For me, I don't care. I have a strong ratio, and I'm not worried about missing some upload credits. But if the original torrent uploader is in "ratio jail" and needs the upload credit, it's nasty. I don't know how to address this other than appealing to users' better nature…which for some people is probably futile.
The tail (ratio) is wagging the dog (sharing files). If someone can help seed a file, that's exactly what they're supposed to do. No one, not even the original uploader, has the right to be the seeder and get the upload credit. That's not the way torrenting works.
However, I think it is rare that someone jumps on a new torrent with the completed file like that. Why would they do that instead of creating their own torrent in the first place, since they already have the file? Why look at an unlikely cause and try to blame someone when there are much more likely causes? Paranoia? Are people really downloading files and then sitting around waiting for someone else to create a torrent of the file here so they can jump on and grab the credit? :cheers:
It may look like it is happening because of a problem with the statistics. Maybe the original seeder is not getting credit he has earned because it is not registering or maybe there is a delay in the credit showing.
I have not uploaded many original torrents but when I have, it almost always has been the case that I get to a ratio of 1.0 or a little over and then other seeders take over. Later on I may get more credit. That's simply the nature of torrenting.
Why does it happen? Maybe because my internet connection is not as fast as most? It doesn't matter, the file is being shared, which is the purpose of torrenting. My ratio is not as important as sharing.
Actually, it happens surprisingly often. You wouldn't think it, but it does happen surprisingly often. This is why a number of my uploads consist of material that I have digitized from VHS format myself. This ensures that only I have the exact copy until the upload is complete, even if someone already has a copy of the video, it's guaranteed not to be an exact copy. That is about the ONLY sure fire way to make sure that nobody can possibly have the same video. Another common method is taking a video and re-encoding it in a different format container so that they can re-upload the same content in a different format container and make sure that it's an "original" upload in every way possible.
