Posts made by raphjd

from zeropaid.com;

Verizon to Hollywood: 'We Won't Help You Fight Piracy'

Refuses to take on the role of traffic cop, and says that it generally sees increased traffic as a "good thing."

In a recent interview, Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president for public affairs, criticizes Hollywood's efforts to get ISPs like AT&T to begin identifying and preventing copyrighted material from being illegally shared on its network.

Verizon seemingly acknowledges the fallacy of trying to monitor and police traffic on its broadband network, as well as the futility of even the most well financed efforts in doing so.

“We generally are reluctant to get into the business of examining content that flows across our networks and taking some action as a result of that content,” he said.

Now The fact that AT&T is even considering the proposal seems crazy in its own right that is, until one considers that it just underwent a controversial, and hugely partisan merger with BellSouth, which gave it effective control over more than half the telephone and Internet access lines in the US! If you want evidence of it attempting to cozy up to politicians and the entertainment industry that spreads around millions in contributions, then look no further.

Tauke also points out that unlike AT&T, which seems overly burdened by all of the increased traffic thanks to the illegal file-sharing of video content, it embraces the increased need for services from its customers. "We see substantial increases in the volume of traffic," he says. "Generally we see that as a good thing"

"We have more customers paying for more services we provide."

On the issue if BitTorrent throttling, or traffic shaping, Tauke says that “We don’t want to solve any network congestion issues by restricting the flow of certain kinds of traffic."

He then noted 3 clear observations about how "examining content" is a bad idea.

1. The slippery slope.

Once you start going down the path of looking at the information going down the network, there are many that want you to play the role of policeman. Stop illegal gambling offshore. Stop pornography. Stop a whole array of other kinds of activities that some may think inappropriate.

2. It opens up potential liability for failing to block copyrighted work.

When you look back at the history of copyright legislation, there has been an effort by Hollywood to pin the liability for copyright violations on the network that transmits the material. It is no secret they think we have deeper pockets than others and we are easy-to-find targets.

3. Privacy.

Anything we do has to balance the need of copyright protection with the desire of customers for privacy.

It sounds like there may just be an ISP out there with some common sense after all. It's a dirty little secret among them that illegal file-sharing is what's driving the demand for faster and faster internet connection speeds.

Streaming video from YouTube and e-mail in no way justifies expensive $45 dollars a month subscription packages offering 7Mbps DL and 512Kbps UL speeds! It's illegal file-sharers who are driving the demand for such services and as Tauke says, at least Verizon sees the need for such services as a "good thing."

From zeropaid.com;

UK P2P Crackdown to Fuel Wi-Fi Hijacking?

Illegal file-sharers who get their accounts terminated by ISPs may resort to piggybacking on other people's unprotected wi-fi access points and lead to complications in enforcing new plan.

After recent news points to the distinct possibility that British ISPs just may become de facto copyright police for UK authorities after all, network security firm Sophos warns of an impending explosion in the number of people illegally piggybacking on other people's Wi-Fi internet service.

For Security firm Sophos points out that the UK government's proposal to make ISPs ban illegal file-sharers from the internet will mean that some people will inevitably be looking for alternatives after being blacklisted for infractions of copyright laws. It predicts that the plan will ultimately cause headaches for ISPs and Wi-Fi users, as users could claim that other people have been illegally piggybacking on their internet services.

Last November, a Sophos poll of 560 computer users revealed that 54 percent have stolen Wi-Fi internet access in the past.

"Pressure is being put on ISPs to take action, but an open Wi-Fi hotspot may mean that it is you who ends up disconnected from the net while your next door neighbor is happily watching the Hollywood blockbuster they stole via your internet connection," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"People who illegally download from the net material they haven't paid for aren't going to have any qualms about stealing someone else's internet connection. The widespread scale of the problem not only means that there are likely to be victims, but it also gives those people who have been making illegal downloads a plausible defense."

Under a 'three-strikes' regime, customers making illegal downloads will first receive an email warning, then a suspension of their account, and finally termination of their contract. According to reports, ISPs that fail to enforce the rules could be prosecuted and details of suspected customers passed onto the courts.

"The ISPs are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place - they are being leaned on by the movie and music industry to block pirate downloads, but at the same time they don't want to alienate their customers by accusing them of something they didn't do," explained Cluley. "There is no 100% solution for blocking illegal downloads which doesn't also inconvenience the ."

The proposed plan, which the Government is due to unveil next week, will require ISPs to take action against the estimated six million users a year in the UK who access pirated material. But, the big question is will this mean that action is also taken against those who fail to properly secure their Wi-Fi routers? Will failure to heed warnings to "lock up" also lead to a termination of Internet services?

Unfortunately at this time we do not have the staff to run a full set of forums in Spanish.

I've been reading a large number of articles about P2P and various governments and I must say that Germany is the first EU country to tell the major industries to go screw themselves.

Most other countries have been handing over whatever the music and record industries want and in many cases even allowing them to be a part of police raids. In most countries, this is normally illegal, but some how they manage to get in on the action.  It's also illegal in most countries for police and the gov to actively help in civil matters such as this.

Think about it.  If you wanted to sue your neighbors for not returning your BBQ {outdoor cooking grill}, you will never get the police to raid their house and let you join in. Nor will the police/gov wiretap their phones and internet for you to help you with your civil case.

(As they have said things against gay people in my presence before they knew)

See, another example of closed mindedness from heteros.  They would have kept saying that kind of crap if you never told them.

I'm willing to bet that they still don't like gays overall.  It's easy for them to accept you since they have known you for a while, but most likely their view of other gays hasn't changed in the least.

There was a study done about 2 years ago that showed that heteros when thinking about gays, focus on the sex, not the person.

From TorrentFreak.com;

Danish Pirate Bay Block Breaks EU Law
Written by Ernesto on February 13, 2008

Last week a Danish court ordered the ISP “Tele2? to block its customers access to The Pirate Bay. The decision heated the debate on ISPs Internet filtering, and it now turns out that filtering traffic to The Pirate Bay is actually illegal according to European law.

In last week’s court ruling it was concluded that “Tele2? had assisted in copyright infringement because they give their customers access to The Pirate Bay, thereby copying copyrighted material in their routers. It reads: “The telephone company’s dissemination of access to the www.thepiratebay.org entails the transmission of copyright protected material through the companies routers.”

A crucial factor in the ruling is thus that the ISP commits copyright infringement in their routers when they allow access to The Pirate Bay. An absurd claim of course, and even more serious, it opposes the Infosoc Directive, that formed the basis of the Danish copyright law.

In in Article 5 of the Infosoc Directive it is clearly stated that “copying in routers” is allowed, as an exception to and a limitation of the rights holders’ exclusive rights. Even more so, this is non-negotiable, and every member state of the EU must accept it. Oscar Swartz, an Internet pioneer and writer in Sweden who has been researching the case extensively rightly argues that the Danish court misinterpreted the Directive in this case.

The misuse of the article in question has been confirmed by Cecilia Renfors, a Swedish judge and special governmental investigator who had the assignment to propose new legislation to combat unauthorized file-sharing. “She refers to the former opinion by the Swedish government and reconfirms that a Danish model would NOT be compatible with Article 5.1 in the Infosoc Directive. She also repeats the opinion that the Danish way actually nullifies the whole purpose of that Article,” Oscar writes.

The Danish ISP Business association has decided that they will challenge the decision in court. Ib Tolstrup, the director of the association said in a podcast interview with Computerworld that Tele2 is going to challenge the ruling, as they realize they are the only nation in Europe that talks about “copying in the routers”. Tolstrup further said that, if Denmark wishes to be a top IT nation, the topic must be put on the political agenda because a Google block is not far away if they do not challenge the courts decision.

In a comment to TorrentFreak Swartz said: “I am surprised that the Danish ISPs have simply accepted the rulings in Denmark when they are so obviously illogical and dangerous. The courts say that any network provider performs “copying” in their routers. If that is correct the consequences are enormous and The Pirate Bay and the two other cases in Denmark would just be the beginning.”

Swartz continues: “I think the case shows that we have to fight all the time. Stand up. Not back down. Work hard. Make research. Try to get the message out to media. What I miss in Sweden, and Denmark of course, is professors and lawyers who are also participating in the fight for communications freedom. Like in the EFF in the U.S. where top professors and lawyers donate time and knowledge to support cases in court. Where are they here?”

In a response to the courts decision, The Pirate Bay launched jesperbay.org. The site is named after Jesper Bay, the head of the Danish IFPI, and gives detailed instructions for affected customers on how to regain access to The Pirate Bay.

Interestingly, it turns out that the block by Tele2 didn’t have the effect that the IFPI was hoping for. On the contrary, Pirate Bay traffic from Denmark went up, instead of down. However, this case is about more than The Pirate Bay, it is about censoring the Internet.

@unleet:

Personally, I'm fine with a reduction since any sanely written BT client will snub peers who aren't uploading much anyway. So even when people "leech" they're still contributing to the overall swarm speed while they're downloading.

The ratio requirements will be changing again.

http://forum.gaytorrent.ru/index.php?topic=2690.0

To the vast majority of heteros, I'm nothing more than what I do with my cock.  To most heteros, I'm not a human, I'm just a fag.

I see a bit of inequality here from the OP.  We can't dislike something heteros do, while heteros are able to despise what we do.

EDIT: To quote GWB in a speech when he was running for his 2nd term "they aren't people, they are homosexuals".  This was how he defended how he could be a christian and oppose equal rights.

As a member of 5 months, you should know better than to post live links.

I think they need time to see what it can do and how to work it.

The discussion stalled for a bit so Tom could get the new forum software set up.

After he gets a good night's sleep it's time to press him on the issue. 

It was leaked yesterday that the UK gov was planning this exact kind of thing.

The really sneaky thing is that the UK gov planned to force it into law without a vote in Parliament, using the "white paper" system.

NOTE: The "white paper" system is similar to Presidential Executive Orders in the US.

Who needs porn when you have new forum software to play with.  ;D

BTW, I'll be testing out some new features, so if you see anything odd, it's just me playing.

DOJ Ends Gay Group Ban
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: February 6, 2008 - 3:00 pm ET

(Washington) The Department of Justice has ended a five year old policy of denying an LGBT employee group the same privileges it offers other minority groups.

In 2003 then-Attorney General John Ashcroft told DOJ Pride that it could no longer hold its annual gay pride event on DOJ property.  Ashcroft at the time said that it was Bush administration policy that only events that received a presidential proclamation could be held on government property.

Justice Department workers had celebrated Pride in the Great Hall of DOJ headquarters every June since the mid 1990s when President Bill Clinton first declared a Gay Pride Month.  Bush has declined throughout his presidency to issue a proclamation.

Ashcroft also told the employee organization that it was barred from posting notices of its meetings on DOJ bulletin boards or distribute such messages through the department's e-mail system.

Ashcroft took the action a week after the Rev. Jerry Falwell issued a warning to President Bush and the Republican leadership to stop "catering to gays" or lose the support of Christian conservatives.

The ban on DOJ Pride continued under Alberto Gonzales.

The new Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, now has reversed that decision.

Mukasey has told DOJ Pride that DOJ will give the organization the same rights as all other DOJ employee groups. In a statement to the group Mukasey said that the department will "foster an environment in which diversity is valued, understood and sought."

At the time Ashcroft imposed the ban DOJ Pride had about 200 members.  That is now down to 150 members.

Ashcroft was not alone in clamping down on LGBT federal workers.

Special Counsel Scott Bloch, the man responsible for protecting whistleblowers and investigating complaints of discrimination by federal workers, refused to take on complaints of discrimination based on sexuality.

Bloch's stonewalling complaints of discrimination by LGBT federal workers dates to February 2004 when he ordered references to sexual orientation removed from the Office of the Special Counsel website. Since 1998, when President Bill Clinton issued an executive order prohibiting bias in the civil service, the OSC has taken that to include sexuality.

A month after the references disappeared from the OSC website Bloch said gay workers were no longer protected.

After intense pressure from Federal Globe - the LGBT organization for federal civil servants - and from Democrats on The Hill, the White House said it would honor the Executive Order signed by Clinton that that had been taken as assurance LGBT workers had civil rights protections.

But with Bloch's approval, several union contracts negotiated with various branches of the government removed the list of categories that are protected replacing them with the more nebulous phrase "any class protected by law."

Appearing in May 2005, before the the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee on oversight of government management, the federal workforce and the District of Columbia, Bloch said that his interpretation of the Clinton executive order cannot be used to protect gay workers because it does not specifically name LGBT workers.

BTW, B is the best answer.

Upload everything.

You are reading that wrong.

The most wanted list is the list of the torrents that are downloaded the most. It has nothing to do with being the most requested.

There has been a lot of fuss over the new ratio requirements and even before that, so I decided to write this up.  It's not perfect or complete by any means, but it will help you get and keep a decent ratio.

Before I begin, please have a look at the glossary I made for the site;

https://forum.gaytorrent.ru/index.php?topic=562.0

While you are in the Guides/How To's section, please have a read of the other guides there. Many of them will help out quite a lot in getting and keeping a good ratio.

This guide is to show you how to get the best out of the site and get/keep a decent ratio.

The main factor is common sense when doing this.  Don't just blindly follow this guide as it can cause other issues.  {see below}

If everyone follows this guide, torrents will live for a long time and there will be no mad dash to get everything right away.  This will in turn help everyone have a decent ratio and get the stuff they want.

General Practices

1. Limit the amount of active torrents you have to as few as possible.  This will greatly speed up the time it takes to get and send files. Your computer, client and ISP all limit how many active connections you can have.  When you have reached the maximum amount of connections, you are stuck and can't go any faster unless some of those connections drop and are replaced. Depending on your download/upload speed, start off maybe 2 torrents and see if they take up all of your bandwidth.  If they don't, then add another and check again; rinse and repeat.  Not to mention that the more active torrents you have, the more resources your computer will use, limiting what you can do while BTing.

2. Enable Encryption in your client.  While your ISP may not actively target P2P, many others do.  Doing this helps you get data transfered between you and others who are affected, more easily.

3. If you can afford it, get an external hard drive to keep older downloads on.  I have three 1TB external HDs.  Many/most home theater systems support self powered USB 2 external hard drives. Most also support the various mainstream video formats {avi, mpg, divx, etc} as well.  The upside is no more discs cluttering up your house and massive storage to help boost your ratio.

Downloading and ratios:

1. I have only ever heard of a few ISPs that have equal up and down speeds and they cost a lot of money per month. One example I saw recently costs £200 a month vs the normal £30 a month.  The normal ISP practice is for the download speeds to be 4 or 5 times faster than your upload speed.   This means it will take much, much longer to seed back than it will to download the file.

2. If your ratio is in trouble, don't download anything new.  Seed back what you already have taken. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people cry for help about their ratio while downloading several files.  Tsk, Tsk

3. If your ratio is above the ratio requirement, but you want a boost, then set you max download speeds to something below your upload speed.

Don't Yoy-Yo your ratios.  This means, don't build up a high ratio just so you can hit n run torrents for a while.  This has bitten more than a few in the ass.

Uploading/Seeding

1. Keep an eye on your torrents.  If you see a torrent with 50 seeders and 1 leecher, stop it and move on to a torrent that needs help.  This will not only help you get a better ratio, it will also help others get files faster.  There is a downside though.  If everyone looks at the torrents at the same time, then it could lead to the formerly over seeded file becoming under seeded.  This is why I said the main factor in this is common sense.

Some may call this hit n running, but I call this traffic management.

2. Turn off/deselect DHT, Peer Exchange and all that other bullshit in your client.  These allow people to leech from you who aren't members of your tracker, thus sucking up your bandwidth.  DHT is automatically disabled here, but it's not disabled on a lot of sites.

3. DO NOT limit your upload speed to some low bullshit kbps as many have been doing, especially if you are the only seeder.  This will make a lot of people not want to get that file, thus giving you no upload ratio. Not to mention it's F'ing rude.

4. Remember that in a perfect world, it will still take 4 or 5 times longer to seed back than it will to download. There are a lot of factors that can make it take even longer.

5. A good reason to have a bit of a ratio buffer is if your computer dies and you lose stuff.

6. Regularly check to see if the videos you have downloaded in the past are still on the site.  If not, then upload them again as new people will probably want them. If you do this, make sure when you search, make sure you include "including dead" in the search as the seeder may have a connection issue at the moment you looked.

7. DO NOT download a file and rename it just so you can upload it again.  This will get you a warning at the very least. Not to mention it doesn't gain you anything you wouldn't get from seeding the torrent with the original name, as you are seeding either way.

8. If your upload is rejected, the moderator will tell you why.  The main reason for rejected uploads is bad/missing descriptions and/or pictures. Correct whatever it is that the moderator tells you and your upload will be approved.

Amateur section is being discussed now.

Cadinot is not all about Arabs/middle east boys. Many of their videos are completely French boys. I do agree that they have many videos of French speaking Arabs, but they also have many videos of French speaking Africans.

You have to remember, that we can break everything down into it's smallest component category but that would make it a bitch to find anything. So we are a bit leary about creating more categories.

BTW, site feature requests go in the General Discussion section.

There's been 5 cables cut in the last 2 weeks.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/06/cut-four-undersea-cables-shame-on-you-cut-a-fifth-also-shame/

If you would like to discuss this topic, please use this thread;

http://tracker.gaytorrent.ru/forums.php?action=viewtopic&forumid=2&topicid=2690

Any discussion outside that thread will be deleted.