<s>
Topsite	B-Application
is	O
a	O
term	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
warez	B-Application
scene	I-Application
to	O
refer	O
to	O
underground	O
,	O
highly	O
secretive	O
,	O
high-speed	O
FTP	B-Protocol
servers	O
used	O
by	O
release	B-Application
groups	I-Application
and	O
couriers	O
for	O
distribution	O
,	O
storage	O
and	O
archiving	O
of	O
warez	B-Application
releases	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Topsites	B-Application
have	O
very	O
high-bandwidth	O
Internet	O
connections	O
,	O
commonly	O
supporting	O
transfer	O
speeds	O
of	O
hundreds	O
to	O
thousands	O
of	O
megabits	O
per	O
second	O
;	O
enough	O
to	O
transfer	O
a	O
full	O
Blu-ray	O
in	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Topsites	B-Application
also	O
have	O
very	O
high	O
storage	O
capacity	O
;	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
many	O
terabytes	O
is	O
typical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
on	O
these	O
warez	B-Application
sites	O
were	O
mainly	O
distributing	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
games	O
and	O
applications	O
after	O
the	O
release	B-Application
groups	I-Application
removed	O
any	O
protections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
strictly	O
prohibited	O
for	O
sites	O
to	O
charge	O
for	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
content	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
decreased	O
security	O
,	O
and	O
sites	O
found	O
doing	O
so	O
are	O
shunned	O
by	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
their	O
predecessors	O
in	O
the	O
Bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
BBS	B-Application
)	O
scene	O
,	O
topsites	B-Application
are	O
n't	O
advertised	O
broadly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
increased	O
threat	O
of	O
police	O
raids	O
,	O
topsites	B-Application
have	O
been	O
forced	O
to	O
employ	O
elaborate	O
security	O
precautions	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
stay	O
hidden	O
from	O
authorities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
typical	O
topsite	B-Application
configuration	O
will	O
only	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
log	O
in	O
from	O
a	O
certain	O
ident	O
and	O
host	O
(	O
or	O
IP	O
range	O
for	O
users	O
with	O
dynamic	O
IPs	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
SSL	B-Protocol
encapsulation	O
on	O
all	O
FTP	B-Protocol
sessions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FTP	B-Protocol
bouncers	O
are	O
commonly	O
used	O
to	O
hide	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
's	O
real	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
to	O
share	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
load	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
an	O
"	O
official	O
name	O
"	O
,	O
most	O
topsites	B-Application
are	O
also	O
known	O
in	O
the	O
warez	B-Application
scene	I-Application
by	O
an	O
abbreviation	O
that	O
is	O
two	O
or	O
three	O
letters	O
long	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
with	O
the	O
hypothetical	O
name	O
"	O
Blackbox	O
"	O
could	O
be	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
"	O
BBX	O
"	O
and	O
subsequently	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
B**	O
"	O
during	O
an	O
IRC	B-Protocol
conversation	O
between	O
those	O
with	O
knowledge	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Activity	O
on	O
the	O
FTP	B-Protocol
server	O
is	O
announced	O
by	O
a	O
Sitebot	O
in	O
a	O
private	O
IRC	B-Protocol
channel	O
which	O
is	O
usually	O
invite-only	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
receive	O
an	O
invite	O
,	O
users	O
need	O
to	O
issue	O
a	O
command	O
to	O
the	O
FTP	B-Protocol
server	O
after	O
logging	O
in	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
ensures	O
that	O
only	O
those	O
with	O
accounts	O
on	O
the	O
FTP	B-Protocol
have	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sitebots	O
typically	O
run	O
Eggdrop	B-Language
IRC	B-Protocol
bot	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
other	O
common	O
fields	O
include	O
ID3	O
musical	O
genre	O
names	O
(	O
for	O
MP3	B-Application
releases	O
)	O
,	O
sections	O
,	O
and	O
nuke	B-Application
(	O
release	O
rejection	O
)	O
details	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Release	O
databases	O
are	O
maintained	O
to	O
provide	O
release	B-Application
groups	I-Application
with	O
a	O
service	O
for	O
checking	O
existing	O
release	O
titles	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
to	O
avoid	O
duping	O
another	O
group	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
databases	O
contain	O
historical	O
release	O
records	O
dating	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
BBS	B-Application
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
such	O
databases	O
are	O
uncommon	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
completely	O
different	O
release	O
naming	O
method	O
(	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ZIP	B-General_Concept
file	I-General_Concept
descriptor	O
FILE_ID.DIZ	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
name	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
information	O
from	O
this	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Release	O
databases	O
are	O
usually	O
updated	O
by	O
automatic	O
processes	O
that	O
either	O
recurse	O
selected	O
topsites	B-Application
searching	O
for	O
new	O
releases	O
(	O
spidering	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
or	O
catch	O
pre-release	O
announcements	O
from	O
site	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Release	O
databases	O
used	O
by	O
topsites	B-Application
are	O
private	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
public	O
websites	O
exist	O
with	O
similar	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Credit	O
system	O
controls	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
data	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
download	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
uploads	B-Application
a	O
file	O
,	O
their	O
account	O
is	O
credited	O
for	O
an	O
amount	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
uploaded	B-Application
file	O
size	O
,	O
commonly	O
multiplied	O
three	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
when	O
a	O
user	O
uploads	B-Application
a	O
15MB	O
file	O
,	O
they	O
may	O
receive	O
45MB	O
credits	O
in	O
return	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Credits	O
can	O
be	O
later	O
used	O
to	O
download	B-Application
files	O
from	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Credits	O
can	O
be	O
lost	O
by	O
uploading	B-Application
a	O
bad	O
release	O
that	O
gets	O
nuked	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nuke	B-Application
multiplier	O
affects	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
lost	O
credits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nukes	B-Application
can	O
be	O
either	O
site	O
nukes	B-Application
(	O
local	O
)	O
or	O
scene	O
nukes	B-Application
(	O
global	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Site	O
nukes	B-Application
are	O
issued	O
when	O
a	O
release	O
that	O
is	O
uploaded	B-Application
to	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
violates	O
site	O
rules	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
'	O
No	O
VLS	O
 '	O
for	O
the	O
MP3	B-Application
section	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
common	O
site	O
nuke	B-Application
is	O
for	O
backfilling	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
uploading	B-Application
something	O
after	O
a	O
specific	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
has	O
elapsed	O
from	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
release	O
,	O
usually	O
5	O
to	O
15	O
minutes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
the	O
nuke	B-Application
multiplier	O
for	O
a	O
site	O
nuke	B-Application
is	O
at	O
least	O
3x	O
,	O
where	O
all	O
couriers	O
responsible	O
for	O
racing	O
the	O
bad	O
release	O
will	O
lose	O
3x	O
the	O
credits	O
they	O
gained	O
uploading	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
nukes	B-Application
will	O
not	O
be	O
echoed	O
out	O
to	O
pre	O
channels	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
only	O
affect	O
the	O
local	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scene	O
nukes	B-Application
are	O
nukes	B-Application
which	O
are	O
echoed	O
out	O
to	O
pre	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scene	O
nukes	B-Application
usually	O
occur	O
when	O
a	O
release	O
violates	O
scene	O
rules	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
wrong	O
encoder	O
,	O
or	O
when	O
the	O
release	O
is	O
outright	O
bad	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
out	O
of	O
sync	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nuke	B-Application
multiplier	O
for	O
scene	O
nuke	B-Application
on	O
topsites	B-Application
is	O
usually	O
1x	O
;	O
all	O
the	O
couriers	O
lose	O
all	O
credits	O
gained	O
uploading	B-Application
the	O
release	O
and	O
break	O
even	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
warez	B-Application
group	I-Application
may	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
as	O
an	O
affiliate	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
affil	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
thus	O
making	O
the	O
site	O
among	O
the	O
group	O
's	O
primary	O
distribution	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affiliation	O
benefits	O
the	O
warez	B-Application
group	I-Application
as	O
the	O
site	O
will	O
grant	O
a	O
certain	O
number	O
of	O
leech	O
accounts	O
to	O
the	O
group	O
(	O
the	O
number	O
usually	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
reputation	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
site	O
benefits	O
by	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
sites	O
that	O
has	O
first	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
releases	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
,	O
thus	O
improving	O
its	O
own	O
reputation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
groups	O
will	O
affiliate	O
with	O
several	O
topsites	B-Application
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
maximize	O
efficient	O
distribution	O
by	O
couriers	O
to	O
other	O
(	O
non-affiliated	O
)	O
topsites	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
group	O
will	O
choose	O
topsites	B-Application
based	O
on	O
geographical	O
location	O
,	O
mostly	O
by	O
country	O
but	O
sometimes	O
by	O
region	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Northern	O
Europe	O
or	O
Western	O
US	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Topsites	B-Application
may	O
have	O
any	O
number	O
of	O
affiliates	O
,	O
and	O
commonly	O
advertise	O
them	O
in	O
the	O
welcome	O
message	O
to	O
indicate	O
to	O
its	O
users	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
exclusive	O
topsites	B-Application
will	O
avoid	O
affiliating	O
with	O
an	O
excessive	O
number	O
of	O
groups	O
for	O
security	O
purposes	O
and	O
also	O
to	O
maintain	O
adequate	O
network	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Topsites	B-Application
may	O
also	O
remove	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
drop	O
"	O
)	O
affiliates	O
for	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
reasons	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
productivity	O
of	O
the	O
release	O
group	O
,	O
conflict	O
between	O
the	O
site	O
operator	O
and	O
the	O
group	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
group	O
's	O
decision	O
to	O
affiliate	O
with	O
another	O
topsite	B-Application
in	O
the	O
same	O
geographical	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
affiliate	O
has	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
private	O
,	O
hidden	O
directory	B-Application
on	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
directory	B-Application
is	O
used	O
for	O
uploading	B-Application
new	O
releases	O
before	O
they	O
are	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
new	O
release	O
has	O
finished	O
uploading	B-Application
on	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
's	O
sites	O
,	O
a	O
command	O
is	O
executed	O
to	O
simultaneously	O
copy	O
it	O
into	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
accessible	O
by	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
trigger	O
an	O
announcement	O
in	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
IRC	B-Protocol
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
warez	B-Application
scene	I-Application
relies	O
on	O
strict	O
release	O
standards	B-Application
,	O
or	O
rules	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
written	O
and	O
signed	O
by	O
various	O
warez	B-Application
groups	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Couriers	O
are	O
a	O
specific	O
class	O
of	O
topsite	B-Application
users	O
who	O
earn	O
their	O
access	O
by	O
uploading	B-Application
new	O
releases	O
and	O
filling	O
requests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
courier	O
gains	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
,	O
they	O
are	O
often	O
required	O
to	O
pass	O
a	O
trial	O
test	O
such	O
as	O
uploading	B-Application
a	O
certain	O
amount	O
in	O
a	O
short	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Couriers	O
compete	O
(	O
race	O
)	O
against	O
each	O
other	O
for	O
respect	O
,	O
credits	O
,	O
access	O
to	O
other	O
topsites	B-Application
,	O
and	O
fun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
site	O
or	O
system	O
operator	O
(	O
siteop/sysop	O
)	O
is	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
the	O
day-to-day	O
operation	O
of	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
have	O
full	O
(	O
root	B-Application
)	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
server	O
and	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
manage	O
users	O
,	O
groups	O
,	O
and	O
topsite	B-Application
scripts	O
and	O
daemons	B-Operating_System
installed	O
on	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TV	O
Rips	O
,	O
XviD	B-Algorithm
movies	O
,	O
MP3	B-Application
music	I-Application
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
these	O
sites	O
are	O
protected	O
with	O
technologically	O
advanced	O
schemes	O
,	O
law	O
enforcement	O
operations	O
such	O
as	O
Operation	B-Application
Buccaneer	I-Application
(	O
December	O
2001	O
)	O
and	O
Operation	O
Fastlink	O
(	O
April	O
2004	O
)	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
and	O
shut	O
down	O
sites	O
by	O
infiltrating	O
the	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
groups	O
that	O
operate	O
on	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
DrinkOrDie	B-Application
was	O
busted	O
during	O
Operation	B-Application
Buccaneer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
Operation	B-Application
Site	I-Application
Down	I-Application
was	O
the	O
latest	O
significant	O
law-enforcement	O
attack	O
on	O
the	O
warez	B-Application
scene	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
Dutch	O
anti-piracy	O
organization	O
BREIN	O
claimed	O
their	O
first	O
shutdown	O
of	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
,	O
MadBiker	O
(	O
MB	O
)	O
,	O
after	O
infiltrating	O
the	O
closed	O
user	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
years	O
later	O
,	O
on	O
November	O
26	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
Brein	O
got	O
the	O
ftp	B-Protocol
servers	O
of	O
the	O
'	O
topsite	B-Application
 '	O
TV	O
Land	O
(	O
TVL	O
)	O
seized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
3	O
gigabit	O
drFTPd	O
site	O
without	O
affils	O
offered	O
45TB	O
of	O
content	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
topsites	B-Application
ever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brein	O
suggests	O
there	O
are	O
hundreds	O
of	O
topsites	B-Application
worldwide	O
,	O
of	O
which	O
two	O
thirds	O
are	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
administrator	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
would	O
also	O
sell	O
download	B-Application
accounts	O
with	O
a	O
limit	O
of	O
400GB	O
for	O
40	O
euro	O
a	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rumours	O
said	O
the	O
shutdown	O
was	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
raid	O
on	O
topsite	B-Application
LOOP	O
two	O
days	O
earlier	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
(	O
supposedly	O
)	O
one	O
of	O
SceneTorrent	O
's	O
main	O
content	O
provider	O
according	O
to	O
insiders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
rumors	O
said	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
a	O
planned	O
operation	O
unrelated	O
to	O
the	O
topsite	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
27	O
,	O
Brein	O
got	O
the	O
ranked	O
topsite	B-Application
LOOP	O
taken	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
16	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
less	O
than	O
a	O
month	O
after	O
TV	O
Land	O
,	O
Brein	O
took	O
down	O
yet	O
another	O
topsite	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sparta	O
had	O
65TB	O
of	O
content	O
,	O
so	O
Brein	O
could	O
claim	O
again	O
to	O
have	O
taken	O
down	O
the	O
largest	O
topsite	B-Application
ever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apparently	O
,	O
an	O
international	O
syndicate	O
for	O
unauthorized	O
distribution	O
used	O
a	O
topsite	B-Application
to	O
download	B-Application
and	O
then	O
distribute	O
copyright-infringing	O
items	O
such	O
as	O
movies	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
computer	O
programs	O
and	O
video	O
game	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
Dutch	O
anti-piracy	O
organization	O
BREIN	O
claimed	O
to	O
have	O
taken	O
down	O
their	O
largest	O
topsite	B-Application
ever	O
:	O
Swan	O
(	O
previously	O
known	O
as	O
ATS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
software	O
that	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
run	O
topsites	B-Application
.	O
</s>
