TL;DR - 1. How do most PT's track ratios? is it always by IP address or are there other methods. Asking bc IP address seems like it would be an issue on VPN. 2. Do all PT's operate on ratios or are there other systems? 3. Which PT's are best for competition and education tv shows? 4. other options besides PT's?
1. In general, do Private trackers require you to reveal IP address or some other info that could be used to track real world identity (even temporarily)? Some online recs for ABB alternatives included myanonamouse.net but rule "1.2 Duplicating IP Addresses" sounded VERY anti-VPN / anti-privacy to me and got me wondering if this is something all private trackers do as a method for tracking ratios via IP address or if it is just some of them. Not sure what the BT protocol supports, but seems like using public/private keys or some other equally anon method could be used instead of IP address for tracking stats if privacy was a main goal. If IP address based tracking isn't the norm, then how are ratios generally tracked on PT that let you remain completely anon?
2. Do all private trackers require maintaining ratios or is that misconception on my part? I'm just an average home user and like a lot of people my ISP imposes a monthly bandwidth cap. I don't mind sharing but I also don't plan on paying for something like a seedbox - if I'm going to spend money, I would probably look into some other option that doesn't require any effort on my part. Maybe usenet or real debrid? I haven't explored either of these in as much depth as I would like (so far).
3. Aside from looking for redundant alternatives to nyaa, ABB, irchighway, and libgenesis, the main content I'm having a hard time finding on public trackers is "educational" tv shows. Some documentaries are ok but I mostly mean non-fiction, non-reality-tv shows like like home improvement/gardening/animals/history/engineering/science/firearms/crafting/etc. Don't want to break rule 3 by mentioning any specific names but for example, a competition show that focused on crafting and had eliminations based on design or implementation flaws rather than how a competitor's crafted product looked would be right up my alley. I might also like a competition show that focuses on blue-collar workers. And pretty much anything related to archery/firearms, home improvement, maker, or outdoor challenges is usually fair game. Are there any private trackers (or usenet/real debrid/etc) that specialize in this kind of thing or are at least are more likely to have that kind of content than public trackers? I'm mostly interested in pirate sites for new and existing tv shows but am open to hearing about new youtube channels and the like that match my description too.
4. If there is another option besides public or private trackers that seems relevant to my questions, please feel free to enlighten me...
If it matters, I usually prefer smaller file sizes with x264/x265 encodes. I generally prefer 480p or 720p releases since I sometimes watch from mobile and family doesn't really care about resolutions over 720p anyway (I generally avoid downloading anything over 1080p).
Look man. A private tracker is a bunch of dudes that run a website. That’s it. It just so happens the site hosts torrent links. It’s not Google with billions at its disposal to craft sophisticated surveillance level tech.
Most of the time things like maintaining a good ratio, banning for hit and runs, etc. are automated, done by bots. No person wants to search databases for single users.
With that said, assume admins can and will see things you post, even DMs. But that’s about it. Access to torrents on the tracker are all automatic too.
99% of private trackers use it to generate money. Either they have a deal with seedboxes, VPNs, or find others ways to monetize the site by donations, etc.
That’s it. Just use a VPN to protect yourself from actual legal threats. Don’t worry about the tracker as a vector.
Except when they get busted.
Yup. Or hacked. Or a member of the team with access does something stupid. etc.
Hmmm... this response seems to imply that I have no idea what a PT even is. It's true that I haven't used them before, but talking about it like I don't understand that it's just a website or that things are automated seems like a talking down. I hope I am just misreading the tone.
I think from this part
Your point might be something like "PT's are small time so no need to worry". If so, then I strongly disagree. I may not be personally familiar with private trackers, but I am fairly well educated on web infrastructure, security, tech, and programming.
If personal data - including IP address - is present - even just for registration - then it could be abused in scenarios such as disgruntled admins, data breaches, or server raids/seizures to name a few. There has even been at least one case where someone torrented a completely legal thing - a linux distro (and i mean actually a legit linux distro not like some people call downloading something illegal as a "linux distro" as joke that they aren't doing anything illegal) and got a dcma notice.
Point being that if you are ok with that risk, that's fine for you. But not everyone's security model or what they consider as an acceptable risk is the same. And IMO your response would have been much better if it was calling out the technical risks, clearly delineating what is a technical fact vs what is opinion, and then stating that in your opinion the risks weren't significant to you personally. (it sounds like we have different opinions but still if you thought I was a complete newbie, why leave things open to misunderstanding?).
Anyway since I specifically brought up my questions about PT's in the context of wanting to use a VPN, if the whole point of the reply was essentially to dismiss the need for VPNs with PT registration when I say it matters to me, then that's a bit weird..