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TorrentReactor Buys Town, Gives It Free Internet

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

TorrentReactor has "purchased" a Russian village.

TorrentReactor.net, supposedly one of the biggest torrent sites on the Internet, has apparently purchased a small village in Russia for $148,000 and re-named it as TorrentReactor. The site administrators claim that the purchase wasn't a promotional stunt, but rather a way to reach out and provide help "to at least one single village."

Originally called Gar, the village was established in 1958 by the Old Believers, a religious movement of the Russian Orthodox Church. Currently only 214 citizens reside in the forgotten, desolate village--their only means of survival is to sell home-grown vegetables in a nearby town. The average income per villager is around $42 per year.

TorrentReactor said that it was met with some resistance from the Tomsk region authorities at first, however the matters were cleared when money came into play. Most of the "donation" will be split amongst the people while the remaining funds will be used to repair roads, purchase agricultural equipment and machinery, re-equip the local school and more.

Previously there were only three PCs in the village--two in the school library and one in the administration office, one of which had an Internet connection using a dial-up modem. In addition to the $148K payment, the site administrators said that TorrentReactor would pay for the installation of a broadband connection, estimated to cost $30,000 as there are no local networks nearby.

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mojito_619 08/09/2010 9:10 PM
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My gut feeling says that there's a second motive. But my gut is also currently handling a lot of pizza, so meh.

decepticon 08/09/2010 9:10 PM
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+1 pirates! Arrrrrrr!

motopsychojdn 08/09/2010 9:11 PM
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In Soviet Russia, the Village buys you.................

tapnick 08/09/2010 9:11 PM
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IMO this is WIN

jenkem 08/09/2010 9:31 PM
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this makes the beginning of fight club when he talks about how corporations will own the universe seem way more plausible

flaminggerbil 08/09/2010 9:39 PM
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That's a really nice thing to do, even if it does sound like a stunt of some sort (no matter what they say).

endif 08/09/2010 9:44 PM
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Sweet now when they get sued for any form of piracy they probably worked it into the contract so that this town is held responsible.

joe gamer 08/09/2010 9:55 PM
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Anonymous 08/09/2010 10:06 PM
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hahahahahahahaha

plonk a server in a town you own, imagine a town where the RIAA and MPIAA has no juristiction....

tharkis842 08/09/2010 10:12 PM
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Wow, if this is true, thats one hell of a nice thing to do for a small town in Russia. Tho i have to admit, makes me curious if this was really out of the goodness of their hearts. Either way, that's pretty awesome.

TunaSoda 08/09/2010 10:14 PM
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joytech22 08/09/2010 10:26 PM
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Hahahah! but i bet they plan on turning that village into a hosting site. or.. they might actually be doing something good!

Wait.. where are the villagers going to get computers? i can't see 200+ people sharing 2 computers! (third one not accessible)

eyemaster 08/09/2010 10:27 PM
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The RIAA will come in and sweep the village clean for illegal file downloads... you'll see.

paranoidmage 08/09/2010 10:29 PM
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TunaSoda :
Imagine said town denyed access to the net...


Those oraganizations don't have the rights to make a decision about who gets internet access.

If there is another motive for TorretReactor, then at least there is a mutual benefit for both them and the villagers.

bobusboy 08/09/2010 10:32 PM
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eyemaster :
The RIAA will come in and sweep the village clean for illegal file downloads... you'll see.




its in russia....explain how that would happen.

Ananke 08/09/2010 10:36 PM
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There is jurisdiction, but anybody filing a suit will need 20 years to pass it through the bureucracy, and then it will be worthless, since the initial claim expiration is 15-17 years...they will need to file again :):):)

jimmysmitty 08/09/2010 10:55 PM
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ananke :
There is jurisdiction, but anybody filing a suit will need 20 years to pass it through the bureucracy, and then it will be worthless, since the initial claim expiration is 15-17 years...they will need to file again



20 years plus a few million in bribes and protection money.

Nothing is free.

mulciberxp 08/09/2010 11:05 PM
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next: 4chan buys small village in Nicaragua, names it Anonymous, creates giant goatse crop circle seen from space

NapoleonDK 08/09/2010 11:13 PM
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mulciberxp :
next: 4chan buys small village in Nicaragua, names it Anonymous, creates giant goatse crop circle seen from space

Omg speechless win.

borisof007 08/09/2010 11:34 PM
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mulciberxp :
next: 4chan buys small village in Nicaragua, names it Anonymous, creates giant goatse crop circle seen from space


LOL

supertrek32 08/09/2010 11:45 PM
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With an average income of $42, do they even have computers anyway?

Also, the article says most of the $148,000 went to the 214 people living there. Even if it was only a tenth of the money was divided up, that's $70 a person - a year and a half of work.

maigo 08/10/2010 12:33 PM
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They may be cold and starving, but at least they'll have internet porn

zaixionito 08/10/2010 12:56 PM
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Not a promotional stunt. Riiiight.


Pyroflea 08/10/2010 1:27 AM
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So. Win. Amg.

matt87_50 08/10/2010 1:34 AM
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"all hail your benevolent BitTorrent God!"
"can't, just discovered porn"

seriously. who would have thought you could make this town less productive. enter, the power of the internet...

gmarsack 08/10/2010 2:24 AM
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Good for them. Those people sound like they need new management and an opportunity for change. Sad that it's a torrent site that will bring it. This is the kind of world we live it. Way to go Russia for helping out the little guy. lol

mindspring 08/10/2010 2:24 AM
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i taste vodka.

mchawk 08/10/2010 2:30 AM
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I smell server island...

Kami3k 08/10/2010 3:12 AM
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supertrek32 :
With an average income of $42, do they even have computers anyway?Also, the article says most of the $148,000 went to the 214 people living there. Even if it was only a tenth of the money was divided up, that's $70 a person - a year and a half of work.



Uh.... you missed the 8 after 14 or you just suck that much at math. 148,000/214 = 691.5

Still not enough to replace all the PLEX cards lost in eve in that krestal hahahaha! Sorry I just find that hilarious.

tommysch 08/10/2010 4:01 AM
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eyemaster :
The RIAA will come in and sweep the village clean for illegal file downloads... you'll see.



They will be met by drunken AK-47-totting angry commies.

alextheblue 08/10/2010 5:42 AM
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TommySch :
They will be met by drunken AK-47-totting angry commies.

You don't have to be drunk to work here, but it helps.