On July 19, Federal judge Marilyn Patel ordered Napster to remove all files copyrighted by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) from its servers by midnight on July 28. The future of Napster looked unhopeful and desolate. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, an appeals court has reversed the decision. On July 28, just hours before Napster servers were to be forcibly shut down, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals answered Napster's plea. The appeals court has stayed the injunction, and it is giving Napster until August 18 to explain why Judge Patel's ruling should be overturned. So what exactly does this mean, and where do you go from here? Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions from our message boards. If you have any burning queries that need immediate satiation, feel free to ask the editors!

What is Napster?
In 1999, Shawn Fanning, a Northeastern University undergraduate, wrote a small MP3-sharing application known as Napster. Originally designed for Fanning and his friends to exchange recordings, Napster quickly became a conduit for distributing MP3s. At that instant, an MP3-sharing community was conceived. New songs were located at the touch of a button. Entire albums were exchanged in minutes for free. And all with complete anonymity. Concerned with the swift progress of an unchecked file-sharing system, the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Napster, citing numerous counts of copyright infringement. At the forefront of the battle stand Metallica and Dr. Dre, who feel that Napster has denied them compensation for their pirated songs.

How do I use Napster?
Although extraordinarily popular throughout the world, Napster remains a mystery to many who are just now hearing the latest courtroom news. For starters, if you don't have a copy of the software, download Napster here. Now, if you are unfamiliar with the software, we offer a complete Napster Beginner's Guide, which provides step-by-step instructions on how to use this revolutionary new software. If you are a seasoned user and you are looking for advanced file-sharing tricks, consult our Advanced Napster Tricks guide. This top-secret dossier is sure to keep you one step ahead of the rest.

Is Napster shut down?
No. Napster Inc. is functioning normally and at full capacity. With newfound resolve after the recent appeals court ruling, Napster founder Sean Fanning stated, "I am happy and grateful that we do not have to turn away our 20 million users and that we can continue to help artists. We'll keep working and hoping for the best." The Napster servers will continue to operate until at least mid-September (which is a month after the court has reviewed the explanative documents due August 18), and perhaps even up until the trial at the end of the year.

If Napster does get shut down, is there any way to use the Napster software to share files?
Yes. There is a program called Napigator that can emulate the Napster network. Basically, Napigator allows users to locate Napster-like servers on the OpenNap network, but it doesn't go through the central Napster servers! This means that you can continue file sharing using Napster even though the company's servers might be shut down. As well, we offer a complete beginner's guide to using Napigator to facilitate your needs during these dark times.

If I don't want to use Napster, how can I continue file sharing?
There are a number of ways that you can continue file sharing. As it happens, Napster is one of the more popular applications. But there are a variety of other means to satisfy your addiction. You can consult our Five Best Alternatives to Napster article and discover some other available options. If you see something that you like, we also offer a beginner's guide to the latest and greatest applications.

Gnutella Beginner's Guide So it's back to the basics for you, huh? Gnutella is the renegade file-sharing application that answers to no one. There are no centralized servers, and therefore, no way to shut it down. Although a little less pretty than the rest, Gnutella will impress with its power. You want video? You want audio? Gnutella can find it all!

Scour Exchange Beginner's Guide Scour Exchange lets users share any kind of audio, image, or video file (broadband users can share entire movies). As well, it has a well-designed and easy-to-use interface that makes it an excellent choice for both beginners and experts.

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