ST. LOUIS, MO- Razorback2, a primary indexing server for the eDonkey p2p service, disappeared from the Internet on Wednesday, leaving one of the few remaining file-sharing networks crippled to the point of uselessness. Oddly enough, eDonkey is usually so slow that it took most of the day before most users realized the network was down, but once they did figure it out users were at an utter loss about what to do.

"I was half-way through downloading the new Johnny Polymer tracks when the network went dark," said indie rock aficionado Al Coholic. "They've gotten too popular to openly like, of course, so I wasn't even going to listen to them, but now that I can't have the files I feel this undeniable urge to possess them. I might even get desperate enough to actually buy the album, though I'm not sure where I'd go to do that."

For music-hungry teenagers all over the world, the experience has been like traveling back in time, back to an era when people paid actual money for music stored on round plastic rings called "compact discs." They may have looked a lot like the DVDs we know today, but they didn't really do much. What's more, they could only hold 12-15 songs.

A group of local high school kids traveled all the way out to what is sometimes referred to as "the mall" in order to locates some of these antiquated objects and were amazed at what they found there.

"From what I could see, the store only had a couple hundred CDs and it took up, like, 4,000 square feet," said avid file-sharer Stu Pitt. "I mean, I could fit most of that on my iPod. Actually, I just checked and most of it already is."

At the record shop, Pitt picked up a handful of discs and walked out of the store only to find out that the sales clerk and manager of the store expected him to pay for them first. They later explained to him that the company had purchased the discs wholesale and needed to recoup their sales in order to stay in business.

"What kind of messed up business model is that?" asked Pitt. "If open source software and file sharing have taught me anything it is that, for a company to succeed, they need to give their products away for free. Just because these guys were stupid enough to buy the tracks doesn't mean I've got to compound their mistake. Two wrongs don't make a right, you know."

Pitt and Coholic were shocked to learn that, even in this enlightened age, millions of Americans still cling to the past, purchasing the things they want or need and saving up for things they'd like to buy but cannot immediately afford.

"Is this like the 1900's or something?" asked Coholic. "Is somebody going to ride by on a high wheel bike with a handlebar mustache? The next thing you're going to tell me is that people still buy newspapers."

At this point admins say they have no idea when the system will be back up. Belgian and Swiss authorities reportedly raided Razorback's hosting company and physically seized key pieces of the network. Apparently taking stuff without paying for it, even when its something with no real value like music, is considered stealing in some countries. They even take a dim view of those who enable the stuff-taking.

"That makes no sense," said Coholic. "How can someone take a network? It's just information and air, right?

"It's electrons, too," chimed in Pitt. "They could take the electrons, I guess, but it'd be hard because my brother says they're small and move really fast."