New guy here; couple questions

[JCSpencer]

Hi. I am very new to the whole torrent thing, but I have learned that being a "leecher" is a bad thing. I just noticed on the RPGN TorrentTracker that I am classified as being just that. Is that because it's my first torrent download and I have nothing to share? Also, how do I share? The FAQ mentioned something about not closing the file when it downloaded... does that mean if I don't touch anything that every time I'm online I'm a potential seed for the file?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Okay, now it says I'm seeding, but where it lists Connectable? it says No. How do I make myself connectable? Sorry for the stupid questions.

EDIT #2: Okay, maybe I didn't read all the right stuff. Found a link to PortForward, and I'm SOL because I'm using wireless setup and have no control over the router. Bleh.

[Kilu]

Being not connectable doesn't necessary mean that you can't seed. Torrenting bases of to the fact that you are seeding the file at the same time you are downloding it. After the file has finished downloading, if you leave the client open, it will automatically continue seeding.

Atleast on most clients.

[MojoPin]

About the "leecher" thing -- it is not necessarily bad though it does often have that connotation. Say you look at a torrent's details on the tracker pages and it says there are 3 seeders and 5 leechers for it. If you are one of those leechers it simply means that you are in the process of getting the torrent content from someone else (versus seeding which means you are supplying to someone else). In this case there is no negative attachment, it's only a designation for whether you are giving or getting stuff.

However, in general conversation "leecher" or "leech" does have a bad association. It's a term referring to a person who snags loads off everyone else but don't share in kind. These are the (irritating) people who might download 20 torrents from others but won't offer a single one back to the group in return. We beat these hoggy people with sticks. :)

Also you don't have to have your own private warehouse of original stuff to share, even if you can't upload your own torrents you can still avoid being a leech -- just continue sharing what you take from other people. This is what is meant by the FAQ mention about "not closing the file when it downloaded" ...like if somebody posts their Fire Emblem game rip, and you get it, then if you close your Bittorrent immediately and/or remove the file from your Shared torrents, nobody else will be able to get that game rip from you. But if you keep your Bittorrent on and leave that game rip shared, then another person can get it from you in turn, just like you got it from somebody else.

On that note, if you look at the torrent tracker pages, you'll see a number in parenthesis after each user's name. THAT is the only classification you need to
look at there if you are concerned about being a "leech," in the bad sense. A ratio of 1.0 means you give exactly as much as you take. Anything below 1.0 means the person takes more than they give (generally bad) while anything above 1.0 means the user gives more than they take (generally good). Of course, even that is not always absolute.. somebody could have a rating of only 0.5, meaning they take twice as much as they give back, but their total uploads to others might still be several gigs.. so they are really giving back quite a lot, just not as much as they're taking.

And now that you are totally info-overloaded LOL as for your Connectability problem I second what Kilu said, you should still be able to seed just by leaving your torrent program open and running. You might also try different torrent clients like Azureus (that's what I use and it works ok for me) or Burst or something besides just the base Bittorrent program.

[JCSpencer]

Thanks for the replies!

And thanks also for the explanations. However, no matter how long I left my windows open, it wouldn't let me share the file - or at least it never said I transferred anything to others. I'm using BitTornado, which has worked fine at other sites (I've got decent share ratings at some places, sharing as much as 4 to 5 times as much as I downloaded), but for some reason even hours later it says I am not connectable and nobody has been able to get any data from me. It's frustrating, because I have a great connection and would love to help spread these cool files. I guess it doesn't matter too much, but I would still like to help give back when so many cool people have given us access to such great stuff.

[Kilu]

Were the torrents active? I mean, our tracker is quite small, so even if you leave your client open, it's not guaranteed that someone will download that torrent after you.

Best way to know for sure is to post a torrent yourself. That way you can be absolutely sure that if someone downloads it, the transfer comes from you as you are the only seeder in the beginning.

[JCSpencer]

I'll try that. But first I have to read up on making my own torrents. http://www.rpgamers.info/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Kilu]

Heh. Our tracker has a simple tutorial for Azureus' torrent creator, other programs are as easy. http://tracker.magicite.net/azureustutorial.php

[JCSpencer]

Cool, thanks. I'm going to try using that program. I like the look of the UI much more. I'm using BitTornado atm, which doesn't have much of a UI. It's a nice program, but a little too basic imho.

[Kilu]

I would actually recommend µTorrent (http://utorrent.com/) over Azureus anytime. It's small, awesome and packed with features just like any other modern torrent client. Azureus on the other hand is a huge recourcehog.

[dhelor]

Okay, so I've had no problems so far being connectable. The thing on the page has always said that I was. But today, it's says I'm not connectable - yet I haven't changed anything. Why would this be?

BTW, using XP SP2, BitTorrent version 4.4.1

[Kilu]

That's strange.

But not alarming. The "Not/Connectable" marker isn't always right and doesn't necessarily mean that your seeding or downloading is crippled.

[Blank]

Pfft. I use BitTornado, it is pretty sweet.

As for being unconnectable, yeah, that sucks. Hopefully the internet will fix itself, and you will be made connectable again. I know a lot of people will be connectable one hour and not connectable the next. Not sure of the technical reason behind it. I am always connectable.

[Kilu]

The reasons are more often than not related to routers or nats, or that's what I have seen anyway.

Bittornado used to be my choice of software too, until I grew tired of it's queueless interface, changed to Azureus for this reason, until I grew tired of it's resourcehoggy interface, and changed to µTorrent. And it's awesome.

[Dark000]

Somehow torrenttracker says i'm not connectable. I got many torrents 100% and would be okay with sharing but it seems doesn't work most of the time. Strange thing is that a few other torrents (not from RPGN) share much better. Maybe it has to do with my router or option's. Any ideas?

[Kilu]

It's most likely due to your router. Other than that, it's impossible to say.