from what i've heard internet archive torrents are automatically generated but does it speed up downloads for others or is it just another alternative form of download? (i like more niche archived vhs things so often times the stuff i like isn't popular anyway). just curious, really. i also donate straight to internet archive because i think they're worth it but it was just a late night thought i had and was curious.

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[–] pyria@kbin.melroy.org 11 points 4 days ago

We are currently in an active war over information and content.

So, I would say just do it. Do what you can. Do it for yourself, do it for a cause, whatever, as long as it isn't corporate dictating what we can or can't have.

[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 4 days ago

I downloaded some xbox games from the internet archive and only needed 3 of the 80+ games in the pack. After about 3 weeks of seeding just those 3 games, my ratio was a 32! I had the space to download the rest of the torrent, so i did and it still consistently seeds a few GB's daily. I am one of only 7 people with the complete torrent, so i'll keep it up for years and i'm glad to help others able to access it.

Data storage is getting expensive though and i'm having to be more selective. I already have 80TB in hard drives, so i need to be careful what i use my space for with the active destruction of online information by the White House.

[–] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 41 points 5 days ago (1 children)

90% of them are dead, so it's probably worth keeping the few surviving ones working. You might never actually get a share though

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

yeah i have a couple i usually just download direct though; i was just curious, thanks!

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 7 points 5 days ago

I'd say most people do, my only zero ratios are from IA

[–] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 20 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Never had anyone download from any IA torrents I've hosted. I'd say only do it if it's something you have a reason to believe will be taken down at some point. Whether that be from government censorship, for copyright reasons, etc.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 13 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm seeding an old movie from them and it's gotten some traffic.

[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 7 points 5 days ago

I am seeding a few, and yes, they get some traffic. Not as much as I would expect, but each currently has a seed ratio >0.0.

[–] ggtdbz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 4 days ago

I’m seeding a handful. I think maybe one or two has a non zero share ratio, and none above 1. But it’s not clogging up any bandwidth for me, so I’ll keep it going for now.

[–] iloveDigit@piefed.social 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Definitely useful for helping prevent content from being taken down. Torrents remain searchable through DHT but without seeds they're just clogging search results

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

thanks; most of the time i try to get the torrent and keep it seeding but i found a copy of unfabulous that i went through renaming through qbittorrent only to discover it was stalled and i didn't want to go through the trouble of renaming again because it was late and i was tired. maybe i'll try again tomorrow just to get it up (i downloaded the raw zip straight through ia)

[–] iloveDigit@piefed.social 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

If you're talking about downloading the same file twice, you can also pause the torrent, put the finished file in the folder it would be downloading to (make sure it fully matches, same name) then right click the torrent and select "force recheck" to make your client see it has it already

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 days ago

oh yeah that part is easy but mostly it was because i renamed the files (3 seasons) locally in qbittorrent to match what i wanted for jellyfin and i didn't want to do it again last night.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Honestly, from my own experience, IA torrent trackers suck.