And unfortunately this time it is for good. Some warez kitten dropped off a copy of "Planet of the Apes" last night, and UEN (Utah's gov't ISP) went nuts. The servers have gone down at 11:45am MDT today, and will not be brought back up. It became a case of either shutting the machines down, or losing my position here, and either way we would've still lost. I will try and get backup copies of everything that was taken down, and will work to mail out copies of legitimate works to each artist as backup. I sincerely apologize for this action. /P

I wish I had the amount of room needed as I'd do it in a second, this really does bite the big one. Don't bother reporting the asshole, just take them outside & pound them into the ground with a nice 2x4.

That sucks! You have been most gracious to the entire Poser community with your hosting and support and input. Hopefully this won't sour you into leaving the comunity at large and someone wil be able to pick up the hosting.

Are we talking about the Runtime DNA server?

We know how you feel, and we feel for you, we are also in the middle of problems, not so much our server but the bandwidth theft is becoming an issue. We have been in constant contact with our server and hopefully things will be resolved, but I just don't know what will happen. I am so sorry, this is becoming a real dilema for so many fine people...Penguinisto if there is anything I can do, let me know. Sharen

Sorry to hear about your probs. Peng. --lb

/P, how much space are we talking? I can set up 2 gigs in a couple of hours. and more as soon as upgrade hard drives.

I can help host some as well.

You need an account on dodger.org?

actually, if the server doesn't allow hotlinking it is a small script in the server config, not a button. ~g~ can also be done with overrides on a per directory basis. but it obviously isn't as secure as server-wide. hotlinking is the way that free stuff works, the link to a download page is no hotlinking allowed.

Penguinisto, I seem to recall the server you were using was part of a survey on usage and bandwidth, etc. Did you at least get the data you needed from that before the warez creep put you down for good? I hope so! Even if you didn't, these posts along prove your generosity in providing a resource for those who didn't have their own server was appreciated. Good luck on the work front. Hope the warez idgit didn't hurt your standing at your job.

I thank you all for the offers of help, but I'll have to wait for the drive to come back from the state ISP before I can do much of anything. About five minutes after I posted, an admin came in and demanded the hard drives. They did promise to keep any data that wasn't laden with virii or otherwise compromised... it'll take about a week. The last backup is from roughly a week ago, so I suppose I could use it, but I'd been asked to not do anything with even those until the relevant files on the drive have been scanned. Gad, these guys are completely anal, though I do understand why. (doesn't mean I have to like it, but still...) TygerCub - Since you mentioned it, I'm this -><- close to resigning right now on my own... I wasn't told anything about this until 10:30, and they operated on the assumption that it was all my intentional doing... and the upper management that was supposed to back me up had all run for cover like the typical self-serving f@cks they are (one even chastised me for not having every upload and user "approved" through the school's marketing department of all things.) So my standing at the job isn;t exactly at the top of the list of things I'm hoping over :/ Jaqui - I averaged 11-13+ GB of bandwidth each day, plus even more since we put up the .ogg files of Linus Torvalds' Q&A session a couple of weeks back. I suspect that there may be more to it than some idiot rooting the box (it may have been a student with a backdoor for all I know - the ISP wouldn't let me keep the hard drives long enough to find out.) I dunno... I'm still too pissed right now to even think straight. /P

TJ, Oh man, sorry to hear that. The sucker that did this should be shot. I guess this also means Duddley's free stuff for his fantastic cars are gone. I really hate that. Hope everyone that had free stuff hosted with you can find a place to host them.

This kind of things always makes me wonder about the human stupidity. Whenever there is someone doing good and positive things, like Penguinisto, there's always someone else wanting to ruin it all, for everyone. That's very sad. I would offer web space if I had it. Unfortunately I only have 15 Mb paid for my web site. I hope the criminal can get caught and punished.

(Reposted because I was getting too many responses- sorry folks!) How about bust the the pirate? Warez violations are, as demonstrated here, a serious threat to our community. It sucks out loud that anyone can goof us up by uploading warez. Maybe a policy decision is in order: I think any ISP would be satisfied by reportin violations to the SPA (see link), and removing the offending files. I know, it seems a little draconian, but what else can we do? Any one else have any input? Another idea: who wants to host these files?

Skipernicus - I wish there was something I myself could do - however, the school is looking into it right now, and I was told in no uncertain terms to sit down and keep quiet until they get finished investigating. Also, UEN has been looking for an excuse to shut down teh servers anyhow, so I seriously doubt I could get them to let me put it back up. /P

Skipernicus, check Anthony Appleyards thread above this one, several offers are on the floor.

cherokee69, Yup, this means my classic car freestuff is down for the forseable future. Sad to be sure but I don't know where else to go. Luckily I do have everything backed up myself and if a new host comes about it would only take moments to put it back up. BTW, Thank you Penguinisto for the time I had, I really did appreciate your support. Don (Dudley)

Penguinisto, Sorry to hear of your troubles. Perhaps in this case the sit and wait 'advise' will be best. It sounds as though they're doing forensics on the HDs in an attempt to 'catch' something. All that can do is serve to exonerate you - if they're honest about it. Let me know if you need any help. - TJ (bikermouse)

Penguinisto, As sorry as I am about the server problems, I'm really unhappy to hear your position is in question - When my German friend WebVogel asked me (due to language/translation concerns) to help him find a host so he could post his wonderful Tavern in freestuff, you graciously gave his files, like so many others, a home so all could benefit. I hope everything is speedily resolved, and your life becomes serene....

Penguinisto, I hope this all comes out right for you. This sucks. I can only add my thanks for hosting freestuff for me for so long Some people need taking out and lynching.

Penguinisto, If your character comes under attack at work for providing this service, or if your administration needs proof of exactly what you've provided to this community, I'm sure all of us here would be more than willing to write a polite letter supporting your actions. Only seems fair. Character assassination can be brutal because, although you may not care for this job, it might make it more than difficult to get another job in a similar field. Please let us know if we can help.

hi peng - sorry to hear that you got trouble about that thing. hope it can be solved soon. and thanks for hosting all the freebies :) joe

Penguinisto

Wow!
Did not realise what had happened until I logged on today and found my fast3d site had gone.
Thanks so much for hosting fast3d for the last months.. I've got all my downloads and associated pages backed up on CDR so no need to think of trying to recover my stuff..

Thanks again for the great service you gave to myself and other free stuff makers.

Gerald.

Around 4.5 GB all said and done.

BTW - I forgot to say it, but I do mean it: Thanks guys, for all your support. I doubt anything nasty will come of this, but I will certainly keep everyone in mind as witnesses if it does (again, I would like to stress that I doubt that anything will come of last Thurs., other than the loss of the servers for public use.) I am heartened by the sight of folks stepping up to pick up where I was forced to leave off, and I hope this whole experience will help re-kindle the community I once thought to be dying beyond hope. Again, I thank you. /P

Sigh, I can't stand injustice. This is an injustice. That so irks me to the point of seething at the thought of what you must be going through, Penguinisto. What you've described here makes me fuming mad for you. Wish I could do something to see justice served on your behalf.