Update From A Pirate

Why is it, I wonder, that any alleged pirate can post a few "figleaf words" on his or her site, and they automatically receive the benefit of the doubt?

For instance, "....does not host any files to items listed. We simply index file links we have found on other websites on the web (similar way to how Google works!)" or claims to be "non-profit" while set up with PayPal to take donations and subscriptions such as "You can now buy a 10 Day 'Limited' Trial to Supporters Club for just $4.99"

Someone forwarded this email from one of the allegedly most egregious, allegedly for profit  alleged pirates ever to be ignored by the authorities and by the Big Tech businesses that profit from his activities. (PayPal, SocialGo, Googlegroups, Picasa, Yahoo.)

I will post it almost as written, with two especially interesting passages in bold)
Quoting:

Hi Everyone

It's been an almost impossible week!

The main club computer crashed. I sent it for repair, but it has come back with even more faults!

I cannot unzip files
The browsers keep crashing
The computer shuts itself down randomly
I cannot re-instate programs we need to run the club properly

I am going to try once more to zero the computer and start afresh, on Monday, but I fear it will need a new master-board, power supply and hard disks

It lasted almost 5 years, so I can't complain too much.

I have prepared Monday's page (Mix 163) via an Internet cafe, and will send this out sometime tomorrow, giving me time on Monday to see about what can be done with the computer, although, I think  we will be forced to buy a new one. Either way, it will take me most of the week to re-instate everything on the computer

I have many more files to add to Gigatribe and to send out to the members, but until I can unzip and store them (even our external hard disks are full), there is not much I can do!

The club is over $300 in the red at the moment, so we need a little financial support from the membership to get over these problems. I wouldn't ask, if we weren't in such a dire position!

Remember, we are a 'non-profit' organization, and a need a little help every now and then!

Please help with as much as you can afford, by making a donation......

Unquoting.

For those who don't see what I see, having files on a computer or in zipped format and uploading them to Gigatribe is not my understanding of how a Search function works, and is not what Google does.

What do you think? And why do you think there is so much apathy about piracy among authors?

Musicians and movie makers appear to have made considerable headway with this particular, for-subscriptions alleged pirate. Moreover, although this alleged pirate might distribute an album occasionally, that is one work. With authors, he will give away almost everything a self-published, relatively new author may have written (multiple e-books) in one "Mix"..... as he does to two authors in particular with "Monday's Mix 163".

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
SPACE SNARK™ http://www.spacesnark.com/