[yid]

Hi Arash,

I find it hard to believe that you did not anticipate exactly this happening when designing (a) an online file backup service, (b) a "de"-duplication algorithm. That said, you should have planned for exactly this a long time ago, whether by the means DropShip used, or any of several other potential file sharing hacks. I think a lot of us here are disappointed with how your actions reflect that planning, or lack thereof.

[power78]

I agree. I actually proposed this idea a while back but never went through with the implementation. I hope Dropbox turns a blind eye to this because I think its fair use of Dropbox. Instead of someone sending you the file and then you adding it to Dropbox manually, you can just send the hash for the file and receive without P2P. This is where the world of online storage might head anyways.

[crocowhile]

Or you can just share a folder with someone or give them the public link - and both are even easier solutions.

[power78]

Again, that requires you to:

A) move the files to the public folder

B) watch out for bandwidth limits on the public folder

C) give your Dropbox account ID to everyone as it is tied directly to the URL

With this method, you get anonymous file transfers without bandwidth limits

[crocowhile]

>With this method, you get anonymous file transfers without bandwidth limits

Yes, only if dropbox let you do that. They can make you stop with a fix in 5 minutes and they will do it very soon.

[bruceboughton]

>> B) watch out for bandwidth limits on the public folder

Why would Dropbox want to let you circumvent bandwidth limits on your public folder?