Anonfiles is shutting down
After trying endlessly for two years to run a file sharing site with user anonymity we have been tired of handling the extreme volumes of people abusing it and the headaches it has created for us. Maybe it is hard to understand but after tens of million uploads and many petabytes later all work of handling abuse was automated through all available channels to be fast as possible. We have auto banned contents of hundreds of thousands files. Banned file names and also banned specific usage patterns connected to abusive material to the point where we did not care if we accidental delete thousands of false positive in this process. Even after all this the high volume of abuse will not stop. This is not the kind of work we imagine when acquiring it and recently our proxy provider shut us down.
This can not continue.
Domain 4sale.
Can’t say I’m surprised that a file sharing site that advertises complete anonymity was being used to spread illegal and I’m guessing disgusting things.
I’m surprised that anyone thought it was a good idea though.
A file sharing site with anonymity is a good idea. The assholes who abuse it is why we can't have good things.
That’s why it’s not a good idea though, because complete anonymity is of course going to be a calling card for the worst of the worst illegal content.
When it says abuse etc it means like actually gross more illegal than pirated content correct. I believe so but am curious.
It's nice to have an ideal and wanting to contribute. Dealing with constant abuse and threat to your physical safety, mental health, financial and legal liability, etc., is not what everyone has in mind at start.
And this goes to Lemmy instance admins too. It's not supposed to be anonymous, but the federated nature makes spreading content with malicious intent very easy.
Yeah, it seems obvious that it would become a haven for CP. Not sure how that was unexpected for OP, but I guess it is sort of sad that there's no actual way to prevent it without aggressive (and probably human) moderation. Very expensive and time-consuming.
Honestly, there are thousands of mods on sites like reddit that don’t get a dime. I ran a business before and burning out with the constant attacks by competitors or straight trolls is a real problem. But it’s also a selfmade problem in a way. Running a business takes its toll and if you don’t start to trust people at some point, you get nowhere. The best idea would have been some kind of leveling system which allows regular users to become mods and so on. (A little more automation than reddit has but you get the gist).