**-* is MIA

[AfterMidnight]

**-* is MIA

Hidden amongst the precious stones of the high-level trackers, there exists a class of trackers so secretive that even to breathe their name could result in the wrath of a moderator. Sites such as F*** and **-* are highly desired because of their security, content, and pre-times. Sadly, **-*, one of the torrent world's crown jewels has gone missing in action. Attempts at accessing their website fail; and even an IP traceroute stops dead at its ISP. Just what has happened to this gem?

Read on...

[AfterMidnight]

**-* is MIA

Hidden amongst the precious stones of the high-level trackers, there exists a class of trackers so secretive that even to breathe their name could result in the wrath of a moderator. Sites such as F*** and **-* are highly desired because of their security, content, and pre-times. Sadly, **-*, one of the torrent world's crown jewels has gone missing in action. Attempts at accessing their website fail; and even an IP traceroute stops dead at its ISP. Just what has happened to this gem?

For years, known as one of the most secretive trackers, **-* served up rare content, decent 0 day (or before) releases, and a tight-knit community of users. In the last few days, that has changed dramatically. On or about October 22, 2009, users found themselves unable to log in or even access **-*.

LeaseWeb, **-*'s internet provider, hosts or has hosted Waffles, What.cd, Demonoid, and a number of other trackers. It had long been considered a safe haven for torrent trackers. However, in the past few years, LeaseWeb has been under attack from the Dutch government and BREIN. Several trackers have been shut down or forced to move.

In a 2007 email sent to several trackers, LeaseWeb states: In a recent case at the Amsterdam District Court, LeaseWeb was ordered to take down such sites. … LeaseWeb regrettable [sic] has no choice but to obey the court order and take down sites that list (bittorrent/edonkey) files. Again in 2007, LeaseWeb was forced by the Dutch courts to hand over the personal information for the site owners of Araditracker, BitHQ and PeerPortal.

Where does that leave **-*? At this point, details are sketchy at best. Deep underground rumor suggests that the site may be rebuilt under a new name and in a new country. There is a small chance that some users may be invited back, but not all. Again details are sketchy. **-* members will neither deny nor confirm any of the information contained here.

As **-* has a rather secretive community, don’t expect too many additional details to come up. But if they do, we’ll keep you informed.

We here at T-I wish **-* and its members the best of luck in these troubling times.
__________________________________________________
LeaseWeb quote attributed to TorrentFreak.com
Thanks go out to the people who helped me with this article. You know who you are.

[Majid]

Thanks AfterMidnight for this great article, i and many members love reading the articles you write and appreciate all your work and time. Thanks for keeping me informed of the latest news.

[JustJenna]

Excellent article and fun to read. We're loving having you as our newest addition to the T-I team. Keep it up!

[AfterMidnight]

For those who have asked, please follow this link to the tracker review for **-*.

AM

[dontdothat]

MIA is a girl friend of need for speed most wanted.

[gajiroton]

Great article.Keep up the good work!

[whofarted]

Wow that was top notch! How do you get the info AM?

[AfterMidnight]

Step 1: Get a Story Idea
Step 2: Google <Story Idea>
Step 3: Search forums <Story Idea>
Step 4: Send some PM's to your contacts, hoping they'll tell you someone else to contact
Step 5: Wait. and Hope people will trust you with inside information.
Step 6: Write article.

All in all, a very simple process. *Laughs* Not simple at all. It would sadden you to know how much time I put in this. But, in this case, I think the effort paid off.

[whofarted]

It did and it does so keep it up.

[kat]

well dude this is a great article, that every torrent lover would like to read carefully !
I personally enjoyed every row of it. Good job dude !

[Jellyfish]

I remember 2 years ago I wanted to get to some DVD-R only private torrent tracker, people said it's impossible to get there, I desired it so much even was willing to buy invite(shame on me), and... one day they just opened registration for a few hours... What did I find in there? Bunch of staff chatting in forums, almost no community, DVD-R releases I could find on any 0-day tracker... Nothing special or unique, almost impossible to seed, lots of dead torrents(no one cared to clean up). It felt like all torrents were running on one huge seedbox and members could survive there only by donations.

Just because it's hard to get there, it doesn't mean it is a great torrent tracker. I'd rather wait 2-4 hours to get stuff on other trackers who have slower pre times, instead of wanking while looking on that "super rare" tracker login page. And people who really are crazy about releases timing, have Usenet subscriptions and get stuff on secret channels, no torrent trackers can compete with that(unless they have direct agreements with scene/p2p groups).

ethicksedit: you are straight up retarded and don't have a clue what you are talking about.
/endedit

[adb]

Um, AfterMidnight... UK-T Shut Down For Good, Database Deleted | TorrentFreak

=)

[AfterMidnight]

Good catch. It looks like TF is willing to air some dirty laundry that I was not. However, I can't confirm or deny that **-* will never come back. Check out andrewthecoder's link if you haven't already. It's a good read. I still believe that some pressure from the Dutch government played a role. This may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

[kevdogg]

ethicksedit: you are straight up retarded and don't have a clue what you are talking about.

/endedit

Lmao.

Jellyfish you might be right that they are some trackers that have alot of hype and people desire alot and then turn out not to be that great *cough*....G*T...*cough* but this one is not anything short of amazing and had stuff that could not be found at other trackers. Speed was not the best but security and rarity were at the top.