Author Topic: NOTICE: Discontinuation of eBooks hosting on STP/PTS Website (Read 157316 times)

Infinitely Bookish · « **on:** May 26, 2012, 01:26 AM »

Please be aware that we have long since finished this. We NO LONGER ALLOW SHARING OF EBOOKS on this site. Please do not post a book, it will be removed. Please do not post a link. It will be removed.

Dear members

We ~~are in progress of migrating~~ have migrated the site to a new name and ~~defining~~ defined new guidelines. One of the most important is to discontinue hosting ebooks on our website so that we are DMCA compliant.

~~Over next few days STP's team of Moderators will be deleting all posts from all the Boards containing books and book requests.~~ These have been deleted.

Please do not make any further book uploads on the site.

Thank you for your understanding.

~~Note: We will review the new rules when the site is fully migrated, so if you have any suggestions please let us know by contacting one of our Mods.~~

Jammmmmy · « **Reply #101 on:** May 27, 2012, 08:10 PM »

I have to say that since I found this site I have found authors that i would never have had opportunity to know and as a result have bought quite a few books from those authors. Reading about other people's views who are like minded opened up many new worlds in books that I would otherwise have never tried. So, a big thank you guys, to all the admin and all the other members.

Having read the rude, obnoxious and downright nasty authors comments i certainly won't be reading any of their books and won't be recommending them to anyone else either. The fact remains that this site has opened up books to people that would never have known about them and as a result are more likely to get sales as most will know the copies aren't always the best and if they love the book they are more likely to buy and continue to purchase the series. Congrats go to the authors who can see both sides of the fence and who are willing to help with finding an amicable solution to the majority.

This site will continue to offer views and opinions on authors which is invaluable and as always there will be other places to source books for those who want it, so to the nasty authors who think they have a victory, its but a drop in the ocean and that is the reality and they are doing more damage to themselves than anything else.

lauralovesreading · « **Reply #102 on:** May 27, 2012, 10:15 PM »

I can totally relate to what a girl said up there in the comments above.... good writers are hard to find. I only buy books that have already read, reviewed and liked...there are so many people calling themselves successful authors when their work isn't that great or worth our precious time. This site makes that process easier...but hey! Maybe the change's for the best..and like Mr.Admin said....we, as a community, could help the new authors bringing notice to their work, and imagine that...the possibilities!..so, yeah...change this! I'm not going anywhere!

gleek02 · « **Reply #103 on:** May 27, 2012, 10:28 PM »

:'(nooooooooooooooooooo. This is THE place where i come and get my books! I'm so distraught! But why can't we request books and have members send links through emails? That way we dont load the links to this page, but we send the link to member's emails.

Mr. Admin · « **Reply #104 on:** May 27, 2012, 10:31 PM »

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

:'(nooooooooooooooooooo. This is THE place where i come and get my books! I'm so distraught! But why can't we request books and have members send links through emails? That way we dont load the links to this page, but we send the link to member's emails.

Sorry but this is not possible at the moment.

Buttercup · « **Reply #105 on:** May 27, 2012, 10:33 PM »

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:'(nooooooooooooooooooo. This is THE place where i come and get my books! I'm so distraught! But why can't we request books and have members send links through emails? That way we dont load the links to this page, but we send the link to member's emails.

We tried to discourage this before because:
1) for YOUR privacy because giving out your email is giving out your personal information; and
2) for YOUR protection because this is a good way for people to send you spam and viruses.

We can't stop you from PMing each other with requests to be emailed, but if I, as a member, received a request from someone I don't know, I may or may not appreciate being contacted like that and may or may not be suspicious of that person and may or may not respond.

cavey · « **Reply #106 on:** May 27, 2012, 10:50 PM »

I am amazed that people really don;t think it is wrong to get someones work for nothing, ( Yes I downloaded books too) But to be really fair on the authors, they write these books to ake a living and we take that living away, the same as when we dwonload movies.

Very different from buying 1 book and loaning to a friend ( which I do all the time) As here you put the book up and every man and his child downloads it, so it is not just 1 or 2.

I will be still coming back here, as I want to see what everyone is reading and what new authors are being spoken about, Since finding this site, I have found so many authors I would never have heard about.

I am also a prolific reader ( reading upwards of 9 books+ a week) So I am always on the look out for new authors. I have over 2000 tree books in my house, so I buy books all the time. What I would love to see, is if you purchase a tree book , you could get the e book as well, maybe authors could do that. As I love the tree books in my library, but I use my Kobo for day to day reading ( I can hide it at work in the mess on my desk and look busy while reading)

Edited some of my really bad typos, lol

hudasee · « **Reply #107 on:** May 28, 2012, 12:13 AM »

[edited by author]

Thanks to the admin. Im moving on.

foxyroxytga · « **Reply #108 on:** May 28, 2012, 02:18 AM »

oh ok sorry about that i didnt no that you were deleting all shared ebooks... thanks for the message about this

TaniaRed · « **Reply #109 on:** May 28, 2012, 03:35 AM »

I feel the need to share my point of view. I adore this site and I am very sad it is going. I have downloaded many many books and thank you so much for this. I will always remember the release date of Pandemonium and the excitement of downloading it.
I have opposing views to book sharing. It really annoys me when people say “please find this book as I have wanted to read it for so long” If you want to read it that badly then buy it. There have been books I have wanted not on STP and I have happily paid for them. (Before the onslaught I do understand not everyone can afford them!)
On the other hand though it bugs me that authors are opposed to book sharing. Shouldn’t they just be pleased people want to read their books? I know if I ever had a book published I would be quite happy for others to share it, surely it’s a quick way for them to become popular? I was especially annoyed that E L James was on the opt out list when the books were so dreadful but I suppose she can now say she has sold over 10 million copies! Anyway I know a lot of people loved the books so I won’t go on.
I suppose authors are entitled to not want their books shared but personally I do not understand it.
All that said, a big thank you for all the books I have downloaded and I think you were an amazing site.

Blaire09 · « **Reply #110 on:** May 28, 2012, 04:33 AM »

WOW.. i only found this site a few months ago when my computer crashed and i lost all my books and was trying to find as much as of the lost books i can....And i was very happy that not only did i restore most of it but i found new authors, and books that i would never have come across if it wasnt for this site. so THANK YOU Mr.Admin and all the mods for making it possible!

Im very glad that we can still ask for recommendations here because i have been able to find books that were of a particular description..... i can find or try to buy recommended books elsewhere.

My question is when you change the name will the existing members automatically be registered? how will we know the new name? and will this web address no longer work then?

Mr. Admin · « **Reply #111 on:** May 28, 2012, 04:43 AM »

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

My question is when you change the name will the existing members automatically be registered? how will we know the new name? and will this web address no longer work then?

Yes, existing members will stay. The current site will re-direct to new site so don't worry almost everything will remain same except no ebook hosting.

Lexie · « **Reply #112 on:** May 28, 2012, 04:50 AM »

8 pages of comments. It actually shows that STP is loved by everyone~ be the comments good or bad, in their own ways, they still care for this site and they actually feel bad about the discontinuation of ebook hosting on STP. Yes, we all do feel the same way but we ought to understand the situation of Mr. Admin and the rest of the mods as to why they are doing this.

I just want to say to Mr. Admin and the mods that you are awesome and THANK YOU for giving us STP, for making it work. And thank you for responding asap to my PMs when I am in trouble. :3 Thank you for giving me good friends online.

angel19 · « **Reply #113 on:** May 28, 2012, 05:23 AM »

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Wow, I just registered and you're TAKING IT DOWN? Have you ever thought that there are people outside USA/UK or whatever you live and sites like these are the only chance for thousands of people to read something?

Well, have you ever thought that these people might get sued for continuing this?
Stop being so selfish and think of it from their point of view. God forbid they get into a lawsuit over this, are you gonna provide them with the money to save their butts?

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Maybe we can upload our books onto other websites and provide links on STP. That way, we technically aren't posting books on STP, but we can still share literature.

I think that's a very, very bad idea. You would only be getting these good people into more trouble, it would still be an issue of piracy and no amount of free books is worth that.

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it bugs me that authors are opposed to book sharing. Shouldn’t they just be pleased people want to read their books? I know if I ever had a book published I would be quite happy for others to share it, surely it’s a quick way for them to become popular?

Exactly! Book sharing has its benefits too, it's a great way to spread the word. A lot of authors say they write books because its their passion, they enjoy sharing a part of their world with the readers, but the reality of it is money plays a big part. Publishers don't care about readers unless they're got loads of cash stashed in their wallets.

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Unfortunately, I doubt I stick around now. My reason for coming here is gone. There are probably many others here that feel the same.

Rude, much? That's like me staying around when you're rich and walking away when your broke with a single explanation, "I stayed for the money." That's a very selfish way to repay someone for their kindess and effort. I'm happy to say that I'm not one of them. There is more to this site than just ebook hosting you know? I want to thank each and every one of you that uploaded books for your kindness and patience, for taking in everybody's requests and sharing your books with the rest of us. We can not thank you enough. Thank you to the admin, moderators, and all the dedicated workers of site for all your hardwork and time. You have done a wonderful job and I wish you all the best and success for your new site.

Mr. Admin · « **Reply #114 on:** May 28, 2012, 05:36 AM »

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I've gone through this with other discussion board and I also wondered how "we" were getting away with this. THANKS for all the time that we had. You will be missed!

We were getting away because I was taking all the heat and with the HUGE support from Mods, were able to implement things like author-opt out list, removing posts on author complaints etc. We were trying to maintain a balance between both the worlds but authors are not ready to understand the dynamics of internet yet.

Hardest bit is that both sides are correct and there's no easy solution to it.

paige00 · « **Reply #115 on:** May 28, 2012, 07:33 AM »

whattttt?

?? NOOOOooooooooooooo

oneweirdauthor · « **Reply #116 on:** May 28, 2012, 07:54 AM »

Many, many, many authors are opposed to file sharing. On the other hand, there are those that aren't.

Will there be a way to ask for approval of a book first? You see, there are books out there that can be shared. In fact, this is the whole author's goal. One sort is what I have tried, and I know three other authors that have this too. It's called a creative commons license 3.0. Let me find a quick book on Smashwords...

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Here is a book that has a creative commons license 3.0 attached. At the front with the copyright is part of the author's license that states:

This means that you can, among other things, copy, share, post or otherwise distribute this work in any form you like as long as you attribute Declan Stanley at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login as the original author and license it under the same, or compatible, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

In other words, sharing it 'as is' is fine. Just don't let the text screw up. Make sure it's the same story with everything exactly the same.

With a 3.0, authors don't want people grabbing their book, changing it and making profit. They still own all rights, but encourage sharing. If you'd like the name of some other authors, I can share that too. These would be the kinds of authors that can run across the site and would not be upset, but ecstatic.

I even know one that is trying a creative commons license 2.5 to his work. This would enable the use of fanfiction freely along with the other conditions. You'd be surprised to know it is $4.99 on Amazon and selling 2-3 copies a day.

There is one author I know that started online back in...2009 I think? She gathered her fans through online, crowdfunded her book with donations, and to this day her books still have a creative commons and she is making a decent amount of money. She gets like 2,000 regular visitors each day coming to her site. So she makes money through her advertising and her books being sold at the same time. (Last time she crowdfunded her latest book, she made 400% over her limit.)

I always thought an author opt-in list would be a good idea. To find a way to confirm if a person is the author of the work they are loading up. Like for me I could go straight to my author profile on smashwords and put something specific in that proves I am the author. (No prob, that updates automatically.) Or like I have, find some works that are creative commons. Either way, I do wish the site well and can't wait to see the new site!:)

Right now, I am working my butt off on the third book of my series, but I'll be back around when I can.

ARSmith · « **Reply #117 on:** May 28, 2012, 08:36 AM »

I'm fairly new to this site as well and I appreciated the books I was able to get from here. I want to say a thank you to the mods for trying to help the authors by allowing them to "opt out" and helping us for being a host

. Allowing us to download books here is a tricky situation and punishable by law.

While I do agree that authors should get money for their work I also feel in a way that ebooks should not cost nearly as much as paper books and that hardback book prices are ridiculous. I feel this way about movies as well. That's why I usually rent from the redbox and get on the waitlist for books at the library. Books, unlike movies, take a VERY, VERY, long time for the price to drop on them, if ever.

I agree with oneweirdauthor's response and I do think there is a way for this to work. We ALL know that stp is not the only site out there that provides a service like this and it is by far the most fair site, having an opt out option. I will be looking forward to the new site and we'll see what is going to happen here.

pals20 · « **Reply #118 on:** May 28, 2012, 10:46 AM »

WOW... should've seen this coming!! Didn't think it would be so soon.

I guess from now on I will only be buying the books of the authors I already know & trust... I'm not from the US and I simply CANNOT afford to spend $5- $10 for an unknown author. (Don't know how many people can afford to do that, actually!!) It seems incredibly unfair that the cost of a e-book is not just the same but sometimes MORE than a paperback. How is it that you can buy a used paperback for $1-$2, but the ebook cost NEVER reduces. HOW does that even work!! Plus I LOATHE the fact that one country can & does impose its friggin laws on the entire world (again & again).

While I understand where the Mods are coming from, I'm still infuriated by the short-sightedness of applying archaic laws to this new generation. I have lost count of the number of paperbacks that I have bought and "loaned" to my friends and never saw again. But I cannot do the same for my ebooks?

? Get off your arse and come up with a NEW f*ckin law, people.

ok, rant complete!!

Lastly, everyone at STP (esp the Mods) have my deepest gratitude for being so generous and sharing their love of ebooks with the world!!! The days & weeks I have spent browsing (and yes, downloading) in STP - discovering new authors and series - will never be forgotten.

flitzer · « **Reply #119 on:** May 28, 2012, 12:43 PM »

I suppose I should have known, it was just too good to be true. This site was a real paradise for romance readers, or at least for me! But I can surely understand the steps you had to take, I would have done the same in the situation. Still, I' mourning

shanellebelle · « **Reply #120 on:** May 28, 2012, 12:53 PM »

when would we find out the name of the new website???

NOTICE: Discontinuation of eBooks hosting on STP/PTS Website

Author Topic: NOTICE: Discontinuation of eBooks hosting on STP/PTS Website (Read 157316 times)

Infinitely Bookish

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Jammmmmy

lauralovesreading

gleek02

Mr. Admin

Buttercup

cavey

hudasee

foxyroxytga

TaniaRed

Blaire09

Mr. Admin

Lexie

angel19

Mr. Admin

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oneweirdauthor

ARSmith

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flitzer

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NOTICE: Discontinuation of eBooks hosting on STP/PTS Website

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