Tweaknews- another recent Highwinds/UNS acquisition

**myself12345** · 01-22-2015, 08:04 PM

Usenetbucket sucks no only are the stupid expensive they don't offer block accounts they also don't allow proxie and if you download too much they can cancel, suspend, or decline to renew service

https://www.usenetbucket.com/en/lega...le-use-policy/

There are other resellers of the same back-end that don't have this stupid rules.

**stuhere** · 01-23-2015, 06:52 AM

i like using supernews

**cardboardbox** · 01-23-2015, 07:24 PM

I ended up buying 3 months of Tweak and 3 months of Usenetbucket, both 10Mbps, for a total of $19.38. I want to figure out something cheaper before my 3 months are up.

So far, I'm able to get more from Tweak than Bucket. Hoping the two combined is enough but a lot of stuff I used to not have problems getting is completely gone from both of them.

**meatball** · 01-24-2015, 10:48 PM

Once the tweaknews/Highwinds transition fully takes effect, Tweak will be a disaster. HW responds to pull down requests in under 60 min now. That coupled with the fact that they are clearly trying to monopolize the industry, it's important as consumers we dont give them out money. Like any other monopoly, once they officially have a stranglehold on the usenet vertical, we're guaranteed that prices will go up, service will get worse and speeds will slow. Plus it's seemingly becoming clear (have no proof of this) that they are in collusion with the big hollywood groups. Those groups flood the smaller independent providers with pull down requests to the point where they can't keep up. They dont have the resources or capital to comply or if they do try, the profit margins dissipate to the point where t's no longer viable to stay in business- which makes them ripe for the picking. Highwinds is in the business of acquiring companies, plain and simple.

**piercerseth** · 01-25-2015, 08:53 AM

That's a nice sentiment, but when 98% of users are unabashed leeches and/or frequent automated indices, it kinda falls on deaf ears. They simply don't give a fuck. HW will consolidate til they're blue in the face, and then folks will be like the Little Red Hen.

**Beck38** · 01-26-2015, 12:13 PM

Quite frankly, it's been so long since I've tripped across anything that's been ('redacted' seems to be the proper term for things DMCA'd perhaps?) due to all the ways folks hide things (without even falling to private encryption schemes) I don't know what to think anymore. The amount of 'stuff' that's still completely 'in the clear' without any obfuscation is still pretty large, with what appears to be no attempt whatsoever in whacking it that I can see.

I used to, when all this started (about when a couple of popular indexing sites went under a few years back) re-post lots of those items that did get nailed, using a obfuscation scheme of my own 'invention', and they are still in existence on the major servers last time I checked (although they may have 'rolled off' of the current indexing sites).

Then again, I don't follow what appeared to be, in the past, the heavy targets (pro-wrestling an p0rn) so who knows. But I think the folks who DO at least some obfuscation have proven that minimal effort does pay off, and I still maintain a 100% record of everything I've ever done is still there, days/weeks/months/years later.

Bottom line is, if folks are seeing their 'work' disappear quickly, then they aren't doing that minimal 'due diligence' in trying to hide it. I'm sure they are relying on 'quick download' schemes instead of using 2nanowatts of brainpower to obfuscate.

**Hypatia** · 01-26-2015, 10:19 PM

Beck38

Once there are only highwinds scums and gigashit left uploading will become almost impossible due to them banning left and right uploaders accounts.

Another thing, I'm pretty sure Highwinds and MAFIA has some sinister plans for usenet. I won't be surprised that once they acquire all available infrastructure they will turn it into something else, probably into "paid content on demand" service.