I didn't want to post in this thread because I'm affiliated with another site and I don't want to drag them and that site into this. That said, what I say represents me, and only me, and does not at all reflect the beliefs or stance of the site.
While it is true that there is recent precedent that establishes browser cached images do not constitute child pornography, spreading links to such pictures is still a Class C federal felony in the United States. By posting the links in the Skype conversation, spektormax became a felon and by distributing screenshots of said links, Azazel did too. The short and skinny of the matter is that Skype does indeed centrally log every IM on the site and a call/email from law enforcement would turn up those logs and give them the probably cause a simple tip off would not. Whether the law enforcement found anything or not when they got to his house (and by now I imagine all of his hard drives have met the microwave), he's still guilty, without a shadow of a doubt, of distribution of child pornography. A lot of people in this thread, and others elsewhere, are fond of saying that spektormax isn't guilty because he wasn't involved in the hosting or manufacturing of those images (may I also mention that 510chan did what they are legally obligated to do and removed the images as soon as they were notified, they are not at fault any more than imageshack would be if someone uploaded such filth there) but he's not simply a consumer. He was distributing the images, for whatever reason, and that moves him only just slightly below those that manufacture the images, both morally and legally.
As far as Azazel is concerned, I have never said anything to the fellow and I can't speak to his motives. What I can comment on is that those of us unfortunate to have lived and experienced this level of exploitation in our personal lives can understand an immediate and irrational backlash, especially when met with the frustration of meeting a brick wall attempt to hide and ignore these actions. I don't think Azazel handled this as perfectly as he could have, but who's to say that he was in a mental or emotional state to think clearly? I know that, when presented with this disgusting filth (because of my own personal experiences) I am prone to fits of irrational rage and anger, which is common in people in similar situations. I'm not trying to be apologetic for the way he's carried himself, but this sudden condemnation of the whistleblower speaks more about this community and its ability to think single-sidedly about an issue than anyone probably realizes.
In regards to PtP staff behavior, there's no excuse. When approached with the evidence, the initial reaction was to cover up and pretend nothing happened. I understand, being in the position that I am in, that they wouldn't want to put their tracker under legal pressure, but that's not to say they couldn't have taken the site down before reporting the fucker to the police. I would do no less if I found a staff member of mine was such a pervert and it speaks loudly to their cowardice that they will not take the proper measures to deal with this situation. Furthermore, the quickness of their reaction and how quickly they went into "damage control" mode implies, at the very least, that this is not a solitary occurence. Certainly given the callousness that defines their reply, I can't bring myself to believe that it is; having spent an extensive amount of time dealing with this level of perversion, one thing that I have learned is that child pornographers are so very hard to catch because they tend to only share their "collections" with people they feel are trustworthy because they know the legal risks their activities entail. I find it hard to believe that he would casually post images like that in a group conversation unless that trust was already earned, which, once again, implies that this isn't the first time that this has happened.
And finally, about spektormax's "disabling" at PtP. I can think of exactly 0 staff members on ANY tracker that have but one single account. There are too many logistic and entertaining reasons to have several, so disabling the accoung with the name spektormax will accomplish nothing other than to save face with those dumb enough to let the wool be pulled over their eyes. Furthermore, as a founder that has spent serious time with the site since before the site was born, he's guaranteed to continue to have server access. I know for sure that pham still does, and he voluntarily left the organization a long time ago. Spektormax's banning is nothing more than a weak attempt to save face by a group of children that are too cowardly to do the right thing in this dire situation.
Like I said, my feeling reflect only myself and are seated in a history too ugly and personal to get into and I don't want anyone to think that they reflect the opinions of my site or her staff. I want to end on a pleading note, as a victim, that the staff of PtP step up and do what everyone knows is the right thing to do here.
Thanks,
meph
