Today MapleStory private server CocaColaStory received a DMCA notice from NEXON Korea. Although the letter looks legitimate, the CocaColaStory staff still has doubts. You may view the post by KidFlow below.

Dear People in this community,

We have been DMCA’ed lately and ”Mr Korn” is very upset because I have hurt his feelings. This notice will be up for 24 hours until the whole network + server gets modified. The letter from nexon is completly real and its been traced over and over again. We have had a good 2 months uptime and its been fantastic to meet brand new people. Later on I will be also be phoning up nexon to confirm if this is real or not. For the time being you can discuss about this letter. Evidence will be below, I will post the complete DMCA (letter). We will be also moving host, there will be no downtime. PDF will be attached on more information about the letter I recieved (SendSpace). First, I had suspected this but I guess it’s all real.

Suspicion of this letter:
1. As you can see that the attachment of the PDF on my hotmail was named ”NEXON_C&D Letter(CocacolaMS)”.
2. It had ”Sincerly,” with no name of that.
3. There was 2 attachments + .GIF image.
4. I am not sure on this one but it said ”RE”, maybe it was the web host who forwarded this to me.
5. It had a big yellow line down one of the letters.

Information about this whole thing:

Uptime of this network - 24 Hours till we get the notice board up
Letter: Nexon
Our latest updates will be via Email
PDF attached below on more information
Time of the letter sent/recieved: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:22:53 +0900
Removing: Remove all Maple related images of our host
Download letter PDF:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/asksmf
Letter from nexon below:

Those are the letter I have received, for more information about this you can ask here for more evidence.

Lastly, we will give you updates by via email e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Please check emails occasionally.

I will phone nexon up ASAP.

Please also remove all maple related images of out host, e.g. siggy.

PS. Mr/Mrs Lloyd Korn I hope ya happy, Did you check if ya pants were wet? =.=

Original Post

According to one of our sources NEXON has asked that XtremeTop100 remove any links contained in the description and/or the title of MapleStory private servers. Thus, you can no longer directly visit MapleStory private server sites using XtremeTop100.com.

It also appears that Gold Memberships for the MapleStory section have been removed entirely.

Discuss.

 Loading ...

Credits to Lazlo for the information.

XTremeTop100, the popular private server top site, has been offline for most of June 10th. There has been no announcement from the site itself, but it seems that several things could have happened.

• A Syntax error could result from someone entering an incorrect code or something in the database may be missing
• Something wrong with their hosting/server
• Other speculations

The obvious conclusion to many is, “NEXON DID IT!” We should not jump to conclusions. The site would not be completely shut down, only the MapleStory aspect of it.

This post will be updated with alerts and other updates when we get them.

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Xtremetop100 was just undergoing maintenance.  Thank you.

Oh, joy! How ecstatic I was to read that yet another 99 NX Cash BLOWOUT Sale would be held. As if the first one wasn’t great enough!

Enough sarcasm.

I began to wonder what was going through NEXON America’s mind as their MapleStory staff came up with this lovely event. The first time around many of us looked at the barely mentioned disclaimer “All Items Last 5 Days.” For 99 NX Cash (roughly 10 cents) you can buy a select number of cash shop items that last for 5 days and then expire. Many pointed it out as a ridiculous event (but still bought the items). Hundreds of suggestions were made to lengthen the amount of time the items would be available. Were they taken into consideration? Not a chance.

This event is one reoccurring theme that has partially led to the creation of the infamous MapleStory private server. Everyone perfectly understands that NEXON has to pay the bills, owns the game, hosts it, runs it, updates it, etc. They ask, “Why do private servers exist?” We do see how incredibly stupid private server owners can be (although I wouldn’t say the average MapleGlobal player is any more intelligent) but it seems incredibly hypocritical how NEXON scratches their heads asking, “Why do people make and play private servers?” Yes, we know they’re illegal. People who play private servers are bad people! Aren’t they? Despite their illegality, some servers (especially the first ones) did have some good ideas.

Private Servers were born out of the annoyance and dislike people felt towards the community that had progressively gone down the toilet over the years. NEXON fed the ‘demon child’ that continues to torment them today. They seem unable to find a course of action that will rid them of this annoying pest. From DMCA’s to lawsuits, everything in the books is being thrown at private servers. Yet, all this is for nothing. People aren’t learning their lessons and private servers continue to thrive. So, why not solve the problem that started this domino effect? Why not listen to the suggestions that users have about the game? Why not take a break from counting your money? The 99 NX Sale Event is just another example of how even though it costs NEXON nothing to put these items on sale, they’re making a huge profit! By purchashing these items, you enjoy them to the point that when they expire you go and buy them at full price thus, spending more money on NX cash and therefore NEXON gains a profit.

What do Private Servers have over the real game? Besides encouraging users to have more fun with GM events, increased EXP (we don’t mean a 25% curve. 4x or even 8x the normal level would be great), custom features, NX events, etc. NEXON seems to think that these features will “ruin” the game. If you increase EXP, levels will be reached quicker. Why not raise the level cap? Why not start out by holding 4x or 8x EXP events? MapleSEA had an 8x EXP event for almost three days. Offer free NX items once in a while (or sales where items don’t expire in 5 days). Think outside the box! Listen to people (and actually implement some of the suggestions). Don’t worry, we won’t bite!

Now, I’ve said quite a bit in this post and not all of it was eloquently put. But, I feel that this event, however small it is, is the epitome of why private servers exist in the first place. I know I’m not one to put myself in NEXON America’s shoes by any means and I do not condone private servers or believe that breaking the law is the right thing to do. I merely think that instead of threatening people and stooping to the level of the immature brats that harrass NEXON America, they should act like the adults they are and use their heads. Appeasement is the perfect word. NEXON, if you do not begin to actually take these “children” who play your game somewhat seriously (as they are your consumers) and see that not all of what they say is nonsense, I can assure you that the War on Private Servers you are so vigorously fighting will not end anytime soon.

UPDATE: It is confirmed that XtremeTop100 was contacted by NEXON America.

XtremeTop100.com, a popular top site listing for private servers like that of MapleStory, has caused another uproar among private server players and owners. Every website listed on the MapleStory rankings page now re-directs to nexon.net. Sending out over 15,000,000 hits monthly and generating 600,000 hits daily, XTremeTop100 has helped many servers gain thousands of users and made them known to the private server community.

There has been no official statement by XTremeTop100 or NEXON. It is likely that they were contacted by NEXON.

Have any tips regarding this story? Send us an e-mail!

Maple Geek, a MapleStory private server that closed in August 2008 because of internal conflicts has announced they will be re-opening their doors.

MapleGeek.com:

Hello Geek, as you may already know MapleGeek closed due to some problems and false rumors caused by some people. We have decided to re-open our doors once again, but there will be new changes coming out within the next couple of weeks and months.

MapleGeek will be opening a brand new community. All members are required to re-register and we will slowly try to integrate the old MapleGeek.

If you received a newsletter from us, that means you are one of our old members and are more than welcome to join us again. You will be put in a special group as a reward for returning. Please keep in mind that we sent out around 80,000 messages. It will take time to get every old member into their special group.

Now that we have most of the information clear out, all you have to do is click community to join us.

At a time when NEXON is taking down servers left and right, it seems as bad a time as any to re-open a private server. Maple Geek has put a big red target on their back. It looks like they’re asking for trouble.

 Loading ...

Asia Soft wow’d players in Singapore and Malaysia with the release of MapleStory Episode 2 for MapleSEA. Asia Soft has long been respected as a company that cares about their users and brings decent content. NEXON has received an increasing amount of criticism ever since NX Games and Wizet became NEXON America. Many users have expressed a feeling of dissatisfaction and annoyance with the company and their maintenance of MapleGlobal.

The release of Pirates to MapleGlobal brought many users (especially veterans) back to the game and interested many new users. It gave many dissatisifed maplers a feeling of excitement and somewhat raised NEXON America’s likability and street cred among the public. With exciting new events, temporary EXP increases, and new content the community is beginning to “warm up” to the multi-million dollar company. However, when NEXON declared War on Private Servers, things began to change.

The ongoing war between NEXON (Korea and America) has created a dividing line. You’re either on the private server side, or NEXON’s side. This has created a large amount of animosity towards NEXON and their employees (especially their General Counsel, Mr. Korn). Threats, insults, and strange e-mails flood forums, websites, and e-mail inboxes. The fire continues to burn brighter as more servers are shut down and more people become unhappy. No one can see a definite end in sight, but it will definitely go out with a bang.

Many peg Asia Soft’s MapleStory Episode 2 as a ploy to gain more users. Much of the content could have been achieved in one large patch. Many users (especially in MapleGlobal) believe that NEXON may be able to pull off a large update, without having to add the title Episode 2 to the mix. Many summer events such as the E X PLOSION! has brought users back to the game and the increasing amount of events, especially GM events, have drawn some private server users.

It remains to be seen what NEXON America has in store for MapleGlobal this summer. There are three months of water balloons, bathing suits, and fun in the sun. I’m sure they can figure something out.

 Loading ...

 Loading ...

After receiving 6 DMCA’s from both NEXON America and Korea, KyraMS and DeSuMS have closed not because of the DMCA’s…but because their dedicated server host (LimeStoneNetworks.com) closed them down. Don’t believe us? Check out the proof.

Closing announcement.

Their server host’s message.

DMCA’s from NEXON Korea:

The question is, will they stay gone.

MentaL, the owner of the popular private server development forum RaGEZONE, announced today that they have removed the MapleStory Private Server development/discussion forums because of complaints from NEXON America and their datacenter.

Hi,
As if this moment Im getting increasing heat from Nexon and our datacenter to remove the server, we had up until 6pm this evening to comply or face complete shut down, until I relocate the section, maple story section is closed.

Any complaints please contact: lkorn@nexon.net (maple story representative)

Thanks and sorry.
Dan / MentaL

MentaL hinted that this is not necessarily the end their MapleStory section. RaGEZONE has development forums for other games like World of Warcraft, Cabal Online, Gunbound, and Runespace. They also host a variety of their own private servers.

This is another major blow to MapleStory private servers. RaGEZONE was one of the top sources for private server tutorials, downloads, and advertisements. Those who do not have advanced knowledge of coding languages like C++ and JAVA will not be able to set up servers as easily as they once could. This will undoubtedly lead to a decline in MapleStory private servers.

I heard from a little birdy that DeSuMS & KyraMS’ host has been contacted by NEXON America and the servers will be down within 24 hours. They received a DMCA letter in previous weeks, but did not comply (or so it seemed). They merely changed their directory location. Don’t believe us?

KyraMS
DeSuMS

We’ll update you if/when confirmation of their shutdown is given.

NOTE: No flaming here. If immature/insulting comments are posted, those messages will be deleted and the comment form closed.