Dropbox...WTF... Part 2! But... 💡😁

Hey,

so.... After spending way too much time yesterday on the Topic, and only sleeping in total for 4 Hours (because the little one threw up at night... He is fine now 🤘)

I actually have to thank the Dickhead, who filed the DMCA Takedown request, acting as me 🙏

Why? Because I finally had to make the move to switch from a horrible Company (Dropbox, Onedrive, Gdrive, any other Service like that) that I only used because I have been using it for 20 years out of convenience. But I had to deal with the topic of 100% dependence on a Company that is: expensive & can take you down any time without you having any chance to object. That´s just the way it is. Nice, hm?

Just a quick explanation how things work with Dropbox/any other Services based in the US:

The legal DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) process itself is fundamentally broken and easily weaponised against creators.

Three main flaws make the DMCA procedure highly problematic:

1. "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (The Automatic Takedown)

Under Section 512 of the DMCA, online service providers (like Dropbox/Gdrive/Onedrive, etc.) are granted "Safe Harbour" protection from being sued for copyright infringement, but only if they instantly remove content, the moment they receive a complaint.

• The Flaw: Because platforms are terrified of losing their immunity, they remove first and ask questions later.

• The Result: A Troll can submit a completely false, bad-faith claim, and the platform will instantly take your file down without checking if the claim is real, if you own the file, or if the claim is mathematically impossible. You are treated as guilty immediately.

2. The 10-to-14 Day Hostage Window (Due Process Lag)

If a Troll falsely flags your file and you submit a formal "Counter-Notice" to prove you own the content, the law doesn't instantly restore your file.

• The Flaw: By law, the platform is required to keep your file offline for 10 to 14 business days after you submit a counter-notice, giving the troll time to decide if they want to sue you in court.

• The Result: Even if the claim is 100% fake and the troll has no legal standing, they successfully hold your business hostage for two full weeks. For a creator relying on monthly Patreon launches, a 14-day delay is financially devastating and destroys community trust.
  
  Thanks God we have Filen also, until another new System is up & running!

3. Absolute Lack of Consequences for Trolls

The DMCA was written in 1998, long before automated bots and targeted harassment campaigns existed.

• The Flaw: While the law technically states that filing a false DMCA notice under penalty of perjury can carry penalties, in reality, no one ever gets prosecuted for it unless a massive corporation with millions of dollars decides to sue them.

• The Result: Trolls can hide behind fake names, burner email addresses, and VPNs to file dozens of false claims with zero fear of legal blowback. It is a completely free, consequence-free weapon for anyone who wants to ruin your day.

• In my case, not only that one specific file is locked, but also all sharing activity. Which is great because I am not only sharing stuff with you guys, but also with my Team. So the access to those files is simply gone. From one second to the next. Because some Dickhead filed a fake DMCA Takedown request.

• You can of course object! But for that you have to give your PERSONAL INFO in a counter-complaint, which will then be forwarded to the Dickhead that gave just fake Details...

Wow! 💥🫠 That was really an Eye-Opener!

Long story short: the whole system is rigged to fuck you over.

But we won´t let that happen!

The New Shield (How we fix it):

Because the DMCA process is a broken legal loophole, we cannot fight it on US platforms like Dropbox—their automated systems will always side with the claim to protect themselves.

By switching to a hoster in Germany + a CDN Network also based in Europe, we put up an invisible wall not only against fake DMCA Dickheads (because I will get any DMCA Takedown request. And I will then definitely NOT decide to take down my own Service 🤣), but also against Piracy. The CDN will provide so-called "Hotlinking".

The Hotlinking Protection ensures that only people clicking the link directly inside Patreon can actually download the file. If a Troll copies links to a leak site, it instantly breaks for them, while you, our lovely paying Patrons get a flawless, lightning-fast, and uninterrupted download.

So something really annoying turned out to be great. Because things like that might happen any time again, and I really don´t want to depend on a Service that takes me down "just like that" and does not give a shit. Of course I was also in touch with the Support. The summary of that was "we don´t care. file the counter complaint. we will have a look at our earliest convenience" Yeah... of course...

Making the switch to the new service and updating links will take a bit. But most stuff is shared on Filen anyway for now. And since I know the owner myself, any false DMCA Takedown request there will just not affect the service 💪

Thanks for your patience & understanding 🙏💖

All the very best,
Puppetmaster