e621 is no more

[AshleyAshes]

So how exactly did Arcturus choose who to dump the site on? Did he know about Varka's connections? Does he care?

My assumption is quite simple: Varka was the highest bidder with likely no other bidders to compete agianst.  This is the furry fandom, selling out can come pretty cheap afterall.

[rodox_video]

I am learning that Varka quit Baneki immediately after the arrest happened, if not a short while before. He was pretty much only there to run the VPN services, so it's fairly likely that he was not involved in the other, more famous aspects of the Spink operation.

Even if his own hands remained clean, there was a serious lack of good judgement involved here.

[Kindrift]

Varka was already providing bandwidth to the site before this incident happened.  I'm sure it was a pretty obvious and clean decision to hand the rest of it over to him.

There's no reason Arcturus would have known about Varka, beyond the dildos and the assistance he freely gives other furry sites in need.  I also don't find any reason to believe that Varka knew much about Spink.  There doesn't appear to be any conflict of interest, or danger that the servers would get pulled, or even much chance that Varka could find legal trouble over his old connections.

[a pigeon]

I also don't find any reason to believe that Varka knew much about Spink.

This is one thing he's publicly said:

I actually have another business (that's a lot more socially acceptable, well - ish) that might make an interesting case point: VPNTunnel [...] I decided to bite the bullet and just release the damn thing and see if I could get 30 users to make the server pay for itself.

Then I got into contact with a 'competitor' which had everything but a technical solution (including real, proper funding -and the best leader I've ever met, who made $100 million or so in the dot-com boom, lost it all on 9/11, got involved in smuggling and did 2 years for posession of 150ish KG of cocaine, came out the other end a changed man and started a privacy company).... I had the technical solution but no business / tax / financial / management experience, which meant that when we merged the two companies into Baneki, I was in the perfect position to concentrate on what I wanted to do most: manage the technical side of stuff.

I've since learned a whole ton about how business works (Both from practice with bad dragon, and from my involvement in baneki, which has been beyond invaluble)

http://forums.bad-dragon.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=277#p4049

Given that he believed Spink was a "changed man" and called him "the best leader I've ever met" , it could well be he was fooled by him and/or showed bad judgement. Whether Spink ever actually had "proper funding" and made $100 million probably is debatable.
-

I noticed that Dragoneer seems to be getting even more agitated about Varka, directly accusing him of profiting off the back of content theft:

[...] the fandom is so content on jacking content just so they can get it faster artists get burned, and sites like e621 gain in popularity because our society has become more and more content with just ripping off whatever we want.

So Varka will get e621, and I hope to God he changes it with a respect towards artists, but if not, artists really need to stand up for themselves as a whole.

It's hard to say. Varka's been party to this since long before this indecent, and given Bad Dragon advertises/advertised on e621, Rule34 and others, Varka's got no problem capitalizing off of content theft.

http://community.livejournal.com/furrydrama_2/198792.html?thread=16171656#t16171656

[ProvincialTwit]

There's something particularly delicious about furries using almost the exact same language that the RIAA/MPAA/broadcasters have used against Google/Youtube/torrenters.

[Kindrift]

Here's a chatlog, posted to lulz, no confirmation.  It is, regardless, classic Piche.  Bolded for humor.

Allow me to introduce some quotes from a discussion with 'neer, caught on Furnet.

<Dragoneer[AFK]> As an admin I'm obliged to condone IK's actions
<Dragoneer[AFK]> but personally I understand his motivations and respect that.
<Anon> i see. thought you had something against him..
<Dragoneer[AFK]> He's a friend of mine

<Dragoneer[AFK]> I, and many others respect his idea to fight illegal content
<Dragoneer[AFK]> that's what communities are made for. Working together
<Anon> Others like the WYS crew?
<Anon> I'd join these guys
<Dragoneer[AFK]> You welcome!

<Dragoneer[AFK]> Arcturus never was a good admin and never did anything good. Ever.
<Anon> So you prefer to see e621 under the control of a dildo factory?
<Dragoneer[AFK]> What's wrong with that? :)
<Dragoneer[AFK]> more seriously nobody needs e621. This site always encouraged illegal activities, Every FA artist complains about it.
<Dragoneer[AFK]> No age check, incompetent staff.
<Anon> heh yeah. when flaming your mods they could get a fucking mirror.
<Dragoneer[AFK]> :D

<Dragoneer[AFK]> Arc asked for it, good riddance
<Dragoneer[AFK]> we'll have to watch the "new version" anyway.
<Anon> goverments changes, lies remains.

<Dragoneer[AFK]> like ten low ranking artists posting their own shit on e621.
<Anon> Allan reposted his whole gallery too :B
<Dragoneer[AFK]> my bad.. 9
<Dragoneer[AFK]> 99% of the submissions are posted without Artist's consent.

<Anon> it just remains an alt. for when FA crashes.
<Dragoneer[AFK]> Nah
<Dragoneer[AFK]> some can't just wait a few hours without having their dose of furry porn.

<Dragoneer[AFK]> No one wants an alternative to FA. No one needs it, requires personnel and a competent staff.
<Anon> Pedobunny?
<Dragoneer[AFK]> ...to be closed soon
<Anon> oh i see :3
<Dragoneer[AFK]> also, FA's registration is back, guess this answers your question :)

<Dragoneer[AFK]> I'm a WYS member, so what?
<Dragoneer[AFK]> I have the right to be on any community I want, say whatever I want outside FA.
<Dragoneer[AFK]> TBH I could have reported e621's illegal content myself and it would make no difference.
<Anon> yep you're a citizen like evrybody
<Dragoneer[AFK]> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPC-isxrhTs

[LordNagetiere]

I wonder why he thinks inkbunny will be gone soon? Something pulled from his ass or is he organizing something.

[Clayton]

I wonder why he thinks inkbunny will be gone soon? Something pulled from his ass or is he organizing something.

I'm wondering why too....

[Clayton]

The thing I lol about with Varka and this Spink shit is that...
Varka wanted to do live-cast horse dildos. Yes, dildos casted from actual, real, live horses.

So I'm not really surprised if Varka actually knew what Spink did in his animal brothel and just doesn't care. I'm not gonna be surprised either if Varka decides to fuck artists over, seeing as though he was buddybuddy with a gigantic fucking criminal.

[rodox_video]

Dragoneer is really starting to scare me. He's sounding more and more like InsaneKangaroo.

I'd call this a fake, but I'm not sure Lulz is up to doing a fake this good. On the other hand, it's too depressing to not be real.

[sompret]

Dragoneer is really starting to scare me. He's sounding more and more like InsaneKangaroo.

I'd call this a fake, but I'm not sure Lulz is up to doing a fake this good. On the other hand, it's too depressing to not be real.

If that much is what you're implying, what are the chances of IK and Dragoneer being the same person?

[rodox_video]

Zero.

[Spip]

My takeaway from this whole mess is, "Wait...what...e621 has a mascot?!"

[a pigeon]

Dragoneer made a comment on Twitter, saying that the log was fake:

http://twitter.com/Dragoneer/statuses/23069621813

Another day, another set of fake chatlogs floating around.

However I think it was a marvellous impression.

[AshleyAshes]

<Dragoneer[AFK]> As an admin I'm obliged to condone IK's actions
<Dragoneer[AFK]> but personally I understand his motivations and respect that.

Whoever did this doesn't know what the word 'condone' means.

[Sehvekah]

<Dragoneer[AFK]> As an admin I'm obliged to condone IK's actions
<Dragoneer[AFK]> but personally I understand his motivations and respect that.

Whoever did this doesn't know what the word 'condone' means.

True, but I wouldn't put it past, well, anyone on the internet to not know what it means either. Not that this makes things any better, just sayin...

[rodox_video]

It was one of the many things that made it sound really authentic.

It doesn't help that the FA administration leaks like a sieve and bombshells of larger size have been dropped before.

[Kindrift]

It is really impossible to confirm or deny it with what we have right now.  We can't tell if it's real or fake.  Nobody can trust Piche's word on it.  And that's the saddest thing of all.

Pinkuh has painted the FA fanbase as slavering masturbators, this isn't even that obscene.

[rodox_video]

If it is authentic, it's really nothing new. But it's still depressing as fuck.

It's depressing because there's been literally no progress in reducing nasty bickering at the highest levels of the subculture since the 1990s. If anything, it's gotten worse.

[Gunther]

E621.net is back online. I never cared for the drama, just the porn (and occasional clean art when its good enough).