Loss of megaupload

[alchemi183]

You may have read about the loss of the megaupload file sharing site. Wikipedia has a revealing writeup about it.

In a quick look at the Cock Hero uploads of several Cock Hero authors, I think most videos have been uploaded to other sites, or used megaupload as a secondary download site. Hopefully we haven't lost any videos. Even if we have, it will surely be on the hard drives of hundreds of pervs and can be re-uploaded somewhere else.

However, the loss of megaupload underscores the best practice of uploading new Cock Hero and other videos to more than one site when possible.

[les]

See

http://www.milovana.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8388

[alchemi183]

See

http://www.milovana.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8388

Thanks, Les. And thank zeus SOPA and PIPA have been withdrawn, at least for now. Considering what the Justice Department does now, I can't imagine what they and the entertainment industry would do with even MORE power.

They're already really good at shutting sites down. I lost a sizable amount of money (at least for me it was) when they shut down Full Tilt Poker and seized their assets. Grrrr.

[les]

I now use the cloud for convenience not for long term storage or backup.
Most used by me now are:


media-fire to transfer pictures and files between family and friends

Evernote. to transfer between home computers and phone.

[janmb]

However, the loss of megaupload underscores the best practice of uploading new Cock Hero and other videos to more than one site when possible.

Absolutely.

The most vexing part about mega-uploads being shut down is the principle of the thing. They offered a content neutral service for online storage. Nothing less, nothing more. It's sick, wrong, illogical and unacceptable if anyone offering what is basically an online hard drive should be held responsible for the content their users choose to use it for. Simply not their responsibility in any way, nor should it ever be.

It is the person choosing to upload and share copyrighted content who has all the responsibility - alone. No one else.

The same story applies to stuff like the pirate bay. Although their agenda is pretty clear, that too is essentially a completely content neutral service and is indeed used for plenty 100% legal content.

There must be hundreds of similar sites, maybe thousands, who offer online file hosting services for free. Wonder what's their next target...

[Gsus]

It's not as simple as that janmb.

If you run a site and there's a mix of activity going on, and some of it is illegal and you take reasonable steps then fine.

However if you run a site, and you charge for access and ads, and you make a considerable profit, and most importantly you know the majority of stuff is illegal, and it's obvious that you know then you're in trouble.

There's lots of comparisons that can be done, here's two... one of them is legal and the other is illegal.

1) You run a bar/pub. You know that people buy and sell drugs in your pub. You'll throw anyone out if you see it, but you don't take any real action, and you effectively turn a blind eye to it.

2) You are the getaway driver for a bank job. You didn't steal the money, but you're driving away the car that you clearly know is being used for the bank job.

In position 1, you're almost certainly fine. Unless you charge an enormous entry fee/price for drinks to the point where it's clear you're not running a pub at all.

In position 2 then you could try and argue that you didn't know why you had to hurry away from the bank, or why they were wearing masks and carrying bags of money... but if you've accepted £2K for what would be a £10 taxi fare then you're in trouble.

[janmb]

It's not as simple as that janmb.

If you run a site and there's a mix of activity going on, and some of it is illegal and you take reasonable steps then fine.

My point is that you simply shouldn't have to. If others are committing crime in your backyard, that is NOT your problem nor your responsibility. Civilians should never ever be expected to play police on behalf of the authorities - investigating and enforcing the law should be a matter for the police and the police alone. As such, no civilian should ever be expected or required to take any active step what so ever to prevent or stop others from doing a crime. It is the perpetrator who is the only responsible party, period.

And to be clear; I'm presenting my own opinions and values here - I know full well that the laws in different countries may not agree with me.

In the end of the day, the real bottom line for me is that if the people claiming losses due to piracy isn't even remotely interested in going after the actual criminals, but instead solely focus on the much easier target of the hosting sites, they deserve nothing what so ever. And the sites they go after most certainly deserve no judgement at all.

[SexualChoc]

Remember Napster?
when it was truely free
back int he 80's?

A lot of porn money is being lost to sharing sites
and some porn industries have big pockets to push congress.
which is the fine knife edge we walk.

You may note in the past 2 years I can think of 4 different cool denial sites that have disappeared

So save what you can
before big bother (or sister)
takes it all down.

Also there is the case of Submat
who had tons of teases here
and took them all down.

I frankly do not know how I would make it through my week without this site.
but try and start up one that is similar now
and see how difficult it is.

[Narazumo]

Filesonic is next. You currently cannot download files from their servers anymore unless you uploaded them.

[janmb]

There has been a number of sites taking steps or being directly threatened by the FBI...:

- MegaUpload - Closed
- FileServe - No longer selling premium memberships, about to close
- FileJungle - Deleting files, closed in the US
- UploadStation - Closed in the US
- FileSonic - Assumed to be investigated by the FBI, closing sharing of files.
- VideoBB - Closed
- Uploaded.to - FBI investigating owners, closed in the US
- FilePost - Deleting most content
- Videoz - Closed in the US and several other countries playing along with their threats.
- 4shared - Deleting copyrighted material - awaiting FBI investigation
- MediaFire - Called to witness within 90 days, or will get FBI action against them
- Org torrent - Could be gone in as little as 30 days - currently being investigated
- Network Share mIRC - Unknown

And that's just 10-15 examples, I'm sure the real list is much, much longer than that.

In short, expect most current online hosting sites to be gone or diminished within the next few months, including the site where YOU keep YOUR files. In short, grab your content while you can, spread online shared content on several sites, and expect having to find new alternatives.

[JamesLast]

There has been a number of sites taking steps or being directly threatened by the FBI...:

[..]
- Org torrent - Could be gone in as little as 30 days - currently being investigated
- Network Share mIRC - Unknown

Excuse me, but which Websites are actually called "Org torrent" and "Network Share mIRC"?

If we talk about "ways to share files": I am living in Europe and i dond't care about the FBI. In the EU I can do as much filesharing via bt as I like and till now nobody could stop this. Sometimes people get cought because they are using public trackers, but well.. don't use public trackers.
Using IRC for filesharing is the most nostalgic way to share date. I think there are better ways for people who just like to share music/videos with their friends.

[les]

There has been a number of sites taking steps or being directly threatened by the FBI...:

[..]
- Org torrent - Could be gone in as little as 30 days - currently being investigated
- Network Share mIRC - Unknown

Excuse me, but which Websites are actually called "Org torrent" and "Network Share mIRC"?

If we talk about "ways to share files": I am living in Europe and i dond't care about the FBI. In the EU I can do as much filesharing via bt as I like and till now nobody could stop this. Sometimes people get cought because they are using public trackers, but well.. don't use public trackers.
Using IRC for filesharing is the most nostalgic way to share date. I think there are better ways for people who just like to share music/videos with their friends.

The trouble is the yanks are extraditing people for "File Share Violations" as well as getting sites shut down.

read the SOPA Thread click here

[janmb]

There has been a number of sites taking steps or being directly threatened by the FBI...:

[..]
- Org torrent - Could be gone in as little as 30 days - currently being investigated
- Network Share mIRC - Unknown

Excuse me, but which Websites are actually called "Org torrent" and "Network Share mIRC"?

If we talk about "ways to share files": I am living in Europe and i dond't care about the FBI. In the EU I can do as much filesharing via bt as I like and till now nobody could stop this. Sometimes people get cought because they are using public trackers, but well.. don't use public trackers.
Using IRC for filesharing is the most nostalgic way to share date. I think there are better ways for people who just like to share music/videos with their friends.

1: Sites/services. Happy?

2: Dream on. Many EU countries, and definitely Germany, cooperate with US authorities, just like NZ just did with MU

[Gsus]

It's not as simple as that janmb.

If you run a site and there's a mix of activity going on, and some of it is illegal and you take reasonable steps then fine.

My point is that you simply shouldn't have to. If others are committing crime in your backyard, that is NOT your problem nor your responsibility. Civilians should never ever be expected to play police on behalf of the authorities - investigating and enforcing the law should be a matter for the police and the police alone. As such, no civilian should ever be expected or required to take any active step what so ever to prevent or stop others from doing a crime. It is the perpetrator who is the only responsible party, period.

What you've said is all very well if you're not involved. But Megaupload can be said to be involved. There was limited use of it for reasons other than piracy - game mods etc. At least a significant portion of their business was piracy and their business model was unsustainable with it.

If people are comitting crime in your backyard then it's your problem and responsibility if you've put a sign up saying "Come here and do whatever you want £15 to get in".

I've always said piracy is not theft. However the recent case against TVShack and Newzbin has shown that what was going on there was theft.

They were quite literally selling the content for a profit. Taking the content from the content providers and selling it themselves at a cut down price. Both TVShack and Newzbin were making masses of profit, and it was because of the piracy going on.

The 'feds' will take on sites, especially where profit is being made and shut them down. They'll shut down the for-profit blind filesharing sites (megaupload etc) first of all and then go for torrent sites. They're chasing the money and are working at ways to prevent money getting from content consumers to the site administrators. Visa/Mastercard and the banks will be forced to stop doing business with them, meaning it'd be very difficult to get money to the sites.

But it's not all bad news. The 'feds' are perhaps 2-5 years too early on this. Netflix is expanding, it's just launched in the UK, Spotify and the like are also examples of how subscription based content will be the next wave. There's been subscription based content for porn for a while, but the rise of Netflix will likely cause a better quality of subscription based service to appear.

Paying $30 a month for an individual site, plus whatever shitfest video it brings in will be a thing of the past, and $10 a month Netflix type subscriptions will appear where people can grab a whole lot of mainstream/softcore/etc porn. Mass availability of that will remove the profitability of torrent sites, and they'll vanish, or diminish to the point where they don't matter. It's unclear what would happen to speciality sites.

The kind of stuff that's done at Milovana isn't on the radar of the 'feds' really, it doesn't generate money, and importantly it doesn't replace revenue streams. Sadly though it's partly reliant on filesharing sites and without them there isn't an obvious way to share the content.

All that aside though I disagree strongly with our current copyright laws, the way it's enforced, the length of copyright etc. Everything produced is nurtured by our own culture and adds to our own culture and if an artist decides to profit from something, and not keep it very strictly private, then they should only be able to do so for a limited time before it enters public ownership. Sadly the lobbies are all from the MPAA etc.

[janmb]

I've always said piracy is not theft. However the recent case against TVShack and Newzbin has shown that what was going on there was theft.

This is very much on the side of the topic, but copying, with or without consent, will never constitute theft. It simply do not meet the definition of the word, no matter how much you twist it.

I don't say that to justify it, or to imply that piracy is somehow not a serious offense. I said it because it is true: Piracy is NOT stealing, no matter what anyone says. The word theft has a definition, and people need to acknowledge that. Trying to force something into a term simply because the term fits their agenda is still not right.

Theft = Taking something away from someone without right or consent. Taking AWAY. As in, what you take, the offended party loses. Directly. That is theft.

Piracy, to wit copying, is something else. Still illegal, not necessarily any less so, but still something else.

Just because piracy is bad, we don't pick the most known "bad thing" label available and claim it fits. It's convenient and serving the agenda of the industry, sure, but it's still plain wrong, both in fact and morally.


If megauploads actively guarded pirates against prosecution or specifically encouraged piracy on their site or anything along those lines, I would not have a problem with that being considered illegal. I do not know if that was the case or not, and it really doesn't matter because what they are accused of in the first place is something that should NOT be illegal: Hosting a site that some people happen to use for illegal purposes.


As for milovana and our dependency on file hosting sites, that can be solved through other means, like bit torrent or similar. Just like with online file hosts, there are far more sites born every year than can ever be taken down. The advantage with torrent though, is the ability to spread it across many trackers, meaning that when one gets taken down, the torrent is still operational and nothing is lost. Currently, if a file is hosted on a single hosting site, that file turns unavailable until the original uploader ups it again to another site.