole, you're
just doing it with a feather duster instead of a sledgehammer.

~~~
davidw
Fair point, but the 'nice' approach seems like it may be a little bit more of
an investment, in that the author at least got herself listed on the 'authors
to support' list of that particular site, and maybe changed a few minds. It's
probably still a drop in the bucket, but at least she came away feeling like
she did something, rather than sitting still while someone was ripping her
off.

(I'm the one who wrote the blog post, by the way)

~~~
GrinningFool
Thanks for responding.

"It's probably still a drop in the bucket, but at least she came away feeling
like she did something, rather than sitting still."

Valid point. This is just something that's always frustrated me as someone who
creates work with value (to those who need it), but which is also easily
copied. Since sometime in my mid-teens, I've consistently failed to understand
the entitlement mentality that allows people to justify the behavior that
compels authors and publishers to spend time and/or money combating the
behavior.

I suppose, ultimately, efforts like the one the nearly-pirated author made are
the probably the most effective as they at least have a chance at educating
people as to the effects of the actions they take.

Doesn't make it less frustrating though

------
davexunit
Please stop using the term "piracy". It is a loaded term.

[https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-
avoid.html#Piracy](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Piracy)

~~~
mildtrepidation
So is "hack." So is "terrorism." I share your frustration, but the way people
use the language changes it; just look at the recent "because Internet" crap.
Asking people on the internet (which I'd say is what most 'journalists' have
now become as well, incidentally) to stop abusing and overloading terms is
painfully futile.

~~~
runarberg
See, copyright violation has a well defined term, namely "copyright
violation". Piracy means something completely different (an act of robbery or
criminal violence at sea).

Despite negative connotations "hacking" still means _expanding the usage of an
object_ and "terrorism" still means _enforcing ones ideals through violence_.

So these comparisons are not valid.

EDIT: To make my point clear. When clicking the link, I thought the article
was literally about pirates, that is sea criminals (or perhaps the political
party). If only the author would have used the more descriptive, and more
correct term "copyright infringement" I would have been less confused. So
usage of the word " _piracy_ " in this context is both damaging, wrong and
confusing.

~~~
davidw
The article wasn't really aimed at HN, I just happened to submit it here, too.
It's aimed at self published authors, who know _exactly_ what I am talking
about with "piracy": it's not some married couple sharing a book, it's people
setting up sites and systems to widely distribute a book without the author's
knowledge or agreement.

I really liked Rebecca's approach, because rather than getting into a rage
about her book being ripped off, she kindly, and politely explained how they
are hurting her, and what the consequences are for those who enjoy her
writing.

~~~
davexunit
Unfortunately, Rebecca doesn't realize how Amazon is hurting her by
threatening to stop selling her books if they are available gratis somewhere.

For further reading of why Amazon is bad for authors and customers alike, see:
[http://stallman.org/amazon.html](http://stallman.org/amazon.html)

------
kens
A while ago I came across an amusing article about an author who ended up
helping a pirate translate his book into Russian.

The author found the rogue translator through a message board where the
translator was asking for help with obscure English phrases. It's surprising
both how much effort the translator went to, and how confused he was. For
example, he thought "white-liberal guilt" might be guilt about using cocaine
(since it's a white powder).

Eventually the author decided to help the pirate achieve an accurate
translation, since he seemed to be actually interested in the book.

Check out the article here:
[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/11/steal-
my...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/11/steal-my-
book/309105/)

------
squozzer
You give 'em a broadside from your 74, board their vessel, and hang the
survivors.

~~~
davidw
A lot of self published authors would love to do that, but don't quite have
the means to do so.

~~~
JetSpiegel
Aye, but Tortuga has a lot of desperate people.

------
snorkel
.. Or you could give the freeloaders the special edition for free which
happens to contain random passages from Alice in Wonderland, pointless
diagrams, and lengthy rants about your neighbors inexplicably weaved into the
original work.

~~~
bluntly_said
I know right? Some scum in India liked her books, but can barely afford the
original price, much less the mistaken x2 price. Fuck that guy for enjoying
her work and trying to better himself by expanding his knowledge of other
cultures and opinions. Who does he fucking think he is, trying to read her
work without paying $x american dollars to Amazon for the privilege. Fucking
freeloaders man. /s

~~~
snorkel
You're right. Authors should price their works according to how sobby the
sobbiest sob story is per consumer. At least with my approach they would get
the book plus bonus material.

------
res0nat0r
Sounds like the moral of the story is: Before pirating something online, ask
the author for their permission first.

------
bowlofpetunias
Oh, this just so pisses me off:

> a lot of people on these sites don’t think of authors as actual human beings

Maybe author's that peddle vendor locked-in DRM crippled stuff via Amazon to
an audience unable to understand how they are getting shafted should try
seeing their readers as actual human beings first.

~~~
davidw
If you don't like it, don't buy ("rent"?) it. But don't rip it off, either!

The book has lending enabled, and if you were to ask nicely, perhaps she'd
disable DRM on it too, if it is enabled. She sounds like a very reasonable
person, inclined to discussion before getting in an internet rage about some
detail of the book.

~~~
proksoup
Why do you feel it is "ripping off" when people copy?

------
VLM
Both sides seem victim of a middleman, the author's not getting sales because
the middleman set a ridiculous price, and the reader isn't getting to read her
book.

The correct (not necessarily legal) way to solve the problem of an inaccurate
or inherently wrong price is to apply a smooth scale. Sure download my book
and if you liked it please visit my cafepress site and buy a tee shirt or
bumper sticker or post on facebook / social media about how awesome my book
is... or provide a nice positive review on amazon even if you don't buy it. If
you really want to annoy your middleman, such that your middleman might never
sell anything of yours again, ask pirates to paypal you whatever they think
its worth if they're overcharged by the middleman.

Most of the drama comes about because some people create to eat and some
people eat to create, and making assumptions about who fits in where is a big
issue.

~~~
davidw
> Both sides seem victim of a middleman

She entered into an agreement with Amazon that she was happy with. She was not
a 'victim' in that arrangement, and actually gets a pretty good deal in terms
of revenue sharing. Yes, there was a problem with the international pricing in
India, but that may be something she can fix. She got to set the price for her
book, though, and is happy with the arrangement of getting paid for the book
itself, rather than t-shirts, bumper stickers, or other unrelated knick-
knacks.

~~~
VLM
OK I agree victim might have been kind of harsh. Some other term for a
monopoly middleman not perfectly meeting a fiduciary responsibility to
maximize returns for anyone, not themselves or her.

There is no monopoly provider in the knick-knack space, or at least its not
the same monopoly provider, so she could try to use them as a strategy to
bypass the somewhat ineffective monopolistic middleman.

~~~
davidw
Amazon isn't a monopoly. Look at Nathan Barry's books, for instance, which
earn him quite a pretty penny with no Amazon involved:

[http://nathanbarry.com/authority/](http://nathanbarry.com/authority/)

~~~
VLM
This is of the argument style where Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly on the
desktop because OSX does have about six to seven percent market share... I'm
not buying it.

Now gas stations, theres no monopoly on gas stations. Or banks. Or news
websites. But I don't think you'll sell many people, or at least not as many
people, on the idea that Amazon isn't the monopoly provider of ebooks. Lets
discuss the marketplace with joe6pack ... there's the Kindle, and the "huh?".

~~~
davidw
Above, I posted a link to a book that has helped make the author 6 figures for
his writing alone. I don't think any of his books are on Amazon. Infact, he
recommends against publishing with them, because you can make more money
elsewhere.

