A moderately safe place to upload files

[Archean_0]

A moderately safe place to upload files
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~Will they ever be safe?~
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A man once told me "90% of internet bandwidth is illegal file sharing & videos. All we'll
have is porn and "scientific research (of tentacle stuff)."

This was in response of me posting about the state of the popular FileSharing site
"MegaUpload" and the following/related news.
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Seeing as how almost every single FileSharing site [US and foreign] is trying to cover
their ass [how else would i say that?], I thought that alternative to FileSharing sites
should be disscussed.

<If such a thread exsits--feel free to let me know/move thread/bump/etc.>
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Here are a few alternatives--if you've any more, post 'em

#File-Transfer-Protocol [FTP]
While FTP can require some knowledge to setup and use, it seems as though it may be more
"secure*" than straight downloading (*as secure as anything on the internet it...). From
what I know I believe that the hosts computer must remain on indefinitely.

#EP's Bittorrent
If you're on EP, theres a chance--no--you *are* a pirate. That being said most people know
what a torrent is. Torrents also require AT LEAST 1 seeder [uploader]--so again the
seeders' computer must be left on indefinitely.

#Internet Relay Chat [IRC]
This [from what I understand] is a real-time instant messaging system from which you [the user] could share files with other users. I'm new to the IRC scene, so I'm not sure how "safe*" it is (*see secure).

#Et cetera [ETC]
If anyone has any other methods that can only be hindered via lawsuit/raids [exciting eh?] feel free to speak up. I hate to see games go undownloaded.

[Graeystone]

FTP would be viable if EP does it since their computers/servers are always on except for things like maintenance.

Torrents are a bit of a crap-shoot depending on the demand and time people are willing to put into it as seeders. Of course a 'reward/punishment' system can be put in place. The higher a person's share ratio they can be rewarded with extra things like the ability to upload their own stuff, extra XP or reputation in the forums, etc. A punishment for outright leechers or people with very low share ratio can be warned to get their ratios up or find their account suspended or perma-banned. Also the original uploader doesn't have to always seed their stuff as long as other seeders are present.

IRC - Um no. . .let me put it this way - Pedophiles troll IRC. . .and so do undercover cops.
Want the same to happen with emulation channels? A hell of a lot of precautions would have to be used in order to keep things safe. Private/Invite Only Chatrooms, a lot of Bots to handle the downloading traffic, and being able to hit the 'magic hour' for downloading/low queue. IMO, IRC just isn't worth it.

FTP and BT are probably the best bets.

[Majinkura]

i say ftp would be the best bet here...and the "punishment" system idea sucks imo...because there are those of us who have uploaded in the past and simply do not wish or have time to dedicate to uploading files in our lives anymore..so that's not a fair ruling.

i used to use irc back in my college days - took forever!!!
but i got rare stuff and yes too many pedos/trolls on there as well,but you get that anywhere anyway.

[teamcoco]

I've been using IRC for anime lately and its just fine. I did try searching the channels for games/isos and all the rooms looked really shady (and I couldn't find any bots either). BT is a hit or a miss depending on what you're looking for and if people are actually seeding. FTP isn't really that good since whoever owns it usually will just turn it off whenever they feel like it (like in the middle of someone downloading which has happened to me in the past) or if it wasn't configured properly, someone could just replace/upload a bunch of fake stuff on it. There are still a few sites out there that store all the games on their servers for direct download...I was able to find one, but all the members there are elitist. One member on their forum was even suggesting putting a banner welcoming new members then telling them to gtfo their site...so yeah. All in all though, I'd go with BT as the most reliable.

[Drageuth]

#File-Transfer-Protocol [FTP]
...

FTP would be viable if EP does it since their computers/servers are always on except for things like maintenance.

Just gonna tackle these ones right here...

FTP is not a viable method. The bandwidth to FTP everything from EP would be insane. That's one of the reasons we switched to filehosts in the first place -- to take some of the pressure off EP's bandwidth.
We used have an FTP sections where users could open up their personal FTPs to others to come in to download -- usually some sort of trade was involved -- but that leaves your IP pretty open, and requires a significant amount of bandwidth that most standard users aren't allotted by their ISPs.

Yes, it's perhaps the best method, but it's by no means a good method, especially with the size of a lot of games that people want to get -- most PS2 games range around the 1GB or more area.

#EP's Bittorrent
If you're on EP, theres a chance--no--you *are* a pirate. That being said most people know
what a torrent is. Torrents also require AT LEAST 1 seeder [uploader]--so again the
seeders' computer must be left on indefinitely.

You've pretty much nailed the problem on the head right there. The EP Bittorrent requires seeders. Pretty much every time I've ever checked the tracker, there have been no seeders, or only one -- likely the original uploader. Most of us don't mind uploading files for others to download, but we only have to upload the files once -- sharing a torrent when you're the only seeder means you are sharing that single file multiple times. And, again, digs into bandwidth. Especially once people start digging into multiple games on a tracker, and no one helping to seed. I personally don't seed because I have a rather restrictive upload bandwidth, and have gotten calls in the past. I don't need my Internet shut off.

That's just me. Trackers do work, but the EP one seems to be deader than the norm.

#Internet Relay Chat [IRC]
This [from what I understand] is a real-time instant messaging system from which you [the user] could share files with other users. I'm new to the IRC scene, so I'm not sure how "safe*" it is (*see secure).

IRC - Um no. . .let me put it this way - Pedophiles troll IRC. . .and so do undercover cops.
Want the same to happen with emulation channels? A hell of a lot of precautions would have to be used in order to keep things safe. Private/Invite Only Chatrooms, a lot of Bots to handle the downloading traffic, and being able to hit the 'magic hour' for downloading/low queue. IMO, IRC just isn't worth it.

We used to have a very prominent IRC chatroom. And yes, there are pedophiles in IRC... but that's like saying there are pedophiles on the Internet. Yes, they're there... but the Internet is huge. Just because there are bad people in one part of a subsection of the Internet does not mean that everyone in that section is a pedo.

[gezegond]

We used to have a very prominent IRC chatroom. And yes, there are pedophiles in IRC... but that's like saying there are pedophiles on the Internet. Yes, they're there... but the Internet is huge. Just because there are bad people in one part of a subsection of the Internet does not mean that everyone in that section is a pedo.

Don't you have to upload your files multiple times on the IRC as well? I say our best bet is bittorrent. The reason it didn't have any seeders up until now was that people were downloading from file sharers. No one even bothered to check the torrent page.

You can use ftp/bittorrent protocol. Something like 4shared, It's the same as normal bit torrent, but EP servers become seeders, only they seed on a limited bandwidth. The more people seed, the more download speed it gets. It seems logical because the site's bandwidth is usually used up by popular downloads. This method distributes the load of popular downloads on several seeders. Yet, if a particular game is not popular enough, it will still always be available, because it's being seeded by EP servers.

Popular files will have high download speeds. unpopular files will have lower download speeds, but will always be available.

It doesn't pressure the EP bandwidth, as EP uses the same (low) bandwidth for both popular and unpopular files.

As for seeders, we can simply create a mandatory screen that people have to view before they can download torrents. In that screen, we inform them how torrents work, and why it's important to seed them. I believe that will do. Anyone who doesn't have any technical problems with seeding, will most likely seed.

[Drageuth]

Don't you have to upload your files multiple times on the IRC as well? I say our best bet is bittorrent. The reason it didn't have any seeders up until now was that people were downloading from file sharers. No one even bothered to check the torrent page.

You can use ftp/bittorrent protocol. Something like 4shared, It's the same as normal bit torrent, but EP servers become seeders, only they seed on a limited bandwidth. The more people seed, the more download speed it gets. It seems logical because the site's bandwidth is usually used up by popular downloads. This method distributes the load of popular downloads on several seeders. Yet, if a particular game is not popular enough, it will still always be available, because it's being seeded by EP servers.

Popular files will have high download speeds. unpopular files will have lower download speeds, but will always be available.

It doesn't pressure the EP bandwidth, as EP uses the same (low) bandwidth for both popular and unpopular files.

As for seeders, we can simply create a mandatory screen that people have to view before they can download torrents. In that screen, we inform them how torrents work, and why it's important to seed them. I believe that will do. Anyone who doesn't have any technical problems with seeding, will most likely seed.

Something like that is definitely plausible, but if the files are hosted at least in part on EP, that's still going to eat up a shit ton of space. And yes, shit ton is a specific unit of measurement now.

I think at the moment, there's no perfect solution. File hosts definitely changed the face of everything, and is one of the reasons that the IRC channel died and why FTPs died. If there is some sort of FTP/Bittorrent hybrid that is actually feasible with the sheer amount of content that EP usually carries, then definitely it's something to look into, but with the lack of file hosts now, we're basically back where we were 8 years ago. There's no perfect answer any more, there are just some that are better than others.

And yes, you would also be uploading files multiple times using IRC. I wasn't saying it was a solution, just pointing out different things with each. In the long run, FTP is the best, but also the most costly and carries the most liability. Bittorrent/4shared is another good idea, but again comes with its own problems. IRC, for me, is the weakest option, and is really only useful for fringe groups, where the content that they share is limited. When you're looking at thousands of games, IRC becomes unrealistic.

[Graeystone]

A very good example of a Torrent Site that works is BakaBT. Since my time there I have yet to see a dead torrent. Even then a proper request can be made on their forums for people to seed and people are quick to respond. Matter of fact they have 'adoptions' so if the original uploader drops the responsibility of their upload, someone else can pick it up and present it as 'new'. BakaBT is the best example of how to run such a site. Now we wouldn't have to go so far as to make 'offers'. Anyone who has ever been there knows what that is like.
To clarify what I said about pedophiles and cops. What I meant to say is that if any bills like ACTA or SOPA gets passed, people like us will be hunted on IRC just like the pedophiles are. . .thanks but no thanks. . .

[Archean_0]

A very good example of a Torrent Site that works is BakaBT. Since my time there I have yet to see a dead torrent. Even then a proper request can be made on their forums for people to seed and people are quick to respond. Matter of fact they have 'adoptions' so if the original uploader drops the responsibility of their upload, someone else can pick it up and present it as 'new'. BakaBT is the best example of how to run such a site. Now we wouldn't have to go so far as to make 'offers'. Anyone who has ever been there knows what that is like.
To clarify what I said about pedophiles and cops. What I meant to say is that if any bills like ACTA or SOPA gets passed, people like us will be hunted on IRC just like the pedophiles are. . .thanks but no thanks. . .

as far as cracking down on p2p--you wouldn't need real people for that--bots gather data just fine [i've gotten a 17 letters and 2 calls about my bandwidth usage--i used to do 1TB+ every month--but they [at&t] notified me of my usage and their new data cap policy...wasn't too happy [$10 per 50GB over]
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as for seeding--most things i upload are huge packs, but a majority of the people looking for it seed --yeah leechers suck, but everyone was once a leecher.
I'm fine with leaving my [alt] desktop on all the time--thats pretty much all i use that one for, but yeah--if i want to go on the internet, it can be a bit sluggish.