Thread: Buy Your Way In - Private Trackers Selling Invites

Buy Your Way In: Private Trackers That Sell Their Own Invites | THE source for BitTorrent & P2P Tips, Tricks and Info. | FileShareFreak

Source: Filesharefreak.com

I think Sharky at FSF makes a good point here--selling invites certainly compromises the security of closed trackers. For those who don't click the link, IPTorrents is the most prominent tracker on the list. I'm not saying that a determined law enforcement officer would otherwise be unable to infiltrate a tracker, but reducing the requirement to a valid credit card for entry certainly makes it easy (not as easy as open signups, obviously, but pretty easy).

That kind of goes against the whole point, doesn't it?

Paying for seedboxes, paying for invites. Eventually torrenting's going to cost more than buying the stuff!

I would think that pay-4-invite schemes like these would only make it easier for law enforcement to take a tracker down. Mainly because few if any tracker owners will be declaring the income from donations as such, thus leaving themselves wide open to tax evasion charges. Tax evasion penalties are usually pretty stiff in most countries and can often include prison sentences. Another good reason not to profit from warez.

It's similar to newsgroups. Newsgroups are better, though.

Originally Posted by binarysolo

It's similar to newsgroups. Newsgroups are better, though.

Agreed. Usenet is well worth it.

Originally Posted by UploadParis

That kind of goes against the whole point, doesn't it?

Paying for seedboxes, paying for invites. Eventually torrenting's going to cost more than buying the stuff!

UploadParis, I don't really see that the concern is that paying for an invite is uneconomic or, together with other expenses, can make private trackers less economically efficient than other avenues of acquisition. It seems to me that the real issue is that it weakens tracker security by getting further away from an invite/trust model in favor of making joining as easy as a credit card purchase. Not too much control there. Better than open signups, but barely.

Originally Posted by roger09

I would think that pay-4-invite schemes like these would only make it easier for law enforcement to take a tracker down.

I completely agree, roger. The issue is one of tracker security. I would be less likely to use a tracker than allowed such a "pay to leech" system.

Pedro's BTmusic used to do this too, right?
@roger09: you are absolutely right, but it gives some support to the tracker to stay alive. Good coders and webmasters are not neccessarily wealthy enough to run and support a tracker on their own costs.

trackers oppose the selling of invites because most offer them for free but I can't see a site like SCC complaining because they sell invites. I don't agree with this security issue because last year uk-t went down and i doubt it was due an invite going to a gov't agent but from a member/staff making a bad decision.

As long as people are willing to pay for something, then it will be sold.