The Pirate Bay Sails Back To Its .ORG Domain (cnet.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Pirate Bay Sails Back To Its .ORG Domain (cnet.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday May 25, 2016 @11:55AM from the land-ahoy dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Following a report that the Swedish Court would seize the domain names 'ThePirateBay.se' and 'PirateBay.se,' The Pirate Bay is now sailing back to where it started in 2003, ThePirateBay.org. CNET reports: "The site is currently redirecting all traffic from the above two domains back to its .org home." In 2012, The Pirate Bay moved to the .se domain. It then moved to more secure domains, such as .sx and .ac, eventually returning to .se in 2015. Every alternative domain the site was using has been seized. Since the registry that manages the top level .org domains is based in Virginia, it's likely we'll see some legal action from the U.S. in response to the move. Meanwhile, Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij plans to appeal the Swedish's court's decision to seize the .se domains.

91 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Yep by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 12:07 · Score: 2, Insightful

it's likely we'll see some legal action from the U.S. in response to the move
I'm sure the RIAA's lawyer's phones are ringing off the wall now...
corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 12:11 · Score: 5, Insightful

Every alternative domain the site was using has been seized.
They aren't doing anything illegal, and certainly there must be some country somewhere that officially recognizes that. If there's not a single one that's pretty damning for the state of freedom in the world.
1. Re: corrupt world by johnsmithperson123 · 2016-05-25 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe Lichtenstein. The Pirate Bay could probably buy all of Lichtenstein and then use it as a haven.
2. Re: corrupt world by bursch-X · 2016-05-25 12:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Liechtenstein is under EU jurisdiction, not ideal. Piratebay should declare independence start their own country and get their own top level domain, like piratebay.arrr
  
  --
  There are two rules for success:
  1. Never tell everything you know.
3. Re: corrupt world by jonwil · 2016-05-25 13:14 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Why not go for a .ag domain name. Antigua and Barbuda has thumbed its nose at the US in regards to protection of copyrighted works (in response to the US refusing to remove its ban on online gambling sites in Antigua and Barbuda) and I dont see them being the sort of country that would be willing to seize a domain name just because the US (or big US media companies) wanted them to.
4. Re: corrupt world by easyTree · 2016-05-25 17:46 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Lol :D
  Argentina? .ar
  
  --
  Requiem for the American Dream
5. Re: corrupt world by Thanshin · 2016-05-25 18:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Piratebay should declare independence start their own country
  Because, unlike being under EU jurisdiction, having your own independent country precludes any political influence, attack or invasion from the United States.
  Obviously.
6. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-25 19:26 · Score: 1
  
  They aren't doing anything illegal, and certainly there must be some country somewhere that officially recognizes that.
  Do you realize that these guys have set up the infrastructure for massive online piracy?
  What they are doing is maybe not technically illegal, but highly unethical.
  It's no wonder that there are entertainment and software tycoons that want to seize the TPB operations.
7. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 21:57 · Score: 0
  
  How is helping to break the media mafia distribution monopoly unethical?
8. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 22:02 · Score: 1
  
  Wether it is unethical depends on your point of view. I consider the industry lobbying for even longer copyright terms far more unethical than the Pirate Bay.
9. Re:corrupt world by geekmux · 2016-05-25 22:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  They aren't doing anything illegal, and certainly there must be some country somewhere that officially recognizes that.
  Do you realize that these guys have set up the infrastructure for massive online piracy?
  What they are doing is maybe not technically illegal, but highly unethical.
  It's no wonder that there are entertainment and software tycoons that want to seize the TPB operations.
  Oh, so we want to talk about how this is unethical now? OK, how about we talk about how those entertainment and software tycoons are funneling billions in revenue offshore to avoid paying taxes on it. And as the entertainment and software tycoons continue to rake in billions, tell me again which loophole has the greater impact here across society and government.
  How ironic we attack TPB and yet dismiss the real thieves.
10. Re:corrupt world by cdrudge · 2016-05-25 23:24 · Score: 1
  
  What they are doing is maybe not technically illegal, but highly unethical.
  WTF does "not technically illegal" mean? My English language parser says that equates to "legal".
  If a cop pulled you over and said technically you weren't speeding, but I'm still going to give you a ticket because ethically I think you were going to fast you'd be livid.
11. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 01:08 · Score: 1
  
  It is not a good way because the music and software makers have not agreed upon TPB's distribution chain and the creators get no royalties or any other profits.
  The torrent site owners, on the other hand, get some nice profits through aggressive advertising, which also sometimes puts visitors' computers on risk through malvertising.
  Is this the proper way to help "break the media mafia distribution monopoly"? No. TPB is nothing more than an amateur website for people to distribute pirated stuff because it is fun.
12. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe, but TPB is not helping to fight those longer copyright terms. During the existence of TPB, the entertainment industry has only become more protective about its rights.
13. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 01:18 · Score: 1
  
  I still claim that TPB is even worse because the content creators get no profits.
  If you were for example a commercial musician, what would you choose as your distribution channel(s)? Record store, Spotify, iTunes, The Pirate Bay?
14. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 01:20 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, it was just an accidental double negation. I meant "not technically legal".
15. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 01:21 · Score: 0
  
  The point of TPB and other file sharing infrastructure is that it makes it makes content distributors irrelevant, not to make profit for anyone.
16. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 01:24 · Score: 0
  
  They are aiding copyright infringement. And are ignoring DMCA request (DMCA here used to refer to every country's implementation of the international agreement that the USA implemented as the DMCA, which every modern country has implemented).
17. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 01:29 · Score: 0
  
  Copyright is a terrible concept that should be eliminated as soon as possible. Of all the state-enforced monopolies, it is the most far-reaching, since it can only be enforced by severely far-reaching restrictions, such as not allowing people to store certain binary numbers on their computers and requiring people operating infrastructure to intercept restricted data. It's not just all the abuse and overreach - the concept is inherently wrong and enforcing it is immoral. Anyone challenging it should be applauded.
18. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 01:43 · Score: 0
  
  Why should content creators get a profit? There is no universal right to profit. You have to earn it, by offering something (e.g., goods, services), that people are willing to pay you for.
19. Re:corrupt world by djnforce9 · 2016-05-26 01:52 · Score: 1
  
  The US has granted the entertainment industry way too much power and it's abused like crazy. Nobody fights back because our pockets are not nearly that deep.
  Why should ANY private business have laws crafted to protect their profit margins or be able to force others to pay their bills to fight piracy (ISP's are suffering for it all the time including being forced to cut off their own customers in some countries). Not to mention that the industry is never satisfied and continue to make whiny demands for tougher anti-piracy measures like the spoiled brats they are.
  One day, something has to snap and the entertainment industry will be put in their place. The humbling stick is bound to smack down hard on them sooner or later; let Karma take its course.
20. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 02:47 · Score: 1
  
  TPB is a content distributor.
21. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  Ok. What do you suggest as an alternative? Do you mean that all works should simply be released under public domain?
22. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  Why wouldn't entertainment, software, books, etc. not be goods or service that people are willing to pay for? That you can make unlimited unauthorized copies of them for free does not make their unique value disappear.
23. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 02:58 · Score: 0
  
  Silly shill.
  It's much better to buy the physical media, Sony would never let malware get past them, their rootkit would stop it...
24. Re: corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 03:02 · Score: 0
  
  I'm sure Justin Bieber, Steven Spielberg, and Liam Neeson are glad to have you defending their modest means.
25. Re:corrupt world by The-Ixian · 2016-05-26 03:18 · Score: 1
  
  That you can make unlimited unauthorized copies of them for free does not make their unique value disappear.
  Actually, it kind of does. Value is traditionally based on supply and demand and/or need.
  If you can create unlimited copies of something with no loss of quality and no production cost, then that thing is worthless in a traditional model.
  We are trying to shoehorn digital goods into the old economic model.
  I think that the issue is not so much that people aren't making money off of digital works, it is that they aren't making as much as they were when these were physical products.
  The control has shifted out of the hands of the content silos and into the hands of the people and big business can't have that.
  
  --
  My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
26. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 03:40 · Score: 0
  
  Rex Lex - the king is the law.
  What is legal in your country does not matter if the United States threatens economic war with you if your country doesn't do exactly what the united states wants. It's easier to hand over a single individual or domain name, than it is to suffer through the economic sanctions.
  It's the reason Snowden cannot gain asylum anywhere but Russia. The state department threatened to cancel a trade treaty with Ecuador for their primary exports (which would financially cripple the country), and to stop sharing intel with Germany if they so much as let him into the country. Their US temper tantrums over the pirate bay are not any different.
27. Re:corrupt world by DarkOx · 2016-05-26 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  Frankly I think anytime someone has to pair the word "technically" with legal or illegal its a strong indicator their arguments is fundamentally dishonest and intellectually incomplete.
  The entire point of codified laws was so that people living in society could know what was legal and what was not and so the rules could be applied consistently and without bias. The law is by definition a technical matter. Words have specific meaning in law or they are supposed to have. No you can't entirely divorce the reading of law from its intent but one should do so to the degree its possible. If a strict constructionist read of a law isn't accomplishing the desired outcome that that law needs to be changed.
  There should either a law against linking to but not hosting copyright protected content or not. Publishing links is a form of speech or press so outlawing that would probably violate the first amendment ( A higher la ) in the USA, but could probably be enacted in the EU as I understand things.
  The copyright lobby arguing saying where something is located is the same as distributing it is BS. We should not stand for it. Laws having strong well understood meanings are what protect us all. Letting people weasel around them by redefine things ultimately servers nobody but those in power.
  
  --
  Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
28. Re:corrupt world by JesseMcDonald · 2016-05-26 05:09 · Score: 2
  
  TPB is a content distributor.
  TPB doesn't distribute anything. It's just an index. You can play games with terms like "facilitating", but the fact is that TPB does not make or hold copies (authorized or otherwise) of any of the files listed on the site. TPB doesn't even say who is providing the content—that role falls to the peer-to-peer DHT system. The only things you can get from TPB itself are a list of files, some commentary and statistics, and a hash which uniquely identifies the content. None of this information infringes on anyone's copyrights.
  
  --
  "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
29. Re:corrupt world by SuiteSisterMary · 2016-05-26 05:32 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't the law supposed to be highly technical? Not open to ambiguous interpretation, or moral/ethical arguments?
  
  --
  Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
30. Re:corrupt world by myowntrueself · 2016-05-26 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  Frankly I think anytime someone has to pair the word "technically" with legal or illegal its a strong indicator their arguments is fundamentally dishonest and intellectually incomplete.
  Maybe they are referring to the concept 'spirit of the law' vs 'strict interpretation of the law'?
  Eg; 'under strict interpretation of the law its illegal, but that might be against the spirit under which the law was drafted; just an obtuse and over-pedantic interpretation and the people who actually drafted that law might be surprised that this is technically illegal'.
  I don't think theres any dishonesty there, nor intellectual incompleteness nor weasel words.
  
  The entire point of codified laws was so that people living in society could know what was legal and what was not and so the rules could be applied consistently and without bias.
  Yes, that was a nice try Hammurabi. But now we have lawyers and lawmakers and people whose purpose in life is to ensure that everyone is guilty of something and to craft an intricate network of federal laws, state laws, county laws, regulations, by-laws etc etc such that anyone wishing earnestly to avoid breaking the law should need to walk around with an army of lawyers and, even then, there may be some jurisdiction in which walking around with an army of lawyers is illegal...
  
  --
  In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
31. Re:corrupt world by myowntrueself · 2016-05-26 05:40 · Score: 1
  
  Rex Lex - the king is the law.
  What is legal in your country does not matter if the United States threatens economic war with you if your country doesn't do exactly what the united states wants. It's easier to hand over a single individual or domain name, than it is to suffer through the economic sanctions.
  It's the reason Snowden cannot gain asylum anywhere but Russia. The state department threatened to cancel a trade treaty with Ecuador for their primary exports (which would financially cripple the country), and to stop sharing intel with Germany if they so much as let him into the country. Their US temper tantrums over the pirate bay are not any different.
  Yeah thats not going to last. The buying power of the US is going down all the time, their economic efficiency is just dreadful and their productivity has been in decline for 40 years.
  
  --
  In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
32. Re:corrupt world by just+another+AC · 2016-05-26 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  The entire point of codified laws was so that people living in society could know what was legal and what was not and so the rules could be applied consistently and without bias. The law is by definition a technical matter. Words have specific meaning in law or they are supposed to have. No you can't entirely divorce the reading of law from its intent but one should do so to the degree its possible.
  And thus you end up with Tax Law.
  Anyone who uses the terms "technically legal" has had everyday experience with the world's tax codes, where many things that should be legal aren't due to wording and many things are. And then there is a HUGE chasm of things (95% of reality) that fall somewhere on the borderline. Some experts say legal. Some say illegal. From these muddy waters arise terms like "technically legal"
  Don't be so quick to cast moral judgments. Things aren't as black and white as you think. If it were we wouldn't need judges and juries. The grey often allows the latitude for "technically legal" to separate the borderline cases (hopefully in a more just way) that a simple wording change could not do.
33. Re:corrupt world by geekmux · 2016-05-26 07:54 · Score: 1
  
  I still claim that TPB is even worse because the content creators get no profits.
  If you were for example a commercial musician, what would you choose as your distribution channel(s)? Record store, Spotify, iTunes, The Pirate Bay?
  Unless I was the caliber of musician that released Platinum-selling albums every time, my distribution answer would probably be "on tour", since touring is how a lot of musicians actually earn income these days.
  Why is that you ask? Well, reference my earlier post about the real thieves...
34. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-26 21:40 · Score: 1
  
  Does saying that really change anything? I'm sure that even services like Netflix and Steam use cloud servers to distribute the actual content. The frontend still plays a key part in accessing the content.
35. Re:corrupt world by DarkOx · 2016-05-27 00:25 · Score: 1
  
  No lots of laws are simply bad laws. Words mean what the mean. Some laws are ambiguously written and they should be struck by the SCOUTS for being void for vagueness.
  "The spirit of the law" is a morally and intellectually bankrupt concept. What it really means in practice is "I think the rich and powerful should be free to decide the less rich are guilty of something when it inconveniences them". You should never need to apply "technically" as a adjective to legal because the law should be plain and clear, and its application should always be technical.
  
  --
  Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
36. Re:corrupt world by JesseMcDonald · 2016-05-27 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure that even services like Netflix and Steam use cloud servers to distribute the actual content.
  That's a completely different situation. Those "cloud servers" are owned/rented by Netflix or Steam and operate under their direction and control. If all they did was link to content hosted by someone else, with no control over what is offered, then that other party should be responsible for any copyright infringement. (Note that an entry on TPB is not required for a torrent to function; all the participants need is the magnet link, which can be obtained via any number of other channels.)
  TPB does not own, operate, or control any of the servers offering copyright-infringing content; all that is done by third parties. If those third parties did not provide the content there would be nothing to download.
  
  Does saying that really change anything?
  It should, since it determines the answer to the core question of whether TPB is actually committing copyright infringement. If what TPB does is deemed illegal, exactly the same reasoning would imply that anyone who merely describes a work that they don't have the rights to distribute is infringing on the copyright. Which is, of course, absurd.
  
  --
  "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
37. Re:corrupt world by jones_supa · 2016-05-27 19:02 · Score: 1
  
  That's a completely different situation. Those "cloud servers" are owned/rented by Netflix or Steam and operate under their direction and control.
  In a very similar way does TPB cooperate with the trackers, and torrents can be added to those trackers via TPB web interface.
  
  Note that an entry on TPB is not required for a torrent to function; all the participants need is the magnet link, which can be obtained via any number of other channels.
  That's extremely clunky, though. If the TPB website search function was not available, the user base would drop dramatically.
38. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-27 22:56 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, that would be best.
39. Re:corrupt world by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-27 23:52 · Score: 0
  
  Of course it does. That is exactly what it does. Outlawing progress does not change that - it merely brands normal people as criminals.
Dear Pirate Bay... by Lumpy · 2016-05-25 12:41 · Score: 1

Find a way of doing your own DNS using an app and tell all these registrars to fuck themselves with a copy of the hurt locker.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:Dear Pirate Bay... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 12:49 · Score: 0
  
  Find a way of doing your own DNS using an app and tell all these registrars to fuck themselves with a copy of the hurt locker.
  ThePirateBay.dyndns.org
  
  Problem solved!
2. Re:Dear Pirate Bay... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 16:33 · Score: 0
  
  https://thepiratebay-proxylist.org/
3. Re:Dear Pirate Bay... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 19:34 · Score: 0
  
  Find a way of doing your own DNS using an app and tell all these registrars to fuck themselves with a copy of the hurt locker.
  Hurt Locker fucking sucked like anything that whore directed....
4. Re:Dear Pirate Bay... by fluffernutter · 2016-05-25 23:13 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't that pretty much what the darknet is?
  
  --
  Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Why not just use an IP? by future+assassin · 2016-05-25 12:51 · Score: 1

set up a domain that list the current IP and just don't use an domain name.

--
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
1. Re: Why not just use an IP? by thundercattt · 2016-05-25 15:13 · Score: 1
  
  Like the old days of dynip!
How Dare They Host Links to Zero's & One's by zenlessyank · 2016-05-25 13:16 · Score: 1

Arrrrr.
1. Re:How Dare They Host Links to Zero's & One's by fisted · 2016-05-25 13:20 · Score: 2
  
  Zero's and One's what?
  
  --
  CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
2. Re:How Dare They Host Links to Zero's & One's by zenlessyank · 2016-05-25 16:06 · Score: 1
  
  I like apostrophe's in my all capitalized headings. Get a lock on that back door ;)
What by SeattleLawGuy · 2016-05-25 13:59 · Score: 2

I'm in favor of major copyright reform, but let's not stick our heads in the sand. The copyright law needs to change, but the pirate bay is violating it. The pirate bay is *designed* to facilitate the illegal copying of copy-protected works. They are trying to get around being criminally liable by not storing the files themselves, basically turning themselves into a search engine of Illegally copied works.
It turns out judges are not morons. And the law can punish people even if they don't hold a copied file on their own machine. Just like it can prosecute someone even if they just hand a wrench to a co-conspirator in a murder case.
As to freedom, yes, there are limits on your freedom in order to protect the economic well-being of others. And there should be--that's why society works. Those limits are in the wrong places, and we should fix them. But in the meantime, the law shouldn't be ignored, because when de facto laws and de jure laws differ, it gives more power to government and takes away freedom. Realize that for every day the pirate bay is running, the intelligence services of the world gather data on many thousands of people who can be prosecuted or blackmailed at will--and they have another vector through which to transfer malicious code in the meantime.

--
Real lawyers write in C++
1. Re:What by penguinoid · 2016-05-25 14:46 · Score: 1
  
  They could abstract one level further. For example, provide a list of files and their hashes with descriptions/comments, which would be a useful service with nothing in the least illegal. But it would also make it trivial to find the files.
  
  --
  Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
2. Re:What by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · 2016-05-25 15:00 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The problem is, copyright was made to protect the authors and their works. They get to control who can have a copy, the terms, etc. However, that control was supposed to be for a limited time (I think it was 20 years) but that period has been extended to ludicrous lengths.
  In exchange for that extended protection, the authors/publishers should be obligated to sell their work in all countries, including dubs and/or subs for the official languages of the countries. If they can't, then no copyright for you! NEXT!
  There should also be penalties for selling low-quality versions of their works, such as only selling a 4:3 version of a movie if the theatrical release was 16:9.
3. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 16:03 · Score: 0
  
  The problem is, copyright was made to protect the authors and their works. They get to control who can have a copy, the terms, etc. However, that control was supposed to be for a limited time (I think it was 20 years) but that period has been extended to ludicrous lengths.
  The idea behind copyright is to encourage people to create. 20 years doesn't really seem that bad of a time frame, and is certainly better to the death plus 90 or whatever the current is. If it is too long, then you just have people keep recreating the wheel, only slightly differently. Of course, long copyrights probably does help our unemployment problems, but then I'm not sure that is the best use of human capital, as it seems a bit like busy work.
4. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 16:59 · Score: 1
  
  I believe copyright originally started out at 28 years in the US, then was doubled to 56 years.
  And that was in the age of horses and wagons, even before the steam engine and telegraph.
  Nowadays books, music and movies can travel around the world in milliseconds, but copyright has been extended to the life of the author plus 75 years or whatever.
  Logically in keeping with the increase in speed of distribution, the length of copyright should be decreased to half or even a quarter or less of the original 28 years.
5. Re:What by UnknownSoldier · 2016-05-25 17:51 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  > copyright was made to protect the publishers
  You need to re-read the history of copyright.
  
  "The history of copyright law starts with early privileges and monopolies granted to printers of books. The British Statute of Anne 1710, full title "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned", was the first copyright statute. Initially copyright law only applied to the copying of books."
  and
  
  "Pope Alexander VI issued a bull in 1501 against the unlicensed printing of books and in 1559 the Index Expurgatorius, or List of Prohibited Books, was issued for the first time."
  and
  
  "The first copyright privilege in England bears date 1518 and was issued to Richard Pynson, King's Printer, the successor to William Caxton. The privilege gives a monopoly for the term of two years. The date is 15 years later than that of the first privilege issued in France. Early copyright privileges were called "monopolies," ...
  and
  
  "In England the printers, known as stationers, formed a collective organization, known as the Stationers' Company. In the 16th century the Stationers' Company was given the power to require all lawfully printed books to be entered into its register. Only members of the Stationers' Company could enter books into the register. This meant that the Stationers' Company achieved a dominant position over publishing in 17th century England"
  History of Copyright Law
6. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 18:05 · Score: 1
  
  That's exactly what a torrent magnet is, and what they already do.
7. Re:What by jones_supa · 2016-05-25 19:29 · Score: 1
  
  They still need the website to provide search functionality.
8. Re:What by jones_supa · 2016-05-25 19:42 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, but it's ridiculous to want a shorter copyright time just that you can get stuff to public domain faster. :)
9. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 21:54 · Score: 0
  
  I'm in favor of major copyright reform, but let's not stick our heads in the sand. The copyright law needs to change, but the pirate bay is violating it. The pirate bay is *designed* to facilitate the illegal copying of copy-protected works. They are trying to get around being criminally liable by not storing the files themselves, basically turning themselves into a search engine of Illegally copied works.
  If indexing and creating a search engine is now a crime, then Google should be shut down immediately, for there is no way you can tell me that 100% of their search engine is legal, especially across every country in the world where they can be accessed or operate.
  Let's not even get started as to who stores the results of a Google image search...
10. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 23:42 · Score: 1
  
  I'm in favor of major copyright reform, but ... in the meantime, the law shouldn't be ignored, because blah...
  Virtually everyone in the world except the major studios, publishers, and record labels are in favour of copyright reform. Unfortunately, given the direction the world seems to be moving in, the only reform that's likely to happen will be additional extensions to the duration of copyrights, bought and paid for by those self same studios, labels and publishers.
  In the meantime, like any 'unjust' law, you absolutely should ignore it - break it as you see fit!
  Just be prepared to face the consequences should you get caught. Have your day in court, explain why you broke the law (because the law is unjust), and why you'd do it again (because the law is unjust). Maybe one day, when enough people stand up, the law will be changed for the better rather than for the worse.
11. Re:What by queBurro · 2016-05-25 23:45 · Score: 1
  
  ... if they just hand a wrench to a co-conspirator in a murder case..
  maybe it's more like: "where can I buy some weed?" pirate bay: "ask that guy in the corner"
  
  --
  sag
12. Re: What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 01:29 · Score: 0
  
  why not app an app to do that? APPS!
13. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 04:19 · Score: 0
  
  Sure, but it's ridiculous to want a shorter copyright time just that you can get stuff to public domain faster. :)
  
  The whole purpose of copyright law is to insure that, ultimately, everything falls into the public domain.
  What's ridiculous is to keep extending copyright time so that books, movies and music don't fall into the public domain for generations.
14. Re:What by DanielRavenNest · 2016-05-26 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  No they don't. Use a distributed database like the bitcoin blockchain. Instead of storing transaction data like bitcoin does, store torrent information and comments. The bitcoin network distributes blocks peer-to-peer, just like bittorrent. When you want to look for a particular torrent, you can access your local copy, or do a lookup across the network from your peers.
15. Re:What by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 05:15 · Score: 0
  
  torrents were using blockchains a whole decade before bitcoin, son
16. Re:What by myowntrueself · 2016-05-26 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  No they don't. Use a distributed database like the bitcoin blockchain. Instead of storing transaction data like bitcoin does, store torrent information and comments. The bitcoin network distributes blocks peer-to-peer, just like bittorrent. When you want to look for a particular torrent, you can access your local copy, or do a lookup across the network from your peers.
  Blockchains keep growing. IIRC the blockchain for bitcoin is now over 20GB. A blockchain of torrents could get real big as the individual data items are much bigger than anything bitcoin needs. Thats potentially a big investment in disk space and in initial download just to search torrents and includes just SO much data that you will never ever need (ie torrents for files you aren't interested in).
  
  --
  In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Confused by XanC · 2016-05-25 14:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

If piratebay.se was seized, then how is it redirecting to piratebay.org?
1. Re: Confused by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 16:54 · Score: 0
  
  Why would you think the domains have been taken?
  It quite clearly states that they modified those domains following a report that the domains may be taken.
  Now that those domains no longer host the site, at least some of the reason for them being taken back is gone.
  If the court still finds that it is illegal to have a domain redirecting to a domain redirecting to a website that directs you to file hashes that direct you to pieces of data that....
  If the court still wants to unjustly take the domains, all of their new internal links on the site won't be using them and so won't break. (Or at least until they change again when the same thing happens to the .org)
2. Re: Confused by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 02:22 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe you should look up the term "seized"because to me that indicates "taken." So if the donations have been taken how do they redirect?
Bays don't sail... by h33t+l4x0r · 2016-05-25 15:08 · Score: 1

Boats do. Specifically sailboats. Sometimes into bays...
1. Re:Bays don't sail... by zenlessyank · 2016-05-25 16:08 · Score: 0
  
  There are many bays. There is but one bay full of pirates. That is Pirate Bay.
2. Re:Bays don't sail... by camperdave · 2016-05-25 16:55 · Score: 1
  
  Bays don't sail...
  
  ... actually some do
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
3. Re:Bays don't sail... by GumphMaster · 2016-05-25 17:33 · Score: 1
  
  Neigh.... Surely it is motor-boating or cruising, not sailing?
  
  --
  Patent litigation: A doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction... in which everyone seems willing to push the button
4. Re: Bays don't sail... by easyTree · 2016-05-25 17:55 · Score: 1
  
  Yep
  
  --
  Requiem for the American Dream
5. Re:Bays don't sail... by aethelrick · 2016-05-25 21:43 · Score: 1
  
  hehe, sorry but you made me laugh now I have to say why...
  neigh: a characteristic high whinnying sound made by a horse.
  motorboating (slang): The act of placing one's head between a woman's breasts and making the sound of a motorboat with one's lips whilst moving the head from side to side.
  cruising (slang): wandering about a place in search of a casual sexual partner.
6. Re:Bays don't sail... by oldmac31310 · 2016-05-26 03:23 · Score: 1
  
  Did you really have to spell all that out?
  
  --
  http://www.acetonestudio.com
Non-EU by DrYak · 2016-05-25 17:41 · Score: 2

Liechtenstein is under EU jurisdiction
Nope.
Same situation as Switzerland: both countries are not members of the EU, but sign some treaties with the EU (like Schegen).

--
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Tor .onion by DrYak · 2016-05-25 17:44 · Score: 3, Informative

meanwhile:
http://uj3wazyk5u4hnvtk.onion/
still works and has never been taken down.
(And maybe they also have a .bit namecoin and a few other trendy stuff)

--
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
1. Re:Tor .onion by oldmac31310 · 2016-05-26 03:19 · Score: 2
  
  Um no, doesn't work.
  
  --
  http://www.acetonestudio.com
TOR by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 18:26 · Score: 3, Informative

From their blog:
"For those of you that wants to connect to TPB using TOR the old .onion address is back up and running.
http://uj3wazyk5u4hnvtk.onion/ "
1. Re:TOR by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 20:53 · Score: 0
  
  My proxy.pac file automatically selects the tor gateway in my router for .onion hidden services domains AND also other censored standard domains at the dns/network level.
2. Re:TOR by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 21:32 · Score: 0
  
  Never mind the f-ing annoying CloudFlare captchas thrown at your face when connecting to thepiratebay.org via TOR
Use Namecoin by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 18:50 · Score: 0

Use Namecoin and register a .bit domain. Completely unseizeable.
CNET by Nastee · 2016-05-25 19:56 · Score: 1

Been a long time since I looked at a CNET link. The site looks awful. I'm sure it'd be worse if I weren't blocking ads.
.onion by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-25 20:26 · Score: 0

Anyone know if their .onion will be affected?
dot bit tld by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 03:59 · Score: 0

Not yet ideal, but dot bit is an option in the future if/when more name servers support the .bit tld.
ccTLDs by Anonymous Coward · 2016-05-26 04:12 · Score: 0

Every alternative domain the site was using has been seized.
They aren't doing anything illegal, and certainly there must be some country somewhere that officially recognizes that. If there's not a single one that's pretty damning for the state of freedom in the world.
Also remember that it's not just the ccTLD that you have to worry about, but who runs it. For example: .ca (dot-CA) is run by CIRA who is also based in (Ottawa, Ontario) Canada, so you have consistent laws between the TLD and the operator. Then, if you go with (say) EasyDNS, a registrar that's also in (Toronto, Ontario) Canada, you have three "levels" of consistency.
But what happens if you get a ccTLD from one country, outsourced / run on their behalf by a company in a second, with a registrar in a third? And remember that IANA / ICANN are in the US, so if there's a dispute with the ccTLD you go to Califronia, US, courts (like what happened with .africa).
You *DO* need Tor by DrYak · 2016-05-29 23:53 · Score: 1

Note: It's a Tor .onion service.
Thus you need your tor installation up and running.
But once it's running, yes it does work.
And can't directly be taken down.
Note: Some onion proxies like http://tor2web.org/ *DO* block ThePirateBay. It's not ThePirateBay server being down, it's the relay service refusing it on some legal grounds.
You need your actual tor node to be running and access it directly without relying on external 3rd party relays.

--
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]