IRC Downloading/Uploading v. Torrenting

[Anime-DPr]

I would like to know why 'you' feel IRC or torrenting is the better way to get your downloads. I've been through a few torrent programs plus IRC programs as well. I typically have better results with IRC. I've waited days for files (video mostly) using both processes but this occurs most frequent with torrents. I concede that these files are usually older torrents with 0-1 seeders available, but I can't help that I'm new to a anime series and want to start from the beginning.

So which is better and why? Is it just a preference or is there a significant technological difference?

[War Machine]

I have not tried downloading anything through IRC, but I've been using torrents for quite a while. The thing with torrents is that they depend heavily on peers (seeders and leechers), when there's high demand and lots of peers, download speeds are through the roof and this happens mainly because even peers who haven't finished downloading the file (leechers) are already sharing the parts of the file they've already downloaded, instead of having to wait until the download is complete to being sharing. The bad part though is that when you don't have any peers the torrent is dead, plain and simple. Other P2P sharing programs have a dedicated uploader that keeps files alive regardless of demand, but that requires that they keep the sharing the file for an indefinite amount of time, placing themselves at risk of legal action against them for sharing files, and some people don't want to risk it.

From my experience, torrents provide a faster service for a shorter period. For files that are intended to remain available for a very long period, they're not good for it. I've only seen it work with places that share small files because they only require 1 seeder at most, so the torrents remain alive for much longer.

[Aetherfukz]

War Machine pretty much nailed the specifics about torrents. And if you want older files that aren't available through torrents anymore, they won't be available through IRC either. Your best bet is some storage on megaupload, rapidshare or the likes, or unixmanga.com or such stuff. Or in the case of Berserk, buy the Dark Horse (or Panini or whatever in your country) releases.

[Anime-DPr]

I see what you both are saying. I really liked the idea of 'force-sharing' a download (seeding <-> leeching) to better serve the community. It always felt like I was giving back in a truly meaningful way... when it worked and others wanted the file too. I wouldn't want anyone to put themselves at risk for sharing.

So I moved on to IRC and fumbled my way through the commands. Does anyone think IRC is worth the trouble to use for downloading?

[arke]

Yes. There is extremely little that isn't on IRC somewhere. You trade speed of downloads for breadth and it's often worth it.

[Femto]

Bittorrent is the best file-sharing method created so far.

I messed around with IRC for a bit and found it to be too much of a hassle.

Fact of the matter is, unless you're looking for something that is truly obscure, you can probably find it via bittorent.

[Starnum]

Yeah, but it can be hard to find torrents of old stuff with the proper seeding. I generally look for a torrent first, but if I can't find one, or one that works at least, then that's when I go to IRC. Plus, when it comes to manga, you can easily find it on IRC, instead of hunting around for a torrent that may not even work. I prefer torrents, but IRC is good for finding large archives of back chapters with ease. Once you get the codes down, IRC isn't so bad.

[Finito]

I rarely not find what I want on torrents, the trick is to be up to date, have lots of sources(lots of private trackers have good stuff depending on what your looking for), have a big storing system so you don't have to re-download stuff, don't be afraid to ask for reseed too. For what I can't find with torrents I direct download or stream. I only use IRC for exclusive IRC releases which I think sucks because I don't use IRC that much.

[Anime-DPr]

OK. I think I get why there is so much support for torrenting here. I wonder if there will be any support/bot on #EvilGenius for releases?

[The Herald]

At least you guys aren't arguing for reznet, all my idiot roomates use it, saying its so fast and there's so much on there, which is stupid because there's like %10 as much stuff on there as you can find through torrenting.

Now, torrenting vs irc it really depends on what you're looking for and what you can find. Some really obscure stuff you can find on bittorrent you can't on irc, and vice versa.

[Aetherfukz]

If you really want lightning fast, pretty much the only option is rapidshare/megaupload/etc. While I get aroud 300-500 kbyte/s on a VERY good torrent, on megaupload I download stuff with 1,5 MByte/s which is just rediculous IMHO

[Eldo]

I was just doing my daily dose of youtubing, and found this video which I thought was appropriate for this thread.



I thought it was an hilarious description.

[War Machine]

That's good, but can't beat CSI New York when it comes to l33tness:

[Femto]

That's good, but can't beat CSI New York when it comes to l33tness:

Hahahaha.