New run of Guru Book cancelled due to pirate copy in circulation

[HenryCase]

avanham wrote:
1. TjLaZer
2. AltRN8
3. CountZero
4. Hans
5. tiffers
6. Tahoe
7. AmigaDave
8. AmigaHeretic
9. madsjm
10. MrZammler
11. Firedawg
12. Marcb
13. buzz
14. OSS542
15. Andeda
16. A6000
17. Splurge
18. Trekie_J
19. CaptainMooMoo
20. Matt_H
21. Gavilan
22. Fester
23. Nyle
24. ZeBeeDee
25. Webmany
26. Joe Torre (prepay=Y)
27. LoadWB (prepay=Y)
28. twizzle
29. nOw2
30. Cass
31. Jiminy
32. Codesmith
33. pVC
34. avanham

34 potential buyers, good work people!
I heard about this list from AmigaDave (thanks mate!) when he posted about it on AW.net, but I didn't realise it had gotten so long. Anyway, I thought it was a good idea to let all Amiga users, not just those who use a.org, to make their voice heard about wanting the Amiga Guru Book, so I created an online petition and informed a number of Amiga websites about it. The petition link is here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?4m1ga123&1

Thanks to all of those who have already signed it. It's currently got 33 signatures, and it was only created about 8 hours ago. Pretty good going I think. If you've signed the a.org list and haven't signed the petition yet, please do so, the combined forces of the a.org list and the new petition will make a much more compelling message. It is really quick to sign the petition too.

I posted news about the petition on the following Amiga websites (in no particular order):
amiga.org, amigaworld.net, amigans.net, aros-exec.org, English Amiga Board, arosworld.org, morphzone.org.
Those are all the Amiga websites I am a member of. Can members of amigaweb.net and other Amiga forums (ones in non-English languages for example, as they might have members who could make use of the English language version of the book) please spread the word about the petition.

As for the reply Hans got from Ralph:
"As I wanted the reprint to be of the highest possible
quality, print-on-demand was out of the question. Offset,
however, requires a certain minimum number of copies"

I wasn't aware that print-on-demand offered a lower quality of book, I'll have to look into that. In any case, signing the petition will help Ralph see that he has the numbers of buyers needed for a print run.

Thanks.

[HenryCase]

LoadWB wrote:
Ralph, this isn't about the arsehole who did this.  This isn't about your creative work going unappreciated, nor about theft of intellectual property.  THIS is much bigger than that.  This is about your audience, your fans, your fellow Amigans who know, respect, and love your work.  Those who share your enthusiasm and love for the platform and the community.  Those who have held on because through thin and thinner because we truly believe in something here -- just like you.  WE support you, WE care, and WE are who matter.

Couldn't have put it better myself, other than to add that Ralph still gets a benefit out of publishing the book. If we get the necessary numbers for an offset printing run, and considering that the level of interest for this book was gauged back in 2007, which must have shown enough interest to make a print run successful, I'd say we can all get what we want here, including Ralph.

zurt wrote:
35. zurt

Nice one zurt. Will you sign the petition too?
http://www.petitiononline.com/4m1ga123/petition.html
51 signatures now. Thanks to all Amiga people. Lets show Ralph how many people still want the new Amiga Guru Book.

[HenryCase]

Matt_H wrote:
Despite my disdain for online petitions, I've signed.

You beauty! Nice one squire! :-D

I know signing petitions can seem like a futile gesture, but they really can make a difference, especially in cases like this when all that's really holding back the publication of the book is the perception the interest isn't there, which it clearly is. Better to take positive action as well I reckon. Keep it up Amigans!

[HenryCase]

Matt_H wrote:
@ HenryCase

Signatures 28-29 appear to be duplicates.

Good spot, thanks Matt_H. I've e-mailed the website technical support people so they can help me remove the duplicate.

There are over 85 legitimate signatures now. If we get over 169 signatures we can prove that the torrent of the book hasn't affected the possibility of a print run, as that is the number of people who e-mailed their support when the new print run was announced in 2007. Considering the petition has only been going for about a day we are on target for this, but I would ask again that if you put your name down on the list started in this thread please sign the petition as well so we can make the message that we want this book printed loud and clear. Thanks.

[HenryCase]

*Bump*
I don't like repeating myself again and again, so I'll make this brief. Over 110 signatures now. 170 signatures is the target so please sign the petition if you haven't done so (and if you'd like to see the book published, naturally!).

http://www.petitiononline.com/4m1ga123/petition.html

[HenryCase]

amigadave wrote:
@Phantom, and any others that have not already signed the petition, here is the link again.

Adding your name to this list is no longer necessary and you should sign the petition instead.

It's true that Phantom already signed the petition, though I agree with you amigadave, if you're going to sign one thing to register your wish for the book then make it the petition as everyone (not just amiga.org users) can join in. It was the idea started in this thread that inspired me to create the petition, so really its continuing success should be seen as amiga.org-inspired success! :-D Thanks TjLaZer.

AJCopland wrote:
Signed.

Thanks AJCopland! I feel like a song...
[Bette Midler]Did you ever know that you're my hero...[/Bette Midler] Got to stop channeling the spirit of Bette Midler! :crazy:  :-D

odin wrote:
That works for school textbooks you only use once but not for a guide you are going to use a lot and for a long time (or just to have it being pretty on the bookshelf =).

You're right, a book is so much nicer to work with.

amigadave wrote:
Only another 13 signatures needed to reach that 170 number.  I wonder if this is going to make any difference?

Make that 0 signatures needed! 171 signatures, we did it, well done people! Of course please still sign the petition if you still haven't done so and would like the book, every signature counts in our favour. I will now be e-mailing Ralph so that I can tell him how much his book still means to the Amiga community. The final publication decision still lies with him, but collectively we have shown that we'd much rather support the book author than the pirate.

[HenryCase]

Golem!dk wrote:
And 217 people have downloaded the pdf so far.

Considering how hard it is to get the real thing, it could be a panic driven decision, like 'if I don't get it now, I might never get the chance again'. The current state of affairs with the newly revised book only exacerbates this situation.

However, given the choice, what would you choose: a newly revised and improved book, or an old and poor quality pdf? No contest is there. Time will tell whether we get that choice.

[HenryCase]

Fats wrote:
I am one of those 217. But as I also have the dead tree version of the English Guru book I don't consider myself a pirate. I actually wanted to see what all the hype was about.
And no, I'm not selling the dead tree version; the book is not in a sellable state anymore anyway

So Fats, as someone who owns a copy of the first edition of the Amiga Guru Book can you tell me the sections you found the most useful? Or perhaps the whole book is full of useful information you can't get elsewhere? Just curious.

[HenryCase]

Golem!dk wrote:
And 217 people have downloaded the pdf so far.

Hey Golem!dk, just wondered, how many people have downloaded the torrent since you posted this? The petition has reached 234 signatures now.

@all
Oh, and I'm doing another push for people to sign the petition. There is still hope that Ralph is reconsidering, the last e-mail I got from him was not discouraging.

[HenryCase]

Golem!dk wrote:
@HenryCase
302 according to the tracker... sticking to my dead tree version here, should the revised edition be printed I'd probably buy a copy.

Thanks Golem!dk. Incidentally, is it possible for me to see this number on the tracker (without downloading the torrent?)?

walter wrote:
@HenryCase
Even better.  You've done the community a service, however this turns out.

Cheers man, I appreciate your approval! :-D

LoadWB wrote:
Any updates on this situation?

:afro:

See next post, but in short, progress is slow.

[HenryCase]

I'm restarting this campaign. Well I mean I never really stopped, but now I need some help again.

Let's get this out of the way now: I have been in contact with Ralph Babel, but progress has been slow. However, I do not see this as a bad sign.

The reason I am asking for help again is this: I saw two targets for the Amiga Guru Book petition, but I only mentioned one, and to be honest I thought the 170 signature target might have been overly optimistic at first (before the numbers didn't stop going up).

The second signature target I saw was to surpass the number of people who had downloaded the infamous torrent, which is around 302 people now. At the time of writing this, the petition has reached 247 signatures even though I haven't done much to promote it since we reached the 170 target.

So, a couple of things:
1. Please don't download the torrent unless you're confident it'll be the only way to easily obtain the material in the near future (the book still could be published at this point, Ralph has not told me otherwise).
2. If you haven't signed the petition yet and want to see Amiga programmers get access to one of the best (maybe even THE best, according to owners of the book) Amiga programming resources around, sign the petition.

I am duplicating this message on the following Amiga websites (in alphabetical order): amigans.net, amiga.org, amigaworld.net, AROS-Exec.org, AROSWorld.org, eab.abime.net (English Amiga Board), MorphZone.org, UtilityBase.com. I know this topic has been discussed on other Amiga forums, so please pass on this 'drumming up support' message to the places it needs to be heard. Also, does anyone know if there is a central point to discuss this issue with all those involved with UAE ports? The Amiga Guru Book should be handy for the emulation crew as well.

That's all for now. Sign on (you crazy diamonds!). ;-)
http://www.petitiononline.com/4m1ga123/petition.html