Webmaster Interview: Tor (OneDDL) of wrzKO.eu 5/31/2014

[ScrollDog.com]

Webmaster Interview: Tor (OneDDL) of wrzKO.eu

Tor is one of the icons who was part of the legendary OneDDL.com years ago. Currently he is responsible for one of the largest Warez sites in the scene, wrzKO.eu, which is only growing bigger by the day. He’s been around since 2007 and has left his mark on every single creation he’s touched. He comes from the golden era of webmasters, proper and brilliant. This is his story.


So, whose the brains beyond the operation over there?

Like every successful website, we have small but effective and very organized team. What would be the point if only 1 person was running everything?

wrzko.eu interview
Care to tell us a little bit about yourself?

I go by the nickname “Tor”. Created it for OneDDL and it got stuck with me since. I’m in my early 20′s and in my free time I read books, design websites or just browse the interwebz.

How long have you been in the scene?

About 6-7 years. Definitely not one of the veterans but not a newbie either, golden middle.


When did you first launch wrzKO.eu?

Official launch date would be June 15th 2012, almost 2 years ago, few days after shutdown of legendary OneDDL.


Did you run any sites before wrzKO.eu?

Few, mostly in other niches.


How did you come up with the idea for the site?

It all started with OneDDL shutting down. People were devastated to see their favorite website slowly parish. A few editors from OneDDL and I decided to fill in the void by starting wrzKO.


What exactly does wrzKO mean?

wrz = Warez; KO = Knockout;
Combine those 2 and you get short and sweet: wrzKO. Our ex-slogan summarized it perfectly, “We Knock Out the Competition”.


How many visitors per day does your site average?

Minimum would be 100K unique visitors on any given day, going up to 130K unique visitors.

What would you say contributed to the success and overall growth of the site?

Traffic from OneDDL helped a little but it wasn’t big boost. We have really worked our way up to the current 100K figure over the past 2 years. I’d say biggest factor of the growth is the quality aspect of the website. Fast, easy to use and very organized.


Do you have any other sites besides wrzKO?

None.


What does the future hold for wrzKO? Any new additions, modifications, etc you would like to share?

DDoS attack which hit us recently was yet another great wake up call for us. Funny how that works but it makes us go in to “turbo mode”. That being said, sister site of wrzKO is currently being coded after half-finished project was put on the shelf few months ago.


How do you think the Warez scene has changed in the last 5 years?

I still remember (and miss) the “good old days”. When Katz was around, USAWarez, WarezScene, OneDDL etc., those websites were unique, built with purpose and passion. Then new generation of filehosts screaming “Money Money Money” showed up, people got really greedy and things started to fall apart.
Then again, that’s just my view. Real scene is still going strong and some of the biggest torrent websites are pushing forward. Warez sites come and go. Veterans retire and move on, fresh faces with new ideas appear, that’s how it goes.


Where do you see the scene in 5 years from today?

The real scene won’t go anywhere any time soon. As for public torrents, linking sites and similar, who knows.

Tor’s Video of the Moment: (see the video here)


What are some of your favorite sites that you like to frequent?

I visit TorrentFreak and your site daily. I also used to hang around WJunction when Katz was around.

What do you consider a webmaster & do you think the scene needs to have more webmasters like yourself?

It’s so easy to be “a webmaster” in 2014. You can launch your website in 2 hours. It’s the idea, team and motivation that people lack to go big.

Webmaster for me is someone who can create, maintain and lead the website. However, you can’t be an elite programmer, designer and marketer at the same time. The secret here is to have a good team. People who are driven by the same goals as you are and who are willing to put the work.
As for me, there are still so many things I want to learn.
wrzko.eu interview
wrzko.eu interview
For someone who is just starting out in the scene, creating their own website, what advice would you give them?

I could go on and on but here are 3 major points I’d pay close attention to if I was starting out:

1. Be original as much as possible - Look at wrzKO, people don’t even know what our name stands for. However, that exact term is now being searched almost 40000 times each month on Google. We are different, your website should be too!
2. Bring something new to the table - Don’t set a goal to create another wrzKO or Warez-BB etc. that will be waste of your time. See what we or other websites lack, try to surpass us by creating a better, faster, more enjoyable website. Do that and visitors will come, I guarantee it.
3. Sharing first, money second - That’s where 99.5% of newcomers go catastrophically wrong. They build a website, get tiny bit of traffic and then slap on 10 banners and 3 popups. As you get bigger you can employ advertisements to help with the cost but doing that in first few months will just backfire and piss off your visitors. Do notdo that!

Do you consider yourself in the game for life? Or do you see yourself walking away someday?

I won’t be the one closing down wrzKO but I will definitely pass the torch to someone else. Eventually there are things I’d like to focus more on to and move on. It’s a great experience none the less.


What are the best file storage services that you use & why?

Firedrive, Multiupload, Uploaded, Rapidgator and FileOM because they are reliable, fast and our visitors love them.


Do you think that direct downloads or FTP dumps will ever make a strong comeback?

It’s hard to guess. Things are changing and evolving really fast.


Where do you rank the Top 5 Warez sites in the scene right now?

Honestly, it’s hard for me to make such list. I feel there is still so much space left for innovation or maybe I just miss old websites so much? Probably.
The only websites I take my hat off to would be biggest torrent sites like TPB and KickAss. As for warez websites, probably Warez-BB.
They are still pushing forward after being down so many times.


Any last comments/remarks to readers/fans?

Evil Minions (wrzKO followers), thank you for being so supportive of our project. We wouldn’t be running this website if it wasn’t for people who send us so many positive emails and comments.

To ScrollDog: Keep this project going and as always, keep it real. Definitely something new in the field with a bright future.
wrzko.eu interview
And last but not least: Internet is our sacred place. Fight against government censorship, fight for your human rights and privacy. Don’t let big companies and dinosaur-like CEO’s who can’t adapt, embrace the technology and constantly try to fight innovation dictate your future and future of the internet.
wrzko.eu interview
Think far ahead, for the future generations to come!

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Webmaster Interview: Tor (OneDDL) of wrzKO.eu | ScrollDog.com ? Breaking Scene News