EPTOn February 05 2010 09:44 Lokomis wrote:
Haven't looked through all the replies to see if this has been covered but here we go:
- While using encryption they can not identify whether or not files being downloaded are copywritten or unlicensed. For all they know you are using the BitTorrent protocol to download Free or Open Source Software. If that is truly the case then nothing illegal has occurred and you have a case against the school's claims.
You can disable your BitTorrent client from uploading (sharing) but this will kill your ratio and get you banned from most trackers once your ratio becomes too poor. Copyright organizations are going after downloaders but they are mostly concerned with catching the big data-hoarders that are sharing copywritten content back out to the public.
Haven't looked through all the replies to see if this has been covered but here we go:
- While using encryption they can not identify whether or not files being downloaded are copywritten or unlicensed. For all they know you are using the BitTorrent protocol to download Free or Open Source Software. If that is truly the case then nothing illegal has occurred and you have a case against the school's claims.
You can disable your BitTorrent client from uploading (sharing) but this will kill your ratio and get you banned from most trackers once your ratio becomes too poor. Copyright organizations are going after downloaders but they are mostly concerned with catching the big data-hoarders that are sharing copywritten content back out to the public.
While encryption does help, I do believe that some university now have devices to inspect encrypted bittorrent headers (and can thus see the file names of what you are downloading), although to be honest, I'm not 100% positive.
As far as disabling uploading, that isn't possible. Some clients will allow you to cap uploading to very slow speeds (1 KB/s) but it is IMPOSSIBLE to disable sharing completely. From a legal standpoint, you are just as guilty for uploading at 1 KB/s is just as you would be at 1000KB/s.
On February 05 2010 07:22 meeple wrote:
Look at the rapidshare websites... much better and faster than torrenting
Look at the rapidshare websites... much better and faster than torrenting
This isn't necessarily true at all. Most private trackers will allow you to hit your maximum download rate very quickly (whether that be 1MB/s (megabyte!) or 11 MB/s).
Public trackers (any site you can download from without logging in) are generally very slow.
More ninjaedits:
On February 05 2010 11:33 enzym wrote:[
that comparison doesnt work. why? because you can copy files without taking anything away from someone. nobody is losing anything. besides, people are allowed to market their stuff, but there is no guarantee that others also buy it. "intellectual property" is major bs and also one of the major things that keep progress from taking full effect in being useful and solving problems. because some people... just have to make money no matter the cost. long live the stone age human mentality.
that comparison doesnt work. why? because you can copy files without taking anything away from someone. nobody is losing anything. besides, people are allowed to market their stuff, but there is no guarantee that others also buy it. "intellectual property" is major bs and also one of the major things that keep progress from taking full effect in being useful and solving problems. because some people... just have to make money no matter the cost. long live the stone age human mentality.
While the "stealing in real life" analogy is stupid intellectual property isn't useless. IP laws are very good at encouraging creativity (in music, movies, science, etc). Copyright is important but copyright isn't a moral right. It is granted by the government as a economic incentive to encourage and reward creative works.
The issue with copyright the laws go FAR beyond rewarding creativity. Copyright terms of 10 years on movies or music would be plenty to ensure people continued to create works. The life of the author + 70years is completely outrageous. Simlarly, restrictions on fair use and legal threats are also extremely unfair.
which is usually a big plus if you're bandwidth constrained as you have to keep a good ratio for many private trackers
