Do you help keep torrents alive?

Neil79 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:25

Torrents 5/10
Usenet 10/10

I R LEECHER!

Al Vallario · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:30

iviv · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:34

For private trackers you shouldn't actually overseed. Get to a 1:1 ratio, perhaps 1:2 at most before you stop seeding. Otherwise you actually hurt the community. Because if you're seeding then other guys who need the ratio more can't seed, though this only really applies to highly populated torrents. If you're the only seeder then obviously stick around. But seeding too much in a ratio based private tracker can hurt the community.

As for me, I usually seed until 1:1, though when I download domething with a ton of seeders already I don't bother since my upload can be better used elsewhere. But I'm a usenet convert so barely touch torrents now.

asim18 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:36

Energize said:
That's not how it works. With the rise of disk encryption, computers are not turned off in a professional raid. Nor are clueless idiots sent in.

Ok. So the feds turn up to a Usenet server farm. What next?

Oh that's right, nothing.

LOL

asim18 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:39

Energize said:
An IP address is one thing (which can easily be obscured), an individual identified by credit card is another entirely.

Ok, so the feds order a Usenet provider to hand over all their current customer's details.

Then what?

Oh that's right, nothing!

Because paying for usenet is NOT a crime

asim18 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:44

Energize said:
Aside from having a credit card payment to them and a log of you downloading hundreds of gigabytes from their server... I don't imagine there's anything more traceable.

Usenet providers don't log who downloads what

Energize · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:45

Rainmaker said:
Nor are Usenet providers raided so what's the point of the discussion?

The point was that the whole traceability thing is more myth than fact.

Al Vallario said:
So instead of simply boxing up the servers and taking them away for analysis, they're going to sit there in the data centre prodding their fingers into the fans wishing they could gain access to the software installed on the servers?

No they are going to be monitoring data transfer, which is exactly how they catch people downloading child pornography.

asim18 said:
Usenet providers don't log who downloads what

Go back and read what I've said...

turbodude555 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:46

As always pirating is a tricky subject. Yes it is wrong whether it be a large company that can survive it or now. However, genuine torrents are useful way of tracking down something that's no longer available. I must confess to pirating the odd game/program but ONLY to try it out before buying. While that may seem odd, you are supporting something you like rather than truly stealing. With that being said, I would have never become fans of things like Nero, Adobe or musicions I'd never heard of if it wasn't for the world of torrents. Same goes for films, when Blurays are £20 a pop, I often download full films I'm curious about before buying at that price. If I like it I buy an actual disk for the best quality and to have it in my collection.

asim18 · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:49

Energize said:
Go back and read what I've said...

Yeah, you said they keep logs. Which they don't. Simple?

steve-h · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:53

asim18 said:
Usenet providers don't log who downloads what

I'm not sure how you could possibly verify that...

wakayoda · 7 Sep 2011 at 01:55

Agree with every word Turbodude555

arknor · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:00

i usually seed any mods i download via torrent back to 1.5 ratio

Energize · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:02

asim18 said:
Yeah, you said they keep logs. Which they don't. Simple?

I didn't say that. The logs I was referring to were the ISP's. Which log connections made to the server.

steve-h said:
I'm not sure how you could possibly verify that...

I almost forgot about this, but yes you are putting a lot of trust in a company involved in criminal activity by assuming that what they are saying is true. For all you know they could be keeping logs, whether out of legal requirement or apathy.

Rainmaker · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:06

Energize said:
I didn't say that. The logs I was referring to were the ISP's. Which log connections made to the server.

So now you've proven that (1) someone paid for a legal service by credit card (OMG!!1!) and that (2) they connected to said service over SSL. I'm terrified...

I almost forgot about this, but yes you are putting a lot of trust in a company involved in criminal activity by assuming that what they are saying is true. For all you know they could be keeping logs, whether out of legal requirement or apathy.

Now a 'company involved in criminal activity' could be keeping logs out of legal requirement or apathy? Yeah, criminals tend to do that. Or something. Do you write for the Daily Mail?

Al Vallario · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:09

Energize · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:10

Rainmaker said:
Now a 'company involved in criminal activity' could be keeping logs out of legal requirement or apathy? Yeah, criminals tend to do that. Or something. Do you write for the Daily Mail?

Criminals indeed do tend to be careless which is how so many involved in these crimes are caught. They also abide by law to the necessary level required to avoid being shut down.

Al Vallario said:
You describe it like it happens on a daily basis.

When has a data centre ever been raided for the purpose of setting up a blanket live intercept on the operations of an entire company?

I don't know, how many people are arrested for downloading torrents? My point is that it's feasible, not that it will necessarily be done.

Rainmaker · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:13

Energize said:
Criminals indeed do tend to be careless which is how so many involved in these crimes are caught. They also abide by law to the necessary level required to avoid being shut down.

I give up. You do realise that these 'criminals' peer with and resell service to ISPs around the world (including BT and Virgin Media), and have been multi-million dollar companies for decades? Careless, lying criminals they're not!

But alas have it your way. I'm packing to move house, I paid by credit card! :eek:

Begbie · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:16

Torrents have their uses, but nope hit and run here.

Though its not very often I can't get what I need from FS or USENET.

Al Vallario · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:18

Energize · 7 Sep 2011 at 02:21

Rainmaker said:
I give up. You do realise that these 'criminals' peer with and resell service to ISPs around the world (including BT and Virgin Media), and have been multi-million dollar companies for decades? Careless, lying criminals they're not!

So that incident where Sony's customers data was stolen could never have happened because they are a big company which are never careless? Right...

We know they are involved in criminal activity, anyone who has used newsgroups know that. Large corporations are rarely honest with moral credibility in reality.

Al Vallario said:
Not many are arrested, but a huge number receive letters from companies acting on behalf of rights-holders seeking out-of-court settlements, and hundreds, if not thousands of people in the UK alone have paid such settlements.

Letters which have no legal validity or any real credibility.

Edit: Your suggestion is feasible in the same sense that pretty much anything that doesn't defy the laws of the universe is feasible. It is, however, completely and utterly ludicrous and would never happen in a million years given current technology.

Feasible as in something which is done on smaller scales regularly to catch criminals and is legally possible.