One of the web's most popular file-sharing sites has shut down less than a week after Hollywood announced a flurry of lawsuits against operators of such internet servers.

A note posted on Suprnova.org, which facilitated sharing among users of the BitTorrent program, said the site was "closing down for good." The collection of links to downloadable files, including music, movies and books, was taken

"We are very sorry for this, but there was no other way, we have tried everything," the statement said.

Reached via Suprnova.org's chat room, the site's anonymous operator refused to comment on why it had shut down.

Last week, movie studios sued more than 100 operators of U.S. and European sites that host BitTorrent links but did not name the defendants.

Suprnova.org was the most popular repository for links to files that could be downloaded using the BitTorrent program. read more

I have used WinMX for years, and it has very little publicity in the mainstream world, so it stays around. Seems like the more popular a P2P gets, the faster they fold.

I wonder how IRC has lasted all these years. I guess it has only been used for large-scale file sharing for a few years. Do you think that will be the next target?

IRC Cannot be shutdown. IRC is simply a network of chat rooms and what each room chooses to do is their own business. The MPAA cannot target IRC because it is not a file sharing program, merely a giant chatroom with dcc sending capabilities.

Fortunately it was only the website that shutdown and not the network. A quick search on Google for suprnova mirrors and you’re back in business.