Lendle: Amazon has revoked Lendle's API access

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But that's exactly what I mean! The official Amazon mechanism starts with knowing the email address of the person you want to lend the book to. Once you've built a giant database of; "I Have/I Want, You Have/You want... and here's my email address", there's nothing stopping those people from forgetting about Amazon mechanisms completely and emailing each other books that have had the drm stripped from them -- like one big happy pirate mailing-list. With Lendle keeping track of who wants what.

Surely I'm not the only one that recognizes this?

The site doesn't know that. Having access to the lendability information, though, does allow enforcement to some extent-- that only lendable items are listed as available.

Of the 22 or so loans I've participated in on my lending club, only one loan was ever, um, suspicious (a file I know nothing about the DRM status of was emailed to me. I read it and then deleted it). The rest were legit loans. Most people there play by the rules. To me, it's only getting my money's worth to be able to lend the book to someone who wants to read it.

So many publishers have pulled out of the lending program it's sad. You see the same books listed over and over.

[Giggleton]

If people really want to lend books to strangers they are going to, we don't need access to an API for that. Amazon has become schizo.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

If people really want to lend books to strangers they are going to, we don't need access to an API for that. Amazon has become schizo.

No, they're just not adhering to your "everything must be free" ideology.

The fact that Amazon cannot single-handedly stop piracy does not mean they're going to tolerate sites like Lendle.

[rogue_librarian]

The funny thing is that Lendle really tried to do this above board, as it were: if you want to download these books illegally, there's nothing stopping you. What makes this sharing site different is that they tried for a legal approach. Way to go, Amazon...

[alsaan]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But that's exactly what I mean! The official Amazon mechanism starts with knowing the email address of the person you want to lend the book to. Once you've built a giant database of; "I Have/I Want, You Have/You want... and here's my email address", there's nothing stopping those people from forgetting about Amazon mechanisms completely and emailing each other books that have had the drm stripped from them -- like one big happy pirate mailing-list. With Lendle keeping track of who wants what.

Surely I'm not the only one that recognizes this?

Well, it wasn't that easy to view any member's email address. To prevent email harvesting, you had to commit to lend one of your books before being able to contact anyone, and you'd be punished if you didn't follow through with the Amazon process.

I'd say that other book social networks (such as Amazon's own Shelfari) make a lot easier for ebook pirates to get in touch.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's what I thought: I don't see how any involvement from Amazon is necessary for this. I wonder if they were perhaps a "front" for exchanging illegal material?

Ding Ding Ding Ding

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

No, they're just not adhering to your "everything must be free" ideology.

The fact that Amazon cannot single-handedly stop piracy does not mean they're going to tolerate sites like Lendle.

And books are available to lend through existing channels - public libraries.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And books are available to lend through existing channels - public libraries.

Well, it is of course true that you can read everything "on" your Kindle, including library books... Perhaps not what the Lendle users had in mind, though.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Well, it is of course true that you can read everything "on" your Kindle, including library books... Perhaps not what the Lendle users had in mind, though.

Hee-hee. My library has both mobi and epub. I think they are moving to epub, but have had mobi title prior to that.

[anijh]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And books are available to lend through existing channels - public libraries.

Not all public libraries participate in ebook lending. Even if all of them did offer, the Kindle is not able to access public library books without resorting to illegal methods. So, that's a no go.

Lendle only allowed you to loan books that were lendable and the books came from Amazon. The publishers have a choice to enable/disable the feature for their books. A lot of them made books not lendable which is their right. The way that Lendle was set up there wasn't a way to contact each other offline. You only saw one e-mail address at a time and that was for a specific book to loan so e-mail address harvesting would have took up a lot of time. Clearly, the people suggesting illegal downloads were the key to this site have never used it. If a person was going to resort to illegal downloads -- Lendle wasn't the easiest or smartest place to do it and would've been a huge waste of time given that the most popular books were 9/10 times not lendable.

Amazon is just being a pain that's all. They can do whatever they want but honestly why enable a feature on your device if you don't want people to use it. It'd be best for Amazon to pull the feature all together instead of pretending. I love my Kindle but I'm so glad I have a nook to balance the nonsense surrounding ebook lending all out. I can borrow a book from the public library or loan/borrow a lendable book with whomever I want as long as it's within the one-time restriction.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

The funny thing is that Lendle really tried to do this above board, as it were: if you want to download these books illegally, there's nothing stopping you. What makes this sharing site different is that they tried for a legal approach. Way to go, Amazon...

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by anijh

..

Amazon is just being a pain that's all. They can do whatever they want but honestly why enable a feature on your device if you don't want people to use it. It'd be best for Amazon to pull the feature all together instead of pretending. I love my Kindle but I'm so glad I have a nook to balance the nonsense surrounding ebook lending all out.

But this is your mistake. They are not changing/modifying/revoking the lending feature, but the API to Amazon.com from that website which is in their opinion going beyond their terms of use.

[sufue]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

The funny thing is that Lendle really tried to do this above board, as it were: if you want to download these books illegally, there's nothing stopping you. What makes this sharing site different is that they tried for a legal approach. Way to go, Amazon...

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

No, they're just not adhering to your "everything must be free" ideology.

The fact that Amazon cannot single-handedly stop piracy does not mean they're going to tolerate sites like Lendle.

Amazon could very easily stop piracy, by making everything available to read before purchase. YOU say you wish to support creators and would pay after reading, so would I. Those who do not pay before reading will not pay after reading either, no amount of legislation or technological controls is going to alter the pirates mind.

If sites like Lendle weren't considered in planning meetings for lending functionality...

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Amazon could very easily stop piracy, by making everything available to read before purchase. YOU say you wish to support creators and would pay after reading, so would I. Those who do not pay before reading will not pay after reading either, no amount of legislation or technological controls is going to alter the pirates mind.

If sites like Lendle weren't considered in planning meetings for lending functionality...

Completely wrong. Amazon would be out of business and there be no books to loan or purchase. You continue to spew your completely illogical, unsupportable and in fact harmful ideas.