As promised, video sharing site Tudou.com came back online after a 24 hour shutdown. There’s an announcement saying that uploads still won’t be possible until midnight of March 16, but otherwise everything appears to be normal.

If this really was punishment originating with SARFT, then it was mighty light — really, just a wrist-slap. If it was what the Tudou party line says — ho hum, we’re just moving servers — then it’s strange that users, let alone advertisers, weren’t notified. Not to mention of course the fact that the timing was bound to get people speculating.

Whatever the case, I’m glad to see things will be back to normal soon, and let’s hope that this whole thing, whatever its cause, doesn’t hurt the Internet video industry, which (when you sift through a lot of crap) does showcase some real creativity on the part of Chinese “prosumers.”