The search for is less about finding a specific movie file and more about touching a moment in digital history. It represents a time when the web was less commercialized, when server admins forgot to upload an index.html , and when sharing a trailer via a raw FTP directory felt like hacking the Matrix.
Are there any more specifics about the 'Index of Pirates' you are thinking of?
Legally and culturally, 2005 was a tipping point. The United States Supreme Court had just decided MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (2005), ruling that P2P services could be held liable for copyright infringement by their users. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was in the midst of a highly publicized (and later controversial) campaign of suing individual file-sharers—including a 12-year-old girl and a deceased grandmother. The "Index of Pirates" query, therefore, carried a real risk. Searching for it was a small act of defiance, but also a gamble. Universities began blocking P2P traffic, and internet service providers started sending warning letters. The innocent-looking directory listing had become a legal battleground.
And the internet hungered for it.