(and who else is speaking out on it/openly opposed to it, as you present it as though there are many vocally opposed authors within the community)

I understand he is not well. But if he is so vehemently opposed to piracy/sharing it would seem worth his time to pick up the computer and type a few lines. I (and others) would respect his wishes.

If dozens of psychedelic authors have such an issue with this, I find it hard to believe that not one of them would come and comment directly. It doesn't seem like psychedelic authors posting on a psychedelic forum would hurt anyone.

Also, why don't these dozen or so authors get together and create a website like I suggested previously in this thread. I don't want this thread to lead to more endless banter when we should instead be focusing on proper solutions.

If all of these authors were to work together and create a worthy distribution website for their wares, it would benefit all of the authors and their followers. Direct donations could be set up for the authors who are having health or financial issues. They could get feedback directly from users. They could publish smaller works and gain a higher return on investment.

I mean seriously, the possibilities are endless. You have to work and flow with the system. Fighting it is futile.

do you really think that pirates would respect the wishes of authors?
that a website or petition would make a difference?

i have been told by authors who have been hurt by piracy that this thread is a waste of time, i was told that telling thieves to stop stealing is not worth the effort and that you can't expect pirates to respect authors.

I agree.

I sure would - and I'm one of the main ones doing it.

Seconded...I'd also urge them to follow MC's advice.

But as it's not even clear which authors hold these positions (just some abstraction of "authors within the community" ) I don't see the point of posing this question.

Thanks Snozz




I would..



What I'm proposing isn't a matter of "telling thieves to stop stealing." What I'm proposing is for these authors to work together and create a paid membership based site where they can publish not only their books, but also their journals, memoirs and manuscripts. A site where they can create a direct relationship with their user base and make money.

What I'm proposing isn't outrageous. It is a very real and plausible solution that other authors are using with great success. If these authors want to stay in the 60's with their paper and faxes, more power to them. If they really want to see profits again, they need to step up their game and embrace the technology that we've been blessed with.



As far as I'm concerned, everything that comes from you where these authors are concerned is hearsay. We have yet to hear from one of these authors directly. The one time where you posted on their behalf, it didn't do them any favors.

this is taken from The Simple Plant Isoquinolines By Shulgin and Perry, 2002 Transform Press

That seems clear enough, the respectful thing to do is to honor the wish of the author.
PIHKAL and TIHKAL both bear the same wording.

I don't know an author that thinks this site really matters in terms of piracy, my posting on the topic isn't me representing any opinion but my own. However it is clear enough that not that many people who have participated in this thread are going to care about the opinions of others including authors; regarding this topic.

For a few people to insist upon an author to tell them that they oppose piracy because it is theft is silly. The idea that an author should have to make a public statement against having their material stolen via free reproduction and distribution reflects a mentality of justification, not consideration.

Respect isn't something that should have to be asked for.
If you want to reproduce something then just ask the author yourself.

On the street stealing a persons business and income is considered disrespectful, even kind generous people don't appreciate that type of thing.

Entropy already explained why this is a non-issue with Shulgin...who else are you claiming is speaking out on this?

It feels to me as though you are deliberately ignoring certain points made by people and refusing to answer questions multiple people have posed to you on the exact same topic.

Here you can find Tihkal and Pihkal online with a donate button to support Sasha and Ann through their hard times they are currently experiencing.

You can also donate directly to the projects he is working on and it is 100% tax-deductible.

It appears the Shulgins have found a way to benefit from "piracy". These other authors should think along the same lines.

There are plenty of ways to make money off pirated books. There's a hacker forum that I frequent and they usually advertise like this: Free E-book! Click here to download!

Then when you click, it takes you to a site where the uploader actually gets paid everytime someone clicks on the download. Some kind of affiliate program. If an author was really smart, they would do it like this instead of expecting people to pay for something they can easily get for free.

Anyone else know what site I'm talking about? I think its the Megashare affiliate program.

That isn't piracy in any way and the Shulgins have stated in public that piracy is terrible and has negatively impacted them.

I was told not to waste my time about this topic, but that often when you have a hard time finding an authors work being pirated it isn't because people don't do it, it is because of legal action.

Anyone with a hard copy knows that the Pihkal and Tihkal versions online are only half the books.

I sent a note over to Transform Press for clarification on the issue since I haven't heard anything from you or your contacts. I will post the response if appropriate.

Commendable effort in my opinion.

I received the following from the Shulgin folk:



I will contact Ann tomorrow and again post the response if appropriate.

this is great, i am curious what you asked.
Can you share your basic question minus details?

I've been working on a project with a few researchers in the community to make psychedelic research available free to all.

I sent a note back and cc'd earth of erowid. Seems we're all working toward the same goal.

That sounds awesome, a1pha! It's great to see how understanding the experts in the community are with respect to getting this knowledge to the public at large.

Cool, but it really isn't addressing piracy, how it has impacted them and how they feel about it.

I do respect it, but it has very little to do with the topic.
I don't know an author against sharing information, but i don't know an author who likes piracy.

the idea that piracy is sharing information is really overly simple
ask them if it is ok to scan their books and give them out free of charge and then see what they say

Ott already said its good in his opinion, so now you can say "there's at least one author I know that thinks piracy is ok"

By the way, if they want to sell more books, why do they, at transform press, the direct publisher of Shulgin's books, which should be the closest to the source, sell the Index Vol 1 for nearly double the price than amazon?