RAPIDSHARE WEB SITE

[cavi]

is this rapidshare web site legit or is it a scam?

[staticradar]

rapidshare is a place like megaupload or sendspace that people use to host files, but only download from people you know or trust because they can upload anything and name it whatever they want.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by cavi

is this rapidshare web site legit or is it a scam?

As far as I understand it, it is legit in the sense that people upload their documents to it. What's not legit is using search engines that point to links on Rapidshare that then allow you to download those files - unless the uploader has copyright and has given you permission of course.

[rcuadro]

It is legit...

[Elfwreck]

Rapidshare itself is legit: it's a file upload/storage site. A lot of people use it to transmit large files to friends--for example, big collections of digital wedding photos, or scans of their thesis papers.

The *contents* of the files on Rapidshare may or may not be legally uploaded, just like any other website. For example, someone could come here to Mobileread and post chapters of Harry Potter books into one of the forums. That wouldn't make Mobileread less legitimate, but it would make those posts troublesome--and they'd be deleted, because the mods at Mobileread pay attention to that kind of thing.

There are no moderators checking new Rapidshare uploads to make sure they're mostly within the bounds of copyright law, so there are a lot of files on Rapidshare that are copyrighted material posted without permission. And there are viruses and other troublesome files, named the same as legitimate files. (Just because the file says it's a Harry Potter ebook, doesn't mean it's not a disc-eating virus.)

Rapidshare: legit. Contents: download and use at your own risk.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by TGS

As far as I understand it, it is legit in the sense that people upload their documents to it. What's not legit is using search engines that point to links on Rapidshare that then allow you to download those files - unless the uploader has copyright and has given you permission of course.

You do not need any permission. If the uploader have made the file publicly available (as in found by a search engine) then you do not need any permission.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by tompe

You do not need any permission. If the uploader have made the file publicly available (as in found by a search engine) then you do not need any permission.

What I meant was what the previous poster mentioned, there are lots of files on there that the uploader has no right to be distributing, and downloading those files is not legit. Of course, if someone has put files up there that they own the copyright to, or where no copyright exists, both the uploading and the downloading are legit.

[MrBlueSky]

Originally Posted by TGS

What I meant was what the previous poster mentioned, there are lots of files on there that the uploader has no right to be distributing, and downloading those files is not legit. Of course, if someone has put files up there that they own the copyright to, or where no copyright exists, both the uploading and the downloading are legit.

How am I supposed to know who the poster with the avatar "MR.DARKNET' is?

Authors often use pseudonyms

[TGS]

Originally Posted by MrBlueSky

How am I supposed to know who the poster with the avatar "MR.DARKNET' is?

Authors often use pseudonyms

Of course, that's right - ignorance is bliss - but unfortunately no defence if you get busted!

[K-Thom]

If it's a file which is usually published elsewhere for free, on the author's site or that of the publisher or any (legal) eBook-site, you may consider this file to be legally distributed.

If it's not, ignorance won't help you, since you have to most informative media at hand: the Internet, to do a quick search before you download.

[MrBlueSky]

Originally Posted by TGS

Of course, that's right - ignorance is bliss - but unfortunately no defence if you get busted!

You can't get busted for downloading — only uploading.

My point was, that you can't know just exactly WHO, is the uploader, whether the file is creative commons or not or even whether the book is a virally released promotional copy by the publisher/author themselves.

And no, it's not my job to 'research' each and every link on the internet for authenticity. The whole point of the internet is to instantly access information at the click of a button.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by MrBlueSky

You can't get busted for downloading — only uploading..

I'm sure all the people who were prosecuted for illegally downloading music will be happy to hear that.

[clarknova]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I'm sure all the people who were prosecuted for illegally downloading music will be happy to hear that.

I believe all of people who have been convicted for such crimes were "sharing" music by using p2p protocols where they were both downloading and uploading.

[weateallthepies]

Originally Posted by MrBlueSky

You can't get busted for downloading — only uploading.

My point was, that you can't know just exactly WHO, is the uploader, whether the file is creative commons or not or even whether the book is a virally released promotional copy by the publisher/author themselves.

And no, it's not my job to 'research' each and every link on the internet for authenticity. The whole point of the internet is to instantly access information at the click of a button.

It's not that you can't get busted, more that it's a lot harder as to track downloads requires effectively monitoring people's connections which would require ISP cooperation and legal permission.

Catching p2p/torrents is so much easier since you basically broadcast your IP to anyone who connects so anyone can just log IPs and contact ISPs.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I'm sure all the people who were prosecuted for illegally downloading music will be happy to hear that.

You are comparing apples to Tuesday.