I had seen this (for those who haven’t, all book texts are encoded as HTML entities), but it’s essentially the same as the no-right-click: a slight annoyance that inhibits easy sharing and quoting, but does nothing to prevent those genuinely intent on stealing - a quick copy and paste into another file, and the data is there.

It’s not a big thing, but I am constantly surprised by the lengths people will go to (attempt to) block normal behaviours which have nothing to do with the perceived problem at hand.

Next time you are on Authonomy reading a book if you click the Page Menu and use the View Source option. Then scroll down through the source and see if you can find an intelligable piece of chapter text on that page!!!! Now I may be blowing my own trumpet here but i thaught that it was pretty trick.

Also in the Quote from the FAQ you have managed to hit the core of the ranking system on the head. I left before It could be implemented but the basic aidea behind it is that the more bookshelves your book inhabits then the higher it will be ranked.

As I say I’m no longer working on the project or for the company but Authonomy will always have a part of my soul and creativity in it.

My cover, BTW, is a real one. I’ve made a POD edition available for the readers who have asked.

It certainly does remain to be seen just what sort of noise, if any, Authonomy will make in the publishing world. So far the entries are dominated by works in progress, which may or may not be an enticement for conventional publishers and agents who from what I understand make it a practice to consider only completed works of fiction. The work I posted, titled “Boomerang” is a completed work, although as any writer will tell you, it is always possible to tweak it a little more. Always.

Any ranking system is bound to be attacked by those who feel it is not working to their advantage. We’ll see what Authonomy comes up with.

But all in all, I think Harper Collins should be congratulated for taking a brave leap into the Partially Known.

I still think covers are pointless - yes, they still function as icons for the book, but it’s very extraneous to the business of writing, and strangely anachronistic for a future-looking site. Still, I know how much people enjoy making them!

@Lee - while I understand your point, Authonomy is very much a site for work in progress and in search of a publisher, so you shouldn’t be surprised if yours is treated this way…

It seems to me that the key to Authonomy’s success will be the ranking system’s effectiveness. Youwriteon has managed this; the best books are nearer the top of the charts, the worst nearer the bottom. It remains to be seen whether Authonomy’s quite different approach can do this.