With millions of monthly visits, FileList is one of the largest private torrent trackers.
The site has been around for sixteen years and weathered many storms, including a crackdown by Romanian law enforcement which seized its domain name in 2020.
Last weekend, the journey appeared close to an end when the site’s main operator, EboLLa, decided that he would rather spend time on other parts of his life. With no trusted successor in sight, shutting down appeared to be the only viable option.
Many people would volunteer to take over, but leaving the tracker in the hands of a relative stranger didn’t feel right for the operator. Running a private torrent site that stores sensitive personal data of numerous people is a massive responsibility.
In many cases, this would’ve been the end of the matter. After a few weeks, the site would cease to exist, turning into a distant memory with the passing of time. For FileList, however, the story isn’t quite over yet.
Founder Returns
The outpouring of support and shock following the shutdown announcement motivated one of FileList’s original founders, “God”, to return to the nest. He will take over the technical role of the current operator to ensure that the tracker can continue in the years to come.
“Your voice has been heard, even now. I am delighted to announce that the website will not be shutting down!” EboLLA writes.
“One of the founders of the website, God, is back and will take over the technical aspect to ensure the site continues to thrive. He is trustworthy, loyal, and things will certainly go well from this point of view.”
New Sysop
The new boss will team up with “Oana”, another trusted member of the site who is promoted to Sysop. In that role, she will handle all staff-related issues, server payments, and other internal matters.
“Together, they will continue the necessary work to keep this website alive,” EboLLa notes.
The message represents a sigh of relief for the many regular users of the tracker, some of whom have been loyal visitors for over a decade. For the current operator, those are also the last words he shares with the community, as he permanently retires.
For copyright holders and law enforcement, the sudden change of plans means that they can’t cross the popular torrent tracker off their list just yet. Instead, everything is back to the status quo.
