28 replies to this topic

[TheDisturbedOne]

I read the Trap17 Forum Rules and Trap17 Readme, and it says nothing there specifically about torrents, but it did say no MP3s. I plan to launch a section of my site that has torrents on it of live Disturbed shows. All torrents will be personally checked by me, that they don't include any official releases that are copyrighted. Will it be ok for me to have torrent files of live shows that aren't copyrighted (that are in mp3, mp4, mpg, mkv or avi format)?

An example would be a person going to a concert and bringing a recording device and recording the concert. The legality of bringing the recording device could be questioned, but the actual recordings aren't illegal, unless the person who made it copyrighted it.

Kornspace.com is another site that does this, as another example.

If this is not allowed, will it be ok if I were to link myself to the torrents remotely hosted on a site such as The Pirate Bay?

Thanks

[SpiderVV]

Umm, doesn't Trap17 forbid warez? Torrents count as warez and so does linking to them but I am not really sure...

[Tramposch]

torrents do not count as wares. Torrents are just a form of transferring files. the stuff being transferred may be warez, but people often times get the wrong image about torrenting, they always things torrenting = illegal, where there are many legal things to torrent, it provides much much faster download speeds a lot of the times.

[Phoenix.Illusion]

Torrent files are not allowed as they can be illegal and you probably may get warned if they are uploaded.
Personally if it was me I would not even go their.

[SpiderVV]

Trampoch just said they aren't. But as he said, torrent files contain illegal files so the torrent itself also has to be illegal.

[Tramposch]

Any files can be illegal, ^^, he is just upload the torrent, none of the file data is actually stored on the server, it is all on peoples computers, a torrent does not get files from servers, it gets it from other peoples computers. There are many legal torrents, such as Ubunut, and it is completely legal, people just get the wrong image about torrents.

I don't think you should have any problem, but a mod, or Velma should clarify this.

[TheDisturbedOne]

Often I wonder if people know how to read these days.
*I am using torrents for legal means only
*Torrents are NOT warez.
*Torrent files contain no files, but instead a perfectly legal hash code.

The only reason why I am using torrents for this means is because I have some live shows in HD/High Quality, and the file size is well over 2GB, which would be a pain to keep uploading to Rapidshare.

Please, if you don't know what you are talking about, or haven't read my original post, don't reply. Thanks

[rpgsearcherz]

lol.. This thread is funny.. Let's go into what a torrent is:

A torrent is nothing but a file that says "xxx has xxx file." Think of it as a phonebook.

The file the torrent relates to CAN or can NOT be illegal, depending on the file.


For those *morons* (I apologize for being so harsh) who think all torrents are illegal, I suggest you don't ever become a lawyer because if you do you'll be suing every Linux distro provider, every patch provider, and most MMORPG companies.

To break it down for you, Aion/Age of Conan/Warhammer all used torrents for their betas and for most client downloads now.

Ubuntu uses torrents (faster than HTTP) for their distro downloads.


There are literally millions of LEGAL torrents. Assuming every torrent is illegal is like assuming everyone with an IPhone downloads illegal songs onto it. Just because it CAN be used for such a purpose doesn't mean it IS.

[TheDisturbedOne]

Amen.
Torrents are not only faster than HTTP, but uses less bandwidth.

And with the mentality that some were expressing here, if I were to make a backup to my hard drive into a torrent file, seed the torrent, and access it on another computer that has more hard drive space, it would be illegal. To tell you the truth, I may just do that now, to free up some space and save some time

[rvalkass]

Having read through the Terms of Service and Acceptable Usage Policy for both Trap17 and ComputingHost, there is nothing that explicitly forbids torrent files on your hosting as long as they point to legal material. However, I would still recommend contacting Support to check, and basically let them know that the torrent files are pointing to legal material - they should be happy you're using them as it saves them bandwidth.

[Alex Cicala]

Tramposch is right, torrent files aren't illegal. But the it depends on the content in the torrent file location, or the host location. If you were hosting freeware through the torrent it is totally legal, but if you hositng warez through the torrent file, you'll be looking at a ban from the forum. Allthough to be on the safe side, don't put torrent files in any thread as it is a risk.

[kobra500]

I agree, as long as the files are legal and will not affect the reputation of ComputingHost, I.E. they don't want to get any takedown notices etc, then I doubt they will have a problem with you hosting files as torrents, as long as it does not cause a ridiculous bandwidth usage as Rob said, if you have the unlimited bandwidth option then watch out. I don't know if torrents would use a lot of bandwidth, I assume you will be the tracker but there usually quite a small file size.

[TheDisturbedOne]

Thanks for the answer, rvalkass. I will contact support sometime this week. I also have to look into the tracker addon, to make sure it doesn't use up CPU usage and BW like crazy.
And glad to know some people here know that torrents can be perfectly legal!
I'll post with the results when I get them.

[Tramposch]

I'd say all torrent files are technically legal, even if its for an illegal file, it just the action of using it. It a suggested illegality, idk how to put it.

But yeah contact support just to double check.

[anwiii]

disturbed- torrent files are not illegal nor would they be banned by computing host unless links are pointing towards something that IS illegal.

saying that torrents are illegal is like saying our roads are illegal just because some people commit crimes on the road. it will never make the road illegal though.

i do agree that when in doubt, ask admin, but i think you are wasting your time since i think i already know what the answer would be if they are at all knowledgable about torrents

[Alex Cicala]

Tramposch, on Jul 16 2009, 04:13 AM, said:

I'd say all torrent files are technically legal, even if its for an illegal file, it just the action of using it. It a suggested illegality, idk how to put it.

But yeah contact support just to double check.

Torrent files are all legal yes, Cause torrent engines such as Utorrent and Bitcomet are all freeware. The person uploading the file should be the one who gets the penalties.

[rpgsearcherz]

Really, as many torrent file sites have found out through lawsuits, even torrents pointing to illegal things are still *legal*.

Just like if someone comes up to you on the street and asks you where they can buy drugs. You giving them the information of someone does not constitute an illegal act. The person *selling* them is the one breaking the law.

The same goes with torrents. Saying "John over here on IP 148.171.39.17 has the file you're wanting. I won't help you obtain it but now that you have his information you can just go ask him for it! You're on your own from here!"

That's pretty much how the torrents work. They are solely messengers, and nothing else.

[anwiii]

ummm...i disagree 100% with your comment. ever heard of conspiracy to commit a crime or aiding and abetting? maybe not. but let me enlighten you on something. you can get arrested for pretty much anything in this country. it's the judge hat ultimately says guilty or innocent after the facts are presented. i say better safe than sorry and no reason to risk anything on ignorance. if you aren't an attoney or never studied law, it's best to keep your trap shut on giving legal advice because that IS against the law. now in your senario, all three people are breaking the law. the obvious is the buyer and seller. the not so obvious is the one who(before he answers the question) knows that someone is going to be breaking the law soon and helps that person with information to break a law.

torrents get tricky in the legal sense because the issue arises of storage of files and what is legal or not. it's also hard to prove intent when downloading any file unless the file is advertized as an illegal copy. in order for a crime to occur, there has to be intent. if there was no intent to commit a crime, no crime has been commited. this is why the crazies get off and go to the hospital instead of jail. ignorance is no excuse though....but intent still has to be proven. most states have adopted this rule of thumb.

but even if this crap is determined illegal, it's not going to stop people. you used a drug scenario. so will i. arrest one drug dealer on his corner and send him away for 3 years. what happens the week after is someone else is there on that same corner taking that guys place. a better example that directly relates to this thread is napster....which was peer to peer. a lot of piracy was going on. people stealing or taking someting that wasn't theirs to take. napster got sued and a new precident in the computer world was created in a court of law. i suggest you read up on the law and also the past court cases that relate to this thread before you start posting stuff like you did. you'll get people in trouble that way and i am sure you don't want to cause confusion.

rpgsearcherz, on Jul 16 2009, 01:13 PM, said:

Really, as many torrent file sites have found out through lawsuits, even torrents pointing to illegal things are still *legal*.

Just like if someone comes up to you on the street and asks you where they can buy drugs. You giving them the information of someone does not constitute an illegal act. The person *selling* them is the one breaking the law.

The same goes with torrents. Saying "John over here on IP 148.171.39.17 has the file you're wanting. I won't help you obtain it but now that you have his information you can just go ask him for it! You're on your own from here!"

That's pretty much how the torrents work. They are solely messengers, and nothing else.

[Tremayne]

What i would do is i would upload the torrent files to a torrent website ( and only torrents containing legal files ) and then post the links to them on your forum.

Also make sure that you mention with the post of each torrent that you are the creator of / have permission to use the torrent.

And that way if you get asked to remove the torrents, the person telling you to do so will see that you took the few extra steps to ensure that everything you're doing is legal and ethical.

[TheDisturbedOne]

The only thing with that is The Pirate Bay can sue you for $5,000 if you do that, as it is commercial use of their tracker.

I have found a better way anyway, I'm just uploading the files to sendspace.com, as the files are small in size and completely legal.

[fermin25]

Well TheDisturbedOne, this is peculiar ocassion but I will make my comment about this. All the torrents are not illegal, this is true. But the illegal torrents are more than the legal. How will you prove that your torrents files are legal?...Don´t understand bad everybody included me love torrent and if ComputingHost politics aren´t agaisnt the Warez for example, I am sure that in this moments my website maybe offers Warez.

Althougth Torrent is not Warez they are used for the same purposes the most part of the time: Distribuite illegal copies without the copyrigths and that means a serious problem to the artist, software developers, and all the industries were the illegal copying is damaging their profits.

The most intelligent form to know if Torrent is allowed on ComputingHost is sending a support ticket to them and asking if the torrent linking is allowed. I am sure that they will allow you using the Torrent because if they don´t allow it maybe this point have to be wrote in the TOS.

But I recommend you that if they aprove you to use Torrent in your website, don´t upload links that contains illegal files or you will lose your account here.

I wish you good luck and I 100% that they will allow you to use Torrent files.

Regards.

[TheDisturbedOne]

Illegal torrents only outnumber legal torrents on some trackers. I can name over 20 trackers that have thousands of legal torrents.

And as I said before I found a way to do it without torrents, also saves me from leaving the computer on seeding 24-7.

All these torrents that I was going to put up are copyrighted to the artist of the band (NOT the record company). These are almost always allowed to be given for free (with a few exceptions such as The Allman Brothers, and some Metallica), since sometimes these are sold at a profit to the recorder, which is ripping off the artist.

[iGuest]

May I add torrents on my website?Are Torrent Files Allowed?

Can I add torrents that are legal to download( just the torrent file), but illegal to download when using utorrent or any other p2p... 

For example I have a video sharing website, can I offer movies/episodes in torrent format( just for download)?

-reply by Benjamin Vogt

[TheDisturbedOne]

I finally asked the support team. You can't have a torrent tracker or streaming media on xisto's servers. Not a big deal though.

[Soviet Rathe]

Ok torrents are not illegal no matter what anyone says.
even if their linking to something illegal, the torrent itself isn't illegal. the files it tracks are. and even those aren't illegal unless you download them
I am actually shocked that xisto doesn't allow torrents? because when you use xisto your using a paid host weather or not your using myCENTs or real money because myCENTs are real money anyway and with paid hosts they normally allow you to host any content you like even if they are illegal because it would say in the TOS that the host is not responsible for the content of their clients

plus a torrent file is only around 60KB to 200KB in size because its basically just a text file with a .torrent extension

well if you really need to use torrents just post up the hash number for your users to paste to utorrent.