My journey into the darknet

[jabberwock_11]

Ok, so I have been a pretty staunch supporter of the legal purchase of ebooks, with or without DRM. I can see the reasoning from both sides and even understand why a company might see DRM as necessary. The publishing execs have pet koalas and such to feed too and the idea of hard working writers sitting on a corner with a cardboard sign reading "Will tell stories for ink" just makes me sad. Sure, I remove the DRM on my ebooks, but it's for the sole purpose of being able to convert books to a format that my reader can use, I figure that if I paid for the book then I should be allowed to read that book on whatever device I choose. I am not depriving anyone of their hard earned dough.

The point that I am trying to make here, is that while I have been a supporter of the removal of DRM I have been a quiet opponent of the use of the darknet and questionable sites for the downloading of ebooks. I use various search engines to find the cheapest price for available ebooks as well as coupons and I pay for them. I have never downloaded an ebook in a questionable manner...until recently.

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. I even paid to see the movie in theaters when it first came out. The author's second book bombed, so I figured the chances of his original masterpiece being released in ebook format were slim. I have supported the author quite a bit and felt zero guilt about the idea of downloading the ebook for free, so I gritted my teeth and downloaded the book. Nothing bad happened. My computer didn't explode in a rash of viral programs, the FBI did not bang down my door, and I had a good copy of a book that I love.

A little twinkle came to my eye and I began searching for other books which were not available and had little to no chance of being released as ebooks. I found heaps of old and out of print books just begging to be downloaded and loved again. Some had poor formatting, some had near perfect formatting, all of them free.

Before I knew it I was like a heroin addict looking to get right; downloading books off of some back alley darknet site that were outrageously priced in the real world (but available in most ebook formats), grabbing books that were reasonably priced (but a part of a large series), etc. I told myself that it was because I am a poor wage slave trying to make it through my second go at school after abandoning my previous career, I told myself that it was to make up for all of the times I grinned and bent over for the publishing company and the on line distributors, I told myself lots of pleasant stories before I realized that I had begun to download books that I didn't even care that much about.

I had gone mad with the notion of freely available ebooks--my eyes were wide, drool ran down the side of my face, and my hands began to shake. I can say that if it weren't for the lack of foresight and concern of the publishing industry it would have never even happened, but it does not change the fact that the draw of free books was greater than my moral compass was able to process.

I have more or less recovered from my descent into the darknets, I can easily see why people are so drawn to this. It sems to me that the publishing industry and on line retailers are creating their own worst nightmares: legions of computer literate folks foaming at the mouths, who are unwilling to play by the currently established rules. If the industry does not start to actually listen to its consumers then I have a feeling that lots of Little Johnnys will be innocently wandering around on line when they too decide that they are tired of waiting for that obscure Cat in the Hat book (the one where he does meth and ends up selling the kids for a quick fix) to come out in an ebook format and end up finding their way to some sleazy darknet alley on line...

[sabredog]

It is a different world out in those dark alleys. I must admit I have wandered down such an alley or two in a search for a particular ebook that I cannot obtain anywhere or cannot purchase because of geographic restrictions.

The lure is certainly strong!

[Marcy]

I too have made a couple of forays to the darknet, for books I haven't been able to get elsewhere. Just this week I added The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters, #5 in the Amelia Peabody series. I just discovered this series and have been enjoying it greatly -- I bought all the volumes available at Fictionwise -- when I realized after finishing book 4 that I couldn't get book 5. I tried every online bookstore to no avail, so a quick trip to the darknet got me a (beautifully formatted and relatively error free) .lit copy. At the same site, they had *all* of Elizabeth Peters books available, but I wasn't tempted to buy anything I could actually buy. Her books are certainly giving me enough enjoyment that she deserves to be paid for them.

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

[leebase]

I agree with some of the uses of the darknet that you described -- and clearly you disapprove of some of the uses yourself. Still, I bet the publishing industry could do with a million more folks like yourself -- those who actually buy books.

Lee

[ChrisC333]

Thanks for a great read jabberwock_11.

I'm sure that the points you eloquently raised are common to the experiences of many customers, not just with books but with music, games and software in general. I suspect that the e-book scene will unfold in much the same way.


When I bought my first home computer around 25 years ago, it came with a couple of basic disks and the rest you mostly just swapped and copied with other enthusiasts. This was pretty much the only way to get anything here then as there were no local games shops as such, and very limited availability of software of any kind for small computers. Back then, most us began our computer days as minor pirates.

Then there were a number of "Intermediate Years" when I bought games and other software, but made an exception when it came to buying more than one copy of anything from a certain well known maker of operating system software. I figured I'd paid them at least once and I wasn't running a business. I didn't feel like I needed to keep paying them over and over again for what were fairly modest improvements on the same things.

But as I got older and richer - or less poor anyway - I found that I could finally afford a more up-market conscience. Now I pay for everything, and seem to like it that way. Astonishingly, all 7 computers around the house have their own individual legal software licences for everything that's running on them No more dodgy copies of W*nd*ws, no ripped copies of games. Even the mp3s were bought or legitimately converted from my CD collection.



So now it's on to the world of e-books.... will I slide back to the old wicked ways, or keep the halo bright??


I'm already comfortable with both freely borrowing books from friends and lending them my own legal printed copies. I'm also happy to request a book (also for free) through the public library system if it's no longer stocked locally. I've also downloaded a goodly swag of free out of copyright material. All legal of course. And a new 2nd hand bookshop opened in the local town yesterday. I was its first ever customer. I bought $25 worth of books - of which a grand total of 0c will go to the authors and publishers. Should that bother me?


But would I use the e-book darknet if I couldn't get a book any other way? Particularly if, as you suggest, I had already paid for a printed version would I feel that had ethically given me a 'licence to read'?? Perhaps.

At this stage I've no idea how to even access the darknet, so it's all a bit academic. But it's certainly food for thought.


My feeling are probably pretty similar to yours - it won't matter much what any of us think the legal or ethical position is. Unless the publishers pull their fingers out and make the business of buying e-books seem appealing, comfortable, straightforward, satisfying and generally "right" then they'll find that a big percentage of people will simply either rip them off, or ignore them altogether. Books are hardly the only way to read a bit of fiction or non-fiction when you have the entire Internet at your fingertips.

[Ben Thornton]

I explored what was available on the darknets when I first got a reader, because the selection that was easy to access for sale was so poor. Then I made a significant effort to be able to format shift etc., so that I could buy books. A lot of people won't be able to do this even if they want to, so the industry is forcing many to use the darknets or do without.

Recently, I had trouble format-shifting a book that I'd bought, even after trying 3 different programs to do it, so I'm now reading a darknet copy despite having purchased the book.

It seems to me that there is still a (rapidly closing) window of opportunity for the publishers to get this right. If they standardised on matching the paper price for a properly proofed non-DRM book without geo restrictions, I think that the market would take off, and especially with the addition of their back-catalogues, they could make more money. I suspect that they won't do this, and that many are doomed as a result.

[roger the rabbit]

Originally Posted by ChrisC333

snip

Then there were a number of "Intermediate Years" when I bought games and other software, but made an exception when it came to buying more than one copy of anything from a certain well known maker of operating system software.

One point you have missed is that "certain well known maker of operating system software" rose to where they are by firstly giving away their software, then turning a blind eye to home copy usage. A ploy to make everybody a convert, whether or not it worked is subjective.

I have always been a believer in fair reward for effort and avoided the darknet, buying all my eBooks from sources willing/able to sell to me.

Having because of where I live experienced the GR situation, in an ever increasing number of cases I am unable to buy English language versions of the eBooks I want.

So what is the alternative? - Commit fraud by lying about where I live? - a criminal offence. Or what?

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by roger the rabbit

One point you have missed is that "certain well known maker of operating system software" rose to where they are by firstly giving away their software, then turning a blind eye to home copy usage. A ploy to make everybody a convert, whether or not it worked is subjective.

I didn't make everybody a convert, but it sure set a standard. I am free of that particular operating system (I do run a copy of it in a virtual machine, but only when I have to). What we find now is that 99% of the time to be completely compatible with document sharing you need to have access to this company's software. Try doing a uni course where everything is in .doc(x) and .xls, ppt etc, OO doesn't cut it all the time, especially when documents have macros etc.

Anyway, back on topic. I would be lying if I said I had never used the darknet. I don't have an issue using it for ebooks ONLY when I can not purchase due to geographical restrictions a book I am willing and able to buy. That is my personal reasoning and I do not suggest nor support the use of the darknet.

[ChrisC333]

Originally Posted by roger the rabbit

One point you have missed is that "certain well known maker of operating system software" rose to where they are by firstly giving away their software, then turning a blind eye to home copy usage. A ploy to make everybody a convert, whether or not it worked is subjective.

I guess you're right. I never really knew all the background to it. The early machines I bought came bundled with legitimate and official free DOS disks of some kind, and there was certainly never any sense that sharing it around was frowned on. It still seems to be a popular way to get market penetration - give your programs away for free until they're well known and then slowly try to reel the customers in to paid versions.

because of where I live experienced the GR situation, in an ever increasing number of cases I am unable to buy English language versions of the eBooks I want.

So what is the alternative? - Commit fraud by lying about where I live? - a criminal offence. Or what?

There's a phrase that keeps cropping up in the publishing debate in Australia - "Parallel Imports". I think that there's room to coin a similar one - "Parallel Ethics" to describe the reality that there isn't and never will be a state of universal agreement on what constitutes that "action of a reasonable man" that the law is supposed to be considering. I suspect that when it comes to e-books, most of us will go our own different ways without spending too much time worrying about a knock on the door from the E-police.

[Blue Tyson]

Also in Australia you are legally entitled to format shift your own texts - paper to digital, vice versa, or whatever.

If you have a paper version and someone has already done it for you - well, that is your good luck. (Somewhat ironic if you like it enough to buy it again, but they won't sell it to you because of where you live, of course. ;-) )

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

....

It seems to me that there is still a (rapidly closing) window of opportunity for the publishers to get this right. If they standardised on matching the paper price for a properly proofed non-DRM book without geo restrictions, I think that the market would take off, and especially with the addition of their back-catalogues, they could make more money. I suspect that they won't do this, and that many are doomed as a result.

Ben and I AGREE! Ben and I AGREE! It's a red letter day!

[pietvo]

I don't download ebooks from the darknet. I like to have free ebooks (only the ones that I like to read, or think I might like) but I download only legal ones, like the PD stuff or the temporary free offers and similar ones.

I have downloaded a music CD or two that I liked in the past, mainly because downloading is legal in my country, and you pay a levy on empty CD's and DVD's to compensate the artists. Even when you use the CD for data or for your own photo's you pay the levy. So I think the artists have been sufficiently compensated. This is also the reason that it is legal to download or make copies (it falls under home copying, and you don't need to have the original).

For ebooks I think it is legal too. The article in the law that allows the home copying doesn't differentiate between music, video and books. However the authors don't get compensated, because they are outside the category of music and video. Also there is no levy on ereaders and disks here. The entertainment industry is trying to get the levy on all mass storage devices but they failed to get an agreement with the computer industry. However some other EU countries have it already (France and Spain I know of). Of course the entertainment industry would like to have both the levy and make it illegal to download. They want to eat their cake and have it too!

For me this is sufficient reason not to download pirated ebooks.
And as jabberwock_11 experienced, be careful not to download the first one as you can easily get addicted.

With respect to DRM, I highly agree that it should be abolished. It doesn't stop piracy, and it hurts many honest consumers. I have no problem removing DRM for what I consider legitimate purposes (format shifting your legally obtained ebooks for example). I haven't done it myself yet because I had no need, but I have setup the necessary infrastructure on my computer to be able to do it when the need arises.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ben and I AGREE! Ben and I AGREE! It's a red letter day!

It's so moving - I'm very happy for you both.

[kennyc]

Thx TGS!

[roger the rabbit]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ben and I AGREE! Ben and I AGREE! It's a red letter day!

Get a room!!!