Neowin shut down by Microsoft

http://www.huggybeer.com/article.php?story=20030307081548449
from WinCustomize Forums
Neowin.net was just shut down by a Microsoft 'cease and desist' letter. According to The Register the letter relates to an item published by Neowin concerning a Microsoft peer-to-peer SDK. "In simple terms," a Neowin source told The Register, "Microsoft scared our server host."

It's not clear to us whether Microsoft's objection was to something published on Neowin, to something published elsewhere that Neowin directed people to, or even to a direction to a direction to somewhere elsewhere (take-down avoidance can involve a whole heap of nesting).

Neowin is a great site that's really made a big splash in the last year or so. I sure hope the gang over there gets everything back up again!
12,448 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I enjoy neowin, but some of the things they post on their site should not be posted, such as beta's of direct x or the peer to peer. Thats why microsoft has the beta testers, there is no reason to publically allow people to download these builds.
Hopefully they will learn their lesson from all this.
Don't get me wrong I love the site but they go to far sometimes.
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I can't even pull up the site. what kind of host is this?
choose another host.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
According to The Register, they're in the process of looking for a new host.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
thats odd

"Hello Brian,

We've experienced a few hiccups with our recent server reconfiguration but it should be smoothing itself out.

Regards,"

thats what I got when I emailed invision services. They really went out of their way to host Neowin, its hard to believe they would just give them the boot.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i really cant understand why neowin would be shut down. Theyre by far one of the better tech sites out there, and they certaintly follow the 'rules' better than most out there. Grief, some of Neowins affiliates alone commonly post links to questionable software downloads regularly
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Screw invision. They could have kindly said "Please take down the Microsoft peer-to-peer SDK item because of legal issues." But NO.. invision takes them down intirely.
Screw MS too. They don't have the balls to confront the problem from the sorce, instead, they cut the intire lifeline for the site.. its server.

Sigh, I guess when your rich, you can do anything..
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
lol @ joetheblow

the news post is about Neowin being shut down - of course you can't access the site!
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
neowin has a note on the site now about the whole ordeal.

"Yesterday at 12am GMT Neowin was taken offline when our provider received a "Demand for Immediate Takedown" order from a Microsoft contracted company that investigates illegal activity on the Internet for Microsoft. The email was sent to the provider and not to the Server admins that lease the server, IPS or Neowin -its fair to say this went 3 levels above our heads and 2 above IPS.

Neowin and IPS did not have the chance to remove the said content before the provider deleted (access to) the contents of the server without contacting Neowin or IPS. Charles received a copy of the email that Microsoft sent and we can confirm it was a standard "remove content" email that did not warrant a total shutdown.

At the moment we are awaiting a response from the Server provider who at this moment does not seem to understand the extent of this action. We are confident that Microsoft are happy with the removal of the reported post and we have spoken to Microsoft UK who have been willing to investigate the nature of this report. Several sites including ZDNet and Activewin have shown some support and we thank them for informing our userbase of this problem that is as of yet unresolved. "

sounds like it was invision directly, just some ignoramous who jumped the gun. Im sorry to hear that neowin posted some questionable material of this sort, hopefully the admin who mosted it will learn his lesson.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
You have to understand that the only thing microsoft does not like @ neowin is the fact the they post info on how to get EXCLUSIVE beta builds. But otherwise, MS finds neowin to be very useful, and MS will NOT shutdown useful sites without reason.
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Slashdot and OS news do it too. And if they get notified also, you can alwase go on IRC and find exclusive beta builds out the ying yang.