A question for btt tracker 'community' seekers

[1000possibleclaws]

How important is the community aspect of private trackers for you? My view on torrenting is that people torrent to get files, and then discover private trackers as a means to get specialized material (be it hq music, hard-to-find movies, niche tv shows, and what not), for increased security and privacy, or maybe to get 0day files very fast (especially if public sites like TPB are being throttled by their ISP/university).

It seems that since most of these niche sites are available easily enough, more and more torrenters are being drawn to trackers that stress community and exclusivity. Are you one of these torrenters? If so, are you in/trying to get in these sites because you are bored, or because you want an online community that includes a tracker (albeit it being practical or not).

I assume these trackers are attracting so much appeal because people already have easy access to all the data they need and feel the need to keep looking for more interesting sites, but there are probably other reasons that I'm just overlooking. I have friends that are very involved in these kinds of sites and I'm sure alot of you guys are as well. Please share why these sites are so appealing. :huh:

[piratebot]

And why not just join regular, non-file sharing related forums that are relevant to your interests?

[ovisan]

I just look at it this way: the content is 90% the same in any tracker, the only thing that is different is the community.This means this only the community is special and not the tracker. There are a few places I visit every day not only looking for something to download but see what is new in forums, who is looking for an answer, to check new and interesting sites and see others opinion about things that I am interested in. I even like the spamming threads.
And again a tracker is 10 times more sexy for an user if hes got friends in there. For me this is the 1st thing that I choose now before I sign up to a new tracker. But also if the content is a perfect 10 I will try my best to make a couple of friends in their irc channel to make sure that I will happily come back again.
If we will all do that we will stop this mad chase after high lever trackers and will learn to appreciate the tracker we are already in and the communities we already belong!

LOVE, OvISaN

[stoi]

Well the thing that i do not really understand is.

lets say a site has 3,000 members, but they stress community, but only 100 of their members may be active in the community, forums and IRC.

But a site with 30,000 members, maybe have 3000 members in the community, forums and IRC but they are not a Community tracker.

My mind boggles with that i am afraid lol

the other thing is as well, a lot of it is just spam for the sake of spam, takes a long time to find a good thread, in most trackers.

[Something Else]

I don't see much use in 'community' trackers myself. It's content that matters more than anything in my opinion. I use usenet for any scene stuff so have no need for 0day or community 0day trackers in terms of content.

[brightsid]

Community is not only being active in forums and IRC.
For me a great community is a tracker with members (no diff if they are 10 or 10000) that spent time and effort for example to write a guide for x264 encoding or proper vinyl ripping. A tracker with 50 members using their imagination to create a christmas banner is more community than the one that gathered a few thousand in the IRC waiting for upload credit

[stoi]

I think what you will also find as well, trackers that have very rarely opened, or in some cases, never opened, have 99% of the userbase that can speak English (if it is an English speaking tracker)

those with lots of members, have members from all over the world, that cant speak a word of English.

So the Community aspect can suffer in that respect on the big trackers, because most of the members, cant join in because they cant speak the language.

[Artemis]

the other thing is as well, a lot of it is just spam for the sake of spam, takes a long time to find a good thread, in most trackers.

This is actually the most true thing stated here, in many cases it is the same group of posters on multiple sites, and there are only so many 'rate that chick' 'would you hit that?' 'rate these boobs' threads you can take before your brain turns to mush.
There are some long established trackers which have a close knit group of members that differ from the others, but they are the exception rather than the rule, and we have seen lately new trackers start up and within a week have an 'awesome community'. I think in many cases the WTAW thread skews peoples perceptions and many curious people who want a tracker simply because it seems unattainable will deal the community card simply to defend that curiosity.
Tracker staff actually make much of the 'atmosphere' to do with a tracker, i.e. what posts are allowed what aren't, what subjects are discussed or on the torrent side of the tracker what content is allowed and what isn't. So it is the 'atmosphere' that is the difference, but even then in many cases the differences are only minor, you either like the trackers content and if you are a poster/irc junkie enjoy that side or you don't, simple.
Many I think that seek the highly rated 'community' trackers are greatly disappointed when they gain membership since the emphasis isn't on blazingly quick 0day file speeds or even on the latest content. Many are labeled 'lame' by those who seek them mistakenly thinking they are some kind of topsite, only to find more emphasis on the forum than the tracker

[Albo Da Kid]

I don't see much use in 'community' trackers myself. It's content that matters more than anything in my opinion. I use usenet for any scene stuff so have no need for 0day or community 0day trackers in terms of content.

I didn't expect that from you..
Isn't it ironic to say so, when your own site is thriving on the "community" aspect??
If you make a poll and ask "what do you use iTS for, for content or community??", I grantee you more than 70% will choose community instead of content.
And if you make another poll and ask "Is the content decent in iTS, Yes or NO", i bet......lol i don't think you want to create the second poll.

@regarding the thread. I think the "community" excuse is used mostly by collectors. They need to find new excuses, therefore they say whatever makes sense to most.
There's numerous amounts of private bittorrent communities for that purpose, which are 10x more active than any "community" tracker.

[stoi]

many I think that seek the highly rated 'community' trackers are greatly disappointed when they gain membership since the emphasis isn't on blazingly quick 0day file speeds or even on the latest content. Many are labeled 'lame' by those who seek them mistakenly thinking they are some kind of topsite, only to find more emphasis on the forum than the tracker

Ok I love forums, as you can see from my post count here lol and with the post count on my site, but when I joined 2 trackers that were supposed to be community trackers,

A: I struggled to post anything, because there was no posts that interested me at all.

B: I was scared to post incase I got shouted down, as being a "NEW" member, and what you say does not have anything to do with here (i seen that happen to a few new members.)

C: If I was after porn links great, but we have already had this out in another thread lol

D: if i was after FTP links that only had stuff from a year ago, great

On BCG i like to mark all posts as read, open up all forums, wait 10 minutes, refresh, and usually (depending on the time of day, 5am GMT its dead, but then so is this place) and see what new posts/threads there are.

usually a hell of a lot, but on those sites, it seemed to be a few posts every 24 hours, and most were nonsensicle at that lol

Dont know, to me they were supposed to be about community, to me they were not very good at it, and they did not have the members to be a tracker in all due respects, so i can understand members being disapointed, I joined them for the forums, not the tracker, and I was still dissapointed, not what i was expecting at all.

[Artemis]

Dont know, to me they were supposed to be about community, to me they were not very good at it, and they did not have the members to be a tracker in all due respects, so i can understand members being disapointed, I joined them for the forums, not the tracker, and I was still dissapointed, not what i was expecting at all.

I have to agree in many cases as I said it is the same group of posters being forum whores in an effort to gain attention, and the same forum content repeated ad nauseum, which is the crux of the first part of my post above.
As I said the only real difference in many cases is the 'atmosphere' and this is generated primarily by how the site is staffed more than anything rather than user posts.
But I also agree that in many cases doing a new post refresh just reveals drivel in many cases, I think more than anything this has to do with the average age of torrenters though, they are primarily a young group, so highbrow discussion is right up there with dentist appointments in terms of things to do with the day.

[1000possibleclaws]

I didn't expect that from you..
Isn't it ironic to say so, when your own site is thriving on the "community" aspect??


Well since that's his own community he probably has alot of close friends there. I assume benchez' post was referring to this type of tracker in general and his lack of interest in them. At least that's how I read it.




C: If I was after porn links great, but we have already had this out in another thread lol



Sadly that is so true

[Villalltheway]

I don't see much use in 'community' trackers myself. It's content that matters more than anything in my opinion. I

Agreed.




the other thing is as well, a lot of it is just spam for the sake of spam, takes a long time to find a good thread, in most trackers.

This one of the main reason i dont use tracker forums, because to be honest they are full of crap threads.

Also id rather do my ranting and talking on fst, then risk getting banned from a tracker because u might of said something that did not agree with a mod.

[IdolEyes787]

many I think that seek the highly rated 'community' trackers are greatly disappointed when they gain membership since the emphasis isn't on blazingly quick 0day file speeds or even on the latest content. Many are labeled 'lame' by those who seek them mistakenly thinking they are some kind of topsite, only to find more emphasis on the forum than the trackerOk I love forums, as you can see from my post count here lol and with the post count on my site, but when I joined 2 trackers that were supposed to be community trackers,

A: I struggled to post anything, because there was no posts that interested me at all.



That's what frustrates me and more than that when I take the time to start a new thread hardly anyone replies.

Coincidentally enough I just post on the a couple "top" sites words to that effect .
"Why do you have a TV forum when no one actually discusses the programs?".Beyond "I can't wait til it's on"."I just watched it" and "it rawked "that is.
No one replied.:(

Strangely I actually have very little interest in the tracker part anymore and joined these sites specifically for the "community"
I'm not saying that everyone isn't nice enough just that I don't really know why they are there.

Honestly the thought has been crossing my mind lately to just chuck it all and find a nice forum someplace.Someplace that is where people don't care about post counts and stats and other pointless shite and are there out of genuine interest .

[1000possibleclaws]

^^ The problem is people have no common interest in 0day sites, and the only common interest in the 'community' trackers is sadly being in a 'l33t' site which doesn't transfer into an interesting forum. There are trackers that I think have awesome communities+forums, but they are not general scene trackers nor do they try to be elite.

[Cabalo]

Ok I love forums, as you can see from my post count here lol and with the post count on my site, but when I joined 2 trackers that were supposed to be community trackers,

A: I struggled to post anything, because there was no posts that interested me at all.



That's what frustrates me and more than that when I take the time to start a new thread hardly anyone replies.

Coincidentally enough I just post on the a couple "top" sites words to that effect .
"Why do you have a TV forum when no one actually discusses the programs?".Beyond "I can't wait til it's on"."I just watched it" and "it rawked "that is.
No one replied.:(

Strangely I actually have very little interest in the tracker part anymore and joined these sites specifically for the "community"
I'm not saying that everyone isn't nice enough just that I don't really know why they are there.

Honestly the thought has been crossing my mind lately to just chuck it all and find a nice forum someplace.Someplace that is where people don't care about post counts and stats and other pointless shite and are there out of genuine interest .
it's called El Dorado tracker ;)

[lysine]

if I want files, I use a tracker.

if I want community, I use specialized forums. I've been a member of certain music related forums for eight years now, and there's more of a feeling of "community" on those sites than any tracker could ever hope for.

[ben99]

Ok I love forums, as you can see from my post count here lol and with the post count on my site, but when I joined 2 trackers that were supposed to be community trackers,

A: I struggled to post anything, because there was no posts that interested me at all.



That's what frustrates me and more than that when I take the time to start a new thread hardly anyone replies.

Coincidentally enough I just post on the a couple "top" sites words to that effect .
"Why do you have a TV forum when no one actually discusses the programs?".Beyond "I can't wait til it's on"."I just watched it" and "it rawked "that is.
No one replied.:(

Strangely I actually have very little interest in the tracker part anymore and joined these sites specifically for the "community"
I'm not saying that everyone isn't nice enough just that I don't really know why they are there.

Honestly the thought has been crossing my mind lately to just chuck it all and find a nice forum someplace.Someplace that is where people don't care about post counts and stats and other pointless shite and are there out of genuine interest .

haha I know exactly what you are talking about, 24 right? Well there was some discussion in that forum. The ftn tv section is probably the best when it comes to discussing a select few tv shows. Another one you might want to try is bitmetv.

[IdolEyes787]

^^ The problem is people have no common interest in 0day sites, and the only common interest in the 'community' trackers is sadly being in a 'l33t' site which doesn't transfer into an interesting forum.

Yeah but I 'm not going t be a jerk like that so I will just keep posting even if it is essentially to myself.Besides maybe if I keep at it someone will take the hint and join in.


Besides I find myself very interesting so it's not so bad really.;)

@ben.Look on a "white" one too I was a little more direct.:lol:
Actually I'm not looking for some big discussion. Mainly I got angry at the "average" members and was blowing off a little steam.

I had a bit of a fight with a guy on another forum and I've been in a generally bad mood for a little while now.Unfortunately it's been coming out against people who don't really deserve it.

[Sanka113]

I think it really depends. Some people join some of the "clubhouse" trackers mostly because it's where their friends hang. While, they may have better trackers for content they'll still grab an occasional torrent for their use while uploading a torrent to help out their friends. In regards to tracker forums , most of them suck. I'm not talking activity wise, but design wise. Most of them have a crappy search feature, and lack board features such as new post. I think the poor design of those forums keeps activity down because lazy people (like me) don't feel like going through every category to find something interesting to read.

But yeah, for the most part most of the people on FST that say they are in it for the community are there just to rank up their e-penis. I doubt most of them even go to the irc or look at the forums. Hell once they figure out how lacking the content is at those trackers they'll probably grab enough torrents to keep the account alive. That makes me a saaaad pan-duh.

[1000possibleclaws]

I think it really depends. Some people join some of the "clubhouse" trackers mostly because it's where their friends hang. While, they may have better trackers for content they'll still grab an occasional torrent for their use while uploading a torrent to help out their friends. In regards to tracker forums , most of them suck. I'm not talking activity wise, but design wise. Most of them have a crappy search feature, and lack board features such as new post. I think the poor design of those forums keeps activity down because lazy people (like me) don't feel like going through every category to find something interesting to read.

But yeah, for the most part most of the people on FST that say they are in it for the community are there just to rank up their e-penis. I doubt most of them even go to the irc or look at the forums. Hell once they figure out how lacking the content is at those trackers they'll probably grab enough torrents to keep the account alive. That makes me a saaaad pan-duh.

The fact that they don't download from a tracker that is lacking in content and don't visit a badly designed forum makes you sad? Your post is so contradicting of itself that it's confused me completely on your opinion of these sites :blink:

[bumrocks]

Personally, I am one of those that enjoys the community aspect. Torrents can be found almost anywhere. Good people, good conversation, and the like can be difficult at times. Here is a generalization I haven't quite sold myself on but think it may be somewhat true. Unfortunately, I am going to throw the "level" word in on it. It is my opinion (I think) that you find a little better conversation and less douchery in some of the higher level sites and therefore do in fact have a better community aspect and forum conversation. The young and immature are less likely to end up on those sites, imo. Does douchery still happen and do youngins' (as they say here in TN) still get on the site...Yes. And yes, you do get some with super-1337 douchery attitudes cause they are at those sites. But I think there is less of it...And truly I am not sure or sold on this. This may just be a unproven theory. Haven't decided yet...

I do prefer smaller communities. For the most part I do not care for spam. Post count doesn't mean a thing...Post content and quality is what I appreciate and enjoy. Occasional spam for "fun" threads is ok if it is not abused.

I enjoy learning things and sharing info...Therefore, I do look for good communities in trackers. My favorite and most used trackers have what I consider the best communities/forums.

Added edit: Something that is was mentioned earlier is in regards to the same users at trackers...This is very true. Hence I spend time outside trackers and in forums like this one looking for something new to learn or chat about as opposed to the same old thing. I do something like stoi mentioned too, but to a more severe degree...At times I will completely leave a forum alone for days or even longer so that when I do come back to it there are fresh threads and possibly something new to talk about. Often times hours and/or even days isn't enough. I've had trouble finding threads here at FST as of late that peaked my interest as alot of them have and will continue to be like many threads before it and many more to come. But like another analogy used earlier, this forum has so many users that with patience and plenty of reading you can find good topics...As opposed to the smaller communities. See! I think I am already contradicting what I said above!

Fook...I'm beginning to screw up my post. So I am going to stop!

[Sanka113]

T.S.O.L, sorry about my post. It combined my personal opinion on the matter of why someone should want to community trackers, and the reality of why people joining those trackers. Which to have them only as trophies.

[Something Else]

I don't see much use in 'community' trackers myself. It's content that matters more than anything in my opinion. I use usenet for any scene stuff so have no need for 0day or community 0day trackers in terms of content.

I didn't expect that from you..
Isn't it ironic to say so, when your own site is thriving on the "community" aspect??

:lol:

If you'd ever been a member of iTS like you claim you have, you'd know it is not a community based site.

[TheFoX]

What is community spirit? It is when people gel together, and become virtual friends.

If you sit on the IRC channels of some of those community orientated trackers, you can often see banter between virtual mates. This extends to offers of uploading material that has been personally requested.

And this is the knub. A community orientated trackers caters more closely to the needs of it's members because everyone pulls in the same directly (generally).

You may find more content on TPB, but people there are nameless entities who you may never meet again.

[puckface]

I still dont understand this community thing.

If a community consists of a forum with 10 posts a day in it and an IRC channel where 14 year old call each other 'faggot' all day, then yeah I get the community thing. Otherwise, I dont know what the hell people are talking about, its just an reason for people to justify their interests in getting into rare of small trackers.

Everyone knows its about levels, plain and simple. Community is just an excuse.

Oh I also forgot, its also a word that tracker staff/admins use to justify their existence, otherwise they would be exactly the same 0-day tracker as every other of the 100 0-day trackers.

[stoi]

@TheFoX sorry but i do have to sort of disagree with you there.

A: why would someone come into IRC to see if someone wants what they have, if it has already been requested, surely they would just upload it, as it had been requested.

B: We just recently let everyone upload and fill requests about 3 months ago, we have 4000 more torrents on the tracker, 1,000+ requests have been filled, and 60 in the last 5 days, not bad when all we do is games, and nothing else.

But we are not seen as a community tracker, we are seen as a specialized tracker with a lot of members, but to me and obviously i will say this, our community is on par or better than all the other trackers out there, OK we have some idiots, but who doesnt.

So just because you are a small userbase and people tend to go out of thier way to help each other, does not mean that the bigger trackers are not similar, just on a larger scale.

PS:I am not getting at small trackers here, i am just sick of hearing these so called Community Trackers (small), and all the big trackers have no Community, well that is just bollocks and most know it.

PPS: Since 2008-10-05 09:06:16 GMT we have had 37635 torrent comments, and we do not allow crap like some trackers do to be posted, so if that is not community, i dont know what the hell is lol