My journey into the darknet

[Logseman]

I only pay for something if I have to. I download everything from the darknet, for it is the only way that I can satisfy my wide array of tastes. If I were more computer savvy I'd anonimize my PC completely and use proxies to circumvent geographic restrictions. The companies do have their goal very clear, which is winning money. I have my goal clear as well: spend the least money and time possible.

And before I get the lecture of "you're stealing", all of what I've published (translations, mainly) is under the conditions of a Creative Commons 3.0 licence which allows unfettered use of the text and only puts a condition to identify its source. Abiding to that, I won't download anything whose author is not clear in the specs or the metadata. I want to know who did what I like, and hope that if someone likes my work they'll want to know who did it.

[sony_fox]

However, when I get to #9 which also isn't available to purchase I'll be back at the darknet. I'm frankly puzzled why they would release #1-4, #6-8, #10-20 without releasing 5 and 9

I encountered this with Janny Wurts excellant Curse of the Mistwraith series where book 4,6,7 and 8 were available but no book 5. I wrote to the author, and the publisher - just standard links from their website. It took over 3 months, and a few more emails as they struggled with "a technical difficulty with the file" but could at last legally buy the book I wanted.

It's only because I've been in online contact with Janny for some time, and really enjoyed her work, that I perservered and waited for the legal option.

Publishers really really need to know that stupid problems like this drive away customers, and as others have said above, not just for this book, but for all subsequent books. Once you're on the darknet, the legal options seem remote.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Logseman

I only pay for something if I have to. I download everything from the darknet, for it is the only way that I can satisfy my wide array of tastes. If I were more computer savvy I'd anonimize my PC completely and use proxies to circumvent geographic restrictions. The companies do have their goal very clear, which is winning money. I have my goal clear as well: spend the least money and time possible.

And before I get the lecture of "you're stealing", all of what I've published (translations, mainly) is under the conditions of a Creative Commons 3.0 licence which allows unfettered use of the text and only puts a condition to identify its source. Abiding to that, I won't download anything whose author is not clear in the specs or the metadata. I want to know who did what I like, and hope that if someone likes my work they'll want to know who did it.

So because you decide to give your work away you feel that gives you the right to steal from others.

Sheesh.

Interesting O.P. and subsequent comments. Everything from not paying for it is always wrong (even for out of print books not available through any legitimate source in ebook) to if I can find it anywhere for free anywhere it's mine (even for books available in ebook at reasonable pricing). The latter sort of makes me nostalgic for the ethos of the 'hippie' culture of my youth: “things should just be free man.”

I am actually in the same fix at the moment. I want three books, all first published over fifty years ago, in ebook format. However, after much searching it appears that none have been legitimately released as ebooks and so it is impossible to buy any of these. If I could find any of these titles on the 'darknet' would I download them? I'll admit I probably would. Since I don't have any idea of how to access the 'darknet' what I will actually do is buy the cheapest paperbacks I can find, cut the binding off, and scan them myself to ultimately produce an epub book. This is something I only do as a last resort for a book I really want due to the time involved.

[mores]

I got started with eBooks through the darknet.
It actually wasn't the darknet as I know it, no sleazy IRC or raunchy torrent but a clean as a whistle click-here-to-download-this-book-for-free website.

As I'm getting less poorer (nice way to put it) my conscience gets unguiltier and unguiltier.

I also don't have any inhibitions downloading a pirated version when I own the printed book, and only very silently nagging angels on my shoulder when an eBook costs beyond €30 while the softcover can be gotten for €10.

[wallflower75]

When I first got an eBookwise, I went looking through the darknet to find John Grisham books. Found some OK copies and decided to go with them.

When his books were released for legal purchase last week, my first thought was, "Well, I already have those." But I went and bought my two favorites anyway. And depending on whether or not I use up my book-buying budget next month, I might buy another one soon.

[mr ploppy]

The irony here, of course, being that in the UK and America circumventing copy protection is illegal, whereas non-commercial copyright violation is just a civil offence in the UK.

[mrscoach]

I am struggling with a guilty conscience, but not too much. I am against using the darknets for works that can be gotten legitimately, but I wanted a series of books that are not out in ebooks, and do not seem to be anywhere on the horizon. A little bird (I don't know if I should offer it a cracker of rum) told me where to find them as pdfs, and I then converted to epub. I just happened to stumble across this little birdie, too, but was grateful.

I only feel slightly guilty because I own multiple copies of most of the series in pbook, and single copies of the others. I am not depriving anyone of a sale, because there is no sale to be made, but I still feel guilty for doing something 'illegal'. I did give a copy to someone else, they are the real reason I was looking in the first place, but they also own multiple pbook copies, so that doesn't even really bother me, either.

[mr ploppy]

I already said this somewhere else, but if old ebooks were priced at the second hand paperback level, most people who would otherwise download them for free would pay for them rather than spend time searching for free copies. It's not as if the publishers are making anything from the sale of second hand books, so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by kennyc

So because you decide to give your work away you feel that gives you the right to steal from others.

Sheesh.

While I don't agree with your choice of words (but let's not go into that again!), I do agree with your sentiment. That Logseman chooses to give away his translations and other work, in no way justifies his use of other people's work without their permission.

And it make be worry a bit about his translations - are the works he's translating and giving away his to give away? Hopefully he's only doing so with out-of-copyright works, or with the permission of the original author.

Logseman: You make your work available under the condition that people keep your attribution. You'd presumably be upset if someone took your work, stripped your name, and passed it off as their own work? i.e. if someone broke the conditions you've set for distribution of your work?

Can't you see that other authors will be equally annoyed with your for taking their work without payment, if that's a condition that they have set for the distribution of their work?

[tlrowley]

Originally Posted by Marcy

However, when I get to #9 which also isn't available to purchase I'll be back at the darknet. I'm frankly puzzled why they would release #1-4, #6-8, #10-20 without releasing 5 and 9.

-Marcy

Seeing a Large Cat (#9) is available on Kindle, in case you want to keep your conscience as clear as possible!!

[pietvo]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

... Everything from not paying for it is always wrong (even for out of print books not available through any legitimate source in ebook) ...

Side note: in my country it is legal to make a copy of a book that's out of print and cannot easily be obtained any more for personal use. This includes also paper copies.

[CyGuy]

Originally Posted by jabberwock_11

While searching for a copy of my all time favorite book, Bringing Out the Dead, in ANY format at ANY price ANYWHERE I stumbled upon a torrent site that not only had a copy, but a well formatted copy. Now I have been on the lookout for this book in ebook format for a long time. I own a hardback copy of the book and used to own a paperback copy of the book.

If you actually own a paper copy of the book, no foul in downloading the eBook for free. You have paid the author, you can read the book however you like.

[Logseman]

Logseman: You make your work available under the condition that people keep your attribution. You'd presumably be upset if someone took your work, stripped your name, and passed it off as their own work? i.e. if someone broke the conditions you've set for distribution of your work?

Can't you see that other authors will be equally annoyed with your for taking their work without payment, if that's a condition that they have set for the distribution of their work?

1) No, I wouldn't be angry in the slightest. I do find it tasteless to substitute someone else's name for mine: thus, I seeked permission from the original author of my translated texts, who publishes his articles in the C4SS (Center for a Stateless Society) under the CC licence I mentioned before.

However, I can't be angry about plagiarism like for suing people. I won't probably be able to avoid it before it happens anyway. The core word is that, "preventability". People do what they can get away with. I wouldn't publicise anything if I feared to be copied or stripped from my work, because I can't impede those things to happen. It'd be a blessing if they did, actually. I wish everyone would read my translation of "Intellectual Property: A Libertarian Critique" even if it was mercilessly self-attributed by 200.000 people. In fact, it would mean it's good enough for people to value and try to "steal" it.

Keep this in mind: if someone plagiarises me and such plagiarism doesn't actually bring big revenues to him or her, noone will take the bother to sue, as it will most probably remain undetected and, if detected, the prospective sum doesn't compensate the cost of suing.
Nevertheless, if the ill-intentioned copy does bring huge revenues and media attention, I do have proof to show the farce and expose the plagiarist, like that German unknown blogger who was copy-pasted by a "young talent".
If said "talent" had sold 500 copies and won 0 awards, it's highly improbable that the blogger would have said anything in public, even if he had actually discovered the cheat.

It's not the authors who sue, usually, for they don't get the lion's share of the revenue. It's the big publishers who have to feed their rising overhead costs, their subsidized transport costs and their lobbies who benefit utmostly from copyright, as the Sonny Bono Act proved in all its glory.

2) You ask if I would pay for things. Yes, if I like them. Sigil's and Calibre's authors have a donation with my name on it, as does the C4SS. The fansub group I do translations for has my money as well. Meg Cabot would get one if she had a donation site.
Nevertheless, the fact that I would pay for them doesn't mean I have any obligation, moral or of any kind, of doing so. It's my money, and it's mine so that it satisfies my own needs. I, as a consumer, have the duty to enjoy as much content as possible while paying as less money as possible. Only so will the producers learn to lower their prices and give better service. Domesticated consumers who overpay for things, bear with the encumbrances of bad programs and justify their behavior as "morally correct" are the ones who cause harm to their fellow consumers and the producers as well, who keep selling flawed products since they see people buy them anyways.

All of this surprisingly verbose response refers, by the way, to the goods subject to the so-called "intellectual property". For goods made of physical matter, things are different, and I'm quite sure we're all in complete agreement for those.

[Krystian Galaj]

Originally Posted by Logseman

Nevertheless, the fact that I would pay for them doesn't mean I have any obligation, moral or of any kind, of doing so. It's my money, and it's mine so that it satisfies my own needs. I, as a consumer, have the duty to enjoy as much content as possible while paying as less money as possible. Only so will the producers learn to lower their prices and give better service. Domesticated consumers who overpay for things, bear with the encumbrances of bad programs and justify their behavior as "morally correct" are the ones who cause harm to their fellow consumers and the producers as well, who keep selling flawed products since they see people buy them anyways.