Megaupload closed down by the Feds.

[aimeeandbeatles]

Not in this case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_laundering

I didnt realize there was another meaning

Seriously?

My dictionary says
Washing clothes and bedlinens
and
Cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water

Though I guess if the money falls apart you could be in trouble for defacing currency if you do it on purpose

 

[Virote_Considon]

I'm not joking Most of the ppl are not good guy gregs to stop stealing if the service is below average or the price is ridiculously high.
You can either combat against piracy with pathetic laws like SOPA and PIPA or you can just optimize your services.

Just to be clear: I'm not on a morale high ground, downloading is hurting the companies and the market. But nothing will change if the market doesn't adjust

And on the other hand, could you tell me what was the point in closing megaupload?

( PS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHL912jlyE0&feature=player_embedded )

You misread what I was laughing at; the concept that rather than throw billions of non-tax dollars (and also tax dollars) at failing to preserve their obsolete business model, they'd actually try to offer a better service instead.

 

[Skwink]

I didnt know it was a crime to put money in a washing machine and washing it.

US law dictates that all money must be washed by hand.

 

[Algeroth]

Jan 18: reasonably well-coordinated internet blackout in protest of censorship
Jan 19: USTR takes down MegaUpload

Your move, Internet.

Jan 20*: Our beloved hacker hivemind starts taking down government and entertainment companies websites like the 13th b'ak'tun gonna ends tomorrow.

Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.

http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-doj-universal-sopa-235/

*(It's already Friday in Central Europe.)

 

[Integral]

God bless them.

 

[useless]

Another foolish attack by illuminati controlled anonymous.

I wish they'd stop and try to be legit, but alas their masters are controlling them

the people who push and support sopa and pipa are mainly old people unable to realise the vageries of the internet (internet highways)

but we know the truth

for years we have seen the rotten fruit

noticed the rot

and now the worms are emerging

 

[Skwink]

Jan 20*: Our beloved hacker hivemind starts taking down government and entertainment companies websites like the 13th b'ak'tun gonna ends tomorrow.

http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-doj-universal-sopa-235/

*(It's already Friday in Central Europe.)

A shut down for a shut down makes the internet go dark.

 

[BasketCase]

What's your reaction to this?

Surprising. And ironic, considering that this was done without SOPA.....

 

[Quintillus]

Article

What's your reaction to this?

How many Civ mods were hosted on Megaupload? Probably not a whole lot, but I'm sure there were a few. I know I've occasionally downloaded legitimate files from there, and can't recall if any were via CFC, but some of those might be lost now.

I never cared much for the site, since it had way too many ads with hardly any quality control on them, but like when Geocities closed down it'll cause a loss of information - although this time without any warning and thus no way for anyone to back up what they might have needed.

The other question is, who's next?

edit: I see on page 3 that at least a few Civ4 mods were lost, not too surprising. Legitimate people get hurt by anti-piracy efforts, too... although that's not really new, since it's been that way at least as long as DRM has been around.

Also, I'm probably more concerned about this now than usual, with the current U.S. Congress and all. It can't be denied that Megaupload was heavily associated with piracy even though they did remove (at least some) pirated files - though whether they did in their early years is doubtable.

 

[warpus]

Surprising. And ironic, considering that this was done without SOPA.....

If SOPA was in effect they wouldn't have to go through the courts to do this - they could just go after whoever they want without due process. It would have happened a lot sooner.

 

[plarq]

Well, if you upload anything to Internet service, there's no guarantee that it won't disappear tomorrow. So backup your local hard disk today!

 

[kochman]

Can we get an estimate on how many mods are lost forever as a result?
Shouldn't be many, megaupload expired and limited downloads anyhow didn't it?

I think I always used something else, though I haven't uploaded in a long time anyhow.

 

[Trajan12]

A closer comparison might be shutting down a Walmart if you knew they were not doing much to stop illegal drugs from being sold openly all over the store.

Not really a good analogy given that MU complies with DMCA takedown requests. They're certainly no pirate bay style operation.

In fact, I don't even see how this is any more legal than taking down Youtube tomorrow.

 

[Evie]

My EU3 mod got hit by this. (IN terms of online availability. I probably have the files left on my computer)

And it just shows the whole problem with the war on piracy. Just about any method that allow illegal file transfer also allow for perfectly legal transfer of perfectly legal files, and vice-versa. Any attempt to destroy the EVIL PIRATES OMG will also harm quite a number of innocent and perfectly legal activities. But since those innocent and perfectly legal activities are a minority WITHOUT a huge lobby to back them (as opposed to the entertainment industry, an even tinier minority with a monster lobby behind them)...they're seen as necessary collateral damage.

And yeah, given that they apparently complied with DMCA requests, this appears highly questioanble (but they're doing a great PR job of pretending they didn't comply)? This looks a great deal like the MPAA/RIAA flexing their muscles in a (planned) answer to yesterday. And in answer to MU fighting back against their video being taken off YouTube two months ago.

 

[warpus]

Not really a good analogy given that MU complies with DMCA takedown requests. They're certainly no pirate bay style operation.

In fact, I don't even see how this is any more legal than taking down Youtube tomorrow.

The claim, I believe, is that the owners of the site were copying copyrighted material from the MU database for their own personal use as well as being aware of copyright infringement and doing nothing about it.

Then again this is likely the entertainment industry retaliating for that video MU released a little while ago, if anyone remembers that..

 

[Rashiminos]

Now that they've taken down a pirating operation that uses centralized servers, piracy shall end. No other means to pirate mp3s now kids!

To what extent should a file-hosting service be liable for ascertaining the content of the files they store, and enforcing an anti-piracy policy?

 

[GamezRule]

Jan 20*: Our beloved hacker hivemind starts taking down government and entertainment companies websites like the 13th b'ak'tun gonna ends tomorrow.

http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-doj-universal-sopa-235/

*(It's already Friday in Central Europe.)

Jan 21: chan to the 4 is destroyed, as the move was obviously planned there.

 

[warpus]

To what extent should a file-hosting service be liable for ascertaining the content of the files they store, and enforcing an anti-piracy policy?

That's why SOPA Is so dangerous. It would allow the feds to shut down any site without due process.

This means that if you own a site and one of your users posts something that is copyrighted material, and the entertainment industry complains. Your site is gone.. No hearing, no trial, no nothing.

That's why it's so dangerous - there's no way a website operator could ever sort through all the links submitted every day - especially on large sites like youtube, reddit, facebook, etc. Maybe we should let Congress do that job, if they really want to.

 

[BasketCase]

If SOPA was in effect they wouldn't have to go through the courts to do this

They did go through the courts--the perps have been charged with crimes and are being brought to trial. And, just as with a murder scene, the site of the crime has been cordoned off with figurative yellow police tape.

And it just shows the whole problem with the war on piracy. Just about any method that allow illegal file transfer also allow for perfectly legal transfer of perfectly legal files, and vice-versa.

So what? In addition to the scheme for which Bernie Madoff was actually carted off to the slammer, he had a number of legitimate business enterprises going. Every murderer you throw in the slammer is somebody's brother or sister or father or mother or son or daughter. All the insults thrown at Sarah Palin by you guys in CFC caused emotional pain to her friends and family.

Tough cookies. Bernie Madoff needed to go to jail, every murderer should go to jail, and though I don't think Sarah Palin deserves the insults that have been heaped upon her, most of you guys do, so that last example still works fine. Precedent established, long since. If you break the law by knowingly hosting illegal files, you need to do time, and if that means your web site goes kaput, tough cookies.

 

[Tufio]

This really suck, megaupload is very huge here in Europe. ( is by far the upload of choice for medium-big files )