When did it all go wrong?

[shikotee]

I realize that in writing this, there are going to be some peeps that are going to be ultra :angry: pisssed-off :angry: ...

Just to let you know - I am a mere user, and have never run a site.
I've also only been a member of this community for just over a month.

I just want to share my thoughts, hear what others have to say, and hopefully challenge you to re-examine your own motivations.

So I gotta ask - what is this invitation madness all about? :huh:

Ultimately - I guess this is the price that you have to pay now that torrenting has become mainstream?

Are you motivated by need, or by status?
Is it possibly a manifestation of greed?

Is quantity (ie superficial member of 15 trackers) more important than the quality of your relationship (maintain good ratio, and establish friendships)?

Have you ever thought about why you do what you do?

For example - I know why I like torrenting. I simply think that present day economies are out of whack, and that way too many things (movies, music, sports) are way too inflated and therefore unaccessable for the masses. This particular debate is complicated, so I won't delve further into it.

While I've been torrenting for years, during that time, I really didn't care about anything - all I wanted was to do was satisfy my download urges. :whistling For the most part, this was because I was ignorant of how torrenting worked, and I was limited with my hardware. Slowly, this has changed.

So what is up with this crazy lust for account/invite trading?
I've mentioned it in another thread, and I'll say it again.

Are invites in the digital torrenting world the equivalent of cigarettes in the penal system?

People here seem to be so consumed with this, and I have to ask (this goes out to the heavy traders) - why are you doing what you are doing?

Sure - some people have legit reasons for why they are doing this, but many seem to be motivated by ego/greed, and the end result is that it is ruining it for many.

As a result of these actions, many trackers are now re-examining the way that they screen their members, and are coming to realize that just because a user maintains a good ratio (has fast ISP or seedbox), this does not mean that they are good people.

Ultimately, I guess this all reflects the real world. So many different people and different ways of life, and so many bad apple's that respect nothing short of their own basic urges.

Anyways - I know I might come off as sappy here, but what can I do?

My advice - find a place you like, download and upload tons:01: , and don't worry about this mindless pursuit of obtaining the best trackers.

If it is meant to be, you will find your way.
If not, be happy with what you have.
Don't let anger rule you.

And remember - it could be worse....

:badrod:

[JA]

Houston we have an emo for torrents..

[shikotee]

Checked my wrists (and my music collection)....

Not Emo, but lol

[Fulanito]

bravoo!! hehe

[0Ri0N]

Yup, collecting trackers is addictive. Its the same with others collections.
I liked read your post shikotee (http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/../members/shikotee-146874) :)

[FlipRising21]

interesting point of view..long..but interesting non-the-less

im personally driven by the need to have the best of the best

I want the best sites and in order to get them you have to play this trading game nuff said

o And I love it =) Its actually quite entertaining plus you meet some pretty cool people along the way

[Alien5]

i wouldnt say im addicted to trackers but, when a new one starts you want in. and when you find one you havent got you wanna see how good it is. :01:

[Niteghost]

Any Torrent sites is oNLY as good as it's SEEDERS !!, nothing BUT SEEDERS !!

[Alien5]

seeders would be nothing without leechers :01:

[j0hn]

i took part in invite trading to work my way upto the best sites. im now part of the sites i was aiming for. i no longer need to give/receive invites. the funny part is, although i tried to trade my way into certain sites, i ended up getting them by other means. usually ways that fall within the sites rules, unlike invite trading.

though i still like to give out some invites to trusted users, to help them in some way as others may have helped me.

i am also baffled by the minority who continue to aggressively trade/beg for invites even after they have made it into the top sites available. inviter above says its addictive. hey, whatever floats ur boat. i simply wanted easy/quick/reliable access to the best content around, at high speeds. now i have that. at the same time i've become part of some fantastic communities, with dedicated members.

[kimii]

Follow rules, become a established well known member at a site and things will fall into place in the end. All the sites people are willing to trade etc for do have a great community within, and they are willing to share the resources you need if you are a good member. Doing this by breaking rules (trading) will only get you labeled as a bad member everywhere and I assure you it'll make it even harder to obtain invites.

[Alien5]

:lol: have you been following rules of fst kimmi? not everyone is a clone of a perfectly behaved user..not even you or me.

[kimii]

:lol: have you been following rules of fst kimmi? not everyone is a clone of a perfectly behaved user..not even you or me.
I'm not implying perfection. BTW, I have broken no rules of FST. My disabled privilages is only due to me being staff elsewhere ;-)

[Alien5]

ha ha broken smiley :oops:

[n00nekn0w]

Ask a mod "whats wrong with my acc"

[shikotee]

As is quite common these days - people have no patience and no desire to work towards something - they want it, AND THEY WANT IT NOW.

Why work towards earning or achieving something, when you can find a loop-hole? We need instant gratification!

I guess I can relate to the addictiveness. It's like a _______ (fill in blank with whatever apllies to your generation - ie, baseball, pog, etc) card collection.

"Got it, got it, need it, got it......"

I'll trade you my "Eric Lindros" (what a bust he turned out to be, but remember the hype with cards?) rookie card for a ......

But what about the anger?

Many trackers are very clear about their policies, yet tons of you defy them, and then start foaming at the mouth when the whip is cracked.

Regretably, I think alot of innocent people do get screwed at times, and are wrongfully banned, but it is the price that must be paid to fight the corruption. Sure - some mods can be dicks (I'm sure we've all had experiences with hella-douches), but most are just doing their best to maintain order.

In any case - my advice to those who have been "wronged" is not to take it out on the mods or the tracker. Instead, go for the disease that is ruining it for all.

[savigraos]

yea. greed.

[JA]

My god u make really big reply

[FlipRising21]

dont they?

[morphine]

I dont know about everyone else, but my objective is not to collect trackers. It's to get in the best of them. If along the line you end up with a little too many, thats more of a side effect.

I know that when and if i get the trackers i want, i will give away most accounts and invites i have. For now i know that i have way too many than the ones i really use (and some arent even that good to start with).

But i also had some good surprises and there's a few, that i didnt know, that i have no wish to part with. And there's the ones i really like. Some are too much trouble to get in and too much effort to stay in, to just trade/give away.

[shikotee]

I dont know about everyone else, but my objective is not to collect trackers. It's to get in the best of them. If along the line you end up with a little too many, thats more of a side effect.


I hear what you are saying, and can relate.

When I first checked out FST, my objective was to get a better idea of what else was out there. Like everyone, I felt the frustration of being a noob, and not being able to access the invite area until 1 month went by.

I guess my take on this is that it seems way too many people seem to be getting caught up in the rat-race of seeking "the best".

And the funny thing is, "the best" is really a subjective concept.
What is best for me, is not necessarily the best for you.

I for one think to many people are "idolizing" this classification system, and I think the effects can be negative, and stutter the growth of new trackers.

At the end of the day, does it really matter if you downloaded "whatever.2006.xvid" a day faster than you would have on another tracker?

[morphine]

I guess my take on this is that it seems way too many people seem to be getting caught up in the rat-race of seeking "the best".

And the funny thing is, "the best" is really a subjective concept.
What is best for me, is not necessarily the best for you.


That's absolutely true. I have a tough time understanding some of the trades and trade proposals i see here, but who am i to question personal preferences. If i were in some of the "best" (in my opinion) trackers i see mentioned sometimes here (sct, bitmetv or especially ftn) i wouldn trade them for nothing. Let alone for obscure little trackers that nobody knows nothing about, just because they are rare. It almost doesn't matter if they're good or not. It's just means to reach the main goal.

My objective is to get in the "best" trackers and stop there. Not trade them. On the other hand if there werent people willing to trade them then how would anybody get an account there. It's all very, very relative. And obviously the sense of community tends to get a bit lost along the way.

And i agree with most of what you say. Most have a plan to reach their goals. But the thing is you only realize how caught up you are when and if you reach them. After that comes the real test. Do you stop because you reach your goals or is there a "need" to look for the "next best thing".

[Colt Seevers]

Sure - some people have legit reasons for why they are doing this, but many seem to be motivated by ego/greed, and the end result is that it is ruining it for many.

Well said, and very true. Also the reason I felt the need to reply was it was partly to do with what invite trading has become, and IMHO on the whole, it's not very nice. It was also after reading many, invite scammer threads, and user x cons user y out of account/invites that put me off the whole BT giving out invites malarky. Don't get me wrong i'm not saying that everyone is a scammer in fact the majority on here are far from it. But it's no longer worth the risk of losing an account over someone who may just turn out to be a ratio hacking freak. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/^/aiw/fie.gif



im personally driven by the need to have the best of the best

What is the "Best of the best"? I never agreed with the What invites are worth (http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/bittorrent-invites-section/t-what-invites-worth-142446) thread.
As shikotee says it's purley a subjective point of view. Just because 100,000 n00bjockeys say "zOMG Dis site is da bestest for toorretns", does it make it so? http://smilies.sofrayt.com/^/aiw/dont-know.gif



i wouldnt say im addicted to trackers but, when a new one starts you want in.
Do you? http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/_950/bore.gif



i took part in invite trading to work my way upto the best sites. im now part of the sites i was aiming for. i no longer need to give/receive invites.

That's the way it should be. Get in to "the best" trackers for your needs, not so you can upload to get Power User to get more invites so you can then trade the invites, then when your all outta invites trade your account (Dear God NO!) If the tracker provides you with what you need, be it games, music, DVDs, dancing lesbian Scat-Goat-porn for all I care...whatever, stay with it. There is no Holy Grail of torrent sites.

There is no sp00n. http://hpd.chiconcerts.com/emot/emot-rock.gif


And the funny thing is, "the best" is really a subjective concept.
What is best for me, is not necessarily the best for you.

I for one think to many people are "idolizing" this classification system, and I think the effects can be negative, and stutter the growth of new trackers.

At the end of the day, does it really matter if you downloaded "whatever.2006.xvid" a day faster than you would have on another tracker?

http://hpd.chiconcerts.com/emot/bowdown.gif Wise words!! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/^/aiw/yes.gif