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Little-used corner of Net becomes piracy battlefield (Usenet)
Boston Globe ^ | 09 Mar 06 | Hiawatha Bray

Posted on 03/11/2006 3:12:58 PM PST by Drew68

An obscure data network technology called the Usenet has become the newest battleground between the entertainment industry and digital music and movie pirates.

Late last month, the Motion Picture Association of America filed its first-ever lawsuits against Internet companies that help people download illegally copied films over the Usenet. The association says that the companies, NZB-Zone, BinNews, and DVDRS, provide a Google-like search service for Usenet, one that lets its users find thousands of pirated films, including recent hits such as ''King Kong," ''The Chronicles of Narnia," and ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

The three companies did not respond to e-mail messages requesting comment. Their websites do not list physical addresses or phone numbers, and one of them, DVDRS, has apparently been shut down. Even the lawsuits filed against the companies identify them as John Does, and do not include contact information.

A successful action against the three firms could lead to more lawsuits against other Usenet index sites, such as Newzbin.com and Nfonews.com. ''A common misconception among people who use networks like these is that they're in a group that is above the law," said movie industry association spokeswoman Kori Bernards. Indeed, she said the popularity of the Usenet as a place to swap illegal files has grown recently, perhaps because the music and movie industries have successfully shut down several distributors of peer-to-peer software, the most popular means of file swapping.

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: piracy; usenet
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An obscure data network technology called the Usenet

Obscure? I remember fondly days long ago and spending long hours on alt.drunken.bastards and alt.tasteless with my IBM 486 33mhz desktop and 3.2kbps modem. Must've been around 1994. In time I upgraded to a whopping 14.4kbps modem and was able to access the web and my days on Usenet were over. Haven't ventured to that neighborhood in a long time. Surprised to learn it is still around.

1 posted on 03/11/2006 3:13:03 PM PST by Drew68
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To: Drew68
Usenet "obscure"???

Who could possibly be unaware of alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die?

2 posted on 03/11/2006 3:14:20 PM PST by thoughtomator (Nobody would have cared if the UAE wanted to buy Macy's...)
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To: All

"obscure data network technology" LOL!!!!

Google groups / Deja News is more useful than web search in a lot of cases.


3 posted on 03/11/2006 3:14:59 PM PST by CaliGangsta
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To: Drew68

they will spread around enough campaign cash - to get government approval to force ISPs to drop their usenet feeds.


4 posted on 03/11/2006 3:16:01 PM PST by oceanview
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To: Drew68

Usenet is how I found Free Republic.


5 posted on 03/11/2006 3:16:39 PM PST by Fresh Wind (Democrats are guilty of whatever they scream the loudest about.)
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To: Drew68
I use it almost daily.

I always check usenet whenever I'm researching on line.

6 posted on 03/11/2006 3:17:17 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: Drew68
alt.2600

Those were the days.

I'm not suprised that usenet is still around. The servers are ubiquitous, and the service is darn near impossible to stop.

It's obscure, the way that NYC sewers are obscure. No one knows exactly where they are, but they still move a lot of.... stuff.

/johnny

7 posted on 03/11/2006 3:17:52 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (D@mit! I'm just a cook. Don't make me come over there and prove it!)
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To: thoughtomator
Who could possibly be unaware of alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die?

LOL! Now you're really bringing back memories! I'm tempted to stroll google's archives and see if some of my drunken online ramblings from my college days still exist.

8 posted on 03/11/2006 3:17:52 PM PST by Drew68
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To: thoughtomator
Many of us hung out at alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater when this site was just a twinkle in Jim Robinson's eye. :-)

Today I drop by alt.smokers.cigars when the trolls take a few days off to clean up their room. :-)
9 posted on 03/11/2006 3:18:05 PM PST by cgbg (Never Again? Hitliar is running for President.)
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To: Drew68

Its only obsecure to techno idiots like Hiawatha Bray, who is uniformly reviled for his cluelessness on the net.


10 posted on 03/11/2006 3:38:21 PM PST by Starwolf
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To: thoughtomator
I still use usenet. rec.radio.shortwave, alt.binaries.pictures.astro, etc.

Got an answer to my parents air conditioning problem on alt.hvac, found antenna ideas on rec.radio.amateur.antenna, etc.

Gave up on alt.fan.art-bell, and a number of others.

11 posted on 03/11/2006 3:40:00 PM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: Drew68; All
SSSSSHHHHHH!

Please be VEWY, VEWY quiet about this!

It's >one< of the last of the orignal internet places you can >sorta< bask in the glow of

FREEDOM!

prisoner6

12 posted on 03/11/2006 3:41:28 PM PST by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country together as the loose screws of the left fall out)
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To: thoughtomator
Who could possibly be unaware of alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die?

I've been NetFlixxing STtNG Season 1 and had a "Crusher" episode on in the background at the same moment I read your post.

God, I hate that little dork.

13 posted on 03/11/2006 3:43:53 PM PST by Psycho_Bunny
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To: Fresh Wind
Usenet is how I found Free Republic.

I was using Usenet when the "web browser" was still an experimental concept. Back then, the internet was pretty much just email and Usenet.

Plus, I had to FTP uphill both ways in the snow.

14 posted on 03/11/2006 3:45:39 PM PST by Ichneumon
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To: Drew68
An obscure data network technology called the Usenet...

This just in -- an obscure data network technology called Telnet is allowing hackers everywhere to access remote computers without using a GUI! My God, what will they think of next?!?!

15 posted on 03/11/2006 3:46:16 PM PST by Ryan Spock (The number one rule of the Kama Sutra is that you both be on the same page)
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To: Drew68

I loved Usenet. I loved Dejanews before it became into Google.


16 posted on 03/11/2006 3:48:10 PM PST by LdSentinal
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To: Ichneumon

"Plus, I had to FTP uphill both ways in the snow."

Haha nice. They want to stop Usenet because thats where the pirate groups release their work, then it gets posted to bittorent and p2p groups. MY university doesn't allow access to alt.bin groups so i can't use it to trade illegal stuff anyway. Theres always good old bittorrent!


17 posted on 03/11/2006 3:51:49 PM PST by RHINO369
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To: thoughtomator

Usenet is alive and well and a total anarchy. These sharks don't know who they're messing with.

alt.lawyers.sue.sue.sue


18 posted on 03/11/2006 3:51:58 PM PST by cloud8
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To: cloud8
Usenet is alive and well and a total anarchy. These sharks don't know who they're messing with.

Beautiful. It is nice to hear this. Sadly, my internet surfing time is quite limited these days to FR and bill-paying but those were some heady times in college when I first discovered Usenet and a whole new world opened up for me.

19 posted on 03/11/2006 3:58:18 PM PST by Drew68
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To: Drew68
atl.conspiracy is where I learned of the threat from black helicopters.

Conspiracy Nation: Illinois -- "The Land of Skolnick"

Anybody remember Orlen Grabbe?

20 posted on 03/11/2006 4:01:19 PM PST by Tribune7
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