Stop Stealing Content

[dmhubby]

This is a repeat post from my blog and just want to get everyone's opinions here. Since many of you are content promoters not content producers I'm interested in your thoughts.

My Post: http://www.dreamnet.com/2010/05/01/s...ng-of-content/

Here is the video I'm referring to I cannot embed it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xNzsTHA1nI

Article:
I have been wanting to write for a long time on the topic of stealing Amateur Adult content and really couldn?t put into words. But once I saw this video released by the Free Speech Coalition I decided it was time to post something.

The video above shows professional Hollywood Porn Industry people. But the EXACT same thing holds true for the sites like Dreamnet.com and women we work with. Even though the women of Dreamnet.com don?t make big money and most started doing this for fun. There are a lot of costs and time involved!

So where will your favorite Amateur Adult Internet woman be a year from now? That is the question you must ask yourself if you are one of those people that take their pictures and videos for trading on the plethora of forums and tube sites that allow you share the content of the Dreamnet.com women.

This is the dirty little secret of the Amateur word that nobody wants to talk about, but it?s time to talk about it! Everyone wants to think that all the girls do this ONLY because they love it. Well that is part of it for sure. But many do it because they love it and because they make a living at it. Even going back to the early days of Dreamnet.com when it was run by Tracey and her hubby, the girls did it because they made great money and enjoyed it! As a matter of fact, in the late 90?s and early 2000?s the girls made really good money having a website. This is because content stealing was not an issue. Amateur women made much more than they do now and that is a fact, ask any woman that has been around for a since the 1990?s and they will tell it?s true.
However, in today?s Internet with all the Tube Site, Forums, Torrents and Social Networks these girls get their content stolen and re-posted all the time. So you have to ask yourself the question. What will happen if people keep stealing and trading everyone?s content. I?ll tell you what will happen! The women that make the stuff will simply quit doing it.

So if you are one of the people that steal content and trade with others shame on you! It?s no different than stealing from the store. The content you get from Dreamnet.com and other Amateur sites like it is for your personal viewing pleasure. Not to re-post and trade with others. So please stop or sites like Dreamnet.com and others will not survive!
To those of you that support our women by spending your hard earned money on our sites and keep the content to yourself ? THANK YOU! We love you and hope to continue doing this for a long time. But as a community we need to rally together and put all these thieving sites out of business. They do nothing but allow re-posting of stolen content.

The amount of time that Dreamnet.com women and myself spend getting stolen content removed from all these sites could be much better put to use making our sites better!
Thanks for listening to my rant. I look forward to your comments and thoughts.

Sincerely,
Rob

[halfpint]

You can blame Google who we all love and use, for listing file sharing sites at the top of their list. If they were taken out of the search engines they would die.

We are all to blame in one way or another

[LoveSandra]

why ?????????

[dmhubby]

why ?????????

Why stop stealing? Is that what your asking?

[nudecanada]

Holy shit, I remember when dreamnet started. Blast from the past!

[dmhubby]

Holy shit, I remember when dreamnet started. Blast from the past!

And we're stilling going strong although our women are constantly fighting the posting of their content on other sites. Which I know everyone is fighting.

[bronco67]

Just read some of those comments under the video.

"Copyright infringement is not theft, its infringement". These are the kinds of arguments thieves will make, and they have no idea of how wrong they are.

When you watch something that a creator has set a price for, and you haven't paid their price....it's theft. Cut and dry.

[digitaldivas]

And we're stilling going strong although our women are constantly fighting the posting of their content on other sites. Which I know everyone is fighting.

yes, indeed, something has to change!

[SmokeyTheBear]

that psa is meant to play before a video someone paid for ? wtf , why send the message to people who are paying for porn, jesus christ it's like they stole a page from hollywood in how to do something wrong.

i have a dvd for my kids that pisses me the fuck off for this reason. I paid for it so in return i get( am forced ) to watch some psa on content theft 3 trailers and a fucked up menu, so i have to stand there for 5minutes to start the damn video

[seeandsee]

i blame tubes

[ottopottomouse]

Customers like free better than cheap. You are doing a $7.99 promo and at the same time advertising a $0 option too.

If people who pay for your sites read that blog is it really a good idea to tell them all the content is available for free via Google?

[Smokieflame]

Its sad but this will never get fixed. Even tho the government needs all the tax dollars it can get. They would rather legalize pot for taxes then fix issues that are costing taxes. Apparently Porn is more taboo then drug use. Not that I mind if pot becomes legal and i can buy it from a store, but someone should sue the government for not enforcing our copyright laws the way Mainstream copyright laws have been enforced.

Maybe we should all make a class action suit against tubesite owners. I know brazzers is putting up a new tube site every week it seems.

[halfpint]

Its sad but this will never get fixed. Even tho the government needs all the tax dollars it can get. They would rather legalize pot for taxes then fix issues that are costing taxes. Apparently Porn is more taboo then drug use. Not that I mind if pot becomes legal and i can buy it from a store, but someone should sue the government for not enforcing our copyright laws the way Mainstream copyright laws have been enforced.

Maybe we should all make a class action suit against tubesite owners. I know brazzers is putting up a new tube site every week it seems.

Why do you blame tubes for every thing ? There are also legit tubes. Its funny how evrything is blamed on tubes when there is so much other shit going on where copyright infringement is concered. If you look at all the mainstream copyright infringments its 10x worse than adult.

[Davy]

I agree with what has been said before in this thread: the search engines deserve a huge chunk of the blame. Piracy is no longer the activity that it should be - something that only a few do in their basement and covert. Search for any DVD title and you'll get a first page in google that's swamped with torrent links. Google is fostering and helping content theft.

[dmhubby]

Just read some of those comments under the video.

"Copyright infringement is not theft, its infringement". These are the kinds of arguments thieves will make, and they have no idea of how wrong they are.

When you watch something that a creator has set a price for, and you haven't paid their price....it's theft. Cut and dry.

I agree totally!

[dmhubby]

Customers like free better than cheap. You are doing a $7.99 promo and at the same time advertising a $0 option too.

If people who pay for your sites read that blog is it really a good idea to tell them all the content is available for free via Google?

The $7.99 special as worked great and we do that a couples times of year at surprised times. Of course it always works.

Here is my point, we always have these guys that bitch when such and such girl leaves because they love her so much. But at the same time they want everything for free. The big secret of the Amateur world is that guys want to always think the woman is doing for "the fun of it" which is party true. Most do participate for the fun, but they also participate for money. They spend money on good equipment, clothes, shootint locations and so on. So I figured it was time to make a stand and let the viewers know that if they just keep signing up for a girls site and then going to some board to trade the content as currency then they are eventually shooting themselves in the foot. Sooner or later the models will get fed up and quit.

[dmhubby]

Why do you blame tubes for every thing ? There are also legit tubes. Its funny how evrything is blamed on tubes when there is so much other shit going on where copyright infringement is concered. If you look at all the mainstream copyright infringments its 10x worse than adult.

I agree with you ... the Tube Sites are not all bad, nor are the forums all bad. I don't know Brazzers business model, but I am assuming they are large enough to be legit.

What I disagree with (and I won't mention names because I don't want to promo them) is that there are numerous big sites out there that making their money off of stolen content by allowing people to sign up and trade content. Some is porn, some is music and some is mainstream movies. Porn is falling into the same trap that music and Hollywood is failing into. With the easy ability to rip stuff and repost, resell etc.

But these guys that operate these sites where porn is traded need shut down. As an industry we need to shut them down. Starting suing their asses or whatever. Just like Hollywood did with YouTube several years ago. I believe a site operator has the responsibility for not allowing stolen content. But the Internet is a global market place and when some eastern European scumbag posts a tube site and allows anyone to upload anything with no sort of verification it's bullshit.

It's an age old digital/web argument. Is a site operator responsible for policing their own site? In the realm of copyright I say yes.

One last point. I have nothing against FREE as long as it "legal free". i.e. someone giving away their own content. That is just a new business model and we'll have to learn to adapt.

[dmhubby]

Apparently Porn is more taboo then drug use.

Of course this is America where so many are freaked out by sex.

[dmhubby]

I agree with what has been said before in this thread: the search engines deserve a huge chunk of the blame. Piracy is no longer the activity that it should be - something that only a few do in their basement and covert. Search for any DVD title and you'll get a first page in google that's swamped with torrent links. Google is fostering and helping content theft.

Amen brother!

[halfpint]

I agree with what has been said before in this thread: the search engines deserve a huge chunk of the blame. Piracy is no longer the activity that it should be - something that only a few do in their basement and covert. Search for any DVD title and you'll get a first page in google that's swamped with torrent links. Google is fostering and helping content theft.

Yep I aggree its a whole cluster fuck of things which we all inadvertadly help in some way whether we like it or not .How many of us pay for "top" keywords on google. In many ways its the whole way the internet works and its not gonna stop any time soon

[john FVC]

The DMCA legislation needs an overhaul, sooner rather than later. The safe harbor exploit needs to be eradicated.

A lot of these forums are making money off the back of us with stolen content posts and PayPal seems to be a preferred method of payment for the "V.I.P Areas" of said forums. Just last week I was notified of a forum by another program owner that had loads of our content on it which we since have had removed. PayPal was being used to process on this forum and it looks like the other program owners had success in getting their account closed.

On a far greater scale how is it that Rapidshare can get PayPal to process for them when they are single biggest violator of stolen content? Perhaps as far as PayPal is concerned they need to be exposed to the mainstream media as I get the feeling they are turning a blind eye to it.

Its time we started circling the wagons and start hitting the likes of forums hard. Can we really afford not to especially in the current economic climate?

[DVTimes]

[fatfoo]

Good luck.

[dmhubby]

The DMCA legislation needs an overhaul, sooner rather than later. The safe harbor exploit needs to be eradicated.

A lot of these forums are making money off the back of us with stolen content posts and PayPal seems to be a preferred method of payment for the "V.I.P Areas" of said forums. Just last week I was notified of a forum by another program owner that had loads of our content on it which we since have had removed. PayPal was being used to process on this forum and it looks like the other program owners had success in getting their account closed.

On a far greater scale how is it that Rapidshare can get PayPal to process for them when they are single biggest violator of stolen content? Perhaps as far as PayPal is concerned they need to be exposed to the mainstream media as I get the feeling they are turning a blind eye to it.

Its time we started circling the wagons and start hitting the likes of forums hard. Can we really afford not to especially in the current economic climate?

I agree with you! We need a strategy. I'm going to start thinking on this.

One thing you can do is turn them into Paypal at least.

[digitaldivas]

very nice psa, i am posting it to all of my blogs

[KillerK]

Amen brother!

You realize Brazzers owns Pornhub right?

[Gerco]

that psa is meant to play before a video someone paid for ? wtf , why send the message to people who are paying for porn, jesus christ it's like they stole a page from hollywood in how to do something wrong.

i have a dvd for my kids that pisses me the fuck off for this reason. I paid for it so in return i get( am forced ) to watch some psa on content theft 3 trailers and a fucked up menu, so i have to stand there for 5minutes to start the damn video

so true. I rip all my kids dvds and re-burn them with auto-play....

[Dirty Dane]

On FSA PSA Ron Jeremy tells people not to steal, but he also appears at RTA PSA, which is sponsored partly by some of the same who put their ads on infringing websites. No fence, but I see some conflicts of interest and mixed up signals Sort that out, before you point fingers at the consumers

I also think it would be a better idea to motivate consumers with less treatening "awards", rather than pointing fingers as potential infringers. Like, why not give them access to site X or product Y, if they report infringements they find? If models/websites have fans, then they also have a huge potential army of reporters. They just need the right positive motivation - not treats.

But the Internet is a global market place and when some eastern European scumbag posts a tube site and allows anyone to upload anything with no sort of verification it's bullshit.

It's an age old digital/web argument. Is a site operator responsible for policing their own site? In the realm of copyright I say yes.

Well, how "global" is it actually? Potential legit customers in many countries/areas have been rejected from even paying for products and subscriptions, because they were considered 'high risk'. And there were no alternative payment methods. Yet, the industry could support itself off the income from western countries. Piracy was limited. But with the arrival of the financial crisis, the piracy has spread significally to 'low risk' countries too.

Truly belief in free speech is not only about the freedom to monetize your own work, but also about making that work available to everyone. That is an abused argument (excuse for piracy), but at the same time true.

Today, as mentioned above, some provide alternative payment access to stolen content. Some are also financing it, from supported ads. It's a "business model" you have to "compete" with, as long politicians give a shit and don't protect you properly.

I'm not saying this because I support piracy, but because it's a partly cause and a fact to face. Just like the market for drugs or other criminalized activities, you can only compete if you force their profit away. To do that, you have to treat customers and affiliates well, set the right prices (price discrimination included) - and most critical; make it available..

It's also not the 90's anymore. You have to accept that economy and "competition" from social networking and 'real' amateurs (who actually only do it for fun!) affects both the industry income and consumer behaviour. Technology has made this possible, and the commercial industry do not have or can't claim monopoly on development. But that is of course not an excuse for stealing or SUPPORTING the parts that can be tracked back to copyright infringments.

I think the commercial adult industry has to look at the big picture, not just 'stop stealing content' and shoot random bullets. Survival is more than "beating the others", also identify and beat your own weakness and failures. In the end, it's self-regulation, not the size or direction of moneyflow, which decide the faith of the entire industry. So the industry needs to define 'what is 'industry' and what is acceptable. On all levels. One place to start, as I said, is for members to sit down and talk at organizations like ASACP. It's not the "Final Solution", but could be a productive start. Otherwise, hostile politicians will finally step in and pull plugs the moment we are most vulnerable.

[dmhubby]

I also think it would be a better idea to motivate consumers with less treatening "awards", rather than pointing fingers as potential infringers. Like, why not give them access to site X or product Y, if they report infringements they find? If models/websites have fans, then they also have a huge potential army of reporters. They just need the right positive motivation - not treats.

I like the idea of positive motivation, good thought!

Well, how "global" is it actually? Potential legit customers in many countries/areas have been rejected from even paying for products and subscriptions, because they were considered 'high risk'. And there were no alternative payment methods. Yet, the industry could support itself off the income from western countries. Piracy was limited. But with the arrival of the financial crisis, the piracy has spread significally to 'low risk' countries too.

This is a very legit point. I would not say "the industry" blocks these countries. It's more the credit card companies block them. I can tell you this from experience ... Many of the high risk countries are high risk for a reason. Dreamnet.com ran it's own merchant account until 2006 when Visa/MC and Discover started cracking down so hard. Then it became to expense with to many hoops to jump through. So we saw every single charge back and it was true that many stolen credit card orders came from the so called "high risk" countries. So it's tough.

Truly belief in free speech is not only about the freedom to monetize your own work, but also about making that work available to everyone. That is an abused argument (excuse for piracy), but at the same time true.

I don't think I agree that truly free speech means giving everything you do away free. Have to ponder that one some more.

Today, as mentioned above, some provide alternative payment access to stolen content. Some are also financing it, from supported ads. It's a "business model" you have to "compete" with, as long politicians give a shit and don't protect you properly.

Absolutely, I agree totally the business model needs to evolve to complete with the ad supported sites. IMHO that is the largest competitor.

I'm not saying this because I support piracy, but because it's a partly cause and a fact to face. Just like the market for drugs or other criminalized activities, you can only compete if you force their profit away. To do that, you have to treat customers and affiliates well, set the right prices (price discrimination included) - and most critical; make it available..

Absolutely, and our buying customers are happy and tell us so. What I disagree with is as I mentioned above the sites thrive off using stolen content and they know it.

It's also not the 90's anymore. You have to accept that economy and "competition" from social networking and 'real' amateurs (who actually only do it for fun!) affects both the industry income and consumer behaviour. Technology has made this possible, and the commercial industry do not have or can't claim monopoly on development. But that is of course not an excuse for stealing or SUPPORTING the parts that can be tracked back to copyright infringments.

Again I agree, I have no problem with legit competition.

I think the commercial adult industry has to look at the big picture, not just 'stop stealing content' and shoot random bullets. Survival is more than "beating the others", also identify and beat your own weakness and failures. In the end, it's self-regulation, not the size or direction of moneyflow, which decide the faith of the entire industry. So the industry needs to define 'what is 'industry' and what is acceptable. On all levels. One place to start, as I said, is for members to sit down and talk at organizations like ASACP. It's not the "Final Solution", but could be a productive start. Otherwise, hostile politicians will finally step in and pull plugs the moment we are most vulnerable.

Well said!

[Dirty Dane]

I don't think I agree that truly free speech means giving everything you do away free. Have to ponder that one some more.

This is a very legit point. I would not say "the industry" blocks these countries. It's more the credit card companies block them. I can tell you this from experience ... Many of the high risk countries are high risk for a reason. Dreamnet.com ran it's own merchant account until 2006 when Visa/MC and Discover started cracking down so hard. Then it became to expense with to many hoops to jump through. So we saw every single charge back and it was true that many stolen credit card orders came from the so called "high risk" countries. So it's tough.

I meant available, not 100% free. If you see advertisement on internet (the global market), it kinda sucks if you click for purchase, and for some reason you are not allowed to pay.

The reason could be restricted to some countries because of broadcasting rights, you live in a "high risk" area etc. Still, if you are a legit potential customer it sucks. So there may be only one way to get the product/service, through illegal channels. That is not an excuse, but a side effect.

The artists, photographers etc. who want to share (but also monetize) their work with the world, cannot do that with such barriers. Why should VISA and other bigger companies be the barrier? Why are file hosts successfull with alternative methods, but not this industry?

As affiliate, I could block all 'high risk' countries when advertising adult sites. But I'm not. For some good reasons:

1. I believe in free speech/no censorship. If I block surfers from a free site (free site = licensed content, not stolen) because of their economic or geographic status, then my "belief" would be double standards (= do it only for the money). Why should I block a Chinese surfer, and at the same time tell China to stop censorship?

2. It's better to give out some free, but limited amount of content, to reduce their consume from fully piracy websites.

3. Freebies still have a value. The traffic is worth something as trading traffic, reputation etc. If a sales ratio is overall 1:100, those other 99% still have a value. Treat them good, and within the legal channels.

In these times, this industry need to reconsider how to value and treat the traffic. Traffic that is lost. It really amaze me, when two program owners are fighting 1 week on this board about 1 picture, and at the same time there are full site rips elsewhere, their website is spoofed and backdoored. What kind of priority is that?
It's tough enough for the business to keep up with laws, competition and other restrictions, but without some common strategy and policy, everyone will fail in the end.

[alias]

Good luck with that.

[Jack Sparrow]

i blame tubes

Its sad but this will never get fixed. Even tho the government needs all the tax dollars it can get. They would rather legalize pot for taxes then fix issues that are costing taxes. Apparently Porn is more taboo then drug use. Not that I mind if pot becomes legal and i can buy it from a store, but someone should sue the government for not enforcing our copyright laws the way Mainstream copyright laws have been enforced.

Maybe we should all make a class action suit against tubesite owners. I know brazzers is putting up a new tube site every week it seems.

www.iblametubes.com