Understanding Bit Comet

BitComet BitComet General Discussion
1

I have been using Bit Comet off and on for about two years now. In all that time i would see the terms seed, seeders, leech, leechers upload,download,peers, etc. Understanding most of the terms and not being fully aware of some of the terms and how they relate specifically to Bit Comet i was a happy camper because i was receiving free software.. I think it would behoove the creators of Bit comet to create a general summarization of the Bit Comet software as if all new downloaders of the software were downloading their first Bit Torrent. The reason i say this is after two years i just found out that i was a Leecher, not knowing that if i left my download running that would help other people downloading the same software that i just finished downloading. Technically, i dont fully understand that process but if it does no harm to my computer i personally dont have a problem with doing this, and i am sure that many other new commers would feel the same.

This suggestion isnt about helping people with a technical problem which the forums address but making sure that all who use this software know that by leaving your download running( and how that process works) all users benefit.I will give my suggestion on where this info should be placed. Definately not in the forums but right out front in the software itself. Titled. “” Understanding Bit Comet “”. This is not a criticizim(sp?) of Bit Comet but just a suggestion that i think will in the long run be a benefit to Bit Comet and its users.

2

BitComet is a single instance of a bittorrent client – much as Chevrolet is a single instance of automobiles. It’s really not up to your Chevy or its manual, to tell you what an automobile is or how to drive one.

The bittorrent community, and indeed the entire culture that gave rise to it, depends heavily on individual initiative. No one will lead you by the hand here. You must take the initiative to teach yourself. There are many sources of help, and many glossaries explaining all of the terms – but you must look for them. There are indeed several helpful tutorials here on this site, in the “Guides and Tutorials” section, but again, you must take the initiative to find them and to read them for yourself.

If you obtain free software, it generally comes without a manual. It is up to you to discover how it works, to poke and prod and try things and make mistakes while you learn how it works.

3

You should also have a look on wiki.bitcomet.com. We have spend countless hours (unpaid work) preparing this documentation, and I can’t think of a way to make it any easier, short of forcing users to read it at gunpoint lol

Everything you could possibly want to know is posted, if it’s not, then we’ll get to it sooner or later

4

As i stated in my post this was not a criticizm just a suggestion . i suspected that this is exactly the type of response i would get so i was hesitent to post anything at all but did anyway. mainly because i have been using Bit comet for two years and as a result of something i didnt understand i was searching around for about a half and hour in the forums and came to realize that i have been a leecher for about two years. It seems to me that what you are siggesting is the “” Tail wagging the dog “” instead of the “” Dog wagging the tail “”. So if you as an admin along with the other reply are satisfied with people using this software without really understanding what is actually going on right from the beginning them i guess in the future you will have more “” Unknowing Leechers “” who are taking from the community without realizing that they can also be giving to the community.

5

The thing is that lots of people aren’t really interested in knowing how lots of the things they use on a daily basis work. I’m not saying that this is a good thing but it’s the bleak truth.

To someone who isn’t willing to invest a little time to understand why and how something does what it does, what you propose would be mere waste of time from our part.

On the other hand, all those who are really interested about this, will pretty soon learn how it works, as there are explanations and links popping up, all over the place.

E.g. if you just click on the Help menu of BitComet (which is something most users who encounter a new software would do) you’ll be lead to this page.

The very second link on this page, (just right under the one which explains how to download and install BitComet) will lead you to this page: Using BitComet to Download Torrents.

Right on top of the page you can see that the first 2 sections of the topic deal exactly with what you are talking about (“Before you start” and “Doing your share”).

Moreover, if you click on the BitTorrent link in the very first phrase on the page you’ll be led to this page: BitTorrent, which explains even in a little more detail, exactly the things you talk about.

Perhaps a quick 101 on torrenting would be welcome as soon as you install BitComet, but the thing is that in our experience, you’re the happy exception to the rule.

Usually most of the people who don’t care to know about how a software works will quickly forget even if you explained it to them, and still wouldn’t seed.

And those who really care or are interested about the technologies they use will rather quickly educate themselves.

I’ve personally coached a couple of my friends when I installed a BitTorrent client on their PC, about the fact that they should seed whatever they download in order to keep this network going, and all the bla, bla bla… about how everything they download comes from others and the whole enchilada. They nodded and totally agreed with me, only so that I could find out later when I payed them a visit that they forgot the whole thing, as soon as I explained it to them, be it because they couldn’t really grasp it or they plainly didn’t care.

However, we’ll consider forwarding this suggestion to the developing team. Perhaps making BitComet open in the default browser the page I indicated above, could help those who install BitComet for the first time.

Except we would have to weigh how annoying it would be for the veteran users of BitTorrent.

6

I wholeheartedly agree with you.