Student operator shuts down DC++ file sharing server

The largest campus-wide file-sharing server run by a student — Direct Connect, or DC++ — has been shut down by one of its operators.

The student operator, who declined to be named because of fears about legal ramification, said he and several other students had been operating DC++ for about a year when he was contacted Nov. 22 by the University regarding the server. The student's name could not be confirmed through official sources.

"The site came to the attention of the Office of Information Technology and was discussed with the student to ensure it was not being used for illicit purposes," Eric Quinones, a University media relations officer, said in an email. "He was never instructed to take down the site, and it's our understanding he did so on his own."

The student operator confirmed this report, saying that OIT "didn't tell me that I had to do anything, just wanted to let me know that they were aware."

While he did not believe his own actions to be illegal, he shut down the server Nov. 27 because the situation had gotten "to the point where it was kind of hard to look the other way" when DC++ patrons abused the server, he said.

He explained that the server allowed users to share many different types of files, including both audio and video files, much as file sharing occurs legally through the University's network.

However, DC++ did open up the possibility for illegal file sharing, though the student said he did not operate the server to facilitate illicit activity.

The server never had over 100 people connected at a time, he estimated.

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"It was a chat service that gave people . . . the ability to share files with each other if they so chose, but the basic function was a chatroom," the student said. "If people wanted to share files they didn't have the legal right to share, it was their interest, not mine."

According to the student, the server also included a disclaimer that aimed to separate him and the rest of its operators from any illegal activity associated with the website's users.

The student explained that he wasn't upset at the "piggybacking" DC++ users. "At the same time, I wasn't going to stick my neck out for people that I didn't know," he said. "I'm not trying to be some kind of intellectual property martyr."

The student said he made the decision to shut down the server to protect himself against any potential legal action."The moment that it was brought to my attention that my actions could have been questionable, I turned it off," he said.