Jiwang Network, Wind of Change.

The News:

PUTRAJAYA: The operator of a popular website, www.jiwang.org (JWG), who reaped hundreds of thousands of ringgit since 1997 by offering illegally downloaded and uploaded Malay songs, was detained by an enforcement team from the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry in Kelantan recently.
The ministry’s enforcement director, Mohd Roslan Mahayudin said the 35-year-old man was arrested after the team raided his house in Kubang Kerian, Kota Baru on June 11.
“The man had reaped profits from advertising services and contributions from JWG members. He admitted earning as much as RM10,000 per month in 2006, but his earnings have now dropped to RM1,500 after competitors used the same modus operandi,” he told reporters, here, yesterday.
Roslan said the enforcement team also seized information and communication technology (ICT) equipment worth RM30,000, while the man was released on police bail.
He said the enforcement division would be issuing a blockage access notice to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to prevent access to the JWG website as provided under Section 263 (2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. — Bernama

The Comment:

First of all, I must admit it have been a long time since I updated my blog. My bad.. I was busy. I have this thing called, having fun in life. But then, I was surprised by a news, that one of the largest and oldest forum community in Malaysia was getting shut down. Well, I know that this is actually an old news, about a week ago, but the thing is I just couldn't believe how the news portrayed the forum website. One of the news called the website as a rogue website where it was suspected to be the main source of copyright infringement and piracy (in Malaysia of course). Others, such as the news I included here, mentioned that the community forum have reaped profits from advertising services and contributions from its member.

I have been one of the many members there, and I never recalled of paying money at all to use any of the forum function. In fact, I'm pretty sure everything there is free. For all, nonetheless. Although its true that the website operator did put up some advertisement banner here and there, but the community forum was actually one whole network. There was a forum, blogs, torrent site, and at some point there was a mIRC server. So, having 3 to 4, fully functioning operating web-server no less, did kinda stretch one expenses. The community did started as a simple forum where later it was expanded to accommodate even more. variety of user. Where some would be in the forum to debate and teasing each other, some would be in the mIRC channel for chatting, while others just blogging. So, it is understandable that the website operator would go for advertising services to cover his expenses.

But one thing that I remember and liked about the place, was that there were never excessive advertising and the new member registration is free. In fact, the website operator actually do take complaints and removes any advertisement banner that was deemed obstructive or disturbing to the forum members. Unlike some blogs where each time you click something, it would lead you to either linkbucks or ad.fly, or have this annoyingly huge amount of banner placed all over the places, so much that you actually have to scroll all the way down just to see the beginning of the blog entry.

And then, there was the forum. The beginning of the entire network. I have been a member in the forum community for almost ten years. It started as a place for friends meet friend, where on one side a friend helping old friends while on the other its for making new friends. I first stumbled upon the forum while was looking for a gamer community to, you know, discuss about game. Yup.. I was young, stupid, and playful at that time. I joined in, it was the first time I met a girl gamer there too, and there was also this another gamer who introduced me to a pretty large anime-comic-manga-game-fan community called Saiyaman.info (although now most of the members either got married or got busy) where I learn how to edit my own video into the size of a thumbnail and use it as forum or ingame signature, and then.... Oh so much memories.

One thing led to another, the forum expanded. Where were once a few sections becomes a lot more. There was no Anime/Manga section when I first joined.. But as more people with the same interest gather around, the forum's admin started to make new sections. And it expanded some more as the members wishes there to be a chatbox or a chatroom so they could, you know, chat! Some people just love chatting in a real-time manner. So there was a chatroom, but it was based with Flash, and Flash program at that time could be very demanding as they crashes alot. Then the mIRC server was rented, and we had our mIRC channel. That was the time when I learned about mIRC scripts and more.

The truth is, when the newspaper labeled the JWG.org as some kind of a criminal den, I was really shocked. I mean, at the beginning, none of us care about what this Norman guy accused us of. Most of his movies suck balls anyway, in fact, I never seen anyone share Cicakman, Magika or even the international movie called Deadline (Its about a line, and it was dead..). Even the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (Otherwise known as The Malay Chronicles: Bloodline) got a really bad review in the IMDB (The only people who rate it good or great was obviously, us, Malaysian because, you know, we loves each other). Even though I myself finds that movie repulsive but still, support-the-local-industry is kinda ingrained into me, you know. My family had like 2 Proton and 2 Perodua cars. While I use a Modenas bike.

But after the Jiwang Network was hit hard, the forum shut down, and all of those false information regarding the 'pirate level' (Oh you got to watch the Astro Awani Trending news, the sketch is hilarious), and everything that have been thrown to the one the largest, oldest, free-speech community.. All of the accumulated wealth of knowledge for 10 years.. mIRC, php scripts, automobile and bike manuals, do-it-yourself tutorial, and I think there was a collection of cooking recipe too.. 
Oh, I feel like, I've lost faith in humanity. Hahaha

I read the other blogs where the writers shamelessly blames the forum admin for allowing the link sharing to take place, accuses that the admin had become greedy with money by using the link sharing to increase page traffic thus increasing the advertising income... and more. 
All those link sharing, was requested by the forum members. All those adverts, was to finance the continuity of the forum and all other sites under the network.

We share because we care.
We share... because.. we thought... everyone care.

Hmmm....

In the beginning, it start with a command line...