Torrentspy.com unusable for US now

[Tessian]

I had no idea about this... but I happened to have been watching Attack of the Show that mentioned this happened a few days ago...

Rather than be forced to turn over their user data to the US gov't... Torrentspy.com now blocks all USA IP's from searching on their site (so basically doing anything).

I was in shock about this... always thought torrentspy would be able to avoid this crap...

I guess now the only way to get around it is to use an international proxy.

[Eric]

That sucks, post work-arounds here.

[kali o.]

That sucks, post work-arounds here.

Use a proxy...like he already said. pfft...

I don't know if the "announcement" means just the website blocks IPs or if torrentspy has trackers (that therefore block IPs)....but either way, you can proxy around that.

[Zeus]

That sucks, post work-arounds here.

Move to Canada. Still works well up here :-)

[Eric]

That sucks, post work-arounds here.

Move to Canada. Still works well up here :-)

"And what business do you have in our country sir?"

"Piracy dude, piracy"

".....proceed."

[Tessian]

To answer Kali's question-- Just the website is blocking US IP's-- the trackers still work fine. They're just blocking the US from using/searching their site.

I tested out the most well known web proxy I've ever heard of-- kproxy, and it worked fine. No idea where they're based though. I could dredge up hundreds of more sites just going by what proxy sites my company's employees attempt to go to... too bad the Websense master categorization database isn't browsable

[SineSwiper]

Torrentz. Why bother with anything else?

[Nev]

(gets a beer and toasts the continued shutdowns of piracy-based organizations worldwide)

I think I'll slowly and obnoxiously settle into the role of Shrine outcast and pariah on this subject. Maybe if I'm lucky one of you guys will pick up a lawsuit along the way.

[Chris]

(gets a beer and toasts the continued shutdowns of piracy-based organizations worldwide)

I think I'll slowly and obnoxiously settle into the role of Shrine outcast and pariah on this subject. Maybe if I'm lucky one of you guys will pick up a lawsuit along the way.

hehehe...I'm there with ya buddy.....kinda funny I used to be a big proponent of it....now I'm the worst enemy of the comic downloading community

[kali o.]

Prices and distribution methods need to reflect the realities of the internet and adapt...the laws need to be less draconian and protectionist...and groups like the MPAA/RIAA/etc need to fill a role of impartial government advisory, not above the law bullies like they are now.

Until those things happen, piracy will continue to flourish. And justifiably so, imo.

And frankly, I find Chris' objection amusing. The internet offers more opportunities (exposure, distro, affordable marketing, etc) than potential revenue leaks (piracy). He's taken on the position that people are out to pilfer his work...I'll blame the paranoia on his meds though.

[Oracle]

Prices and distribution methods need to reflect the realities of the internet and adapt...the laws need to be less draconian and protectionist...and groups like the MPAA/RIAA/etc need to fill a role of impartial government advisory, not above the law bullies like they are now.

Until those things happen, piracy will continue to flourish. And justifiably so, imo.

And frankly, I find Chris' objection amusing. The internet offers more opportunities (exposure, distro, affordable marketing, etc) than potential revenue leaks (piracy). He's taken on the position that people are out to pilfer his work...I'll blame the paranoia on his meds though.

This is exactly what my attitude is towards the subject of piracy and distribution business models.

Stop treating customers like thieves (DRM) and start charging what the products are actually worth, and piracy, although it will never outright stop, will definitely decrease.

[Tessian]

Prices and distribution methods need to reflect the realities of the internet and adapt...the laws need to be less draconian and protectionist...and groups like the MPAA/RIAA/etc need to fill a role of impartial government advisory, not above the law bullies like they are now.

Until those things happen, piracy will continue to flourish. And justifiably so, imo.

And frankly, I find Chris' objection amusing. The internet offers more opportunities (exposure, distro, affordable marketing, etc) than potential revenue leaks (piracy). He's taken on the position that people are out to pilfer his work...I'll blame the paranoia on his meds though.

This is exactly what my attitude is towards the subject of piracy and distribution business models.

Stop treating customers like thieves (DRM) and start charging what the products are actually worth, and piracy, although it will never outright stop, will definitely decrease.

Amen. At this point it's more about rebelling against the system than getting things for free. I refuse to buy games with (SecuROM) protection and the like because, as Oracle pointed out-- customers are sick of being treated like thieves. ESPECIALLY when thieves have an easier time using their software than honest customers.

On the same vein even though I rarely download music anymore I won't stop until the music industry starts putting reasonable prices on their songs.

[Nev]

DRM sucks balls. I own a Dave Matthews band album that crashes my computer every time it's put in. It needs a complete keelhaul with someone other than Steve Ballmer at the helm, because he's a major player in it right now, and a frothing bully capitalist, for the most part.

That being said, I won't get behind piracy one bit either. I think more creative industries need to drop price points to reflect changing market realities - music especially - but piracy has created one of the most selfish consumer mindsets I've ever seen, and most objections seem to boil down to "you can't stop me, so deal with it" - I tip my hat to kali there.

Go ahead if you want to, I still won't get behind it.

[Zeus]

Torrentz. Why bother with anything else?

Because Demonoid, ISOhunt, Mininova, and Torrentspy are better....

At the end of the day, people who download mostly don't buy. It's not like the DVD sales are dying or anything. Music industry died 'cause there's no fucking talent anymore. That's why you have AC/DC, GNR, Aerosmith, etc., having around 200k units sold per year on 12 year old albums (I wish I could find that article). And no one can say games ain't selling.

At the end of the day, if it's worth it, people will buy it. I download a lot but I also buy more than most. Kali and Oracle got it right, there are MANY more opportunities than dangers of the Internet, people need to just fucking adapt and realize that the business models from the 80s don't work no more.

[Tessian]

You actually hit my problem on the nose Zeus... I haven't found anything worth even pirating music wise in years. I'd say in the past 5 years I've downloaded about 3 albums and bought maybe 1.

And with my playing Xbox more than PC games... the only thing I even bother downloading these days are: a) fansubbed anime and b) software at a price I'd never purchase (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc).

[Julius Seeker]

Torrentz. Why bother with anything else?

Because Demonoid, ISOhunt, Mininova, and Torrentspy are better....

At the end of the day, people who download mostly don't buy. It's not like the DVD sales are dying or anything. Music industry died 'cause there's no fucking talent anymore. That's why you have AC/DC, GNR, Aerosmith, etc., having around 200k units sold per year on 12 year old albums (I wish I could find that article). And no one can say games ain't selling.

At the end of the day, if it's worth it, people will buy it. I download a lot but I also buy more than most. Kali and Oracle got it right, there are MANY more opportunities than dangers of the Internet, people need to just fucking adapt and realize that the business models from the 80s don't work no more.

The late 70's to mid 80's was the real golden age of recorded music. Sales have been generally sliding since then. The problem right now is that we don't really have a major pop-music movement happening right now.

[SineSwiper]

Because Demonoid, ISOhunt, Mininova, and Torrentspy are better....

Uhhh... Torrentz searches most of those. It's a meta-engine. So, my point remains: Why search on one site when you can search them all?

[SineSwiper]

You actually hit my problem on the nose Zeus... I haven't found anything worth even pirating music wise in years. I'd say in the past 5 years I've downloaded about 3 albums and bought maybe 1.

Oh, there's plenty of music out there. You just have to look elsewhere besides the pop music industrial complex. My problem is the price. A CD is not worth $15. If I bought all of the albums in a B&M store that I bought online, I would be broke. Unlike video games, used isn't really an option because I don't listen to popular music.

Plus, I hate the CD format. I can store 10-12 albums on MP3 CD and play it in my car for a week.

[Zeus]

Because Demonoid, ISOhunt, Mininova, and Torrentspy are better....

Uhhh... Torrentz searches most of those. It's a meta-engine. So, my point remains: Why search on one site when you can search them all?

Searching should be your last resort, not your first. YOu should be reading the comments on the torrents to figure out whether or not it's worth your time. So you find a few sites that are great for that and go there first. Failing that, you hit a search engine like ISOHunt.