ShareReactor
Encyclopedia
ShareReactor is an index site for files on the eDonkey network
and Torrent files. ShareReactor does not host any files; instead, the links it contains are accessible through an eDonkey network
and BitTorrent client. The site was taken down by Swiss Police on March 10, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. After a long downtime of nearly two years and six months, the site returned online under new ownership. However nearly two months after its return it once again closed down due to lack of popularity.
ShareReactor delivers links that can be used together with a P2P client program that understands eD2k links
or torrent files. On December 2008 the site was reopened once more brought back to life with help from the Pirate Bay
team.
, Switzerland on March 10, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. The investigation was reportedly initiated by complaints from the Swiss Anti-Piracy-Federation (SAFE
) at the request of several large corporations, one of them presumably being Columbia Tri-Star Inc.
were closed due to the request they received a few months before. The return of ShareReactor’s forum was until around November 2004 when the place that was hosting the forum had a major power surge and the servers were destroyed. On the last known occasion of ShareReactor’s forum being online, there were around 1,100,000 posts.
When ShareReactor made a full return was on September 4, 2006. Prior to their reopening, a mass e-mail was sent to all the users of ShareReactor and users of related sites, such as RespectP2P. ShareReactor was back although things were a bit different: the site was under new ownership, had a new design, and featured better controls within the website. A noticeable difference was the site owner and administrator, SimonMoon, who ran the site from January 2002 until March 2004 choose not to be involved within the site since it was still under investigation. The database used for the homepage was a backup taken on March 10, 2004 (the day of ShareReactor’s closure), and the forum database was from a backup taken on December 29, 2002 (about one year and three months prior to the closure). When ShareReactor’s forum returned, there were only around 420,000 posts, which means a loss of 680,000 posts. Very few staff members of ShareReactor were active when the site reopened, the staff were: XTRiCiAN, Maxaiqa, Piratsvin, Seth, and sUiZiD. Prior to ShareReactor being closed down, there was a staff of about twenty administrators and thirty-five forum moderators, a significant amount compared to when ShareReactor reopened.
In late October 2006, ShareReactor closed down once again. The closure was due to lack of popularity within the site. In February 2008 a Swiss district court finally sentenced the prior owner of Sharereactor to a fine of 2,000 CHF
( $1,827.11 USD ) nearly four years after the website was first shut down by the authorities.
and BitTorrent site, this time affiliated with The Pirate Bay
which hosts the site and tracks the torrents. The focus is to offer the newest content as torrent files but also keep the library of eD2k links up to date. The current site team has made roughly a third of the site releases. The forums run on backups which dates back to 2002. According to a post by the Sharereactor team and Alexa
, the site is continuing to grow again. As of July 2010, the forum had been closed without notice, however, it has soon after been reopened.
EDonkey network
The eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
and Torrent files. ShareReactor does not host any files; instead, the links it contains are accessible through an eDonkey network
EDonkey network
The eDonkey network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files...
and BitTorrent client. The site was taken down by Swiss Police on March 10, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. After a long downtime of nearly two years and six months, the site returned online under new ownership. However nearly two months after its return it once again closed down due to lack of popularity.
ShareReactor delivers links that can be used together with a P2P client program that understands eD2k links
Ed2k URI scheme
In computing, eD2k links are hyperlinks used to denote files stored on computers connected to the eDonkey filesharing P2P network.- General :...
or torrent files. On December 2008 the site was reopened once more brought back to life with help from the Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
team.
Origin
The site was founded on August 5, 2001 by Geraldine Arlington (aka Gowenna) and was initially located at Gowenna.da.ru which was only a shadow domain. The site was renamed ShareReactor in November 2001 and used an official domain due to its great popularity. In January 2002, it was announced that Gowenna had died in a car accident. The site administration was continued by Christian Riesen (aka Simon Moon) who until then was mainly responsible for technical work on the site and hosting. After concerns of donations and how ShareReactor’s money was being spent under the new owner, a break-up within the staff happened. Several of ShareReactor’s early staff members threw the towel, and many believed ShareReactor would soon fail. However several staff members returned and new staff was recruited over time. The site's popularity persisted, eventually even growing further. ShareReactor remained the top eD2k indexing website up until March 2004 when it suddenly was closed due to suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws within the country of Switzerland where ShareReactor’s owner lived and where ShareReactor was being hosted.Takedown
ShareReactor was taken down by the local police in the Canton of ThurgauThurgau
Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. The population, , is . In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners. The capital is Frauenfeld.-History:...
, Switzerland on March 10, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. The investigation was reportedly initiated by complaints from the Swiss Anti-Piracy-Federation (SAFE
SAFE
SAFE as an acronym can refer to:* S.A.F.E , The underwater cable with fiber optic passing through Mauritius* Safe Affordable Fission Engine, a series of small experimental nuclear reactors designed by NASA...
) at the request of several large corporations, one of them presumably being Columbia Tri-Star Inc.
Reopening and Closure
ShareReactor came back online after nearly two years and six months of being offline. Before ShareReactor’s full return in September 2006, ShareReactor made a partial return, which was in June 2004 when their forum was put back online. However the difference was all the sections of the forum that featured eD2k linksEd2k URI scheme
In computing, eD2k links are hyperlinks used to denote files stored on computers connected to the eDonkey filesharing P2P network.- General :...
were closed due to the request they received a few months before. The return of ShareReactor’s forum was until around November 2004 when the place that was hosting the forum had a major power surge and the servers were destroyed. On the last known occasion of ShareReactor’s forum being online, there were around 1,100,000 posts.
When ShareReactor made a full return was on September 4, 2006. Prior to their reopening, a mass e-mail was sent to all the users of ShareReactor and users of related sites, such as RespectP2P. ShareReactor was back although things were a bit different: the site was under new ownership, had a new design, and featured better controls within the website. A noticeable difference was the site owner and administrator, SimonMoon, who ran the site from January 2002 until March 2004 choose not to be involved within the site since it was still under investigation. The database used for the homepage was a backup taken on March 10, 2004 (the day of ShareReactor’s closure), and the forum database was from a backup taken on December 29, 2002 (about one year and three months prior to the closure). When ShareReactor’s forum returned, there were only around 420,000 posts, which means a loss of 680,000 posts. Very few staff members of ShareReactor were active when the site reopened, the staff were: XTRiCiAN, Maxaiqa, Piratsvin, Seth, and sUiZiD. Prior to ShareReactor being closed down, there was a staff of about twenty administrators and thirty-five forum moderators, a significant amount compared to when ShareReactor reopened.
In late October 2006, ShareReactor closed down once again. The closure was due to lack of popularity within the site. In February 2008 a Swiss district court finally sentenced the prior owner of Sharereactor to a fine of 2,000 CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
( $1,827.11 USD ) nearly four years after the website was first shut down by the authorities.
The Second Reopening
On December 17, 2008 the site reopened once again as a combined eDonkeyEDonkey
eDonkey may refer to:* eDonkey network , a popular file sharing network** eDonkey2000, a discontinued file sharing program that used the eDonkey network...
and BitTorrent site, this time affiliated with The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
which hosts the site and tracks the torrents. The focus is to offer the newest content as torrent files but also keep the library of eD2k links up to date. The current site team has made roughly a third of the site releases. The forums run on backups which dates back to 2002. According to a post by the Sharereactor team and Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
, the site is continuing to grow again. As of July 2010, the forum had been closed without notice, however, it has soon after been reopened.
Closing
As of August 5, 2011; Sharereactor.com has fallen into silence once again. Exactly 10 years after it's initial launch on August 5, 2001.External links
- Website of the Kanton Thurgau Police Department, where the original press release regarding the investigation can be found. Site is entirely in German. Search in "Archiv", put "2004" in the "Jahr" option, "3" in the "Monat" option, and "Medienmeldungen der Kantonspolizei" in the "Rubrik" option, and click "anzeigen". The press release, entitled "Internet-Site vom Netz genommen" can be found by scrolling down through the list of search results to March 16, or "16. März 2004."
- Article in Thurgauer Zeitung showing counter-statement by "Simon Moon's" lawyers in response to the police press release. Dated March 23, 2004, in German.
- SAFE's report on the removal of ShareReactor from the 'net, in German.
- ShareReactor Strikes Back – Story about the reopening of ShareReactor written by Thomas Mennecke
- The Mighty ShareReactor Returns – Now With Added Torrents (from TorrentFreak.com)