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Having been part of the "XviD scene" for many years in the not too distant past, I have to say that the whole angle on this being profit-driven is just... wrong

Having been part of the "XviD scene" for many years in the not too distant past, I have to say that the whole angle on this being profit-driven is just... wrong. NFO-files have been around since the early days of BBS trading in the Amiga scene and the PC scene alike, and the presence of web addresses in these files today doesn't change the reality that people just don't care for reading the NFOs when it comes to audio and video, and the vast majority don't even care when it comes to software unless they absolutely need to check the NFO for instructions on how to apply a crack, a registry key or similar. Furthermore, people don't give a damned about looking for web addresses in the NFOs to find out where to "get more"; they don't need to, they already know where to get their warez. To say that there is anything close to even moderate traffic going to the various groups' ad-laden addresses is a gross, gross exaggeration.

mattmanser 16y ago
The trouble with a declaration like this is that it has no basis in fact, just your own personal experience. I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them. And yet google makes billions off it. Apparently 10% of internet users make up almost all the advert clicks. I would agree that it's even more of a small % for nfo files and txt files in torrents because of the effort of getting to them. It could still easily translate to serious money when you're talking about 75% of the entire torrent ecosystem using only 100 peoples' torrents. I have no facts, but the odd behaviour presented in this article makes me suspect you're actually way off mark as I find it hard to imagine that there is some small group of altruistic French seeders using one ISP who wish to bring the joy of movies and music to everyone for such a massive amount of effort. The more likely explanation, just as presented in the article, is that there's good money to be made as long as you take the operation to scale.
- Goronmon 16y ago
  I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them. And yet google makes billions off it. Apparently 10% of internet users make up almost all the advert clicks. I disagree that NFO files are anything like web ads. Web ads are in your face and surround content you are trying to access at all times. They are more like spam e-mails that show up in your Spam e-mail folder. You have to open that folder to see them, and then decide if you want to click through any links contained inside. Plus, the demographic that is a much more specific demographic than users of the internet as a whole.
- hackermom 16y ago
  "The trouble with a declaration like this is that it has no basis in fact, just your own personal experience. I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them." You're trying to stand the needle on its tip with those assumptions. You're assuming that my experience is that of a simple, casual bystander - a random "torrenter" - despite that I informed that I for many years up until just recently was a part of the video scene. I know the territory, and I know "the people", just like any other seasoned member of any other movement knows their territory. Take my word for it: there isn't good, or even ok'ish money to be made here.
- chris11 16y ago
  While there might be a little money in piracy, I doubt there is any serious money. I think that if you had the ability and talent to set up a popular site dealing with piracy, then it would be much more profitable to do something in some other market. For example, look at the piratebay. I'd say that the TPB has had a huge impact on the world. Any other startup that experienced their growth would be considered widely successful. And it has got the owners no monetary benefits. The Swedish police investigation into the site concluded that TPB made less than $200,000 a year from advertisements and millions in legal fines. So I'd question anyone planning to make money off of piracy.
hippich 16y ago
So, where is profit for groups like XviD?
- hackermom 16y ago
  There isn't any. At best you might be lucky to strike a few bucks taking light payment for leech accounts on FTPs - but this is very, very rare, because nobody needs to pay to get their warez these days. If you are looking to make money in the warez scene, look to the release groups supplying software. That's where money can be made by taking offers to plant malware in software releases - more than a few large groups have been caught red-handed doing this. Pirated software is an incredibly efficient vector for reaching out to masses.
  - aw3c2 16y ago
    more than a few large groups have been caught red-handed doing this References please!
z23z23z23 16y ago
Can't say I always read NFOs, esp. for regularly scheduled broadcasts, but they do lend some confidence and credibility. If I see a bunch of search results, I'll check the one with the NFO first. NFOs are useful for lesser known, possibly out-of-distribution foreign downloads, telling you about audio & subtitle languages. Sometimes bitrate and IMDB links. And they can be funny. I hope NFOs never die.

mattmanser 16y ago

The trouble with a declaration like this is that it has no basis in fact, just your own personal experience. I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them. And yet google makes billions off it. Apparently 10% of internet users make up almost all the advert clicks. I would agree that it's even more of a small % for nfo files and txt files in torrents because of the effort of getting to them. It could still easily translate to serious money when you're talking about 75% of the entire torrent ecosystem using only 100 peoples' torrents. I have no facts, but the odd behaviour presented in this article makes me suspect you're actually way off mark as I find it hard to imagine that there is some small group of altruistic French seeders using one ISP who wish to bring the joy of movies and music to everyone for such a massive amount of effort. The more likely explanation, just as presented in the article, is that there's good money to be made as long as you take the operation to scale.

Goronmon 16y ago
I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them. And yet google makes billions off it. Apparently 10% of internet users make up almost all the advert clicks. I disagree that NFO files are anything like web ads. Web ads are in your face and surround content you are trying to access at all times. They are more like spam e-mails that show up in your Spam e-mail folder. You have to open that folder to see them, and then decide if you want to click through any links contained inside. Plus, the demographic that is a much more specific demographic than users of the internet as a whole.
hackermom 16y ago
"The trouble with a declaration like this is that it has no basis in fact, just your own personal experience. I have never seen anybody click on an ad on a webpage. By your reasoning that means that obviously no-one clicks them." You're trying to stand the needle on its tip with those assumptions. You're assuming that my experience is that of a simple, casual bystander - a random "torrenter" - despite that I informed that I for many years up until just recently was a part of the video scene. I know the territory, and I know "the people", just like any other seasoned member of any other movement knows their territory. Take my word for it: there isn't good, or even ok'ish money to be made here.
chris11 16y ago
While there might be a little money in piracy, I doubt there is any serious money. I think that if you had the ability and talent to set up a popular site dealing with piracy, then it would be much more profitable to do something in some other market. For example, look at the piratebay. I'd say that the TPB has had a huge impact on the world. Any other startup that experienced their growth would be considered widely successful. And it has got the owners no monetary benefits. The Swedish police investigation into the site concluded that TPB made less than $200,000 a year from advertisements and millions in legal fines. So I'd question anyone planning to make money off of piracy.

hippich 16y ago

So, where is profit for groups like XviD?

hackermom 16y ago
There isn't any. At best you might be lucky to strike a few bucks taking light payment for leech accounts on FTPs - but this is very, very rare, because nobody needs to pay to get their warez these days. If you are looking to make money in the warez scene, look to the release groups supplying software. That's where money can be made by taking offers to plant malware in software releases - more than a few large groups have been caught red-handed doing this. Pirated software is an incredibly efficient vector for reaching out to masses.
- aw3c2 16y ago
  more than a few large groups have been caught red-handed doing this References please!

z23z23z23 16y ago

Can't say I always read NFOs, esp. for regularly scheduled broadcasts, but they do lend some confidence and credibility. If I see a bunch of search results, I'll check the one with the NFO first. NFOs are useful for lesser known, possibly out-of-distribution foreign downloads, telling you about audio & subtitle languages. Sometimes bitrate and IMDB links. And they can be funny. I hope NFOs never die.