Tips for Sharing Torrents [1 PDF, 1 TXT]

Yet another upload regarding torrents, you say (arrg), well hold on there, be patient and read on. Actually yes, it is yet another. A quick refresher might be helpful for members and newcomers. Recently I was assisting someone with their torrents and thought it would be a helpful to share this info.

Usually, I prefer to post a short informative description of what the torrent is about. In this case I’ll post the info that’s included in this torrent in this description because some may already know this info.

-- Tips for Sharing Torrents by WatchMan --

This quick reminder/tips doc is not meant to be a comprehensive guide. It’s supposed to be a reminder of some good practices to assist in sharing torrents in an optimum way. If you find this info helpful, please pass it on. If you have tips/ideas, feel free to add/modify/correct the information in this doc.

-- Preparing your Torrent:
- Check the site rules and faqs
- Check that the content has not already been uploaded, and if it is currently being seeded
- If you found content already posted, check if it’s the same version as yours
- Include a .nfo file with the relevant description of the torrent

In the description page and/or the .nfo file, describe the contents of the torrent. Get as much info about it as possible. This means:
- Author(s)/Publishers name
- Date of publication (year and/or revision), ISBN, number of pages
- Subject: conspiracy, science, biography, etc…
- Format: eBook [this mean the book was intended/formated to be read electronically], Scanned, Scanned + OCR
- Synopsis/summary/topics: Try to keep it short for each file
- Links to other relevant info. Such as: pictures, summaries, reviews, official/unofficial sites.
- Also links to other relevant torrents already posted.
- If you have a personal comment, indicate that is just that. Ex: [My opinion] – This torrent rulz and OMG, lolz (<< Try not to comment like that)

- For Audio/Video --
- Same as above if relevant plus
- Video size (ex: 720x480), File size, Duration
- Format/codec (AVI, MP4, MP3, DIVX, XVID), Bitrate and Bitrate type (ex: CBR, VBR)
- If there is a streaming online version of the file or alternate download locations, list the links. Do this because some people are screwed by their ISP or are at work, etc...

File naming:
- Naming a video, audio or ebook (ex: yougottaseethis.avi, crazy.radio.host.mp3, downloaded_but_dont_have_to_read_this.pdf) is not useful. Try to find the original title for the video/audio/book and name it in a logical way. Search and Pick a naming scheme and stick to it.
- For audio/videos files, try to find the relevant ID tag information
- Audio: author – album – title – track (ex: Anna Sings – Far and Wide – Off Key – 02)
- Video: author/show – series/episode/date – title - (ex: News Man - Disinformation Show - Dec 11, 2012 – Everything will be all right.avi)
- If it’s a radio or podcast etc… Name it, channel – date – guest/host – topic (ex: Underground Base - Dec 12, 2012 – Mad Scientist – mwahahaha.mp3)

- Other naming schemes:
How to Prepare [Justin Case, 2011].pdf
I Didn't Do It [Oxford Press, Ivan Alibi, 2012].pdf
Who Killed America [Howard I. Know, Jan 1, 2013].avi
Don't Do Anything Rash, 2nd Edition (2005), Jacques Itch.pdf
Duncan Biscett - How to Preserve Food (2007).pdf
Wiley - Encyclopedia of Useless Things - Vol. 5 [2000].pdf
The Gale Encyclopedia of Hurricanes. Vol. 1. 2nd ed.pdf
How to Succeed in School; Rita Book (YouPub, 2005).pdf
Ned Itation - The Spiritual Life - 41 - Focus & Think.avi
Cillin, Penny - The Miracle Drug.txt

Formats:
- If you have a scanned book and it’s in .bmp, compress it to .jpg or .png or some other format that will keep the quality and shrink the file size. After compressing them, you could compile them to file such as PDF. This helps with portability and file management.
- Archive: Try to make it a cross platform archive format. Give it a good name such as: Survival Pack [12 Docs, 20 MP3, 8 AVI]
- If it’s an uncommon format that most people may not be aware of, such as .djvu, .gvi, .ogv, then mention or link to a reader/player
- DVDs: Try to encode the video in a high quality format, such as h264. Don’t upload the raw rip itself unless requested.

Bundles/Packs/Collections/Compilations:
- Try to keep all the files the same subject/topic/theme/author/series/etc… Try not to mix and match
- Keep audio/video/ebooks formats in separate uploads, unless their related. Try not to mix and match
- Depending on the tracker rules, there may be file size limits. Try to keep it under a reasonable size for the content. Huge file sizes are a deterrent for many type of downloader’s due to various reasons, such as ISP cap limits, bandwidth speed, etc.
- Split up the files into parts, such as ‘IgotSoManyFilesToShare Collection Part 1/4’
- If your going to upload collections in the future, you may want to use a naming scheme so people could find your torrent more easily. Such as ‘MrKnowItAll – Collection 5 – Survival - 35 ebooks’

Torrent naming: Some trackers have detailed rules for this, such as:

A video product with multiple DVDs:
Author name - Product Name [source - Rip/ISO]
e.g Bruce Wayne – Overcoming Fear [1 DVD - 1 AVI]
Clark Kent – How to Fly [1 DVD - ISO]
Bernie Madoff – Pyramid Schemes [5 DVD - 5 ISO]

Or for an audio product with multiple cds:
Author name - Product Name [source - Codec]
e.g Eric Schmidt – Controlling your Information [6 CD - 66 MP3]
Mickey Mouse – How to Extend Your Life Span [50 TapeRip - 75 MP3]
John Hancock – False Signatures [WebRip - 41 MP3]

Or for a product with multiple deliverables:
Author name - Product Name [sources (codecs) + other files]
e.g Jack Bauer – Learn Anything in 24hrs [12 DVDs - 24 AVI, 12 CD - 24 MP3, 1000 Slides - PDF]
Ned Flanders – How to be a Nice Guy [7 eBooks - 7 PDF, 7 CD - 7 MP3]

Or for an ebook or printed material:
Author name - Product Name [eBook - PDF]
e.g. Frodo Baggins, - Overcoming OCD [1 eBook - PDF]
Dwight Eisenhower – Military-Industrial Complexes [8 Scan - 8 PDF]
Richard Stallman – Free the Source [1 Scan OCR - 1 PDF]

Or for software:
Author name - Product Name [Software - Type]
e.g. Torrent Creator Pro - Sharing Software [Software - EXE]
If source is unknown then please use UN as the source.

Using this or any other scheme will assist in detailing what’s in the torrent

-- Seeding:
- If you have limited bandwidth, stop seeding your other torrents for now and seed the new until there are some have completed it. Then move onto the next one.
- Private trackers: When creating a torrent, check the private torrent flag/option in your torrent creator, so it disables DHT, PEX, LPD. This way, lechers will not have to manually disable it themselves.
- If you’re going to post the same content on other trackers, follow the site rules regarding that.
- If you’re a partial seeder, meaning you only picked a few files from the torrent, then try to seed what you have until other have completed it.
- Some Trackers sites have the options to allow the user to see all the re-seed requests and your own download history. Try to check that sometimes and see if there are torrents that need seeding.
- Try to download the entire torrent, even if you’re not interested in the other files, someone else might be. The more seeds the better.
- Depending on the Tracker network resources, and your bandwidth, and the site rules, if you are seeding a LOT of torrents, you should manually start a few 10 – 40 in batch in time intervals. Ex: force start 30 torrents every 2 – 8 minute, or a reasonable space between them such that you don’t have hundreds of torrent announcing at the same time every minute. This will just Hammer the tracker with noise and you may get warned or banned. Also, if you need to close your Torrent app, remember to first stop all the torrents seeding, otherwise when you reopen you app, depending on your configuration, all the torrent will start at once.
- If you have a lot more information to share but it doesn’t seem appropriate to upload due to the whatever reason you may have, try uploading it on an online storage site, such as rapidshare, megaupload, etc… and list the relevant links.
- Make sure your have your network and ports configured correctly.

-- Leeching:
- Don’t try to cheat the private trackers. Many trackers have sophisticated scripts to catch you.
- Don’t Leech-and-Run. Try to give back at least a 1.0 ratio or seed for a few days.
- If you see a file listed in the torrent that you may already have, you could copy the file to the new torrents location. This may speed up the completion time.

If you follow these tips, and take your time creating the torrent, it may result in your torrents being easier to find and share. Also, as a bonus, when following the naming schemes, you may find that your library has become more organized.

Related Links:

Disable DHT in YOUR BT client TODAY!
http://tracker.concen.org/torrents-details.php?id=15175

Tutorial - How to Create and Seed a Torrent
http://tracker.concen.org/torrents-details.php?id=14361