Remember the Goodreads fanfic debaucle? Well, another site is now doing it, only they’re worse. I just found 13 of my stories listed over on ebooks-tree.com, a for-profit site where I neither uploaded them nor authorized anyone else to do so.
I have a very clear statement that says I do not want my works or translations published on any platform other than AO3, for various reasons, yet this seems to have been completely ignored.
Unlike Goodreads where just one person uploaded thousands of fics and
Goodreads didn’t set out to steal them, this site does and has
purposefully sent out bots to harvest them from AO3.They make revenue off your work via ads and if you want to see any reviews which have been left on it, or even check the text to confirm it’s yours, they want you to create an account with TzarMedia for access (and requires a credit card for sign up).
“Access Required.You need to create an account to gain permission to access unlimited downloads & streaming.“
“Take advantage of our special promotional offer to gain unlimited access for 5 days for free.”
Which, gee, that last line sounds like they’re charging for access to your works, too.
If you write fanfic, please check the site for your own works, Google for your name and the ebooks-tree site and/or check for your AO3 username directly in the site’s search bar.
I just wrote them a letter requesting that they be removed. I guess we’ll see what happens.
Just a few people’s works I’ve found so far:
mydwynter, holmesianpose (bittergreens), shellysbees, mybrolly, chasingriversong (chasingriver), emmagrant01, moonblossom, bbcatemysoul, tsuki-chibi (sailorchibi), fanfic-by-plainjane (PlainJane), beltainefaerie, aggressivewhenstartled, shinysherlock, fireofangels, atlinmerrick, bitenomnom, corpsereviver (corpsereviver2), eventhorizon451 (eventhorizon), odamakilock (odamaki), rageofthenerd (phyona), residentbunburyist, suitesamba, whitchry9, aspieat221b, xistentialangst, jamesphillimoresumbrella (tepidspongebath), s0mmersprossen (s0mmerspr0ssen), somanyhands, thesevenpercentsolution, madmaudlinart (madmaudlin), berenwrites (beren), pipmer, earlgreytea68, berlynn-wohl (berlynn_wohl), trillsabells, apostate-tony (starkrogers), verity-burns (verityburns), scarletseeker113, irollforinitiative, sherlockedgal (phuchka), jayez-fanfiction (jayez), welovethebeekeeper, writernonsense, lapislazuli, taylorpotato, daasgrrl, ivyblossom, professorfangirl, rose-deklava, random-nexus, eveningsoother (whichwolfwins), valeria2067, jinglebellfic (jinglebell), abitnotgood (nerdymind), mirabilelectu, that-leftycurse (jdmcool), estychan, thetreesgrowodd, jessamygriffindoujinshi, jupiter-ash, moriartystayingalive (quinnanderson), elphen, codenamemeretricious, abundantlyqueer, likeanelephantfootprint (elephantfootprints), merripestin, prettybirdy979, sacrilegist, salsify, tatterdemalionlogic (errantcomment), ceywoozle-deactivated20150330, quicklikelight, lexxxwasniahc (lestradesexwife), kryptaria, cleo2010, alexysmichele, ambientfall (dreykar), leloi, consultingsmartarse (consulting_smartass), elkseanor (deadspy),
@bendingsignpost, @kedgeree11, @anarion, @slyviarachel, @hobbitfeels, @entanglednow, @goldenusagi, @annathaemah (moony), @standbygo, @misanthropyray, @luthienebonyx, @dreamlittleyo, @fisheyenomiko, @nicnac, @wendymarlowe, @thirdbird, @mommybird, @ariane_devere, @aurora_bee, @keelywolfe, @resonant, @ellen_fremedon, @jesshelga, @expectoprongs, @charliebravowhiskey, @trista_zevkia, @beautifullyheeled, @cumberbatchcritter, @mistyzeo, @cowmow, @reflectiveless, @obligatorysherlockblog (lookupkate), @wastingyourgum, @blackpearl, @liradonne, @chastityhollister, @manuscripts-dont-burn (elle_stone), @flawedamythyst, @guns_and_poses, @jessamygriffith, @heeroluva, @moonriver, @starlingthefool, @irekyn, @aderyn, @hyacinth_sky747, @ladyflowdi, @ceywoozle, @starrysummer-nights, @hobbitsdoitbetter, @belladonna1185, @durrant, @h3rring, @makokitten, @run-along-kitten-pond (comealongpond14), @dierdre2, @iampeevee, @sherlockddfic, @@torino10154, @idontknowwhatimdoing, @eyes-like-the-afghan-night-sky (kizzia), @saki101, @the-mamishka (mamishka), @likecastle (cassyl), @miss_l,
This is not a comprehensive list – please check the site for your works.
Please reblog/signal boost this so as many authors as possible know about it.
If you find your works on their site, please leave a comment so we can get a better idea of everyone whose work has been compromised and some sort of rudimentary count.
Also, even though mine is a long list, it is nowhere near all-encompassing. If you have time and energy to do so, please check for other authors that you’ve read or actively follow (if they’re not already listed above) and let them (and us) know if their works show up there.
Note: Valeria2067 pointed out the to the DMCA link that explains how to get these removed. They make it look quite a bit more difficult (and expensive) than it is. It costs nothing, you don’t need a lawyer or anyone to represent you, even though they make it seem that way. I’ve written AO3 to see if they can aid us in the removal.
In the meantime, see this post for how to request a removal.