Why am I surprised?

At least a couple of times a week Google alerts informs me of pirate editions of my e-books cropping up on the web. When a new site was added to the list of offenders, I went to the URL and used the site's abuse button to report the copyright infringement for that title, and for the others of mine that I found on there.

Color me stunned--within a few hours I had a positive response written by an actual human and the infringing files were taken down. Exactly how it is supposed to work.

Now, admittedly, they're not perfect. One of the users who had pirated my novels had also pirated hundreds of other novels, and there's no sign that he's been banned from the service, or that they are prepared to take down the other novels until each individual author (or their designed representative) complains. (Hint to admins--if he's posting a bookcover with the file, it's likely illegal.) But still, it's better than the black hole of non-responsiveness that happens when I notify other websites.

It's a sign of the times that my expectations are so low that I'm surprised when a webhosting site makes an effort to comply with the law.