UltimA the legend who created WarezScene has returned to the scene after years of silence. He wasted no time starting up another project @ WarezLTD.net. His website once was featured on the Respected Sites of Katz & he also served as an Admin on WJunction. He's taken the time to sit down with ScrollDog in a tell all interview. This is his story!
What made you want to have this interview?
As someone who has worked in the scene for a similar length of time you have, I'm glad to see someone else trying to bring it back to life in different ways. ScrollDog is set to become a great resource over time!
Where are you from?
I'm from the good ol' USA but due to my love of traveling I currently hail from Europe.
What's your handle/nickname?
I use the handle UltimA, always have.
When did you first start making websites?
I started my first site in 2006, nothing major. Attempted computer support forum and whatnot. No promotion, didn't work out too well, but it drew my love for vBulletin. Plus, I was a noob.
How did you come about finding the "scene"?
In 2003 I had stumbled across the website Seriall.com. From there I found link exchanges to PhazeDDL.com in 2004, and eventually ReMuSoMeGa Forums in 2005. I became a member there, frequently lurking, until it became a website called WTalk.org. From there I met many of the people who contributed to the success of WarezScene.org.
What was the most monumental site that you made?
WarezScene.org, no doubt.
How did you come up with the name WarezScene?
We actually used to use the domain WarezLTD.net before we used WarezScene.org. We merged with a site called AnthraxWarez, and it was a staff effort to come up with the name. Very glad we picked it though.
What was your daily visitor peak?
Right around 75,000 UV's per day on average, although we peaked on some days right around the 100,000 mark.
That's a lot of traffic! What do you think attributed to the success of your site?
It was definitely a combined effort of the loyal staff and the dedicated community. Everyone contributed in their own ways to make WarezScene a success. Everyone who uploaded a single file, all the way to staff members who made it to the Super Moderator rank. We had a very unique community, something which was difficult to find elsewhere at the time.
How long was WarezScene online for?
Approximately 4 years.
Why did it go down?
In the initial years of WarezScene when the site was smaller we experimented a lot with the site and what we could add to it. Unfortunately at the time I was bad at cleaning up, and this also led to a huge bloat in the database. It was very volatile, and in mid-2010 we had a catastrophic failure; it also turned out backups for the months prior were also corrupt. We opted to relaunch as WarezScene V2, but this didn't turn out as well as hoped due to only a partial effort on my part due to other pending issues.
Do you plan on ever bringing it back?
WarezScene as itself, no.
Are you working on anything new?
WarezLTD.net is the main thing right now and trying out new stuff! People say the scene is dead; innovation may be dead, although the scene itself is far from it! How can it be logic that less people want free stuff? World economies being as they are right now, more people are on a budget than ever - tons of people wish to try stuff out before they buy to see if it's their money's worth. I'm going to be bringing many new projects to the table over the coming months, stay tuned!
What is your new site about?
I'm bringing the quality of the original WarezScene back, under a 2013 brand, bringing the people of today what they want.
What is the difference between a successful webmaster and an unsuccessful one?
Many people believe that the key to a successful website is being guided by someone or something. That's entirely wrong. That's where most people waste their time.. just looking for a guide or "key" to success. The difference being successful webmasters take the initiative and produce something that they themselves are confident of.
What are some of your favorite sites currently?
I have a pretty mundane selection really; Reddit, Engagdget, AndroidPolice, YCombinator, etc.
Where do you see yourself a year from now?
Back to running a great network of sites, expanding my knowledge even further, and pursuing even greater goals.
What are some things that you like to do for fun?
Entirely depends where I am in the world. Traveling is my utmost favorite thing, seeing new places, and doing new things. I try to experience a little of everything if I can; you only live once.
What's your superpower? :D
Motivation. It won't die.
Tell us about a time when things didn't go the way you wanted -- like issues with your websites or even life in general. What's the first thing that popped into your mind?
Life can be a crazy thing and stuff won't always go your way. But make sure you keep your drive and motivation no matter what. Stay true and stick to your goals, people will try to throw you off that path, but you can prove them wrong. Every bad experience contributes to making you more versatile.
Do you have any interesting stories to share?
Too many to list. WarezScene as a community caused life changing events for many people; that's an entire epic story in itself though lol. It's actually one of the reasons I loved having such a great site, knowing such great people.
What's the most bizarre thing you've experienced?
Meeting a Canadian individual at Tim Horton's Coffee opposite Buffalo International Airport at 2:30AM on a snowy November night to do a website transaction. Arabic stamps all over the money. Shady. Will not repeat.
What are your favorite Movies of all time?
I have a few. Goodfellas, Scarface, Dumb and Dumber, Layer Cake, Snatch, Blow, The Big Lebowski
What about Music, what kind of music do you listen to?
Huge variations. Everything from Hip Hop to occasional electric club music.
If you had the chance to make one wish, what would that wish be?
I wish to the success of all those who have helped me get to where I am so far, and to all those in future.
How long have you been a member on WJunction for?
Almost 6 years, member #11. I remember when it was on phpBB.
What does the W in WJunction stand for?
Apparently it's Webmaster, but we know what it really stood for.
Why do you think people have such a hard time distinguishing the difference between sites people make and from the community itself?
People don't know how to make a good community, they just know how to develop a page. This goes back to the mindset of people hoping for a guide on how to build the perfect site (which doesn't and will never exist). They can't see it from a third person, or think about how they can effectively convert visitors into genuine members who enjoy the community.
You were gone for some time, what happened?
After WarezScene, I was planning on staying out of the scene, although times change, and I've decided to come back! I definitely wasn't gone from the internet during this time however
What made you decide to come back?
The scene lacks the fiber of the past. It lacks the leadership and understanding that made the scene and sites adapted around it so great. There needs to be a community to set the standard, and that's what we hope to achieve.
Your status says "Warez is back!". What does that mean?
It's almost as if warez itself was on hiatus the past couple of years. After the Katz Network disappeared and all the great sites fell, most people went over to torrents. Warez means good old fashioned HTTP links and we believe it can make a comeback with the high availability of cheap bandwidth nowadays. We hope to make the days of split files gone, and to instead provide single full speed download links; without having to upload and expose your IP in return.
How do you plan on revolutionizing the scene?
Bringing back the good old fashioned community. That's where it begins. It's all about sharing. If we can establish a small community base it will grow over time, and that's where we build our quality: around our members. I believe torrents are potentially dangerous in the fact that every user has to end up being the "pirate" themselves, exposing their IP and possibly their identity in the process. People should never be forced to upload simply because they download a file. For people new to the scene especially, it should be a one way process - File > User, that's it.
What would you say the downfall of the scene is?
Greed. Sites today are packed with ads, fake files, and generally low quality crap. Times change and as I've mentioned earlier, the scene lacks guidance. Remember the days of Katz, PhazeDDL, pornBB, USAWarez, in 2007; scene leaders. How could one live with themselves with an awful website when these frontrunners existed? Nowadays what's there to motivate in regards to quality? Very little.
We made an article about how Warez will boom. Do you think that's going to happen again?
Absolutely! People love to try stuff before they buy - it's simply fair. There's literally billions of people online nowadays, and they're just waiting to be connected to what they desire. Just because a quality portal doesn't exist doesn't mean that one can't appear. I plan to change that. I will show just how popular it really is over the course of the new year.
Any final remarks, comments?
Thanks for taking the time to interview me. If anyone has anymore questions, feel free to email ScrollDog and I'd be more than happy to answer! I hope to make an impact in the scene for a second time, and look forward to all the fun times ahead.
