Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
The problem is, when you convert something to AZW3, Calibre sets the EBOK tag automatically and there's no way around it.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by odamizu
That strikes me as a calibre issue, not an Amazon problem.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
It may be a calibre issue, but it doesn't mean it's ok for Amazon to just delete random files from users' devices without any action on the user's part.
|
I don’t think it’s random at all. Though it occurs to me that users who always sideload via USB, always manage their ebooks/docs manually on their Kindle, and deliberately avoid connecting to WiFi are understandably unfamiliar with Kindle’s normal syncing process, so when they do connect to WiFi and books suddenly disappear, it can seem random, outrageous, alarming and/or nefarious.
I always connect to WiFi and manage content online (including using Send-to-Kindle to transfer all my personal documents), so when books appear and disappear whenever I turn on my Kindle or Kindle app it’s totally normal to me as part of Kindle’s normal syncing process. If I delete a book from my Kindle Library on one device, I expect it to disappear from all my other devices when I turn them on. If I log into my Amazon account and go to my Content Library or Devices to send or remove ebooks to specific devices or delete ebooks altogether from my Kindle Library, I expect those books to be added or deleted from my devices as soon as I turn them on.
I strongly suspect that in order to sync, Amazon maintains some sort of "master list” that records all Amazon-supplied ebooks (cdetype EBOK), all user-supplied personal documents (cdetype PDOC), what ebooks/documents the user has archived to their Content Library, and what ebooks/documents have been downloaded to each respective device.
I suspect every time a user connects to WiFi, Amazon synchronizes the device to the master list (and vice versa), which can mean automatically adding or deleting material from the device. If there is a new PDOC on the device that isn't on the master list, Amazon appears to assume it was transferred via USB and adds it to the master list. But if there is a new EBOK on the device that doesn't have a matching EBOK on the master list, Amazon appears to identify it as an error and deletes it. By "matching EBOK" I mean a file identical to a version supplied by Amazon and NOT a diddled version (to use DiapDealer's adjective, which is my new favorite word).
The bottom line seems to be: If you're sideloading personal documents (including ebook purchases that you’ve diddled with, even if the diddling is slight), you have two choices: either 1) never turn on WiFi, or 2) make sure it has cdetype PDOC so that Amazon knows it’s a personal document and will leave it alone. If you use a “fake” EBOK tag, you can’t blame Amazon for treating it like an EBOK.
The fact that calibre automatically uses a “fake” EBOK tag when converting ebooks to AZW3 is a calibre issue, which seems a not insurmountable problem for a willing developer.
The fact that users expect Amazon to leave their “fake” EBOKs alone seems, quite frankly, unreasonable, since Amazon provides the PDOC tag specifically for personal documents, including diddled Amazon purchases, which they leave alone.