I got an email from one Authors Against Copyright Theft (AACT), signed by DJ Manly, reminding me that ebooks can be pirated and therefore there are authors who are concerned about this. Not that they are telling me that I am sharing their ebooks to all and sundry, but they would like to remind me that their ebooks are not to be pirated, et cetera. Oh, and they would like me to tell them what steps my website is taking to respect the rights of these authors.

My first act was to send an email back telling them that I don't keep copies of the ebooks I've opened or downloaded from links sent to me by authors or their publishers. I don't have anything... much... against this email. The tone is formal without being rude.

But the more I think about it, the more it bugs me. Isn't this email sort of like someone knocking on my door one fine day to check whether I'm abusing something this person has passed on to me a few months ago? As much as they say that they are not accusing me of being a pirate, the email also implies that I may be ignorant enough to be an unwitting pirate. Or that they don't trust me. I'm okay with their email, this time, but I can't guarantee I won't feel exasperated if AACT sends me another email with the same message. Frankly, if these authors are so worried that there are evil reviewers out there uploading their books to some filesharing service or torrent portal, maybe it's better if they don't send out those ebooks for review then. After all, if this matter concerns them so much that they court potential PR disaster by emailing every review site around asking for reassurance, that suggests to me that these authors' concern is of a pretty significant level to warrant such action.

For me, at least, if getting books for review means that I'll be treated like a potential misbehaving kid needing constant reminder not to do this or that,  I'd be more than happy to ease these authors'  worries by not accepting their ebooks for review. Just drop me a note if you're one such author. Don't worry, there won't be any hard feelings on my part.  I just don't like to operate under this cloud of suspicion over my head.

Update 20 Jul: There seemed to be a misunderstanding brewing between some folks and me. I didn't say that I was offended by this email - I said someone else might, which is why I considered this email to be a potential PR disaster - and I certainly didn't support piracy or was against people who wanted to take steps to prevent this. I've exchanged some emails with DJ Manly over this and the misunderstanding seemed to have been cleared between the two of us.