Originally Posted by
TrueBusiness
Hi.
I feel it is time that FST has had a real thread full of honest questions and clear answers. I will look at both sides of this recurring issue and hope to address it once and for all, which seems rather unlikely. For years (literally), lack of coherent communication has hindered an enjoyable process that was once "merely sharing files." The online drama, funny enough, is rather a immature evolution from what we truly wanted.
From the threads I have seen, it seems as if the FST staff and tracker staff are pitted against each other in a perpetual quandary and battle. Being somewhat in this kind of situation for quite a while, I feel it is really essential for both sides to stop the miscommunication.
Bittorrent, in its core sense, is to share files. No doubt since it's appearance in 2001, and its widespread use starting in 2004, it has escalated to much more than that. While it had been mostly used as a method for friends online to share files at first, we have developed into a hypocritical online network full of liars and backstabbers. Since their commencement, trackers are now exhibited in a "What Trackers Are Worth" thread, apparently largely catered to "traders." This is no doubt a violation of site rules, sites of which many FST staff are on.
Now, I ask you, why? Traders, in reality, rarely use the trackers they trade. Ironically, they use the the trackers they have successfully traded as "trophy trackers," trackers that represent nothing but its face value as a name. Now rather than actually use the site, they again trade accounts and invites for what they deem as a "higher level tracker," a number superficially branded based on rarity to represent a tracker.
Traders, in real life, are normal human beings like you and me. Online, however, they can have ten or even twenty alternate identities. We have all heard of trader hunters. Their essential goal is to rid of these users from trackers, mostly for one reason. Traders compromise site security, just as the reviews in the WTAW thread do. While FST staff seems to value their members' security and deem it their admirable quality, it is a paradoxical action when they do not seem to realize trackers are doing the same. What most of us is illegal, yet they condone the fact that traders should be helped in their desires to achieve the delusional goal of attaining a "tracker." Is there some hidden motive behind this? I leave this to FST staff to ponder, whether or not they decide to announce it publicly. Don't tell me it's to satiate the needs of traders. If FST really cared about them, they would advise them with a thread of the detrimental qualities of trading and lead them in the right direction instead of condoning these actions.
On another note, allow me to make an example with history that pretty much sums up the e-drama that has been going on for quite a while now.
After World War II, America again deemed the Soviet Union as its main rival. While an ally in the second World War, the Soviet Union was angry that America had arrived so late in the war. The USSR, during the whole course of the war until D-Day, thought the US had viewed them as rivals, and allowed the Soviets to "bleed" and exterminate the Nazis AND the Communists for the convenience of Americans. This, however is untrue, as FDR had been slowly pushing America out of its isolationist status. After the war, Truman, now the President, announced his plan for a Truman Doctrine or, as it was widely known, containment. The plan was to keep Communism from spreading and for the USSR to give up the countries it had obtained during the war. The Soviet Union said no, and America thought that they had planned to spread Communism across the world. What they did not realize is that Russia had lost 20 million soldiers in the war until D-Day, and invaded THREE times since Napoleon last invaded the country. The "Iron Curtain" (countries the USSR obtained in the war) was to act as a buffer zone from future invasions, while Truman believed it was the start of the spread of Communism. Thus, the Cold War began.
Please excuse my language, but this stupid shit ran on for decades, an arms race that lasted caused of disillusioned retards who never communicated. Both sides were CLEARLY apprehensive of each other, but always assumed the other side was making a move.
If you haven't realized yet, this analogy fits rather perfectly in our Bittorrent world. Tracker staff, being Soviet Russia, are apprehensive of invasions from bad users. They closed their doors, and people started characterizing them as being "1337." FST staff, being America, keep a staunch position on keeping their traders and reviews, sadly not admitting the fact that trackers are having their security ruined by these users. No matter the experience of a tracker staff, they are there to protect their site, regardless of they seeming immaturity.
On the other hand, tracker staff are so ruthless in their catching traders that people start thinking they're crazy. It's a dog eat dog world to them, and they will do anything to protect their site rather than protect YOU. It may not be entirely understandable to everyone, but they are more secretive about their trackers and members, as they are so conspicuously doing something more wrong than hosting a public site about file sharing. Some tracker staff are truly immature; it's a pity. The situations at hand is the amount of traders FST hosts and the paranoia of staff to protect their sites.
I have typed enough to prove my point. Most of you probably did not read it entirely due to your lack of wanting to read long paragraphs, but I strongly suggest we take a clear approach to this right now rather than go on for months with meaningless topic. You may accuse me of having no life, but I will say, that if you have any opinion concerning this, that you partake in this thread with some explanations that will elucidate this situation.
This topic may not change anything. So be it. However, I strongly hope we will change the attitude of both sides, both of whom are very protective of their stances, largely due to dearth of cooperation between both camps.
I will probably return to this thread and reply again, with a much shorter post to address the short attention span of the majority of bittorrent users.
With that, bye for now and good luck.
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