Posts made by ballard1

@pigtucket:

But back to my original question.  I can't see any difference between 1, 3, 4, and 5.  What am I missing.

Spacing and size of the letters in BAREBACK 

twinkletoes,

don't worry, I didn't feel attacked at all.
Sometimes I believe not everything can be handled by moderators. They didn't download the files themselves, so they don't know any better.
I think in cases like this, corrupted files, downloaders can deal with it themselves by commenting and warning others. Maybe it's also a good teaching lesson for everybody to actually read comments before they click on the download button. If others had a bad experience there is no reason to have it yourself. 
I am sorry to hear that you had experienced belligerent comments. Strange. I rarely come across any of these. See my examples above. These uploads just keep on giving. In a good way.
Sure, Daddy Mugs or Jake Cruise always invite some snarking, but so what? Don't take it personally. Of course comments are always subjective and you might not like what you are going to read.
But now that you are anonymous anyway, why do you care? Nobody (except moderators) knows that twinkeltoes is responsible for the upload. If you want the name recognition then you always can add "uploaded by twinkletoes". Just kidding.

:hug:

@twinkletoes:

Whereas, in my experience, much of the "Comments" and "Rating" is snarky, serving only to antagonize uploaders.

Some uploaders have to be antagonized! Like the guys uploading files knowing very well that they are corrupted! This is not acceptable IMHO.
They are dumping unusable files on everybody just to improve their ratios. Now that we are all anonymous it's not possible anymore to single them out and avoid them.
Where else, if not in the comment section, can you voice your frustration?

Wanna try an experiment? I have a corrupted file of a video everybody wants to see. I bet it will be downloaded like crazy. And then it's only a matter of time until the comment section fills up and the rating goes to zero. Ah well, I don't want to antagonize innocent downloaders… 

@twinkletoes:

This thread illustrates my reasons for suggesting that the torrent "Comments" section should be removed

twinkletoes,

I disagree on that.
Most people are too lazy to comment anyway. People who do most of the time have actually something to say. I've found funny or helpful comments. Or insightful and inspiring ones.
Just a few samples from my recent uploads…

http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=108471
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110678
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110516
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110130
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=108315

or it's a good way to get more information or warn others:
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110538

I definitely like the comments section because it's a good way to communicate outside of the forum and in regards to a specific upload.
Sure, sometimes comments, like all actions, can have unintended consequences. I think this is all this thread shows.

Oh my!
Well, since he posted the screen shot I might as well say that it was not my intention to make him go away. 
Ok, maybe I was a little harsh and overreached…  :-[
I could have been more sensitive and more constructive. Sometimes I don't consider that messages can come across much stronger than they are intended to be.
I certainly hope he comes back...

@xenu:

i would ask ballard but he doesnt allow his profile being shown which is pointless now because nothing is on there anymore that is personal.
could be a vista glitch. has no trouble making avi or wmv some others, but not mp4, mov, mkv…alas....

I always use the VLC player. It handles all formats and does great highres screenshots and thumbs…
Maybe not as convenient than a dedicated program but I like the output.

Congratulations… trial runs well...
There is only one thing.
I don't know if that would be too much work for the moderators but I wonder if it makes sense to award the points immediately at approval time.
This uploader (I assume it's the same in all three cases because the uploads are formatted in a similar way) does very well and gets rewarded for uploads meeting most criteria BUT there seem to be problems with his files!
Of course you guys cannot check the quality of the file at approval but waiting 24 hours before awarding the points gives you the opportunity to see the complaints in the comments section.
I haven't downloaded them myself so I can't tell what's wrong. But there seem to be issues.

http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110455
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110496
http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110479

@Uwe:

I prefer to proudly earn my Seed Bonus points my self and show that good ratio and gifting SBP is not incompatible  >:D

Well, just in case you run low I will gladly donate points to you  :hug:

Uwe, I am pretty sure not many guys are aware of the trial ratings system because not too many people bother to check out the forum.
Since it's only a trial and not all moderators are participating it probably doesn't make too much sense to announce it on the browse page.
But at least one guy was really happy about it: http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/details.php?id=110401
:cheesy2:

Good work!
And yes: the Admin should reimburse you for the points you are handing out. After all they can "print" as many as they like…

Quote from: geographer on Yesterday at 09:36:51 pm

… add an entry stating at least 10 separate images (including the cover and screenshot sheet) ...

Uwe:  But that blocks adding more pictures by other members, e.g. a missing contact sheet ...

Uwe, sometimes I think it's not even a bad idea that not more than 10 pics are possible after the initial upload.
I usually make sure that I have at least 10 pics so that no other pics can be added.
Why? I've seen quite a few cases where the later added pics are from other videos and have nothing to do with the upload. Different vids, different people.
And maybe I am a bit anal about this (no pun intended), but later added pics can destroy the arrangement because they have a different size, etc.

I prefer to see the movie cover first, the scene pics, then maybe thumbs (although in most cases I think they are utterly useless). I prefer high quality screenshots which show the highlights chronologically. Screenshots which get actually bigger when you click on them and you don't need a magnifying glass to see anything!
The VLC player makes beautiful pics. Today I made some and they were 1MB in size. Now that's what I call a screenshot! Ok, I'm a sucker for aesthetics. 

@trukr:

Why not 2 rating systems? Keep the current one and have a staff rating system. This way each rating system can be used for their intended purpose, and Auto Approval users can benefit from the new rating system too. Staff can rate a torrent on it's download page rather than the approval list.

I don't think two rating systems is a good idea. The current one is broken. Too many people give bad ratings without even having seen the video or based on personal taste.
On the other hand: maybe it's possible that only people who actually have downloaded a video can rate? That would make a lot of sense. That would minimize the abuse of the rating system.

Uwe, don't you think that many members with Auto Approval need some "training" too?;-)  :police:  There are way to many uploads with picture sheets so small that it's impossible to see anything, with no information  about the video whatsoever, with file names which do not make any sense and make it impossible to identify a file once its on the hard drive, etc.
I applaud your teaching program. I think it will create a new generation of uploaders with better "upload ethics".

Brandon, just one more idea: maybe it's possible to "punish" people who are caught jumping on uploading torrents. Sure, there is no way to police this fairly but I think it might deter jumpers if they know that they will get a deduction if they are caught. It annoys me when I can seed only 80Mb of a 400MB file because somebody jumped on my upload. They easily could wait until the file is uploaded.

@geographer:

Exactly. Everybody likes good quality, but I wouldn't want to start a mass discrimination

Although… Not sure if it would be fair to rate equally a DVD and an xtube collection, assuming they both match the theoretical standards... Opinions?

Well, if the exclusivity and originality of the material outweigh the technical quality, then the upload should get either extra "points" for that to make up for the missing points in the technical quality department or don't rate the picture quality at all.
It's not the uploader's fault that the source material is bad. Except if he filmed it himself and made it into a crappy file;)
But we can't expect too much from webcam material and I guess everybody is aware of that. It might be lacking in the video department but it can be rare and very hot nonetheless.
Like most of the Maverickmen vids really have a shitty video quality . But it's fun stuff and I think it should be rewarded if somebody gets his dirty little fingers on some new vids.

:inlove:

@cumeaternc:

What I do not like to see is uploaders who expect generous treatment when they in 3 years have earned hundreds of SBPs, given only 30SBPs away after downloading 50 torrents since 6-5-2011 and trading them in 13 times for 5GB of seeded traffic for themselves. I try to be civil but this gimmie, gimmie, gimmie is getting old.

Brandon,
I know that this was directed at me. You're right. The shoe fits.
But I think I tried to explain this before. For getting my ratio up I needed to exchange the points because uploading and seeding alone didn't do the trick.
At least I can proudly say that I don't beg for points. I've done it maybe five times in almost 300 files I have uploaded.
If a member wants to give BSP I am grateful, if not it's fine too. I don't expect anything.
Now that I got my ratio up to a healthier level I will be more generous. Promise. I just had to balance my priorities while I was working on the low ratio problem.

Geographer,

I like your ideas! All of them :cheers: Great brainstorming.

You're right: the rating system doesn't work in it's current implementation. There are a few people on the tracker who rate 1 Star just because they don't like the type of porn. And they rate before the file is even uploaded. That's distorting and might others prevent from downloading a torrent they might actually like.

Adding to reputation by using Thank You is a good idea too. Just don't give members the right to give bad reputation. On the forum I got a negative reputation by a member who just has a different taste in porn. I thought that his action was not warranted. Just because you're into muscle guys shouldn't give you the right to give a bad rep to somebody who's into twinks.

All in all: great work geographer!

@xenu:

P.S. (to ballard1: who is that in the avatar?  woof!)

It's not me but he looks a lot like me. A friend sent me the pic and wrote: "Hey, since when do you post your naked pics on the net?"  
:afr:
So I thought I might as well use it as my avatar. No idea who the guy is. My twin… separated at birth? Mom swears she only had one boy!

Why can't I keep my mouth shut? 
Well, it's no surprise to moderators that I sympathize with Xenu after having been in the same boat not too long ago with a miserable ratio. It took me almost 4 years to get power user status! hahahahaha

My advice: stop downloading for a while and get your porn from someplace else. Downloading is what hits you a lot. Download only stuff you really NEED and find nowhere else. More quality, less quantity. And avoid DVD-Rs. You cannot afford them.

Uploading: Don't push out new uploads too quickly. I made that mistake. As soon as an upload was finished I prepared the next one. Hoping for bonus points which most of the time don't come.

I now let my new uploads seed for 24 hours or more until the number of leechers drops and the upload speed goes very low. That often gives me a ratio of 5.0 and better on that upload. A 1GB video has seeded after 24 hours more than 5GB which I have in the bank for sure. I would need about 350 bonus points to get the same amount of GB credits. And to get these is not easy

Uwe's strategy to get torrents into phase 4 is not very practical for me because of limited space on the uploading machine. Once seeding is over I have to move the file away to make room for other material. And keeping track of what I had uploaded months ago and getting the file back is just not possible. I still have a day job (which allows me the occasional masturbatory break though).  :blink:

After looking at the number of actually active members (right now 397 online) I think it would be a good idea to recruit more members. 397 worldwide is not a lot! Let's just assume it would be possible to raise that number to 2,000 at any given time. That would make things much more interesting (more leechers, maybe more points for uploaders).
But please don't ask me how we can get more active members. I have no idea. I am the only one I know personally who really loves porn! Well, maybe my friend Billy… but he would soon drop off again because I'd never upload anything and his bad ratio would get him kicked out quickly. I digress...

Uwe, no need to justify.
I noticed that you are quite generous and I think that's great!

Let's ask cumeaternc and a few of the other "super point rich" moderators to start spreading the love, e.g. bonus points.
With over 10.000 points a lot of people with good uploads but no rewards from others can be made very happy… 
Why hoarding the points if they are not needed for keeping a good ratio? After all the only thing we can do with them is cashing them in for GB.
You go guys! Set an example!

Ok, before you verbally slaughter and abuse me (hmm... i might like it :afr:): of course you can do with your points whatever you like!

Cheers!

Dear cumeaternc,

you still don't get it.
Nobody ever said anything about punishing people with fast lines. More power to them!
Read the previous posts please!
And with contributing I meant uploading/sharing new material, being active…
I don't want to get into semantics with you. If you still didn't get the drift then I give up.