Drunkard's Walk Forums

Fen, we have a problem.

The tl;dr: some jackass contrapreneur calling themselves Plush Books has been scraping AO3 and other places for fic, then packaging it up for sale on Amazon. Because y'know, dickheads gonna dickhead. The Greater Fanfic Community (of which we are the doddering old uncles/aunts) has been putting together a List of stolen work:

https://nitter.net/KokomRoily/status/160...4904270848

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...edit#gid=0

I'd heard about this a couple days ago and checked the list for my personal stuff, but nothing else. Then I got DM'd on SpaceBattles this morning and guess what~?

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Shadow-Myst...B0BN61Z6YT

Needless to say, I am exceptionally pissed & will be crafting a DMCA takedown letter to Amazon ASAP. That said, as Candle is a collaborative work I do want to hear from anybody who's worked on it just to make sure that we're all on the same page here. Also, spread the word through whatever other little fic communities you live in - and if you've got long-form stuff for the love of God check the spreadsheet. If we got hit you might've too!

This is not how I wanted to spend today, but oh well.

Forwarded link to here to Caer Azkaban Mailing list.

Is it wrong that my first inkling was to go to the Reviews Section and see what people who inadvertantly paid for it, thought of it?

Quote:Before that cease and desist letter gets there. It’s fan fiction but it’s an interesting read. Whomever is writing for plush books at least did their homework on the btech universe.

I know it's an inredibly petty thing, but it's at least heartening to know someone who paid their own money for it found it interesting. It's just not the way I'd like to find out......



Anyway...... I vote for Crucifixion. One would prefer not to have fanfic in a for-profit medium in any manner. It may attract attention.

Only review there was 'hey, this is fanfic!' Added my own 'you fucking thieves'

Just so everybody's on the same page, a DMCA notice letter has been sent to Amazon. Dunno if/when they'll get around to acting on it, though.

(12-21-2022, 10:30 PM)Matrix Dragon Wrote: [ -> ]Only review there was 'hey, this is fanfic!' Added my own 'you fucking thieves'

I also submitted a review pointing out that it was plagiarized and from where, but as of this morning there's still only the one review on the page.

Update: Have received the following from the Amazon Goon Squad (DMCA Division):

Quote:Thank you for your message. Please be advised that we are in the process of removing the following Kindle titles from sale on all Amazon sites:

ASIN: B0BN61Z6YT

It typically takes 2-3 days for the changes to be reflected on the sites. We trust this will bring this matter to a close.

So hopefully it'll be gone from our sight by Monday.

Still there, but only the physical POD version from the look of things. At least all the reviews are condemning the plagiarism, I guess, though only one mentions how to look for it on the legitimate fan sites.

Heh. One of the reviewers is Beth "Archangel Beth" McCoy, and looking at her reviews page will show that she's been identifying and calling out bogus publishers like this quite a bit.

The guy that brought it and complained it made no sense was good for a laugh

I don't remeber too clearly with the amount of time that's passed since I read the Candle material, but ISTR that you'd be missing one hell of a lot without at least knowing the basics of Fenspace, yes. Like "skipping the first two or three books in a series and expecting to pick it up from context" level confusion.

Okay, it's been weeks now, and the thing is still up, for sale, and has "one copy left".

What the fuck.

DMCA might only apply to online copies.

The other one is regular copyright. Maybe. Which I think requires actual court injunctions from an actual wig-wearer to deal with.

Then again, I is not a lawyer or familiar with US legal system so pinch of salt, take with this.

Also:

Quote:We apologize but this account has not met the minimum eligibility requirements to write a review. If you would like to learn more about our eligibility requirements, please see our community guidelines.