

FileSonic disables all filesharing - waitwhat
http://www.filesonic.com/

======
necro
Don't kill the messenger, but here is a real scenario.

My "friend" used to use megaupload, filesonic, and other services to watch all
his tv content every night, and even paying for a megaupload account (never
putting any money back to the creators of content). It was really convenient
and the price was right. Now without it, even in the last few days, the pain
point has shifted enough that he started buying the seasons of shows he is
interested in on itunes. (giving a cut to the creators)

There was a point even a year ago that he could get the latest film on
piratebay so easily that there was no point going to the theatre. Now it seems
a little harder to find the releases, or at least more inconvenient, so my
friend has gone to the movies a lot more.

Now I personally get the whole internet freedom side of things, but at the
same time I have seen my friend screw the content creators out of their cut
because some middle man made it a lot more convenient to get the content.

I get the idea that some people have used these services for personal content,
but if the business model of a service is _primarily_ around the sharing of
copyrighted content then something should be done. And especially if the
service pays the uploader based on how popular the stolen content they upload
is.

At least in my friends case, he spent $100 on itunes in the last day, _only_
because megaupload was not there, and there was enough pain to look for
another source.

If there are millions of people out there like my friend, that is a lot more
revenue for the creators/studios.

And no, I'm not a troll from the film industry. This is just a real
observation.

~~~
moe
_This is just a real observation._

Your observation is correct, but I'd interpret it differently: The answer
should not be to ban MegaUpload. The answer must be to provide legal services
that are at least as convenient as MegaUpload.

There's a _huge_ market of people who pirate content not because they're
unwilling to pay for it, but simply because it's either impossible or
extremely inconvenient to get legally.

~~~
a5seo
> The answer must be to provide legal services that are at least as convenient
> as MegaUpload.

One thing that makes this hard in reality is that ANY service where people
have to pay means people have to SHOP. Which means they have to make decisions
about what entertainment products to buy, and at what price. And since these
are "experience goods" you can't judge them until you've paid for them. In my
book, that means means this particular type of "shopping" REALLY sucks.

So the fact that "shopping-just-sucks" (and especially for experience goods)
is the TRUE friction that any hypothetical as-easy-as-Megaupload services need
to overcome. A big draw of Megaupload (I say this never having heard of it
before this week) is you can consume whatever you want and there's no downside
to a bad choice.

So I'm not sure how any alternative service avoids the Shopping For
Entertainment Products Sucks Syndrome unless they get some reasonably-priced
all-you-can-eat plan that makes a lot (80%?) of commercial content available
under one roof.

~~~
rgbrgb
Netflix and Hulu are working on that problem. Anyone know why Netflix has such
a crappy selection?

~~~
dangrossman
Content distributors are maximizing the profit from their products. Licensing
them to streaming services before sales from Blu-ray/DVD level off would be
lost money. A hit movie BR/DVD release will easily make $5-10 million/week
selling half a million or more copies each week. Netflix can barely offer that
to license a movie for its millions of subscribers for a year -- they're only
charging $8/month per person after all and that has to pay for rights to every
movie in the library.

Once they do get to the point where it makes sense to license the movie again,
Apple might pay extra for an exclusive so they won't license it to Netflix
too, or vice versa. You can expect streaming libraries to suck in certain
ways, like time between movie release and streaming rights, for a long long
time -- until consumption patterns change on a large scale -- because that's
what maximizes profit.

------
droithomme
It's not very convenient to go back to transferring files to clients via
email. Now that files can be 4GB or more it's a real problem in fact. This
culture of fear the US is creating is damaging business and work.

~~~
Iv
Use bittorrent.

I am very serious, it is well designed for that, especially if you are sending
to several people.

~~~
chc
This is just not realistic in most cases. It's hard enough to get people to
understand "Click on the FileSonic link". Normal people do not have Bittorrent
clients installed. I'd try FTP before Bittorrent.

~~~
te_chris
They've just released "share", works fantastically - seems to be a combo of BT
and S3.

~~~
olifante
How about a link? "Share" is to vague a word to google.

~~~
icebraining
I find your lack of search-fu disturbing ;)

<http://www.getshareapp.com/>

~~~
brigade
And here I thought you were talking about
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_(P2P)>

~~~
josteink
That's hardly "just released". It has been out for years.

------
gburt
This is exactly what they wanted to happen. MegaUpload was about causing fear.

 _First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I
wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I was
Protestant.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me._

~~~
dangrossman
The services that are reacting to Megaupload are the ones that we all know
operated exactly the same -- with actual knowledge of infringement, removing
only links instead of files, not disabling accounts of infringers, etc. Every
underground media and software sharing forum has thousands of links to these
handful of services with identical business models. There are even "multi-
upload sites" that let someone distribute their file to all these services at
the same time.

They _should_ be scared. What they're doing is illegal in 168 countries.
They're not complying with the letter or the spirit of laws like the DMCA that
would limit their liability.

I don't think your quote really applies in this case. Megaupload is being
prosecuted for plain old copyright infringement, under the Copyright Act of
1976, nothing new. If you want it to be legal for a site's owners to upload
DVD rips and pay other users to share them, then that's the law you need to
attack.

~~~
nitrogen
_removing only links instead of files_

I mentioned in another thread that this is the most sensible way to handle
this, because there's no way of knowing whether some of the links to
identical/deduplicated files were legitimate. My previous comment:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3489054>

~~~
dangrossman
Right now the law says that a service provider must take down or block access
_to the material_. Taking down only links (whether they're HTTP links, or
pointers in a software app, etc) pointing to the material does not meet that
requirement -- the material is still there, and it's still accessible through
the other links.

So while it would be sensible to only remove the one link that you were
notified of, if there are others, then by not taking them all down the service
provider does not gain the safe harbor protection of the DMCA and remains
liable for copyright infringement. Right now, as a non-lawyer reading the
DMCA, it looks to me like any storage service that dedupes files is required
to remove the file (from everyone's account) when any link to that file is
reported, even if the other accounts have permission to store that file.

------
mikecane
Again, Hollywood was founded by and on piracy:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Patents_Company#...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Patents_Company#Backlash_and_Decline)

~~~
wmf
And you're going to hold that against them _a century later_? It also sounds
like the patents they were "pirating" were owned by an illegal cartel. As then
as today, one man's pirate is another's freedom fighter.

------
badclient
For those wondering how dropbox is different...

Dropbox exclusively monetizes the uploader of the file, not the downloader.

Megaupload, filesonic etc. actually pay the uploaders who upload attractive
pirated content that attracts downloaders who can then be monetized
aggressively for faster or no-wait downloads.

Very contrasting business models.

~~~
aneth
Neither of those business models explicitly condones piracy. YouTube and
Flickr also reward users for popular content. There is nothing inherently
wrong with that, and it's entirely legal - as long as you comply with DMCA and
don't knowingly contribute.

~~~
william42
Two things that Megaupload didn't do. I think the moral of the Megaupload
story is not to trust sites run by guys convicted of credit card fraud.

------
eduardordm
Megaupload and FileSonic were my source of The Daily Show episodes. I don't
live in the US, there isn't any other way I could watch it. It used to be on
cable (sony) but not anymore. I used to have a SSL tunnel and a plus account
on Hulu to watch some series, but then I got tired of maintaining a VPS.

I don't go to theaters. I think it's a stupid waste of time for a bad quality
experience. I watch tons of movies on pay-per-view, but the list I can choose
from is 5-10 movies long. Netflix here is also limited to a few titles. I
record a lot of series, but some of them are incomplete or translated.

There is no other option to me. I need to be a pirate if I want that content.
I tried way too many times to get MPAA to accept my money, but they don't want
it.

Good thing is that I've been discovering some really cool stuff made in Europe
(specially France) (and they accept my money for their content!!!).

EDIT:

I also need to make Itunes believe I'm in the US in order to buy the stuff I
want. I can't use my credit card, so I buy gift cards using some "illegal"
websites. This is pathetic.

~~~
throwawaysnipe
You can watch The Daily Show on the site proper by setting the X-Forwarded-For
header you send to '12.13.14.15'. For more details see
[http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/onath/stephen_colber...](http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/onath/stephen_colbert_understands_reddit/c3io29s)

------
downandout
Does it disturb anyone else that the government is basically using the threat
of very questionable prosecutions to scare people that were at least
purportedly adhering to US law into essentially shuttering their businesses?
I've read the Mega Upload indictment. It's pretty weak, and could easily apply
to YouTube. If innovative businesses that believe they are following the
letter of the law must live under constant threat of arbitrary criminal
prosecution that will destroy them whether or not they are ultimately
acquitted, it's going to have a serious chilling effect on our economy.

~~~
joering1
it always amazed me reading youtube sell blurbs again and again how instead of
raiding it and closing for obviously at least 3/4 of content being illegal and
persecuting owners, they got bought by a multibilion company with Board to
execute and stockholder to answer to. And now they are heroes for the deal
they pulled off. I dont find the difference between original youtube owners
and megaupload owners business-wise.

------
spdy
A lot will depend on the MU case in the USA they got on of the best lawyers
you can buy for money. And we will see what kind of rabbits he can pull out of
his hat.

On the other hand the hydra effect will come as it always will be. And there
are countries in this world the FBI cant go after the people ( Russia /
Mainland China etc. ). Data will just move from one to another datacenter if
servers get confiscated.

And everyone could see how much money can be made out of this sector. If the
content industry does not abandon their old business model they can witch hunt
forever.

TBP is a prime example for this they have thrown a lot at this problem and the
site is still operating.

------
barredo
I found this handy image that resumes most of the large filesharing websites
(except Rapidshare, which has not changed yet).

<http://i.imgur.com/p0nqK.png>

~~~
muyuu
You can now update Filesonic. All filesharing is disabled there.

------
AlexFromBelgium
"In the Press

Filesonic joins the Internet Watch Foundation to combat online criminal
content. They join over 100 companies from across the world in the fight
against online child sexual abuse content."

Omg, this IS how they are going to push through the piracy laws!!

~~~
molmalo
\-- We'll scan everything you have. We'll monitor everything you access. We'll
sniff, everything you. All this, to protect our _corporate_ children.

Yes, they'll make anyone fighting those laws look like a pervert. Erase all
traces of credibility from their opponents, and to make the political cost of
fighting this _enormous_.

Like somebody else said: welcome to the mayor leagues.

------
barik
Given that almost all files on RLSLOG: <http://www.rlslog.net/>

use FileSonic for downloading copyrighted material, I was wondering myself how
long it would be before FileSonic either shutdown or disabled sharing
entirely.

I'm sure there are other "scene release" sites, but this is one in particular
that I've been aware of for a long time.

------
kristofferR
Ouch. This is gonna hurt their profits a lot, for the last year they've been
one of the top filesharing sites used by pirates. It will likely bankrupt
them. Having to shut down because of a lack of profits is way better than
being sent to jail though.

------
darkstar211
What is stopping people making a account, and when sharing the file, give out
the account details with the link?

Say I upload 50 divx films, and give out that accounts details, so people can
freely take what they want, or even add files?

~~~
uptown
Nothing. That actually is a method that's been used by "evil doers" in the
past. The government had been monitoring email correspondence using Carnivore.
What they found was that instead of sending emails back and forth, a shared
inbox was being used, and information was simply being communicated using
progressive edits of email drafts. It lived on a server, so it was available
for discovery ... but since nothing was flying back and forth, it took awhile
before it was detected.

------
rmoriz
When will they shut down NNTP for good? scary.

~~~
slig
We're not supposed to talk about it, and hopefully it will never get
mainstream.

~~~
codesuela
it probably will with aggressive advertising all over various file sharing
portals and clients like newsbin that make downloading easier than using
napster. only entry barrier left is that you have to pay for it but there are
already services out there that provide ad financed usenet access.

------
wcoenen
I guess dropbox will be next. Very annoying, as I'll have to go through all my
publicly shared files and figure out where the broken links are.

Or is dropbox doing something fundamentally different with their sharing
feature that avoids a megaupload scenario?

~~~
badclient
Sure - dropbox exclusively monetizes the uploader, not the downloader.

Megaupload, filesonic etc. actually _pay_ the uploaders who upload high-demand
pirated content that attracts downloaders who can then be monetized.

Very contrasting business models.

------
andrewfelix
Fileserve have also shut down their affiliate plans
[http://www.fhscout.com/how-to-move-your-files-from-
fileserve...](http://www.fhscout.com/how-to-move-your-files-from-fileserve-to-
other-file-hosting-sites/)

------
pyre
I'm confused. On the account creation page, it says that you can have private
and 'password-protected' files. Is this still true? Is the sharing that they
disabled for files that had no password (i.e. publicly accessible)? Or have
they just not updated that page yet?

If you can still send files with a password, then this still be an alternative
for 'sending large files to clients.'

------
john_flintstone
Does anyone know if Usenet will be in the firing line, or is shutting that
down a whole other ball game?

------
piquadrat
Are there any semi-reliable sources for world wide internet traffic available?
Between this and Megaupload, I guess there should be a measurable dent...

------
greenpizza13
THis is how it starts... shit.

------
moses1400
what happens to those with premium accounts?

~~~
avallark
I asked for a full refund on my lifetime membership.

\--------

I subscribed to filesonic when sharing of links were allowed. I am no longer
interested to have this account if there is no sharing of links allowed. The
functionality of the service that I signed up for has signifcantly reduced.
Thus I would like a refund of my subscription fees. Since my membership was
for Lifetime $149. I would like a full refund of this amount please.

\---------------------

~~~
grandpoobah
Will be interested to find out what they say. Glad I didn't renew my account
when it expired recently.

~~~
avallark
they arent really responding. I am sure they are busy preparing papers for
bankruptcy filing.

------
Paulholz
Whos next?

------
scrod
How many more lessons do you need that centralization of information leads to
centralization of control?

~~~
seqastian
Yea people needed to learn that filehosters are not a replacement for real p2p
the hard way I guess

~~~
dangrossman
Why seed a torrent day and night, linking your actual IP to the infringement
act, when you can just upload a file to a bunch of file sharing services on a
cafe's wifi and post a link on a forum? If your goal is to illegally
distribute files without getting caught, real P2P seems like a suboptimal
choice for now.

~~~
Zirro
That's why you use a VPN-service, which doesn't keep any logs.

~~~
loopdoend
I don't know of a single VPN service that doesnt keep logs, they might not log
_the sites_ you visit but they all log which customer has which IP at which
time.

~~~
Zirro
I trust my VPN-provider when I ask them explicitly if they keep _any_ logs at
all, and they reply no. They are not required to do so by law (yet, at least),
where I live.

------
jackob
Guys if you really need great filesharing service, use demanoid, use
rutracker.org (Russian)

