For once I agree with you...sort of. While What was indisputably unparalleled in it's repertoire, it was also unparalleled in everything else it offered. The Gazelle format was above and beyond anything any other site offered. Thankfully that code has been shared in numerous places online as a template. But even if someone decides to use it and create a genuine replacement for What, they are unlikely to be as level-headed and easy going as the previous staffers. The Oink approach to running a tracker was awful. Oink shut down with only around 200K torrents whereas What had more than ten times that with over 2 million. It really was a friendly place with a great community feel. The user-focused approach is clearly the correct one. Something will come along again, but it won't be another What.Originally Posted by Quarterquack
I don't think so. I don't even think we'll have anything in the vein of What again. Today's climate with streaming, with overzealous copyright claims, and with the general filesharing apathy (most people would much rather be passive endpoints for the data ditribution) make it unlikely a startup website today will be anywhere as successful or comprehensive. Someone will try surely, but I wouldn't be so quick to jump on that ship.
For what it's worth, What proved that semi-open access was its greatest strength and I'm sure anyone who comes along to try and get the next best thing rolling will know that. There's no fear of missing out. But we need to change and evolve how we interact with the law and the technology. We can't keep using systems developed in the early 2000s forever.
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