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Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
Except for two things that it does represent:
1. support of the darknets and torrent means they continue to exist--and that means some potential loss of income, not necessarily from that type of downloader, but others.
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Torrents are going to continue to exist; they have a lot of legitimate uses. Bands and indie film producers use them to distribute files they can't afford to host directly.
Same with "darknets"--unsearchable websites not accessible through standard clickthroughs. A lot of businesses and activist groups use hidden file-exchange sites.
No amount of action against piracy, no matter how well-supported, is going to shut down private filesharing on the internet... and that means there'll always be systems available for illicit filesharing. Saying "torrents cause illegal filesharing" is a lot like saying "unlocked supermarket shelves cause shoplifting." (You haven't said that; some authors try to.)
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2. As a consumer we have choices. Darknet downloading takes "choice" out of the author's hands. I have no say whether or not I want my books distributed on the darknets. None. I can rail about it, make nasty comments, beg and plead. I have no options, and that sort of thing can harm the arts (any arts--be they music, books, etc.)
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You have no say whether your books are promoted by white supremacist groups to encourage people to join their cause. You have no say whether your books are chopped up to make word collages. You have no say whether your characters are horrifically mocked and parodied into explicit pornography. You have no say whether your text is quoted out of context and used to justify child abuse.
You don't get to decide how your books are used. You can rail against unethical uses and take action against illegal uses, but once you publish, other people get to decide how to use what you've made available. Authors have *never* been able to control the direction and methods of the spread of their books.