digg.com might face shutdown over HD-DVD key

As suggested by gizmodo.com, the power of Web 2.0 is in full effect over at Digg, a social content web site where users can submit content, which gets read by other users. If your story rocks and receives enough Diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the million of visitors to see.

The riot started when one fellow Digg user posted the HD-DVD AACS Processing Key number, which would allow someone to crack the copy protection on an HD-DVD. Under the threat of legal action, Digg.com booted the user from their web site and removed the key.

As a result, Digg users have protested in large numbers over the site's actions, accusing founder Kevin Rose for selling out or betraying the community. A number of people have pointed out that HD-DVD is a Digg sponsor, and have used that fact to level such charges at Kevin.

Due to the hundreds of stories and thousands of comments that have been submitted, Kevin Rose has reversed his decision. According to his post, "You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be. If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying."

The code has already surfaced on gizmodo.com and slashdot.org, and other social content web sites.

Even if digg.com goes to web heaven, there is always another one and another.