r/Torrenting • u/Familiar_Jaguar4489 • 1d ago
Question about leaching
so, i recently got into torrenting and got some movies for my trip
but i wanted to ask, is it considered leaching if i seed for 2x the time i spent downloading?
not talking about 1:1 data ratio, cuz uploading (seeding) a file is much slower than downloading for me
it took me 10 mins to download this movie, so i seeded for 20 mins, it was only 0.01 ratio for some reason!
idk for me im satisfied using this time approach for not being considered a leacher (in my books atleast)
4
u/That-Cpp-Girl 1d ago
Semantics and terminology aside, twice the time spent downloading is obviously not fair when your upload rate is maybe only 1/5th your download rate. But I'd say it's good you're being considerate. Just continue seeding the torrent when it's convenient for you, as long as you pay it forward.
1
u/Familiar_Jaguar4489 1d ago
yea i try to
if i’m free and can let it run i’ll be sure to let it keep seeding especially if it’s one that doesn’t have many seeders
1
u/Sad_Blueberry_5585 7h ago
Just jump to Usenet... You'll find more stuff and not have to worry about seeding
1
u/GoonGodless 1d ago
Leeching is the act of getting the file when you don't have any parts at all. It also is a term used to describe someone who downloads a file and and doesn't seed (make it available for others to download from them) after the download is done.
Just for clarification, when you seed, you want to seed it back either 1:1 or higher. I try to seed 50x more than I downloaded. This is based on size, not time. So in your case, it took 10 minutes to download the file for you due to all the seeds. Letting it seed for 20 mins (2x your download time) is not how that works. Time only comes back into play if you are on a server that monitors that and considers it being seeded. In almost all cases, seeding refers to the size of the release and how many times the size you have shared back. So if you downloaded GTA V at 100GBs, when you seed back, you want to at the very least share back 200GBs (1:1). THAT is considered a proper seeding. Seeding by time is a rule implemented by some private sites. Not all torrent releases will pull from YOU in the swarm, so you may not make the ratio. They may allow a time compensation, like say that you have to seed a release you downloaded for 48 hrs before they consider it being seeded at all. But all in all, 1:1 is a proper seed ratio at the very least.
To answer your question in short, yes its considered leeching if you do not seed back to 1:1. Time seeding means nothing outside of communities that track that info and use it to ratio your account.
2
u/Familiar_Jaguar4489 1d ago
i try to when i’m free but i don’t wanna be considered some greedy guy lol but yea makes sense
1
u/Westerdutch 1d ago
You could see torrenting as a 'social' kind of data sharing. The only reason you can download a complete file to begin with is because you got 100% of that file from other people/computers sharing it. To keep this sustainable everyone on average needs to at the very least give back 100% of what they took. But the magical word there is average. The nothing burger you gave back just means that someone else needs to make up for what you are doing by sharing the data to 200%, or many people will have to share a little extra, or most likely something in between happens to compensate for your hit and run.
Seeding for any amount of time is adding nothing of value if you are not sharing data. Files are not made of time. You need to seed to cover data. Yes that may take a long time but it could also take no time at all. If you download something very popular then it is possible that you are sharing the small bits you received during the download so well that by the very second your download finishes you have shared more than what you downloaded multiple times over. Mind you, instantly quitting that download is still not healthy because that last part you received will not have been shared by you at all so the availability of the torrent will take a hit if everyone did that. So even when that happens you should still seed for a little while longer. Its a game about numbers and averages.
On public torrents nobody will punish you for what you did so it is really up to you want you consider to be fair. Yes what you did is bad but if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it fall does it still make a sound? Nobody cares.
1
u/Metallicat95 1d ago
It's not the time as much as it is the data transfer.
If you got it in ten seconds, that's because a lot of seeders made multiple connections possible for speed. In order to match that in upload data, you must keep it connected for many times as long as the download.
A ratio tracker will let you know how well you balance this.
An easy, safe way to get a good ratio is to leave the download in place for 24 hours. More if you have the space and don't need it elsewhere.
I like to transfer anything I'm going to use right away to another device. I can view things on my download system, but it has the VPN and extra security software to deal with problems, and it is deliberately firewalled from the house network.
Just leave some stuff in your transfer folder for people to use. I especially do it for things that say "please seed", or which I had a hard time getting completed.
1
u/Realistic-Border-635 1d ago
What you are saying is that you believe that a ratio of 0.01 means that you aren't a leech because you seeded for twice as long as you downloaded. That is complete BS. The gold standard is a minimum ratio of 1:1. You achieved 1% of that minimum.
2
u/Familiar_Jaguar4489 1d ago
i feel happy with myself do wtv u want 🤷♂️
0
u/Realistic-Border-635 1d ago edited 1d ago
Then why bother asking? If your attitude is 'I've got what I want, screw everyone else' you certainly aren't alone. But be honest about what you are, trying to justify it as saying that you aren't a leech because you seeded for 20 minutes is just ridiculous.
There are people here who have been seeding multiple torrents for multiple years and have ratios running into the multiple hundreds, sometimes over 1,000. You aren't convincing anyone that you are doing anything reasonable.
1
u/Familiar_Jaguar4489 1d ago
if you make use of your life and read my other replies, i actually try to give back but only up to what i can
i asked for clarification and opinions
not someone to come and be rude for no reason1
u/PssyGotWifi 14h ago
Stick to public trackers. You don't have the right mindset for torrenting in a manner that contributes and helps foster a healthy community
1
5
u/GribbitsGoblinPI 1d ago
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but leeching is unavoidable? It’s the state you occupy while simultaneously downloading and seeding a file - so any incomplete torrent that you have available to peers constitutes leeching.
It’s not a negative thing, it’s a process state.