6 ms·

If we all got to seeding, surely we’d have the oppressors bent over a filthy toilet in no time at all.

jacquesm 8y ago
Working on it.
facetube 8y ago
Until the cops kick your door in on copyright infringement charges to "make an example" of someone. Don't think it can't happen.
- zeth___ 8y ago
  Safety in numbers is a thing.
  - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
    They can still make examples out of individuals. A good VPN is probably a better increaser of safety.
    - swsieber 8y ago
      They can. It still is probably safer than driving though.
      - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
        Especially driving while torrenting.
        sigfubar 8y ago
        The exception being torrenting while wardriving.
    - mirimir 8y ago
      This can't be said too much! Torrenting anything potentially problematic without using a reputable VPN service is foolish. And make sure that the machine is firewalled, to block all traffic (including DNS requests) not using the VPN. Only the VPN client should have direct Internet connectivity. For extremely sensitive material, it's prudent to use nested VPN chains. So no one provider knows both who/where you are, and what you're doing. The bandwidth hit for chaining is smaller than you might think. You can also setup your own VPN server on a VPS. But make sure to lease that VPS anonymously, and pay with well-mixed Bitcoin. Do all that through Tor. But do not torrent through Tor. It's usually very slow. And it screws up Tor for people who really need it.
      - rolandog 8y ago
        Thanks, mirimir. I live in a country that's been having a lot of trouble recently with crimes against the freedom of the press and this may actually help me recover some peace of mind when writing anything that might upset powerful people.
        mirimir 8y ago
        That would be very prudent. And it's arguably good practice for everyone. Good OPSEC. Why do I say that? Well, even in "free" countries, one never knows how stuff will go down. What will change. It's better to be safe, than to be sorry. Also, mass adoption helps protect me, and others who love their privacy. Because it makes us less unusual. That's one of the standard arguments for widespread Tor use. But even so, I prefer to obscure my Tor use with VPN services. Because VPNs are still far more common than Tor. In some areas, VPN usage is over 50%. And finally, it's a great hobby. Better than puttering in the woodshop. Or whatever.
      - Roritharr 8y ago
        Do you have recommendations for actually anonymous leaseable VPS/Seedboxes? Just buying some bitcoin on Coinbase defeats the purpose. Can I mail cash somewhere?
        8y ago
- sigfubar 8y ago
  I'm a prolific BitTorrenter... and don't get me started about my wife. Our piracy knows no bounds.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
  In over twenty years of piracy, I’ve never actually met someone online who got something more than a pissy email from an ISP. It’s possible to be made an example of, but if you’re not profiting from the piracy it’s vanishingly unlikely. The only people I know of who got more than a token fine were involved in some other criminal enterprise besides just downloading something.
  - kevingrahl 8y ago
    I can tell that you’re not from Germany or know anyone from here that pirates. There are special law firms (Waldorf Frommer comes to mind) specializing only on sending out cease and desist letters carrying fines of around 1.000€ per infringement (mostly movies and tv shows). ISP’s willingly hand over any customer data to those firms. Of course the only one benefiting from this is the law firms not the copyright holder who never sees any decent payout. Torrenting in Germany can get very expensive very fast if you don’t know what you’re doing. I got big folders full of letters from Waldorf Frommer & Co from before I learned about VPN’s and I still get the occasional letter when my VPN fails or I’m being stupid. They can/will freeze your bank accounts if you don’t pay, it’s no joke.
    - acqq 8y ago
      So what did you do after you received such letters? It seems you haven't paid. How?
      - kevingrahl 8y ago
        I paid a small number of those, appealed others in court (sometimes going through multiple instances) and the last years just kept ignoring the few letters that still come from time to time until they sue me or try to freeze my accounts. I think they have me tagged in their system because they give up pretty quickly as soon as I actively communicate with them. Might have to do with some small won cases against them. Maybe I’m not worth the risk to them anymore. Plus my VPN-fu is strong now.
    - slrz 8y ago
- namlem 8y ago
  That's what VPNs are for.
- kankroc 8y ago
  Not everyone lives in the authoritarian US where the police are legitimate psychos.
phyzome 8y ago
I suppose if you don't have 55 TB of space to spare, you'd want to pick random torrents from this list to seed, in the same spirit as a torrent program picks random chunks to request.
ksk 8y ago
Would you mind detailing how they have oppressed you? AFAICT they haven't forced anyone at gunpoint to do anything..
- sdenton4 8y ago
  Here's a couple: a) Gatekeeping publishers keep research from being available to less-elite schools that can't afford the subscriptions, creating a rich-get-richer dynamic in science. Leveling the playing field will lead to more-better output. b) High subscription fees increase university fees, which translate directly into student loans. As many have pointed out before, publicly funded research should be open access. There's no reason the university should be both paying researchers (from tax dollars + student fees) and then paying a bunch of rent-seeking rent seekers for access to the published research (using tax dollars and student fees).
  - ksk 8y ago
    Are you aware that researchers voluntarily approach publishers? And if you are, what is your rationale in blaming the publisher? >Here's a couple: a) Gatekeeping publishers keep research from being available to less-elite schools that can't afford the subscriptions, creating a rich-get-richer dynamic in science. Leveling the playing field will lead to more-better output. >b) High subscription fees increase university fees, which translate directly into student loans. Sorry, but I didn't find them convincing. >As many have pointed out before, publicly funded research should be open access. That, we agree on 100%.
    - Vinnl 8y ago
      I wouldn't state "voluntary" too strongly: https://medium.com/flockademic/the-ridiculous-number-that-can-make-or-break-academic-careers-704e00ae070a https://medium.com/flockademic/the-ridiculous-number-that-ca... Sure, I can offer you the choice between death or a slap in the face, but if you'd choose the slap in the face, I wouldn't say you voluntarily asked for the slap in the face...
      - 8y ago
Faaak 8y ago
I'm seeding a small Tb too. Sadly I just took some random torrents in order to "randomize" the lot. It's a shame though that the publications are in zipped files… Don't forget to download the metadata too !

Working on it.

Until the cops kick your door in on copyright infringement charges to "make an example" of someone. Don't think it can't happen.

zeth___ 8y ago
Safety in numbers is a thing.
- _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
  They can still make examples out of individuals. A good VPN is probably a better increaser of safety.
  - swsieber 8y ago
    They can. It still is probably safer than driving though.
    - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
      Especially driving while torrenting.
      - sigfubar 8y ago
        The exception being torrenting while wardriving.
  - mirimir 8y ago
    This can't be said too much! Torrenting anything potentially problematic without using a reputable VPN service is foolish. And make sure that the machine is firewalled, to block all traffic (including DNS requests) not using the VPN. Only the VPN client should have direct Internet connectivity. For extremely sensitive material, it's prudent to use nested VPN chains. So no one provider knows both who/where you are, and what you're doing. The bandwidth hit for chaining is smaller than you might think. You can also setup your own VPN server on a VPS. But make sure to lease that VPS anonymously, and pay with well-mixed Bitcoin. Do all that through Tor. But do not torrent through Tor. It's usually very slow. And it screws up Tor for people who really need it.
    - rolandog 8y ago
      Thanks, mirimir. I live in a country that's been having a lot of trouble recently with crimes against the freedom of the press and this may actually help me recover some peace of mind when writing anything that might upset powerful people.
      - mirimir 8y ago
        That would be very prudent. And it's arguably good practice for everyone. Good OPSEC. Why do I say that? Well, even in "free" countries, one never knows how stuff will go down. What will change. It's better to be safe, than to be sorry. Also, mass adoption helps protect me, and others who love their privacy. Because it makes us less unusual. That's one of the standard arguments for widespread Tor use. But even so, I prefer to obscure my Tor use with VPN services. Because VPNs are still far more common than Tor. In some areas, VPN usage is over 50%. And finally, it's a great hobby. Better than puttering in the woodshop. Or whatever.
    - Roritharr 8y ago
      Do you have recommendations for actually anonymous leaseable VPS/Seedboxes? Just buying some bitcoin on Coinbase defeats the purpose. Can I mail cash somewhere?
      - 8y ago
sigfubar 8y ago
I'm a prolific BitTorrenter... and don't get me started about my wife. Our piracy knows no bounds.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
In over twenty years of piracy, I’ve never actually met someone online who got something more than a pissy email from an ISP. It’s possible to be made an example of, but if you’re not profiting from the piracy it’s vanishingly unlikely. The only people I know of who got more than a token fine were involved in some other criminal enterprise besides just downloading something.
- kevingrahl 8y ago
  I can tell that you’re not from Germany or know anyone from here that pirates. There are special law firms (Waldorf Frommer comes to mind) specializing only on sending out cease and desist letters carrying fines of around 1.000€ per infringement (mostly movies and tv shows). ISP’s willingly hand over any customer data to those firms. Of course the only one benefiting from this is the law firms not the copyright holder who never sees any decent payout. Torrenting in Germany can get very expensive very fast if you don’t know what you’re doing. I got big folders full of letters from Waldorf Frommer & Co from before I learned about VPN’s and I still get the occasional letter when my VPN fails or I’m being stupid. They can/will freeze your bank accounts if you don’t pay, it’s no joke.
  - acqq 8y ago
    So what did you do after you received such letters? It seems you haven't paid. How?
    - kevingrahl 8y ago
      I paid a small number of those, appealed others in court (sometimes going through multiple instances) and the last years just kept ignoring the few letters that still come from time to time until they sue me or try to freeze my accounts. I think they have me tagged in their system because they give up pretty quickly as soon as I actively communicate with them. Might have to do with some small won cases against them. Maybe I’m not worth the risk to them anymore. Plus my VPN-fu is strong now.
  - slrz 8y ago
namlem 8y ago
That's what VPNs are for.
kankroc 8y ago
Not everyone lives in the authoritarian US where the police are legitimate psychos.

phyzome 8y ago

I suppose if you don't have 55 TB of space to spare, you'd want to pick random torrents from this list to seed, in the same spirit as a torrent program picks random chunks to request.

ksk 8y ago

Would you mind detailing how they have oppressed you? AFAICT they haven't forced anyone at gunpoint to do anything..

sdenton4 8y ago
Here's a couple: a) Gatekeeping publishers keep research from being available to less-elite schools that can't afford the subscriptions, creating a rich-get-richer dynamic in science. Leveling the playing field will lead to more-better output. b) High subscription fees increase university fees, which translate directly into student loans. As many have pointed out before, publicly funded research should be open access. There's no reason the university should be both paying researchers (from tax dollars + student fees) and then paying a bunch of rent-seeking rent seekers for access to the published research (using tax dollars and student fees).
- ksk 8y ago
  Are you aware that researchers voluntarily approach publishers? And if you are, what is your rationale in blaming the publisher? >Here's a couple: a) Gatekeeping publishers keep research from being available to less-elite schools that can't afford the subscriptions, creating a rich-get-richer dynamic in science. Leveling the playing field will lead to more-better output. >b) High subscription fees increase university fees, which translate directly into student loans. Sorry, but I didn't find them convincing. >As many have pointed out before, publicly funded research should be open access. That, we agree on 100%.
  - Vinnl 8y ago
    I wouldn't state "voluntary" too strongly: https://medium.com/flockademic/the-ridiculous-number-that-can-make-or-break-academic-careers-704e00ae070a https://medium.com/flockademic/the-ridiculous-number-that-ca... Sure, I can offer you the choice between death or a slap in the face, but if you'd choose the slap in the face, I wouldn't say you voluntarily asked for the slap in the face...
    - 8y ago

Faaak 8y ago

I'm seeding a small Tb too. Sadly I just took some random torrents in order to "randomize" the lot. It's a shame though that the publications are in zipped files… Don't forget to download the metadata too !