New GoGoD database update + GoGoD Encyclopaedia files

[dfan]

That sounds just about 25% bigger than Genjo-Chitoku, so judging from my copy of that it seems physically reasonable to make it a single large volume.

[John Tilley]

John - Thanks for "asking" "programming support" to resolve this.

Publish the Shuei book in one volume. Your Genjo-Chitoku is 459 pages, Relentless was 601 pages - so Shuei should not be a problem. I am looking forward to reading it.

Best Wishes - John

[SoDesuNe]

I'm with you and the others in also prefering one volume : )

[xela]

Since you've asked for feedback, let me cast a mild vote in the 2-volume camp. (I saw mild because the format isn't a deal-breaker, I give priority to good quality content.)

For me, "Invincible" is already a little on the large side, and "Relentless" is just ridiculous. The 1971 Honinbo Tournament is a fine size for a go book: it makes me feel inclined to linger, ponder and re-read, rather than desperately turn the page wondering if I'll make it to the end in this lifetime :-) Don't get me wrong, I really am enjoying my recently-arrived copy of Genjo-Chitoku, but I'm also slowed down by the necessity of clearing the table and making space to put the book next to a board, as well as bending my knees and lifting carefully with both hands.

Actually I'd prefer to buy such tomes as PDFs (although I understand that the piracy is getting to you -- I'll say more on that soon). I'm not generally a fan of ebooks, I like seeing "old friends" on my physical bookshelf, but it's easy to open the PDF on a tablet and prop it up on a lightweight book stand.

[xela]

Pirates are the problem...apparently over 5,000 downloads..

If it's any consolation, the numbers are greatly inflated. I still sometimes post classical music for free on my web site. I was initially appalled, and am now amused, to see a lot of it being copied onto Chinese ringtone sites. I don't think too many people view Chopin's Berceuse (direct link to my mp3, the authorised version) as suitable ringtone material, but it's there alongside all the pop music jingles. What happens is that someone will write a bot to scrape any mp3s they can find, and copy them to a ringtone site. Then someone else writes their own bot and steals the already-stolen goods from one site to post them on another site. And someone else writes another bot to steal both stolen versions and ... Multiple copies with no humans ever consuming the product.

Also, some people seem to view downloading as a sport in its own right. I can think of people who download several dozen movies every month, but only have time to watch one or two. And an old colleague of mine found a few thousand mathematics textbooks online. I don't believe he ever read more than twenty of them, but he collected the whole lot "because they were there".

Some of the file sharing sites are outright scams. I couldn't find the specific one you've described, but there's another site out there offering M of M with the comment "Your credit card number is needed to understand that you are a real person, not a robot!" What do you think will happen to anyone who's naive enough to type in their credit card details to get a "free" book?

That "5,000 downloads" (plus similar from other sites) probably represents no more than 20 lost sales. That's 20 more than it should be, but not as appalling as it first looks.

[xela]

One last thought: if you do want to lift your revenue to the great heights of £200+ per year, a popular business model these days seems to be to serialise the work, give away a free instalment every month or so, and invite people to sponsor you. I know you hate the tech side of it, but if you can find someone to whom the phrase "Wordpress blog linked to Patreon" is meaningful...

[xela]

guerdon

And thanks for teaching me a new word! (Actually I suspect rather an old word.)