Z-Library Aftermath Reveals the Feds Seized Dozens of Domain Names(torrentfreak.com)
torrentfreak.com
Z-Library Aftermath Reveals the Feds Seized Dozens of Domain Names
https://torrentfreak.com/z-library-aftermath-reveals-that-the-feds-seized-dozens-of-domain-names-221107/
74 comments
I've personally used sites like this as a sort of protest to what universities and authors did to the textbook market. You used to be able to buy used physical textbooks for classes at reasonable prices. They took advantage of the shift to digital by forcing arbitrary changes in edition numbers, solely to sell more books, or by requiring obscure, low-volume books, often written by the professor leading the class. With prices often exceeding $100.
It would have been a godsend when I was still academic. This and sci-hub.
The way they eviscerated the service makes clear that in general we need more robust web services. Tor is not ideal for this, onions are excellent and fill their niche really well.
But we need something simpler here.
The way they eviscerated the service makes clear that in general we need more robust web services. Tor is not ideal for this, onions are excellent and fill their niche really well.
But we need something simpler here.
What is needed is a strong government for the people, by the people. Without that, it really doesn't matter what tech you can cobble together.
That doesn’t happen because most people can’t or won’t participate in government. This is because many government meetings are held during the day, during working hours, usually in places far from the individuals affected.
The people who do show up are independently wealthy, retirees, and people being paid to represent an organization. Representitive government doesn’t, and cannot represent the people.
The people who do show up are independently wealthy, retirees, and people being paid to represent an organization. Representitive government doesn’t, and cannot represent the people.
The founding vision of the US was one where the further away government was from the people, the less impact it would have on their lives. The Federal government was to have an extremely limited role in society, largely tasked with things such as international relations. Your day to day would primarily be affect by your state, and ideally on downward with a further delegation of responsibilities getting closer and closer to you.
This also helps curtail corruption. It is ostensibly easier to coerce/bribe/etc a state than a nation, but you have to do this for every single state and then try to keep them all under your thumb. A federal government may ostensibly be harder to corrupt, but once corrupted they can affect your whims on a national level and be relatively easier to maintain control of.
This decentralization of power seems to be the easiest way to have a functioning political system. It's always the same decision. Centralization paired with selflessness, benevolence, and competence will trend towards utopia. Centralization paired with selfishness, greed, or incompetence will trend towards dystopia. Decentralization will always just trend towards mediocrity as a mish mash of the averages of society.
This also helps curtail corruption. It is ostensibly easier to coerce/bribe/etc a state than a nation, but you have to do this for every single state and then try to keep them all under your thumb. A federal government may ostensibly be harder to corrupt, but once corrupted they can affect your whims on a national level and be relatively easier to maintain control of.
This decentralization of power seems to be the easiest way to have a functioning political system. It's always the same decision. Centralization paired with selflessness, benevolence, and competence will trend towards utopia. Centralization paired with selfishness, greed, or incompetence will trend towards dystopia. Decentralization will always just trend towards mediocrity as a mish mash of the averages of society.
The founders were also deathly afraid of a standing army. This is why a defense authorization bill is passed every two years. People might debate how much money should be put toward defense spending, but few people would argue that we should dissolve the military and call up citizens only when conflict happens.
They also explicitly dismissed the idea of one person, one vote.
And this all ignores the fact that there wasn't a singular, cohesive founding vision. Alexander Hamilton, for example, argued for a strong federal government.
With all that said, we shouldn't be hamstrung by what a deeply flawed group of people decided in the late 1700s.
They also explicitly dismissed the idea of one person, one vote.
And this all ignores the fact that there wasn't a singular, cohesive founding vision. Alexander Hamilton, for example, argued for a strong federal government.
With all that said, we shouldn't be hamstrung by what a deeply flawed group of people decided in the late 1700s.
> With all that said, we shouldn't be hamstrung by what a deeply flawed group of people decided in the late 1700s.
Bringing this back to the discussion at hand, your point seems completely off the mark and basically irrelevant. The current copyright regime is nothing like what was created by those men hundreds of years ago. In the late 18th century after the country was founded, copyright was limited to 14 years plus another 14 year extension if the author was still alive. Going back to that would be a great idea.
Bringing this back to the discussion at hand, your point seems completely off the mark and basically irrelevant. The current copyright regime is nothing like what was created by those men hundreds of years ago. In the late 18th century after the country was founded, copyright was limited to 14 years plus another 14 year extension if the author was still alive. Going back to that would be a great idea.
Americans use the supposed will of the founding fathers to justify quite random stuff. It's just an excuse yea.
If given a choice, I think I would opt for the "decentralization with a mishmash of the averages of society" over a dystopia. The "centralization with selflessness, benevolence, and competence" path toward utopia seems like wishful thinking to me. You can never legislate morality, and without a non-secular religion as a guide, a default moral people is not a reasonable expectation.
Don't forget that decentralization trends toward inequity too. A key function of 'centralized' government is protecting individuals from the tyranny of their local majority.
> the further away government was from the people, the less impact it would have on their lives
the corollary being the further away government is from the people, the less accountable it is
Exhibit A: Brasilia
the corollary being the further away government is from the people, the less accountable it is
Exhibit A: Brasilia
It's almost as if the framers of the Constitution knew what they were doing when they created a decentralized federalized system and we've screwed it up pretty badly by centralizing power in the Federal Government.
> it really doesn't matter what tech you can cobble together.
We need to be careful with that - it's one thing to make tools that help circumvent harmful behaviors, such as censorship and privacy violations, but rendering authorities unable to enforce laws (or forcing them to partially enforce them, based on who has and who hasn't technology protecting them) is not a desirable outcome.
We need to be careful with that - it's one thing to make tools that help circumvent harmful behaviors, such as censorship and privacy violations, but rendering authorities unable to enforce laws (or forcing them to partially enforce them, based on who has and who hasn't technology protecting them) is not a desirable outcome.
No we need a weak government such that it doesn‘t matter if it is for or against the people
There is no such government or governmental system that would actually work like that.
And how would you enforce that over time? Perhaps... with a strong government? :P
No, with accountability of government officials if they err - What would today be dismissed as "Attacks on our nation's capitol"
What is this "accountability" you speak of? How exactly does it work?
I hope you don't think "accountability" means some hill billies storming some offices and then going home having accomplished absolutely nothing, except in some cases going to jail.
I hope you don't think "accountability" means some hill billies storming some offices and then going home having accomplished absolutely nothing, except in some cases going to jail.
We're discussing an instance of regulatory capture. Granting the government more powers - that are available for special interests to capture - ends up digging an even deeper hole.
Eviscerated? The onion is indistinguishable from the clearnet site, with the exception that you need to log in. Disposable mail makes account creation trivial.
aren't tor and onion pairs,why one not ideal while another excellent? confused.
I just butchered the sentence.
Tor/Onion addresses are great at what they do, but not appropriate to solve this problem.
It's basically ideal for drug dealing when infrequently small amounts of data are exchanged and a crypto payment made.
Not idea for frequently accessing large chunks of data 1-100mb PDFs.
Tor/Onion addresses are great at what they do, but not appropriate to solve this problem.
It's basically ideal for drug dealing when infrequently small amounts of data are exchanged and a crypto payment made.
Not idea for frequently accessing large chunks of data 1-100mb PDFs.
> Not idea for frequently accessing large chunks of data 1-100mb PDFs.
This is where I2P and eepsites shine.
This is where I2P and eepsites shine.
Because some people go through TOR to browse regular non-onion web sites and their experience is not always pleasant.
> Because some people go through TOR to browse regular non-onion web sites
They still go through the onion circuit.
I agree with the GP, distinction you're trying to make is unclear - Tor is a browser that uses onion circuits to access the web, including onion sites. Without onion, Tor is just another flavor of Firefox.
They still go through the onion circuit.
I agree with the GP, distinction you're trying to make is unclear - Tor is a browser that uses onion circuits to access the web, including onion sites. Without onion, Tor is just another flavor of Firefox.
The distinction is simple - slipping through an exit-node or staying within the Onion network. Doesn't this make sense?
As far as I know I2P is better for the second kind of the job but apparently is not nearly as popular, sadly.
As far as I know I2P is better for the second kind of the job but apparently is not nearly as popular, sadly.
Tor is The Onion Router.
It is precisely "the onion" you're referring to. It is not a browser. A browser or any other TCP-using software can route packets through the Tor network.
Be careful when misinforming people like this.
Technically, yes, Tor is The Onion Router, but everyone seems to refer to the official Tor Browser as "Tor", and to the Tor software as "onion".
> Be careful when misinforming people like this.
Who died and made you the captain of the truth police?
> Be careful when misinforming people like this.
Who died and made you the captain of the truth police?
Isn't it mainly publishers who are responsible for that?
I think authors get a pittance. I recall a professor getting something like $600 to write a chapter in a molecular pathology textbook back in 2008.
I think authors get a pittance. I recall a professor getting something like $600 to write a chapter in a molecular pathology textbook back in 2008.
Now, you need an access code to do your homework. It costs more than the textbook, and cannot be shared, rented, copied, or sold when you’re done with it. The reason it is so expensive is because it comes with a “optimized” etextbook to help you when you’re stuck on homework. The average I’d say is around $120
Predatory practices all around.
Predatory practices all around.
One professor would hand out detailed sheets covering the differences between editions for anyone who had older ones, allowing a large range to be used.
Several of my professors did the same. Some went as far as saying the particular text book was not necessary, suggesting we can choose our own or recommending another. The important thing was the content of the course, with the source only being relevant for things like accuracy (which was rarely an issue for my field of study, at least for introductory texts which is what publishers tend to game).
Just after I finished my studies things started becoming more difficult though, when additional instructional materials (graded tutorials, quizzes, and such) started going online.
Just after I finished my studies things started becoming more difficult though, when additional instructional materials (graded tutorials, quizzes, and such) started going online.
Oh, absurd prices for textbooks is not something that came from the digital shift. I had textbooks that were over $100 when I was an undergraduate. And that was in the late 1980s!
Right, but there was a used textbook market that usually worked for me.
But did it have a code for accessing online homework assignments that only worked once and made it useless to resell because next semester's students had to buy a new copy in order to submit homework?
It's been a racket for a long time, but it's gotten much worse recently.
It's been a racket for a long time, but it's gotten much worse recently.
I used to borrow a friends book and photo copy the entire book. It wasn’t ideal but it was often an order of magnitude cheaper than buying those crappy books.
Used textbooks have been cleverly neutralized by the technique of bundling new copies with single-use codes for required online courseware.
Adopting and requiring such courseware is somewhat abusive to students, but instructors are probably trying to save their own time and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Personally I'd be happier if the textbooks and courseware access were sold separately.
Adopting and requiring such courseware is somewhat abusive to students, but instructors are probably trying to save their own time and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Personally I'd be happier if the textbooks and courseware access were sold separately.
How about boycotting colleges that are more focused on stealing your money than educating you?
Voting with your wallet loses to the tragedy of the commons.
> Not all known Z-Library domains are currently offline. The login portal ‘singlelogin.me’ and booksc.me, for example, remain online. These domains are registered through the Finnish company Sarek Oy, which is affiliated with Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde.
Nice. Long fly the pirate flags.
Nice. Long fly the pirate flags.
I had been using z-lib as a way of "format shifting" some of my books. I live in a small apartment. My books take up too much space. For some, I've found the PDF on z-lib and thrown out the hardcopy.
I don't think that is immoral in any way. (And I'm pretty sure it's not illegal -- but IANAL).
I don't think that is immoral in any way. (And I'm pretty sure it's not illegal -- but IANAL).
Yup, I've got a bunch of old books that have become an allergy issue for me. Replacing them with e-versions is not piracy no matter how I get the file.
But the site's still up, still available over Tor, and still has domain names (in other jurisdictions) that point to it.
So since this was done at the DNS level, not the hosting level, does this mean if you're running a pi-hole or AdGuardHome you can add some extra redirects for zlib to its actual IPs? I guess you could also just hardcode these in your computer's host file but then you have to do it for every device on your LAN. Assuming their IPs change somewhat frequently, is there any way to do this in an auto-updating way?
Even more interestingly, could somebody set up a "pirate DNS" for public use that would still resolve these (and other domains seized for similar reasons) while deferring to a "regular" DNS for everything else?
OpenNIC is an alternative DNS root server that already has a .pirate domain.
https://www.opennic.org/
https://www.opennic.org/
I guess in a way the Pirate Bay is just a pirate DNS for magnet links.
This is common https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062
But obviously any one that gets known for publicly providing banned domains would also get banned.
So you need to maintain your own address tables, and get updates through private communications.
So you need to maintain your own address tables, and get updates through private communications.
Such a need for a service like z-library, the outside world sales prices does not make sense in my country, where the price of an ebook is equal to my half a month salary.
Making no comment on ethics, it's amazing that we're able to create a multi-billion dollar industry over gatekeeping 30 TB of data.
Obviously there are more books than that but I'm sure it's a long-tail situation.
Obviously there are more books than that but I'm sure it's a long-tail situation.
Wait till they find out about credit agencies.
The servers hosting the data haven't been seized. Within a week there will be a dozen new domains for this information hosted out of Mozambique and Luxemburg or something. What a stupid waste of taxpayers money.
Perhaps Z-Library would benefit by incorporating censotrship-resistant running via Rosen, which someone submitted here not long ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33541351
I hate to say this, but the DNS system is the problem here. What are the alternatives?
So far I've seen OpenNIC[1] mentioned in this thread. I have it bookmarked because I think it's a really neat project. If there are others I'd like to know about them.
1: https://www.opennic.org/
1: https://www.opennic.org/
I don't understand how zlibrary can still be up though. If the glowies can seize the domains can't they also seize the servers hosting the data?
They are outside the US jurisdiction.
The full archive is also not that big (~30TB) so they are plenty of mirrors.
The full archive is also not that big (~30TB) so they are plenty of mirrors.
"The full archive is also not that big (~30TB) so they are plenty of mirrors. "
Like where? Zlibrary wasn't open for 'official' mirrors in the first place, and the 'unofficial mirror' hasn't had any seeders for its torrents since at least the seizure of the domains last week.
Like where? Zlibrary wasn't open for 'official' mirrors in the first place, and the 'unofficial mirror' hasn't had any seeders for its torrents since at least the seizure of the domains last week.
There's a person who comments on some of the z-lib posts and they are the ones who archived z-lib (and some other sites). If I can find it, I'll edit this comment.
Here. Her name is Anna.
http://annas-blog.org/blog-introducing.html
http://pilimi.org/
Here. Her name is Anna.
http://annas-blog.org/blog-introducing.html
http://pilimi.org/
Yah I know, it's the torrents on that site I was talking about.
Zibrary is/was essentially a different frontend for libgen content. If you look for libgen archives, it is indeed mirrored.
No it's not. Well it started out that way, but libgen is 7TB, zlibrary added another 16TB to that, which was not shared in the way libgen is.
The core of Libgen is indeed 33TB. No idea where you get your 7TB from. The content difference between it and zlibrary is marginal from what I understand.
Including fiction (but excluding the scihub mirror, and comics), Libgen is actually about ~60TB. Z-Library mirrors this, and adds about ~24TB exclusive to them.
Maybe 80% of it is. Zlibrary, rather greedily, accepts its own individual uploads and does not mirror them to libgen anymore. Probably due to their monetization policies.
They are located in territories that are not friendly to US "glowies". Also, they tried that with Pirate Bay which was on glowie-friendly territory (Sweden, ever happy to lick US jack-boots) but it just became a game of whack-a-mole they couldn't win.
I heard there were backup / archives. Are they already backup under a new domain?
I understand IP laws, rewarding the authors, incentivizing future research, etc. etc.
But intuitively and conceptually, there is a hypothetical scenario in which all of humanity's knowledge is ~free for anyone to access instantaneously and from anywhere.
The current scenario in which every meaningful piece of academic output is heavily paywalled makes for a disheartening comparison.
But intuitively and conceptually, there is a hypothetical scenario in which all of humanity's knowledge is ~free for anyone to access instantaneously and from anywhere.
The current scenario in which every meaningful piece of academic output is heavily paywalled makes for a disheartening comparison.
And now only libgen and archive.org remain, sad