Is BitTorrent like a game ?

[Funkin']

Yes, it is a game. A game that has become very, very, boring for me lately. Luckily I've found newsgroups. So downloading has become very fun for me once again. Except now I max out my connection with every single download, and I don't have to bother with seeding.

[DanielleD87]

good question...

i don't think it's a game for me. i just dl what i need, making friends via irc & forums.
sometimes u 'need' new sites to dl another content / make new friends / etc.
that's why i'd like to get into a new promising site usually.

i'm not collecting them, not ranking them, not trading them. so don't think it's a game for me then

awesome waki. you sound like the type of person i'd give an invite to on sites you're not on.

[helpme]

hell yea
its nice game

[waki]

good question...

i don't think it's a game for me. i just dl what i need, making friends via irc & forums.
sometimes u 'need' new sites to dl another content / make new friends / etc.
that's why i'd like to get into a new promising site usually.

i'm not collecting them, not ranking them, not trading them. so don't think it's a game for me then

awesome waki. you sound like the type of person i'd give an invite to on sites you're not on.

thanks Danielle

[Sylar666]

1.I only Download what I want and when I want (I have reasonable amount of buffer on any sites).
2. Nice to get to know great dudes from all over the world (sharing the interest of the same hobby)
3. At the end of the day it is a passion, a lifestyle (in a way), but still a game. A very addictive one. But at certain point You lose the obsession, not chasing record - buffers anymore and happy with what You have. And then You might even share Your invites or/ and experiences with the newcomers. The circle ends...

[tknaught]

Most trackers are like an RPG really. You keep uploading to gain experience until you level up to Power User etc.

[InXS]

It can be a game if you make it one

[MadIrish]

No, it isn't.

Its a file sharing protocol, one which I love using to download and share movies, tv shows, games, music and whatever else that I otherwise wouldn't be able to have access to or afford.

I guess you can make a game out of it, but that's totally missing what the whole thing should be about imho. P2P is the last bastion of pure socialism, where everyone is inherently equal and people unite simply in their desire to help others and share things they enjoy with other likeminded individuals, regardless of social status, religion, race, sex or nationality. That might be an impossibly idealistic view, but I genuinely believe it, and in a way it saddens me to see so many people believe bittorrent to be a game or a competition instead.

It doesn't matter one bit what sites you're on, what arbitrary level someone else has decided those sites are, or how much better or quicker or whatever the sites you don't have access to are. What matters is that you're getting to exchange information, ideas, and things you enjoy with others who feel the same. Any game that can be made out of that seems soulless and futile to me, and in the end must surely leave anyone trying to play it emmensely dissatisfied? I know it would me.