[Important] Catbox Needs Your Help -
blog.catbox.moe

I’ve seen catbox.moe used around here quite a lot, and I’ve used it too, mainly for allowing hot-linking to embed media.

Patreon and Ko-Fi restricted Catbox’s account based on CSAM reports (assuming from the e-mails).
Ko-Fi has restored the account after providing information on the moderation of such content:

I responded to Ko-Fi with a bit more in depth of the systems Catbox uses to monitor uploads for malicious content, and they reinstated my Ko-fi account on Thursday, May 22nd.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    So, they got kicked for hosting CSAM…

    And in this post:

    I’ve received many emails over the years regarding the cost of datacenter colocation, including things like “why is it so high”, “why don’t use you [insert cloud provider here]”. The reason I colocate my own hardware is for multiple reasons, including the reason for this post. I can manage my own hardware (I’m actually smart sometimes!), upgrade it with 1-off costs (instead of needing to change plans, increasing monthly costs, etc), purchase new hardware when needed, and plan accordingly. I also don’t have to worry about getting my service suspended by providers like Cloudflare or other shitty dedicated server providers who balk at the first abuse report.

    Meaning it’s really just running in their closet, they’ve received multiple reports there’s CSAM, and they just keep operating?

    Like, am I wrong or is this person really just bald faced admitting to a serious crime while begging for money?

    • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.orgOPEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      In the reply to Patreon they mentioned having some automated and manual ways of removing CSAM, plus “closely working with NCMEC”, but I have no idea what that means.
      And these statistics of resolved reports: https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/cybertiplinedata2024/2024-notifications-by-ncmec-resulting-content-removal.pdf

      Total number of reports of 128 resolved on average in 1.91 days. Less than half the time spent by Amazon, Google and Microsoft (for Bing).

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        In the reply to Patreon

        Yes…

        In communications to the people who banned them, who they rely on for donations to flow thru they act like they take it seriously…

        In the blog begging for donations there’s no mention of moderation and a few parts where they make it clear moderation is a joke to them

        That’s one of many signs from your link that they know what’s happening, they know that’s why they’re getting a decent chunk of donations.

    • drspod@lemmy.mlEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Meaning it’s really just running in their closet,

      You think they’re lying about having their hardware in a colo?

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        I’m not an expert on how CSAM is hosted online, but yeah:

        The reason I colocate my own hardware is for multiple reasons, including the reason for this post.

        He flat out said a main reason he uses his own hardware is he knows he’s hosting CSAM…

        So I would not be surprised if it’s just in his closet.

        Still shocked he’d just admit it online begging for money and people would defend it tho…

        • CrayonDevourer@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          I’m starting to wonder if you’re the one uploading CSAM and then reporting the guy. Pretty typical attack vector online. Plus you’re here, clearly not listening to reason and attempting to paint the guy hosting this service as the bad guy.

        • tburkhol@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          The reason for his post was that a provider shut down his access on the accusation of CSAM, without (according to him) much if any investigation. Cloud providers have all manner of automated systems for reporting CSAM, copyright, and other potential abuses, and generally seem to take a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach. They may or may not even be responsive to defense or explanation. Colo isolates you from abuse of those systems.

        • deur@feddit.nlEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          Life isn’t a conspiracy theory, the hardware is likely colocated. Tf is your issue, weirdo?

        • snoons@lemmy.caEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          I think you’re missing some key points.

          1. Any file hosting service, no matter what, will have to deal with CSAM as long as people are able to upload to it. No matter what. This is an inescapable fact of hosting and the internet in general.

          2. Because CSAM is so ubiquitous and constant, one can only do so much to moderate any services, whether they’re a large corporation are someone with a server in their closet. All of the larger platforms like ‘meta’, google, etc., mostly outsource that moderation to workers in developing countries so they don’t have to also provide mental health counselling, but that’s another story.

          3. The reason they own their own hardware is because the hosting services can and will disable your account and take down your servers if there’s even a whiff of CSAM. Since it’s a constant threat, it’s better to own your own hardware and host everything from your closet so you don’t have to eat the downtime and wait for some poor bastard in Nigeria to look through your logs and reinstate your account (not sure how that works exactly though).