Last week saw the abrupt shutdown of ExtraTorrent and per the site operator the domain Extratorrent.cc will cease to exist, never to resume operation again - it's a permanent shutdown. But just a few days have passed, Extratorrent.cd surfaced and claimed it is the old site resurrected, courtesy of ET admins and uploaders.
ExtraTorrent is back, The Inquirer reported, pointing to an email message said to be sent by people that were involved with the daily operations of ET. The email read: "We are a group of uploaders and admins from ExtraTorrent. As you know, SaM from ExtraTorrent pulled the plug yesterday and took all data offline under pressure from authorities."
The group further claimed SaM's move came as a surprise. "We were in deep shock and have been working hard to get it back online with all previous data."
And ET indeed went back online using the Extratorrent.cd domain and with help of the data that former ExtraTorrent admins and uploaders were able to recover, independent of whatever the ET operator has in possession. As SaM has indicated in a statement last week, he had deleted everything from his end, somehow suggesting that the new site is without his blessing.
SaM ever warned of fake ExtraTorrent clones and mirror sites. "ExtraTorrent with all mirrors goes offline. We permanently erase all data. Stay away from fake ExtraTorrent websites and clones," the ET operator advised.
These contradicting statements from ExtraTorrent personalities that used to work together appear to indicate that apart from legal pressures that came from copyright holders and authorities, the original site went down due to infighting. For one, SaM destroying all the data relevant to ExtraTorrent operation seems a solid hint that he does intend for the site to be resurrected, at least without his initiative.
The ET operator even declared there'll be new ExtraTorrent sites to come out, and he made clear these replicas will operate unauthorized, which should include the Extratorrent.cd now run by former admins and uploaders of the old site.
Now, legitimate or not Extratorrent.cd is certainly live and offers the usual service as of last check but according to Digital Music News the new ET is off to a rough start. "After an initial relaunch that looked perfect, aspects of the new site at extratorrent.cd are experiencing problems," the report said.
Nonetheless, the people behind Extratorrent.cd said they will constantly update the new ExtraTorrent domain, indicating that bugs will be fixed for a smoother operation in the days ahead.