File-Sharing Icon RapidShare Shuts Down
 

RapidShare, once the most popular file-hosting service in the Internet, has announced that it will shut down next month. The company doesn't cite a reason for the surprising shutdown, but losing the majority of its users in recent years after the implementation of tough anti-piracy measures is likely to be connected.

rapidsharelogoFounded in 2002, Swiss-based RapidShare was one of the first and most popular one-click file-hosting services on the Internet.

Like most sites of this nature, RapidShare was frequently used by people to share copyright-infringing material. It was a relationship that got the company into trouble on various occasions.

RapidShare fought many legal battles with entertainment companies seeking to hold the company liable for the actions of its users, and to top it off the site was called out by the U.S. Government as a “notorious market.”

Hoping to clear up its image the company made tremendous efforts to cooperate with copyright holders and limit copyright infringements. Among other things, the company adopted one of the most restrictive sharing policies while (re)branding itself as a personal cloud storage service.

The anti-piracy measures seemed to work, but as a result RapidShare’s visitor numbers plunged. The dwindling revenues eventually cost most of RapidShare’s employees their jobs.

Today marks the beginning of the final chapter in RapidShare’s controversial history. The company just announced that it will shut down at the end of March and is recommending that users store their files elsewhere.

Re: File-Sharing Icon RapidShare Shuts Down
 

i saw this online last nite and i'll say the same thing i said on there, honestly i had no idea they were even still around! after they stopped i believe letting you be a free user

all the sites i go to anyways, stopping posting links and all the links went dead, so i haven't seen any site use RS in months. has anyone? i wonder if anyone was even still paying to use it? some sites i belong to i think even BANNED RS links as well, well they don't need to anymore since they are closing. and what's honestly nice is i think it was they screwed themselves over. and not the MPAA or RIAA.

you can of course correct me if i'm wrong by the way

Re: File-Sharing Icon RapidShare Shuts Down
 

Ya know this is my bad.....When I saw this and posted it I had rapidgator on my mind which ain't saying much these days. My apology for posting on this subject. You are very correct in you assessment.

Re: File-Sharing Icon RapidShare Shuts Down
 

i re-read the post and i think you did fine friend. you may have had rapidgator on the mind but you didn't add it in anything in your thread. it was about the correct subject. and so i don't think a apology is needed. i can't answer for anyone else but that's my feelings about it. also i see this is posted on various sites i belong to now,

so i have a feeling if you hadn't posted it someone else would have.