# Mobilism...anyone know this site...is this a pirating site? And what do you do?



## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

I found and all call for my newest novel here by a pariah 164 on this Mobilism site. Anyone know this site? Is it a pirating site...looks to be as they are calling out for a copy of the Epub or Mobi... If so, any idea what to do about them? Thanks

Here's the notice I found.

http://mobilism.me/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=1007329


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Yes, they're a pirating site, and I suggest you ignore them unless you have discovered some magic way of ending piracy that has eluded the rest of the world up to now.


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

I'm not sure there's anything you can do, unfortunately. They are very careful about not hosting pirated content on their own site.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

eleanorberesford said:


> I'm not sure there's anything you can do, unfortunately. They are very careful about not hosting pirated content on their own site.


What do you mean...very careful about not hosting pirated content on their own site? What is their own site? As this is on there Confused.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

I take it this is another one?

http://www.91downloads.me/ebooks/222877-lumiere-a-steampunk-fantasy-the-illumination-paradox-series.html

No wonder I'm struggling to sell books.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

jegarlick said:


> I take it this is another one?
> 
> http://www.91downloads.me/ebooks/222877-lumiere-a-steampunk-fantasy-the-illumination-paradox-series.html
> 
> No wonder I'm struggling to sell books.


Don't worry about it. Those sites are so virus-infested that anyone who goes there comes back with more than they've bargained for. Those sites are not into selling books, they're into scamming people's details and selling those on. Just ignore them.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest their armpits...and private parts...

I sent them a cease and desist to that affect...lol

Made me feel better!


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## lilywhite (Sep 25, 2010)

.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

David S. said:


> They don't actually have copies of the stolen material on their own servers. They just provide a link to where it can be found, kind of like Google.


OH, so people click on their link and they get there personal information, and they get a virus...is that it? GOOD. I like that. (smiles)


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

OMG...Mobilism just had the NERVE to write me back and inform me my complaint was not sent to the correct channel and thus, I was to use their copyright click thru link. Wow...just wow...


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

jegarlick said:


> I found and all call for my newest novel here by a pariah 164 on this Mobilism site. Anyone know this site? Is it a pirating site...looks to be as they are calling out for a copy of the Epub or Mobi... If so, any idea what to do about them? Thanks
> 
> Here's the notice I found.
> 
> http://mobilism.me/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=1007329


That was just a request for the book. If no one who participates in the forum provides it, then it's not a problem. *Lumiere* is available on Mobilism.org, though. The site is low impact. It's much more difficult to use than just popping open your torrent software. How do I know these things? Long term geek who knows other long term geeks. Some of them who are young with no money.

It's true that most people who pirate your work were never going to buy it. It really doesn't have any impact on your sales. If it did, George RR Martin would be broke. He ain't.

The requestor may be someone who just refuses to buy any digital product. There are people who believe everything on the internet should be free, and they aren't going to be dissuaded. Or it's possible the person really truly can't afford to buy it right now but loves your books and wants to read more. Down the road, that person may turn into a rabid fan who buys all your work once he or she has a job that will allow it.

In a semi-related note, I found a request for my own books. I'm feeling a bit complimented now. It's not every day a gal gets her work pirated. I feel like I've finally arrived. It's really rather exciting


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Jill Nojack said:


> In a semi-related note, I found a request for my own books. I'm feeling a bit complimented now. It's not every day a gal gets her work pirated. I feel like I've finally arrived. It's really rather exciting


It doesn't bother me much, either. They've got a link to my permafree. I signed up and warned them that it was more Women's Fiction than Romance, and one of the mods messaged me to ask if I was cool with it being posted. If not, they'd cheerfully take it down for me. I told them it was fine.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I'm going to be the grouch here and point out that the "they wouldn't have paid for it anyway" theory is only true up to a point. If they can't get your book free, yes, most won't buy it. They'll just move on and pirate somebody else's book instead. But if that book was also unavailable and the next and the next, they would eventually be forced to rely on legal channels, such as libraries, free public domain works, and the many, many thousands of ebooks being voluntarily given away free on Amazon every day. That's why the argument that people can't afford a book never washes with me. Yes, people are entitled to read. But helping themselves to one specific entertainment item or a specific brand of luxury item is the farthest thing possible from a basic human right. And the idea that digital content has no true value and thus cannot be stolen is shown to be false every day by the number of writers who sell ebooks for a living and would be unable to earn a paycheck if everybody helped themselves to whatever they wanted. I realize this particular Pandora's box (digital piracy) can't be closed now that it's been opened, so there's no point in expending a ton of effort or anger on it. But I don't think I'll ever be okay with taking something that hasn't been paid for, without the original owners' consent. I'm sure we all know people who do it and there's pressure to be cool with it and not speak up. But never forget how many authors and other creators rely on people doing the honest thing - that this is what allows us to buy groceries, pay for our kids' shoes, and everything else that regular people do with their paychecks. 

I'm not arguing against free books. I'm the first to agree those are great for exposure. But the decision of which books to make free and when belongs to the author and nobody has the right to take it out of her hands by uploading her entire backlist to pirates sites. /grumpy-old-lady-lecture


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

jegarlick said:


> What do you mean...very careful about not hosting pirated content on their own site? What is their own site? As this is on there Confused.


They only host links to pirated material hosted elsewhere. Technically, they are a forum. This is their get out of gaol free card, at least in theory. (Don't take this as a personal defense of piracy. I don't even download TV!)

Interesting link: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/16/lloyd-shepherd-ebook-pirates-mobilism


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## AgnesWebb (Jan 13, 2013)

I've sent them multiple notices about one of my stories and it's still up there. Extremely frustrating...not to mention illegal.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

AgnesWebb said:


> I've sent them multiple notices about one of my stories and it's still up there. Extremely frustrating...not to mention illegal.


You have to send a notice to the site hosting the content by following the link in the forum. The forum doesn't host the files and doesn't have to respond to a DMCA. The hosting site is the one that has to take down the file.



Carol (was Dara) said:


> I'm going to be the grouch here and point out that the "they wouldn't have paid for it anyway" theory is only true up to a point. If they can't get your book free, yes, most won't buy it. They'll just move on and pirate somebody else's book instead. But if that book was also unavailable and the next and the next, they would eventually be forced to rely on legal channels, such as libraries, free public domain works, and the many, many thousands of ebooks being voluntarily given away free on Amazon every day. That's why the argument that people can't afford a book never washes with me. Yes, people are entitled to read. But helping themselves to one specific entertainment item or a specific brand of luxury item is the farthest thing possible from a basic human right. And the idea that digital content has no true value and thus cannot be stolen is shown to be false every day by the number of writers who sell ebooks for a living and would be unable to earn a paycheck if everybody helped themselves to whatever they wanted. I realize this particular Pandora's box (digital piracy) can't be closed now that it's been opened, so there's no point in expending a ton of effort or anger on it. But I don't think I'll ever be okay with taking something that hasn't been paid for, without the original owners' consent. I'm sure we all know people who do it and there's pressure to be cool with it and not speak up. But never forget how many authors and other creators rely on people doing the honest thing - that this is what allows us to buy groceries, pay for our kids' shoes, and everything else that regular people do with their paychecks.
> 
> I'm not arguing against free books. I'm the first to agree those are great for exposure. But the decision of which books to make free and when belongs to the author and nobody has the right to take it out of her hands by uploading her entire backlist to pirates sites. /grumpy-old-lady-lecture


I don't think anyone here is arguing that it's okay to pirate an author's work, simply that the impact on sales is minimal and it's not worth expending a lot of energy on. The stress isn't worth it. Yes, send a take-down notice to infringing sites, but if you get big, it's just playing whack-a-mole except without it being fun. Should businesses try to make their delivery methods as difficult for pirates as possible? Yes, absolutely. All for it. But people get upset about piracy out of proportion to the financial impact.

If not for digital distribution, our books would be safe from being copied and distributed. Mostly because the vast majority of people on this forum wouldn't be published, including many of the people who are now very well known. I don't want to go back to those times. I accept piracy as one of the costs of doing business. I prefer not to let it affect my mood


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## dianapersaud (Sep 26, 2013)

My reply is how to stop a pirating site (regardless of the site). If you want them to stop, you need to report the website to the HOST SERVER. I wrote a blog on it because general-ebooks kept posting my stuff on their website. I had to find out who their host site was and once I contacted them, my pirated books were removed.

The link below tells you step by step how to do the same thing for any websites that are pirating your work. Hope you will check it out and spread the word:

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REPORT A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION http://wp.me/p44qaE-3v


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

yes, they are a pirate site. Every book I publish gets pirated there within a week of publishing.
I have contacted them politely (I actually joined the site) told them I was the author, and would they please take the book down. So far they have honored every request that I have made.
I also let them have it for a week, before I make the request. I tell them that a week is more than time enough for their members.

As to those who say that the people who pirate your book wouldn't have paid for it anyway? No, that's a complete lie. A lot of people will look to see if they can get it free before buying it. As I sell my books for 2.99, there is no one out there who can not afford to buy it. I have actually tracked the source of the pirates, they buy all of my books on AMAZON, pirate it, and I suspect they then return it. It has made me consider setting DRM on my books to try and make it harder for them, but I doubt that it will.

Again, by polite with the people at Mobilism, and they'll be polite back. There is another guy out there as well that pirates lots of books. I've asked him several times, and when I finally told him I knew where he lived, he finally pulled my stuff. (I didn't really know where he lived, I took an educated guess. but I must have been close because all my stuff came down).


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## lilywhite (Sep 25, 2010)

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## lilywhite (Sep 25, 2010)

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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Jill Nojack said:


> I don't think anyone here is arguing that it's okay to pirate an author's work, simply that the impact on sales is minimal and it's not worth expending a lot of energy on. The stress isn't worth it. Yes, send a take-down notice to infringing sites, but if you get big, it's just playing whack-a-mole except without it being fun. Should businesses try to make their delivery methods as difficult for pirates as possible? Yes, absolutely. All for it. But people get upset about piracy out of proportion to the financial impact.


Agree that it's not worth expending vast amounts of energy or anger on. Disagree that it doesn't have financial impact on content creators and the overall economy. To say nothing of the disrespect pirates have for authors who, in their eyes, don't deserve even a dollar or two for our months or years of work. But my resentment is directed at pirates and not anyone here personally.


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## dianapersaud (Sep 26, 2013)

According to their website, if a user has been reported twice, then their account will be terminated. I would report them. It doesn't take long.

I found my stuff out there. One was posted by a woman who has posted almost 7000 books. According to her profile, she has a KOBO device, so I contacted KOBO to see what they would do (if anything) about it. Will keep you posted.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

dianapersaud said:


> My reply is how to stop a pirating site (regardless of the site). If you want them to stop, you need to report the website to the HOST SERVER. I wrote a blog on it because general-ebooks kept posting my stuff on their website. I had to find out who their host site was and once I contacted them, my pirated books were removed.
> 
> The link below tells you step by step how to do the same thing for any websites that are pirating your work. Hope you will check it out and spread the word:
> 
> HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REPORT A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION http://wp.me/p44qaE-3v


Thanks for this... I will. Pirating is unacceptable. And if I can, I want it stopped. Thanks.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

vanstry said:


> yes, they are a pirate site. Every book I publish gets pirated there within a week of publishing.
> I have contacted them politely (I actually joined the site) told them I was the author, and would they please take the book down. So far they have honored every request that I have made.
> I also let them have it for a week, before I make the request. I tell them that a week is more than time enough for their members.
> 
> ...


Well, sadly, times have changed. I approached them. Let them know I was the author and to take it down, and they sent me a notice to register my complaint through their proper "copyright violation channels" (what a joke!) a click thru link, which I assume, will then pirate my personal information. (correct me if I'm wrong on this...and I will use the click thru...) I lost it on them, and yeah... not taking it down...basically thumbing me...the [illegitimate persons]. I have no respect for the likes of these people. Way past polite. ugh.


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

vanstry said:


> There is another guy out there as well that pirates lots of books. I've asked him several times, and when I finally told him I knew where he lived, he finally pulled my stuff. (I didn't really know where he lived, I took an educated guess. but I must have been close because all my stuff came down).


The funny thing is that piracy _isn't_ a crime, but threatening someone is. Way to take the moral high ground, champ.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

dianapersaud said:


> According to their website, if a user has been reported twice, then their account will be terminated. I would report them. It doesn't take long.
> 
> I found my stuff out there. One was posted by a woman who has posted almost 7000 books. According to her profile, she has a KOBO device, so I contacted KOBO to see what they would do (if anything) about it. Will keep you posted.


Thanks. How did you track who posted it? Wait...is that this pariah person


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

I found one of my books on there, but I'm not going to bother trying to get it taken down. It's a scumbag pirate site filled with scumbag pirates. Even if I did send them an email, I have no doubt that they would both ignore my complaint and leave the book on there and then sell my email address to spammers. Not worth it.


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## jegarlick (Jun 23, 2013)

Perry Constantine said:


> I found one of my books on there, but I'm not going to bother trying to get it taken down. It's a scumbag pirate site filled with scumbag pirates. Even if I did send them an email, I have no doubt that they would both ignore my complaint and leave the book on there and then sell my email address to spammers. Not worth it.


No...they would do this..."sent me a notice to register my complaint through their proper "copyright violation channels" (what a joke!) a click thru link, which I assume, will then pirate my personal information. (correct me if I'm wrong on this...and I will use the click thru...) I lost it on them, and yeah... not taking it down...basically thumbing me...the [illegitimate persons]." grrrrr...

Know what really TICKS me OFF...I spent serious $$$ to File a US COPYRIGHT on that book as well as a CANADIAN ONE...and yeah... well...


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## Dolphin (Aug 22, 2013)

jegarlick said:


> No...they would do this..."sent me a notice to register my complaint through their proper "copyright violation channels" (what a joke!) a click thru link, which I assume, will then pirate my personal information. (correct me if I'm wrong on this...and I will use the click thru...) I lost it on them, and yeah... not taking it down...basically thumbing me...the [illegitimate persons]." grrrrr...
> 
> Know what really TICKS me OFF...I spent serious $$$ to File a US COPYRIGHT on that book as well as a CANADIAN ONE...and yeah... well...


It's probably not a phishing expedition unless they're asking for something like a credit card, but that doesn't mean you should do it. You've already wasted time and money on filing with the copyright offices, so why not stop throwing good resources after bad and ignore it? Stop compounding past mistakes. I truly don't believe that having your work pirated could be anything but _good_ for your publishing career anyway.

And if even I'm wrong, you still can't stop it. So there's that too.

Don't get me wrong-I know where you're coming from, because even though I know faith has been shown to have measurable beneficial effects for humans, I'm a vehement atheist. Can't convince me otherwise, just as I probably can't change the minds of anybody who's squicked out by piracy. I get it. But I don't harangue people in churches because they're not going anywhere, whatever I say or do. Piracy isn't going anywhere either. Unless quixotic futility is your life's jam, you just gotta move on with your business instead of tilting at windmills.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

lilywhite said:


> I disagree, strenuously, and would love to see statistics on this, as every study I've read contradicts this vehemently.


I'm sure those studies were being applied to music by bands and companies that sell a lot more than we indies do.
My own studies (I track my sales daily during the first weeks of a release to get a handle on advertising effectiveness) ALWAYS show a dip in sales the day after I'm pirated. That's how I know I'm pirated.

Because reading a book is a lot different than listening to music and the dynamic is a lot different. Most people only read a book once, so they don't buy it if they liked it, because they'll never read it again. Unlike a song, which they'll listen to again and again. I have a pretty good idea how much the pirating costs me, and it is not a small neglible percentage of my income. As my books are now pirated within a couple of days of being published, it is quite a lot.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

Dolphin said:


> The funny thing is that piracy _isn't_ a crime, but threatening someone is. Way to take the moral high ground, champ.


1) piracy is a crime. It's called 'copyright violation'. 
2) I never threatened him, nor did I imply that I threatened him. I simply reminded him that what he was doing was illegal and that I was pretty sure I knew him. If there was any implication being made, it was that I would take legal action if he didn't cease and desist (as I sent him a C&D).

I took the high moral ground.

_Edited. PM me if you have any questions. --Betsy/KB Mod_


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Folks, let's cool down this discussion, please. Please keep the biting comments out of the discussion or we'll lock the thread.


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## dianapersaud (Sep 26, 2013)

jegarlick said:


> Thanks for this... I will. Pirating is unacceptable. And if I can, I want it stopped. Thanks.


This one is a bit tricky. They are using a server in Panama which is using a server in the US. But the US host doesn't recognize the links I sent them as being theirs. So I contacted the website and filed a DMCA complaint. I also contacted KOBO to let them know that a user with a KOBO device has posted nearly 7000 books on their website. They haven't responded yet, but I hope KOBO will do something to protect our rights.

Usually the steps I listed in my WP post will work if the server is in US (because of US law). You can also report to the FBI and a host of other government agencies. But if you are expecting the government to actually do something....

On the flip side, if more authors would report these websites, the government might decide to investigate the more prominent ones.


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