My work is being pirated again. I don’t think I’ve ever made a post about piracy before, so I wanted to let you know how it affects my site. Whenever piracy is ongoing, my subscriber numbers drop drastically. This usually costs me thousands in revenue, which means I have less to spend on collaborations. Fewer audio and illustrated chapters get produced. Also, the piracy forces me to spend money on identifying the pirates and banning them from the site. It’s a real problem.
I do release older chapters on Reddit, but the pirates want to release the newest chapters for free. If you see piracy in the wild, I am aware of it and trying to deal with it. I’ve tried to reason with the pirates, but they don’t seem to have any empathy. Of course, I’m not alone, most content creators face this problem, and for some of them it puts them out of business.
I don’t have any call to action here. I just wanted you all to be aware that this is a problem for the site.
I honestly do not remember where I first came across your work, but I do remember it was the first 10 illustrated chapters of Enki’s Puzzle. I was hooked after that, and now that I have a good job I support artists that I enjoy. I hope that this latest pirating (which is sad/weak) gains you more exposure and new members!
I put out older chapters for free. I get exposure that way. The problem is that the pirates steal the newest chapters. I’m glad you found my site and that you’re enjoying the stories!
Is it possible to remove your work from pirate sites? I recently went to one out of curiosity and there were several comics by an artist I won’t name. Then I went back and those comics were gone, not just one comic but all of the comics by that artist. I’ve looked at other pirate sites and there aren’t any comics by that artist, only the older ones. For my part, I will continue with my subscription because I like paying for what I see, but I’m still wondering if it’s possible to file a lawsuit or something like that against those sites.
It’s not really possible. There are too many sites. It’s a whack-a-mole problem. Once the stuff is out there, it quickly spreads to all the sites. All the latest theft was from one member. I have banned him. But, sadly, there will be more in the future.
And make the files visible only online? Letting the pdfs be downloaded only after a certain time has passed since the chapter was released. Another option could be to encrypt the files, so that the pdfs can be viewed on each PC when the file is downloaded, but if they are going to be uploaded on the web, a password is required. I recently saw something similar on a very well-known gaming website, there is a game that did something similar and that stopped the piracy of the game update for a few days. Then the pirates found a way but I guess the developer will continue to improve the process.
There’s a balancing act between dealing with the pirates and making it easy for my customers to enjoy the chapters. Generally, I side on the ease for my customers. I do catch and ban the pirates, so at least there’s that.
I appreciate all the support! I do have a system for identifying and banning the pirates. I banned this latest pirate this morning. It costs me money to have this system in place, but before I had it, I never got a break from pirates. Now, it’s often many months between theft of my work. Because I grant access to all my work for a low fee, the pirates steal everything and post it all before I can ban them. So, this latest bout will cost me subscribers. But hopefully, I’ll get another long break before someone steals from me again.
I really appreciate all the loyal subscribers I do have. It’s why, even with the bouts of piracy, I’m able to keep on chugging along and stay in business 🙂 Thank you all!
After summiting my thoughts I realized that the most common theme is that we like your work and will remain faithful, and indeed I discover you thru one of this sites (even do was like 3 or 4 years ago). So dont despair, you have a loyal fan base.
I am totally empathic about this issue with you. As a paid supporter I enjoy and expect some kind of regularity. If I spot your work elsewhere I will let you know. Other than that, the only thing that I can think about is some kind of watermark. Hope it helps. Cheers
I can relate. My word is highly pirated. It’s hard for me to put in the effort to stop them, which is a shame. I’ll keep subscribing here though. Keep up the good work.
I have been proud to support good quality porn with you for more than three years now. I wish there were a good technical fix to the piracy problem. In any case, I plan to remain a paying member as long as you continue to post good stuff. Thanks, RR, for your good work.
I originally signed up here after finding some of your stories on Literotica. I guess that is the obvious place to look, so you already have, but just in case…
RR posts stories on Lit months after they’ve debuted here. You can’t keep everything behind a paywall if you want to attract new subs, otherwise none of us would’ve found this site.
Paizo of pathfinder RPG fame has a system where in order to download a pdf of a game whatever, it generates a new pdf with the members username/email address at the bottom of each page. I don’t know how to aquire such a system or how to implement it, or even how effective it would be, but it may help.
Well, i ain’t going anywhere.. I already told you about one place i saw your stuff popping up. i do frequent a number of “free” comic sites.. I guess i’m different, in that when i see shit i like, i go buy it, or subscribe to the creator’s site.. One of those sites, is actually how i found your work in the first place.
I honestly do not remember where I first came across your work, but I do remember it was the first 10 illustrated chapters of Enki’s Puzzle. I was hooked after that, and now that I have a good job I support artists that I enjoy. I hope that this latest pirating (which is sad/weak) gains you more exposure and new members!
I put out older chapters for free. I get exposure that way. The problem is that the pirates steal the newest chapters. I’m glad you found my site and that you’re enjoying the stories!
Is it possible to remove your work from pirate sites? I recently went to one out of curiosity and there were several comics by an artist I won’t name. Then I went back and those comics were gone, not just one comic but all of the comics by that artist. I’ve looked at other pirate sites and there aren’t any comics by that artist, only the older ones. For my part, I will continue with my subscription because I like paying for what I see, but I’m still wondering if it’s possible to file a lawsuit or something like that against those sites.
It’s not really possible. There are too many sites. It’s a whack-a-mole problem. Once the stuff is out there, it quickly spreads to all the sites. All the latest theft was from one member. I have banned him. But, sadly, there will be more in the future.
And make the files visible only online? Letting the pdfs be downloaded only after a certain time has passed since the chapter was released. Another option could be to encrypt the files, so that the pdfs can be viewed on each PC when the file is downloaded, but if they are going to be uploaded on the web, a password is required. I recently saw something similar on a very well-known gaming website, there is a game that did something similar and that stopped the piracy of the game update for a few days. Then the pirates found a way but I guess the developer will continue to improve the process.
There’s a balancing act between dealing with the pirates and making it easy for my customers to enjoy the chapters. Generally, I side on the ease for my customers. I do catch and ban the pirates, so at least there’s that.
I appreciate all the support! I do have a system for identifying and banning the pirates. I banned this latest pirate this morning. It costs me money to have this system in place, but before I had it, I never got a break from pirates. Now, it’s often many months between theft of my work. Because I grant access to all my work for a low fee, the pirates steal everything and post it all before I can ban them. So, this latest bout will cost me subscribers. But hopefully, I’ll get another long break before someone steals from me again.
I really appreciate all the loyal subscribers I do have. It’s why, even with the bouts of piracy, I’m able to keep on chugging along and stay in business 🙂 Thank you all!
After summiting my thoughts I realized that the most common theme is that we like your work and will remain faithful, and indeed I discover you thru one of this sites (even do was like 3 or 4 years ago). So dont despair, you have a loyal fan base.
I just saw some of your work on the site all porn comic, some of them are your most recent work. I don’t know if you already know
Yes, I am aware. All the latest theft was from one member. I have banned him. But, sadly, there will be more in the future.
I am totally empathic about this issue with you. As a paid supporter I enjoy and expect some kind of regularity. If I spot your work elsewhere I will let you know. Other than that, the only thing that I can think about is some kind of watermark. Hope it helps. Cheers
I can relate. My word is highly pirated. It’s hard for me to put in the effort to stop them, which is a shame. I’ll keep subscribing here though. Keep up the good work.
I have been proud to support good quality porn with you for more than three years now. I wish there were a good technical fix to the piracy problem. In any case, I plan to remain a paying member as long as you continue to post good stuff. Thanks, RR, for your good work.
I originally signed up here after finding some of your stories on Literotica. I guess that is the obvious place to look, so you already have, but just in case…
RR posts stories on Lit months after they’ve debuted here. You can’t keep everything behind a paywall if you want to attract new subs, otherwise none of us would’ve found this site.
Yep, I post older stories on Literotica and Reddit.
I love your work. I am not leaving your site
Sorry this keeps happening. I pay because it’s good writing and comics and it’s worth it. Best thing I can do is keep being a paying customer.
Paizo of pathfinder RPG fame has a system where in order to download a pdf of a game whatever, it generates a new pdf with the members username/email address at the bottom of each page. I don’t know how to aquire such a system or how to implement it, or even how effective it would be, but it may help.
It’d be trivially easy to edit that back out, before illegally redistributing the content.
Well, i ain’t going anywhere.. I already told you about one place i saw your stuff popping up. i do frequent a number of “free” comic sites.. I guess i’m different, in that when i see shit i like, i go buy it, or subscribe to the creator’s site.. One of those sites, is actually how i found your work in the first place.
Pirates ruin everything for everyone else, sorry this is happening to you
Sorry to hear of the piracy. Only thing I can think of to help is to remain a paying member. I enjoy and appreciate your work.
Much appreciated!