WARNING- Authors, your craft is at risk! The "Napster of Novels" may be stealing your work!

Within the past day it was brought to my attention by a  friend that there is a site proudly promoting the fact that they are freely distributing eBooks without author permission. The administrators of this group, known as "The Ultimate Ebook Library (TUEBL)", are unapologetic regarding their underhanded methods. In fact, on their page (https://www.facebook.com/tuebl(https://www.facebook.com/tuebl), the administration flaunts that they "are NOT an American organization so we are not bound by your US laws anyway". The general tone of the administrators is one of mocking arrogance, as they point out that they have been doing this for two years and nobody has been able to stop them. They effectively dare us to do something about it.
The page has taken on a feel much like any trolling session, with those who know they are morally corrupt offering much by the way of straw man arguments and red herrings in order to attempt to justify their dubious deeds. Including ad hominem, typically troll-ish goading, some of the justifications by supporters of the site include one reader asking, "how is this ethically any different than going to the public library reading a book?" Another considers it to be an issue of too many fingers in the pie by stating, "I dont want to pay your publisher for not publishing anything." Another poster commented, "Outdated systems of distribution didn't try to prepare themselves for the internet at all." One misinformed, or completely biased poster claims, "why r the ebooks having same costs as physical book ?" Still yet another uninformed poster states, "its cheaper in Australia to buy ebooks than print. Guess those of you in the US are spoilt with your cheap books." One even uses a broad generalization to explain why this theft of intellectual property is justified by claiming,"The complaining authors are the ones that are lacking confidence in their work." The administrator of the page goes so far as to claim that "copyright infringement is not theft." Oh, I see. So it is permitted to knowingly and willingly infringe on the hard work of an author, as long as you don't call it theft. As you can imagine, the authors are crafting well-worded, sensible objections to these flimsy excuses.
A poster who apparently is part of the administrative group, Travis McCrea, claims, "We are doing a wonderful thing...we are going to keep doing what we are doing...There is no stopping us, legally, technologically, or otherwise. I can be hit by a bus tomorrow, and we have a plan in place to keep the sites active in that senario." He also states that authors like TUEBL, that the problem for indie writers is obscurity, not piracy, and that soon TUEBL will have a system in place to compensate authors. This is problematic, since it is obvious by the backlash from the authors that many, probably MOST, have issue with TUEBL. Also, indie authors are not generally represented by big name publishers, and they have already negotiated some type of meager pay system with the publisher or distribution company of their choice.
TUEBL also has a website (www.tuebl.com). On their legal disclaimer page (http://tuebl.com/legal) they claim that "While Canada may, in fact, be America's hat... we do actually have our own laws, regulations, and legal system." What they fail to point out is that the unauthorized use of copyrighted material is a crime. In Canada, as well as in the United States, intellectual work is copyrighted upon creation, and no filing of rights is necessary. The page also includes the thinly veiled threat of intimidation, as they state, "Also please note that any email that we receive is public information and will be published in full on our blogs, , , and any other social network that we desire." It is clear that they do not intend to honor the hard work of the authors, and in fact expect to bully these very same people into limiting contact with this organization.

A deeper look at Travis McCrea can be found at his public page (https://www.facebook.com/teamcoltra). "TeamColtra" is also his handle. Through his posts at this site, and some of his tweets, it is discovered that he prides himself on being a "pirate". He failed at his attempt to gain a parliament seat by running on the Pirate Party platform in Canada. On his Team Coltra page, he claims that the site he runs is a "book sharing website." He neglects to point out that this site in no way solicits the permission of the authors of the books he "shares". His profile claims he is the CEO at "Angry Parrot Communications." He is a fan of The Pirate Bay, and seems fixated in general with the notion of being a pirate. It is time to make him walk the plank.

It is time for us to gather forces, as we have already begun to do, and stop this repulsive thieving. If you are an author, or if you know one, or if you realize that this type of activity is detrimental to authors, please help. Visit the TUEBL page and protest. Email Travis McCrea (me@travismccrea.com), or message his page (https://www.facebook.com/teamcoltra) to let him know that this type of activity is not permitted by the global community, no matter how he tries to justify his actions by propping up his false interpretation of laws as his shield. Let him and his supporters know that this type of activity will not be tolerated. We, as a grass roots movement, and defenders of integrity, can make a difference. Thank you for your help regarding this matter.
Special thanks goes out to Katherine Christina Rochholz for bringing this to my attention, as well as getting the word out to the internet community, and Lilly Crussell for allowing me to dump information on her page as I gathered it.
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Stephen L. Wilson
Smashwords Author/Publisher
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