P2p Transcript

The focus of my mini-ethnography is the attitudes BitTorrent users have towards seeding. What is BitTorrent, anyway? It is a peer-to-peer filesharing system dedicated to sharing big files at high speeds. Because when people download the file, at the same time, they also upload pieces of that [file] to each other. This system is highly dependent on cooperation and the people's willingness to continuously seed the file. So what are some of the terms associated with BitTorrent? First is peers, peers refers (sic) to the participants. Next is seeds. Seeds are peers who have complete pieces of the file as opposed to leechers who have incomplete pieces. Seed ratio is the amount of data [that a user has] uploaded divided by the amount of data [he has] downloaded. So it's ideal that you have a seed ratio of 1, so you took and gave the same amount. As one of the so-called "peers" in this system, I was interested in other people's attitudes towards seeding. Are they obligated to seed? Or do they just download the file without even seeding it. So to do this, I conducted a survey among fifteen other BitTorrent users while also drawing from my own experience as a BitTorrent downloader. Initially I asked the users the sites they download from because that would give me a good idea of each site's policies towards seeding. For example, Demonoid shows the seed ratio [of its members] upon logging in. This seems to have a significant effect on the behavior towards seeding because all but one of the Demonoid users seeded their files after downloading them. When asked if they limit their upload speed, 73.3% say that they don't. The majority at least has the capability to contribute at maximum speed even when they're not conscious of it. But what I wasn't able to find out is if the users actually have the competency to limit their upload speeds, or if given the choice, would they want to. The results are more divided on the third question: when asked if they seed after downloading, 60% said yes while 40% said no. For those who said yes, it's a must that the seeding ratio must reach 1 or even more, with most of them seeding for weeks. When asked why: they said that it's how the system of filesharing works - on reciprocity, and it's only polite that you give back what you have received. For the 40% that said “no,” they said that they wouldn't bother with seeding anymore because a lot of people are doing it for them. Out of the nine respondents who knew their seeding ratios, four of them seeded until they reach a ratio ranging from 1 to 3 while the ratios of the rest ranged from 0 to 1. Five of the respondents didn't know what their seeding ratios were, while one respondent didn't know what "seeding ratio" meant. In conclusion, majority of the people surveyed feel strongly towards keeping the system intact through seeding, while the rest of them feel like seeding is inconsequential. So there are two attitudes emerging from this: one is that downloading is something that is value-free and it's a means to an end, while the other attitude is that downloading is something that is shared in a community, it's a community commons. So there.