Feds Seize KickassTorrents Domains, Arrest Owner

[SpaceCadet6969754]

They should have arrested most of those wanker shits with titles like 'Super User', instead of the owner...most are just a bunch of useless twats ass kissing higher ups and being little PC cunts. I don't want to see the site go down, but with their history of DMCA 'compliance', bad site security (especially their SSL config, which was half assed), ranking thousands of mostly useless scumbags as Mods, SU's and other feel-good titles being handed out like candy, it's no wonder they lived a fugitive, constantly on-the-run existence which ended this way it has today.

I was Super User there for 3 years. I believe you have it all wrong. though at times it may seem that way but we are a strong community. status no status.


"SU's and other feel-good titles being handed out like candy" lol I worked my ass off on that site for the joy of it not the title. I done over 25000 comment reports, reported over 2000 users, added over 9000 summaries, changed over 150 thousand torrent categories, uploaded over 1500 torrents (not dumping) the list goes on. minus the status I did it because I enjoyed it.
Your whole "rant" gives off the person you are. it seems you were ill-treated by one and have assumed we are all like that. not at all.

A**holes come in all shapes in sizes. status no status an a**hole is an a**hole.

You seem to be taking this personally - I guess,if you feeling buttsore, as the old saying goes, "If the shoe fits...". You seem to not understand the small, but crucial, word(s) in my post - see where I say 'most/mostly', so take your butthurt self pity,self back-patting, arse out of my way. As I look at it in the case of SU titled KAT people, most just spammed comments, posted trivial, useless - often times, dangerous - advice/help, etc. in order to collect those little pez rep points to make up for something lacking in their own lonely RL existence. You think it is really hard work reporting on people/comments or copy/pasting movie summaries, etc? Try a real job. IMO, I think you enjoyed it more for the sense of power you felt over others than for any sense of actually helping the community. Im glad that TPB doesn't give out skulls/titles the way that KAT gave out titles and forum power - you actually have to work to prove yourself, not be all PC and brown nosing for rep points.
Have a great day.

This is exactly correct.
A few on there were actively allowed to spam torrents with browser hijackers and malware and adware in them.
Even after thousands reported it, and it wasn't even tried to be hidden.
Due to rep and schmoozing with mods it was allowed to continue un touched.
This is when I saw its falling down.

[wolfenspiel]

Wow... just... You know, your Admin Sid seems to be the most intelligent one here, but I can see why many KAT members either avoid TPB, or simply lurk. I just can't believe the bullshit insults and the audacity of people to say "good riddance"! I remember just a couple years ago, when TPB was closed, KAT opened it's doors and welcomed some of you ungrateful twats. To quote your Admin, "A loss of a sharing site is a blow to ALL of us!" I can also guarantee KAT isn't the only site with idiots that spam and post malware and adware. It's all over the place, and I'm willing to bet not only have you had your share here as well, but it will likely increase again over the coming weeks and months, however long KAT is down. Just as piracy will never die, in this world, neither will idiocy, or malice.

It's not a competition out here, and anyone who thinks it is needs to wake up and look in the mirror, because they're doing the same exact thing as what some users did with cheevos and rep points and titles! Sounds to me like, whether earned or not, there's some people with titles acting the same way as the people they are complaining about. @ wrongs don't make a right...even if 3 lefts do!

Losing KAT is a blow to ALL of us. If KAT members can't come here when the chips are down, what do you think will happen when the shoe is on the other foot? You know, a certain amount of respect in ANY community goes a long way.

As to the argument of compliance with DMCA, your argument is invalid. If KAT were still up, I'd direct you to several of the DMCA'd Torrent posts in the community and on blogs, where one can post the hash numbers of those DMCA'd torrents. If you don't know what the use of a hash number is, you likely don't belong on ANY torrent site. Compliance with DMCA is one of the things that kept KAT going as long as it did, and enabled many TPB members a safe haven when THIS site was down.

I agree, I HATE the DMCA and I think "Homeland Security" needs to start doing more to SECURE our HOMELAND, and stop playing around on the internet trying to be the police force for the Mass Media moguls...BUT, sometimes the only way to fight tyranny is by meeting it face to face and dealing with it on its own terms! Have you seen the political race in the US lately? We have a GOP candidate that played by the same rules made to keep OUT non-party and third-party choices, and a bleeding Liberal twat who uses money and power to circumvent Federal laws, where by rights she should be tried and convicted of treason, or at the VERY least be found ineligible to run for President. Gonna be a wild ride either way. But I digress...

Look, all KAT is, is a site where people shared. People had communities. People had groups. They all filled a particular need of the torrenting community. Our forums wew bigger, we had request threads, and we had release threads. We had private and public groups for users with similar interests to meet together. I see a forum here, but, for example, I can't find any special interest groups, or anything specific to say the DAZ3d/Poser users, to help each other, or discuss or request or anything. Maybe that works for you TPB members, and that's fine. But, from a KAT member of that community, I can tell you we lost a HELL of a lot of well seeded torrents specifically related to Daz and Poser...and searching here comes up with very few. That, in itself, is a loss to sharers! I can find tv shows and movies literally ANYWHERE on the web without touching a single torrent. Finding the tools I need as a 3d artist however, is hard as hell.

[TheEmpathicEar]

[I have not read through all the posts by any means... It's overwhelming - all the response]
Q: How realistic is it that KAT will be up and running again? And, what's the time frame?

EDIT: I should mention that I have come to depend on KAT's video, movie, [whatever] ability to choose 1080i/p, etc. when deciding what to download?

[Pahly]

They should have arrested most of those wanker shits with titles like 'Super User', instead of the owner...most are just a bunch of useless twats ass kissing higher ups and being little PC cunts. I don't want to see the site go down, but with their history of DMCA 'compliance', bad site security (especially their SSL config, which was half assed), ranking thousands of mostly useless scumbags as Mods, SU's and other feel-good titles being handed out like candy, it's no wonder they lived a fugitive, constantly on-the-run existence which ended this way it has today.

I was Super User there for 3 years. I believe you have it all wrong. though at times it may seem that way but we are a strong community. status no status.


"SU's and other feel-good titles being handed out like candy" lol I worked my ass off on that site for the joy of it not the title. I done over 25000 comment reports, reported over 2000 users, added over 9000 summaries, changed over 150 thousand torrent categories, uploaded over 1500 torrents (not dumping) the list goes on. minus the status I did it because I enjoyed it.
Your whole "rant" gives off the person you are. it seems you were ill-treated by one and have assumed we are all like that. not at all.

A**holes come in all shapes in sizes. status no status an a**hole is an a**hole.

You seem to be taking this personally - I guess,if you feeling buttsore, as the old saying goes, "If the shoe fits...". You seem to not understand the small, but crucial, word(s) in my post - see where I say 'most/mostly', so take your butthurt self pity,self back-patting, arse out of my way. As I look at it in the case of SU titled KAT people, most just spammed comments, posted trivial, useless - often times, dangerous - advice/help, etc. in order to collect those little pez rep points to make up for something lacking in their own lonely RL existence. You think it is really hard work reporting on people/comments or copy/pasting movie summaries, etc? Try a real job. IMO, I think you enjoyed it more for the sense of power you felt over others than for any sense of actually helping the community. Im glad that TPB doesn't give out skulls/titles the way that KAT gave out titles and forum power - you actually have to work to prove yourself, not be all PC and brown nosing for rep points.
Have a great day.

haha. kat was number one for a reason. the community. we worked our ass off to make it what it was.. we all worked as a team. the helpers, SU's etc etc. I'm not butthurt or anything. just saw your passive aggressive post and couldn't help my self but reply.
I had no power over anybody. I stuck behind the scenes and did my own thing.

and "lonely RL existence"?? ha ha I'm not an old middle aged guy mate i'm in my mid 20s I have a life and i'm happy with it. you look into it all too much.. saying I'm butt hurt and lonely ha ha it's okay old man. KAT obviously kicked your useless ass off a long time ago now you won't shut the fuck up about it. never heard of Suprbay once in KAT forums. now I see why.

I have to quote myself here "A**holes come in all shapes in sizes. status no status an a**hole is an a**hole." yes if the shoe fits mate

[TheEmpathicEar]

@pahly
Are there any other sites that allow you to choose 1080 [for example] when choosing between different movie torrents?

[Philidor]

Look, all KAT is, is a site where people shared. People had communities. People had groups. They all filled a particular need of the torrenting community. Our forums wew bigger, we had request threads, and we had release threads. We had private and public groups for users with similar interests to meet together. I see a forum here, but, for example, I can't find any special interest groups, or anything specific to say the DAZ3d/Poser users, to help each other, or discuss or request or anything. Maybe that works for you TPB members, and that's fine. But, from a KAT member of that community, I can tell you we lost a HELL of a lot of well seeded torrents specifically related to Daz and Poser...and searching here comes up with very few. That, in itself, is a loss to sharers! I can find tv shows and movies literally ANYWHERE on the web without touching a single torrent. Finding the tools I need as a 3d artist however, is hard as hell.

Hey, wolfenspiel, Pahly. Good to see a few familiar faces after just registering, here.

I'll chime in and agree: KAT really was/is all about a sense of community. I can't speak to that on the TPB, and I won't try. But the main thing I felt when I discovered the story about KAT's (hopefully temporary) closure was that loss of people--some colleagues, some acquaintances, some good friends and a few really great friends. People like the late, great Smitty, who did such a fantastic job on my sig. Others who greeted me, helped me out with all my initial questions, and explained how to upload. Folks who subsequently liked my many and strange uploads. People I helped out when their uTorrent clients died. Threads where we congratulated folks who'd gotten married, or a blog where we commiserated a member when great floods had washed most of his parents' village away.

I'm not suggesting KAT was perfect. Far from it. There were always people who abused the system to get a high number rep in simple ways, such as downloading every book, every day (and KAT had a fantastic number of books), and spam-approving them all. Then there was the very occasional moderator or thread owner who was an OCD bear trap, creating post hoops to jump through that seemed sadistic. But for the most part, KAT was, and will be again, a very welcoming place. It was large, but it never felt large. It combined in some sense the best of a place to share all that's great in files with the intimacy of a smaller forum, a generally welcoming atmosphere, and its subsets of friends. If that sounds happy-happy-joy-joy, just keep in mind that for some of us who have been smacked around (and kicked, and abused) heavily by life much of our lives, it's nice to find the warmth once in a while.

I'm glad to see at least a few people here know that sites like ours aren't in competition. There's no us, and you. There's just the sharing, 24/7. Getting around the typically nonsensical attempts to prevent information and entertainment from reaching the broadest number of people possible. As far as I'm concerned, fuck the static that creates hostility. We don't have the time or resources to play into the hands of those who would love to take us all down.

Will KAT come back? I'm pretty sure it will, and I'll look to Sid for the word on that. Will Vaulin keep out of prison? Crystal ball's cloudy; come back later. Someone put up a great post here on the (il)legalities at the matter, but I think it's important to keep two other things in mind. First, there's no "US government" during this or that. There are dozens if not hundreds of factions, large and small, in the US federal government, and someone or group, mid level or higher, decided to launch this sting operation in an election year. Not necessarily an elected official, either. It could be that someone in the FBI or the Commerce Department wanted to get a nice pat on the head when the next president took office, and maybe a raise. We'll never know. Vaulin took some stupid chances, so the fact that no government had tried to take him down before is...interesting.

Second, it's not just the law that will determine Vaulin gets imprisoned, but the interpretation of the law by one or more judges, elected or appointed. And they'll probably have a lot of latitude to do what they want. I suspect he'll do time, but we'll just have to wait, and see.

[gratefuldawg77]

@pahly
Are there any other sites that allow you to choose 1080 [for example] when choosing between different movie torrents?

RARBG has the closest setup to KAT I've seen. If you view a movie torrent, it'll show you all the torrents for that movie. But nothing comes close to KAT's UI, unfortunately.

[Sid]

Yes, We All make Stupid mistakes and that's why I burn through at least two Tags a Year. Can't do nuthin bout Cached copies but at least get off the radar.

Point is, you take steps to try to protect yourself (which may or may not turn out to be effective). That's your right and anybody who objects to it, particularly anyone who benefits from the contributions you make, is a) wrong and b) stupid. Owners have the same right. [And for the record, I'm not an owner. Like all staff here and, I'm almost certain, on KAT, I'm just a member of the community who helps out on an entirely voluntary basis.]

I just can't believe the bullshit insults and the audacity of people to say "good riddance"!

To be fair there were plenty of people on KAT who were critical of TPB, and there are plenty of people here who welcome new members from wherever they come. There are also plenty of sensible people who were active on both sites and appreciated the differences between them. Liking Indian food doesn't mean you can't enjoy Italian, but complaining things aren't spicy enough in an Italian restaurant is just plain dumb no matter which way you look at it.

I can also guarantee KAT isn't the only site with idiots that spam and post malware and adware.

Yup

As to the argument of compliance with DMCA, your argument is invalid. If KAT were still up, I'd direct you to several of the DMCA'd Torrent posts in the community and on blogs, where one can post the hash numbers of those DMCA'd torrents. If you don't know what the use of a hash number is, you likely don't belong on ANY torrent site. Compliance with DMCA is one of the things that kept KAT going as long as it did, and enabled many TPB members a safe haven when THIS site was down.

I'm sorry but we're completely at odds on this point. Your position isn't even conceivably plausible. KAT wasn't taken down now because it suddenly stopped complying with DMCA notices, it was taken down now because the MAFIAA had gathered enough evidence and located their target in spite of the fact that it was compliant. The compliance never helped in any way.

As for knowing the use of a hash number, you obviously haven't been torrenting long--TPB is the reason you know the use of a hash number. Magnet links were invented years before TPB popularised them and effectively forced torrent app developers to implement proper support. KAT adopted them after the fact. And those threads would never have been necessary had the torrents not been deleted (or had they been parallel uploaded to TPB).

But, from a KAT member of that community, I can tell you we lost a HELL of a lot of well seeded torrents specifically related to Daz and Poser...and searching here comes up with very few.

That is what I hope people (from both sites) will learn from all this. No site is forever and, as you point out, this isn't a competition. Public torrents SHOULD ALWAYS be uploaded to multiple sites so that when one site goes down (or torrents are deleted for whatever reason) content isn't lost.

Q: How realistic is it that KAT will be up and running again? And, what's the time frame?

Both questions are impossible to answer. Or, rather, any answers to such questions will be mere speculation and therefore totally worthless.

But, fwiw, KAT had a slick front end so it's reasonable to assume it had a similarly impressive back end--so they will have backups and contingency plans. It shouldn't be any problem at all, technically, to resurrect. Migration would take a few days. The bigger question is of trusted, uncompromised, senior staff, and their willingness to stick their heads up. KAT was a sophisticated site, so it's inconceivable to me that they would be wholly reliant on one guy. So I think it's reasonable to assume there are others out there capable of stepping up. And for reasons I'll not go into I think it's reasonable to assume they will do so.

So I'll go out on a limb and predict you will see it back within ten days. Of course I could just as easily be wrong. [So could anyone else who answers.]
 

Are there any other sites that allow you to choose 1080 [for example] when choosing between different movie torrents?

torrentz.eu has a good search engine. Of course it is also similarly afflicted with DMCA compliance. Hopefully they will drop that in light of its now obvious ineffectiveness.

Second, it's not just the law that will determine Vaulin gets imprisoned, but the interpretation of the law by one or more judges, elected or appointed. And they'll probably have a lot of latitude to do what they want.

You little ripper. I am continually amazed at how few people understand that. It's not about the law, and "the law" is not black and white anyway.

[Philidor]

With respect for disagreement, I never thought the DMCA kowtowing really did a bit of good at KAT. The governments knew what was going on. Why would they care if they wanted to consider everything done on KAT illegal? Alternatively, if Vaulin had disregarded DMCA, I don't think a few dozen or hundred complaints would have made any watchful government jump a moment sooner, or later. I get the sense of paranoia, I truly do. I just don't think in retrospect this was a helpful path to take.

And some of the DMCA results were just downright silly. Case in point: I put up a fairly rare (online) classical album featuring an artist who has been dead 60 years, and whose recording was made roughly 70 years ago. Someone complained, and the link was removed. But the same recording had been pirated for decades, and is currently available from two Italian CD companies who charge for it. End result: my free version is gone, and everybody can buy it...from a pirate company.

I understand KAT's decision to pay attention to DMCA, even if I don't think it helped. That was the choice of the admins, or Vaulin himself, and I'm sure it was a carefully considered policy. But...well, with any luck, a revived KAT won't play that game in the future. I can at least hope.

[TheEmpathicEar]

@Sid
@gratefuldawg77
Thx to both of U!. I was just "feeling" a sense of loss and looking for something to "ease the pain"!