Why do you use bit torrent, and why to the degree that you use it?
I first started using P2P when I was in elementary school, so that I could fill up the "Juice Box" (a pretty lame media player) that I had gotten for my birthday. To accomplish this, I used Limewire. Then a couple years later, in high school, a friend of mine told me that it was possible to download video games from past systems, and so he pointed me to a Rapidshare board whose main focus was video games. While at that board, I noticed that on occasion people would post a "torrent" file for large files (which would be promptly removed by the staff). I decided to investigate farther as to what this "torrent" was. That led me to ThePirateBay, where I happily grabbed computer programs and entire discographies (OK, only one discography). I had never been able to download entire albums like that in the blink of an eye before. Having found a new way to get music, I ditched Limewire. Eventually, I got a virus that devastated my computer, so I looked to alternate places to get files from, and stumbled upon this website. Eventually I was then invited to some great private trackers.
So as I so wordily said in the above paragraph, I use bittorrent for several different reasons: one, to get media for free (I don't care too much about the speed that I get it at, since there is always something else I can do in the meantime); two, to get media safely (no viruses); three, to discuss and talk about that media with other people who more often than not, share many of my interests; and four, to expose myself to music, games, movies, and experiences that I would not have otherwise been able to experience if it were not for filesharing. I've also got to know some pretty cool people in the process.
I've never really considered myself as a heavy, hardcore downloader. I hear about these people who download hundreds, if not a thousand, gigabytes a month, and just don't see how they manage it. I already feel like I have too much media to enjoy after only taking a year and a half to fill a small 500GB HD. Another reason that I use bittorrent as my main source of obtaining files is because it makes me feel good to know that I'm helping other people get files when I seed. I'm not really doing a whole lot to the files sitting on my computer (besides enjoying some of them), so why not share them and make someone's day? So I guess that I use bittorrent to a great degree...
What do you feel is the ideal tracker for you, and are you a member of a site that fills those requirements?
The ideal tracker for me is a place that I can get files without having all these requirements shoved down my throat, a place where the staff are friendly and personable, a place where the other members there share my interests and are willing to discuss them, a place where I "feel" safe, and a place where I can experience new things. An example of my second and fifth ideals can be something that just happened today. I got an announcement from a staff member, telling everyone to spam another staff member's inbox with messages about anything and everything. The staff member then goes on to say that if a certain number are received, good things will happen. I've never experienced something like this before, especially coming from staff. I decided to participate by giving him my math homework and asking him to do it.
Do you feel you are on enough trackers, and what do you think is too many trackers?
I am very comfortable with the number of trackers that I have right now. I must confess though that I belong to a number of trackers, but only because they all fill some sort of specific niche. I belong to two 0-day trackers, three music trackers, two general movie trackers, a rare/b-movie tracker, a modern video games tracker, a retro video games tracker, a mobile tracker, an applications tracker, a retro TV tracker, and a few general trackers (including Demonoid). It is my opinion that the more specialized a tracker is, the more they care about that particular thing, and the better experience I will have (discussions, files). I do think though that I could perhaps downsize, although I unfortunately am not in the habit of making use of "Request" sections. I also like to have a tracker to "fall back on", in case something were to happen to another tracker. Out of these trackers, I only "participate" (do things besides just download and seed) in five to six.
I honestly don't think that there is a "maximum" limit of trackers that one should belong to. Everyone has their own reasons for belonging to certain trackers, and I'm fine with that.
What do you see the politics of BT entailing, and does it affect your actions in this field?
I try not to get involved with politics and all the BT drama. However, I can say that I often see people attack one another, and bring up past mistakes as a weapon against them. I've also noticed that a lot of staff out there pay attention to how one behaves at other places, and act accordingly. A recent example of this is when a member who was invited to a particular tracker by another member of that tracker was soon after disabled by staff there, based on what the staff had observed of that invitee at other places. It sure enforced the sense that "the online BT community is global now". You have to be mindful of yourself at all times, or things may not happen as you wish them to.
Do you think there is an ethos necessary when interacting, and if so, what does it consist of? By this I mean what do you think the "morals" of BT are, if you think there should be.
I think that there are a few things that every good torrenter should do. One of these things should be to have a willingness to share. Whether this means uploading torrents, seeding them for a long time, or re-seeding torrents when requested, you're contributing to the entire community. This is "peer-to-peer", not "server-to-peer"; it takes a group effort to help other people obtain files. I also believe that one should respect any tracker wishes, and follow the rules. It's their site, and so they have the right to run it however they wish. If someone doesn't like it, then they can leave.
That's all that came to mind
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