Little Elephant: back again
p2p news view / p2pnet:- A new BitTorrent tracker, based on SuprNova.org’s software has been opened at www.newnova.org.
Looks like Andrej Preston, aka Sloncek (Little Elephant), late of SuprNova, has done it again.
Last time it was the infamous eXeem when he was accused of selling out the p2p community for the money Swarm Systems paid him to endorse their product.
More recently, Preston seems started a ‘news’ site that looks like the late SuprNova and bears a similar name. No doubt he’s hoping everyone will magically forget that he:
- A: Closed Suprnova.org
- B: Backed spyware supported eXeem
- C: Made suprnova.org advertise for eXeem to con lots of newbies into using eXeem, which then was accompanied by Cydor spyware
The spyware was later removed, but the damage was already done: Little Elephant had made it clear why he was in the market. For money.
Now there’s a new story on www.SuprNova.org, which was recently re-opened as a news and forum site. A friend of Sloncek’s asked him to get the SuprNova source code, in exchange for paying for SuprNova’s hosting for three months. This friend has, according to Slon, a number of failed torrent sites behind him, and was unable to write a usable tracker himself.
"[the new owner] has always wanted to run a website like SuprNova.org and he tried making few torrent websites (which I will not name), but he never really managed to get the user base, simply because he lacked the designer skills," Sloncek says on SuprNova.org.
He was given SuprNova’s source code, which he modified, since it actually did work, something which is a completely new concept for the owner of NewNova ;P
There’s no innovation involved, so it’s clear why this individual wants to run a torrent tracker – advertising revenue.
Conclusion: NewNova.org – About as New As A Fossil
DaBlade – Linux P2P
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October 8th, 2005 at 1:43 pm
i’m not convinced this is bad. i think it’s a good thing, actually.
i don’t care much for sloncek, but having this new site is good.
i always liked the layout and ease of use of supernova pages. as a dump site, it worked very well and one didn’t have to register.
since suprnova left last year, many other sites have come and gone. unfortunately, a lot more elitist, ratio tracking, so-called “private trackers” have some online. fortunately, quite a lot of them have also failed and several good open ones have emerged, but some of the good ones have difficult-to-use pages, or don’t work properly sometimes when traffic is heavy.
if a person(s) want to run a tracker, they must surely be aware that it costs money. and having an elitist attitude, begging – or requiring! – “donations” does nothing but perpetuate the myth that people are making money from filesharing. if one wants to run a tracker, they should be prepared to pay for it themselves, or else don’t run a tracker.
so what if sloncek “sold” his source code for 3 months’ server costs? at least he did something honest to help bring back a working “nova” site.
but i just don’t understand why he had to sell it. there are a few scam websites that seem to use the code. did sloncek sell it to them last year when they popped up? or was it available to everyone at that time?
if the code was already available, why would the new owner want to offer to pay for sloncek’s soon-to-fail suprnova resurrection in exchange for the code? it smells a little fishy – just a little – like sloncek could still be involved somewhere in the background…
…but i won’t emphasise this theory. i have no proof, nor am i saying that anything underhanded is going on (again). it just sounds a little strange.
anyway, i AM glad to have this newnova online and i hope it becomes very popular. so whoever the mystery person is, i wish him luck.
October 8th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
“but i just don’t understand why he had to sell it. there are a few scam websites that seem to use the code. did sloncek sell it to them last year when they popped up? or was it available to everyone at that time? ”
One thing many P2P supporters have been saying is that,
“If we like it and find it useful, we WILL pay for it”
Doesn’t sound like he HAD to sell it, it sounds like the other party wanted to do the “right” thing and offered to pay for something they knew was of use to them.
Not trying to be argumentative catflap.
I’m just try not to see a conspiracy under every rock within our own ranks, so to speak.
( PS .. also thinks this is a good thing )
Dreddsnik
Boycott-RIAA.com
October 8th, 2005 at 3:12 pm
i know. i agree. it’s nice to have an easy, familiar face back on the scene.
i don’t say it’s a conspiracy. it’s just that this story doesn’t have a lot of details. but the story on slyck does provide a bit more, saying that sloncek will probably be involved, in regards to future coding, but isn’t involved in the admin or ownership aspects.
i think sloncek has a hella lot to answer for, and perhaps this might help repair some of the damage to his rep. he lost a lot of streetcred, and trading the code is a good first step.
i just hope that his new forums don’t become the forums for newnova.
so, no conspiracy that i can see…i just would like to know more. p2pers have been burned by sloncek, loki and others. they quickly suss out frauds and scams. loyalty is earned – not traded.
just as in show business, you’re only as good as your last project.
good luck to newnova. i’m looking forward to using it.
October 9th, 2005 at 3:01 am
This is good news, but it’s best to let the masses decide. We won’t know how this will turn out unless it is tried and tested. Either way, I never look down my fellow-man (or woman) who have/had the guts to stand up to the RIAA / MPAA.
Long live Bit Torrent!!!!
October 9th, 2005 at 7:24 am
Im glad that it is sort of back but the name NewNova kind of sucks. It should be SuprNova or nothing. Might as well just use mininova. It is sort of cool to see the old layout. Seeing SN was my first intro into torrents. As far as Suprnova forums being the new Newnova torrents i have mixed views on that. It would be great as then i wouldnt have to be on another forum but I dotn want to be on another forum if they were seperate. And by trading the hosting for Suprnova for 3 months in exchange for the source code. I would have thought the source code would be woprth more then that. And why would the Newnova owners just sell off that source code or give it away?
And as far as Slon and Loki being in the same sentance. I dont think they should be. Slon closed down SN for his own reasons and tried to do something still with torrents. True he made a bad choice in some peoples eyes. But im sure he knows that. Where has Loki (or is it Lowkee i always forget) gone, havent seen or heard from him and i dont think he has said anything about the donations and stuff.
And I think alot of people forget how old Slon is, I think he can make a few mistakes before he becomes an adult (Which I think he is just becoming one lol)
Anyways good luck to both SN and NN in their own ways!
October 12th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
I guess some people will never learn.
Why is it that people are always confusing those sites with real trackers? Sites like that come a dime a dozen. But hey let’s hear it for the spyware promoting, donation begging, pop-up banner advertising money grabbers amongst them that disappear when they get caught screwing people over!
And I hate to break the news to you catflap but there are people making money out of file sharing. No myth…and you’re even cheering them on here. Sounds a bit like a double standard to me, just because you don’t have to sign up? Get real.
Here’s an idea: let’s bring loki back as well, how about newloki? Then we can all cheer about that too. I hope newnova becomes as big a success as the talentless wannabee mystery person’s previous enterprises.