Whatever happened to Imgsrc.ru?

Posted on | September 29, 2008 | 87 Comments

Fans of the photo sharing service Imgsrc.ru have probably noticed that the site is down since some days. I e-mailed the owner to ask why and got a link to this page in return. A Google translation of the text reads like this:

IMGSRC.RU server was shut down on the personal initiative of a very proactive employee company hostera (Beeline Business, a former Golden Telecom). The data is not lost, all the pictures saved. I hope that tomorrow, with the start of the working day will be new information from more competent people.

While comments from hostera about the access shut down without warning has been received.

Another informer has e-mailed Destroyer that the site was shut down by the ISP because of its popularity with boy photo collectors. Allegedly a 21-year-old employee decided to pull the plug after she had received daily requests to do so from a children’s rights crusader.

To make the story even more bizarre, rumour has it that the same person who is trying to make life miserable for boy photo collectors by e-mailing ISP’s used to be a boy photo collector himself. If that is true, what we’re seeing is a beautiful schoolbook example of overcompensation - the most rabid propagators of any cause always have something contrary to the cause to hide. Or as we say in Swedish: “Den som sa’t, han va’t.” Sad thing only, that an ISP is playing along with him in his personal flogging.

Destroyer relied on Imgsrc.ru to build the Destroyer Map - an art project where one devoted reader collected photos of boy sculptures in public places. The collection had reached a whole 1.795 photos, and it is our hope that they have not been collected in vain.

Update October 13th 2008: Through Josh I just realized that Imgsrc.ru is back online now. Yippee!!!