To - Trade - Or Not To - Trade - ?

[Defy]

There always seems to be a bunch of controversy over the trading of accounts and invites for bittorrent sites. To me, and in my own personal opinion, it's no different than trading marbles or baseball cards! I obviously can see the reason behind never offering real life cash in exchange for access to these sites, and I'd never condone that (it IS all pirated software anyways!). However, I DO believe in the occasional donation (of any amount, big or small) to help support the communities that I am a member of. Just a friendly way to say, "Hey, thanks for all the free stuff!".

I suppose the saying holds true that "you need to give a little to get a little", and this especially applies to the entire bittorrent universe. Understandably I believe the main reason for trading is so one individual can acquire the specific sites that he/she so desires. I'll be the first to admit that I did some minor trading to achieve my bittorrent site goals and now that I have everything I could possibly ever need, I can focus on giving BACK to the community, through free invites and the like.

On the other hand, some people are pure collectors (like those who invest in expensive foreign cars or sculptures/art). Bittorrent trading is nothing but a hobby to them and they enjoy spending their time climbing the ladder to reach the top-notch, cream of the crop websites. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but after reading so many posts, digging through member history, and familiarizing myself with the different content that torrent site contains, I can honestly say that it could, in a way, "stabilize" the file sharing economy.

Sure, you're always going to have those bad seeds who try to monopolize whatever gain they might receive (ie. dupe accounts), but those who trade as if it were a sport are constantly recycling their accounts and websites to new people, in which case these new people might actually need/want the site for personal use! Not everyone is lucky enough to catch sign ups in time or have friends "on the inside" who could throw them a free invite. If you found out a real life buddy had access to this totally awesome bittorrent site, who then informed you that he no longer wanted it and was willing to give it to you, would you refuse and turn down the offer?

That might qualify more as a "giveaway", but in all technicality it is still handing the account over to a completely different person that is not the original owner.

So now that you've listened to me ramble for awhile, I guess I should get on with my intention! To trade or not to trade? THAT is the question!

[JA]

Why can't you just post this in one of the a million threads already out there?...

[muyoso]

You do know how silly, to put it very lightly, your argument sounds right? Tracker trading is like trading cars? Um, no, this is a silly hobby that silly people do so they can get around paying for shit. Fighting for the newest or the best tracker is pretty lame and stupid if you really think about it. Unless you are trying to grow your e-penis so you can show it off to all your buddies, all you are doing is trying to find new rarer places to download your files from.

That being said, trading accounts is even more stupid. At least with free invites you are trying to spread joy to the masses by allowing them access to what menial enjoyment they can muster from new torrent sites. When you trade an account, you are trading something of perceived value for something of similar perceived value, while in reality, the account is worth NOTHING. It is the ability to continue stealing with a slightly lower risk of being caught.

Not that I don't download quite a bit, but I try and take the entire thing a little less serious.

[sear]

There always seems to be a bunch of controversy over the trading of accounts and invites for bittorrent sites. To me, and in my own personal opinion, it's no different than trading marbles or baseball cards! I obviously can see the reason behind never offering real life cash in exchange for access to these sites, and I'd never condone that (it IS all pirated software anyways!). However, I DO believe in the occasional donation (of any amount, big or small) to help support the communities that I am a member of. Just a friendly way to say, "Hey, thanks for all the free stuff!".

The difference between this and marbles and baseball cards (and this is my problem with trading) is that this may be the internet but it's also real life. And in real life people can do and have gone to jail face huge fines and a criminal record for offering you a free service. When you trade an invite or account greed comes into play and in the majority of cases people will trade with whoever just to get that account they want. In the end the people your trading with are mainly not your friends if they were you would give them and account/invite and vice versa without expecting something in return. Therefore you don't know who your letting into a tracker. Putting the admin and everyone else involved at risk of prosecution, or in the least being shut down thereby losing a valued service because you traded.

I suppose the saying holds true that "you need to give a little to get a little", and this especially applies to the entire bittorrent universe. Understandably I believe the main reason for trading is so one individual can acquire the specific sites that he/she so desires. I'll be the first to admit that I did some minor trading to achieve my bittorrent site goals and now that I have everything I could possibly ever need, I can focus on giving BACK to the community, through free invites and the like.

Good for you giving back is great, though it also puts sites at risk it's not as bad because people are a little choosier about who they give a free account or invite to. In the end when someone trades they care if that person is trustworthy enough not to scam them, but (correct me if i'm wrong) little thought is given to their true intentions with that account. That person could be planning on using it, or trading it or they could be a mpaa riaa fuck trying to shut down our community.

On the other hand, some people are pure collectors (like those who invest in expensive foreign cars or sculptures/art). Bittorrent trading is nothing but a hobby to them and they enjoy spending their time climbing the ladder to reach the top-notch, cream of the crop websites. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this, but after reading so many posts, digging through member history, and familiarizing myself with the different content that torrent site contains, I can honestly say that it could, in a way, "stabilize" the file sharing economy.

I have to disagree, by hording accounts they make it harder for someone else to legitimately acquire that account/invite and walk in the front door.

Sure, you're always going to have those bad seeds who try to monopolize whatever gain they might receive (ie. dupe accounts), but those who trade as if it were a sport are constantly recycling their accounts and websites to new people, in which case these new people might actually need/want the site for personal use! Not everyone is lucky enough to catch sign ups in time or have friends "on the inside" who could throw them a free invite. If you found out a real life buddy had access to this totally awesome bittorrent site, who then informed you that he no longer wanted it and was willing to give it to you, would you refuse and turn down the offer?

Your analogy is flawed because 99.99 percent of the time these people aren't real life friends. And as far as having friends on the inside if you show your true intentions and are a valued member of the bt community it's not hard to be given invites to more sites than you could ever use. True it may be difficult to get some of the "rarer sites" but really all that content is available on TL and many other easy to obtain sites. While if you goal is to join hard to reach communities, well then it's not hard at all because people will recognise that that's what your after and invite you

That might qualify more as a "giveaway", but in all technicality it is still handing the account over to a completely different person that is not the original owner.

Agreed giving away accounts is just as bad as trading them. If you don't want it let it go, and someone else will gladly take your spot the honest way. Why should people be punished for wanting to do the right thing? every time an account is traded or given away one person who wants an invite is left out in the cold. I have to admit I did accept one account and I use it but I now recognise that was a mistake and wouldn't do it again (it's never to late to realise you've done the wrong thing).

So now that you've listened to me ramble for awhile, I guess I should get on with my intention! To trade or not to trade? THAT is the question!

sdsd

Easy don't trade and good things will come to you...I speak from experience.

btw J.A is right there are a lot of threads about this subject but this is one of the most well thought out and argued I've seen so in my opinion it deserves it's own spot and a reply

[Defy]

Why can't you just post this in one of the a million threads already out there?...

I didn't care too much to dig through a bunch of old content and bump up posts by others that have been long gone. Besides, being the original poster gets more straightforward answers!

Tracker trading is like trading cars? Um, no, this is a silly hobby that silly people do so they can get around paying for shit.

I suppose I used that analogy to express the magnitude or extent that some people go to/consider torrent trading to be. A hobby is a hobby I would think. Collecting POGs (if you're familiar with them) was super popular in the mid to late 90's and all the "cool kids" were trading them. It was completely silly and eventually the schools banned them because they considered it a form of gambling. Yet another small reference. They're not the same, but it was the closest relative terms I could think of.

And to: sear
I appreciate your constructive replies and respect the fact that we can agree to disagree and even plain agree! (Wow, what a mouth full!)

btw J.A is right there are a lot of threads about this subject but this is one of the most well thought out and argued I've seen so in my opinion it deserves it's own spot and a reply

I do agree and thank you. One of my main reasons for starting my own thread and not trying to sort out the 100's of other junk posts was to try and receive both positive and negative feedback directly. Many people I see who tend to disagree with the trading aspect of invites and accounts can only muster replies such as, "traders suck, that is all" and there's no real thought put into it. So I definitely appreciate the lengthy responses you've provided!

Good for you giving back is great, though it also puts sites at risk it's not as bad because people are a little choosier about who they give a free account or invite to. In the end when someone trades they care if that person is trustworthy enough not to scam them, but (correct me if i'm wrong) little thought is given to their true intentions with that account. That person could be planning on using it, or trading it or they could be a mpaa riaa fuck trying to shut down our community.

This does make quite a bit of sense, and I'd have to agree with you for the most part. Essentially we're all taking a risk of some form or another and "spreading" the bittorrent love (so to speak) through sharing accounts and invites could come back to bite you in the ass. Personally, I'm very careful with the transactions I've made, but you're so very right in saying that you can never be sure about another person, their true intentions, and trustworthiness.

I'd post more but seeing as how it's getting late and my contacts are in serious need of being taken out... I'll take my leave for the evening and bid thee adieu. Thanks again.

[sear]

Ok defy, till next time. It's good to have a real conversation on this or any topic instead of the flaming and hating that usually goes down