To be a seed, do you have to have 100% of the torrent (and share it) ?

[SumGuy7]

Just wondering if a machine has to have 100% of a torrent to be identified as a seeder.

And if so, can you be a seed and (for what ever reason) not be uploading to anyone?

For example, I'm downloading a torrent with the following details:

Seeds 0(2)

Peers 3(4) - sometimes 2(4)

Avail. 0.625

Seeds: 0 of 0 connected (2 in swarm)

Peers: 2(sometimes 3) of 4 connected (4 in swarm)

DHT, Local Peer Discovert, and Peer Exchange are all showing status "Not Allowed". One tracker is showing working, the other tracker is showing Error 10054.

My "availability" has been stuck at .625 for 8 hours. I'm peering with 2 to 3 of the known peers for this torrent. Presumably at least one of them must be connected to one of the 2 seeders.

But it looks like either (a) none of the 4 peers are ever connected to a seeder, or ( both seeders are simply not uploading to any peer for some reason.

So can a machine be listed as a seeder if the operator has turned off it's upload capability but not stopped it's seeding status?

Could the seeders be blocking all 4 peers from connecting (ie all 4 peers are in both seeder's blocking list) ?

[Ultima]

By definition, a seed (noun) is a peer that has 100% of the data. To seed (verb) a torrent is to be on the swarm while you are a seed (noun).

Why the seeds aren't uploading, I'm not really sure. It could well be that there aren't actually any seeds in the swarm, and that the tracker is serving stale data in its scrape response. It could be that the seeds just aren't uploading, but they're still seeds as long as they're in the swarm with 100% of the data.

With nearly-dying torrents, it's usually down to a matter of patience when it comes to finishing it.

[SumGuy7]

> It could be that the seeds just aren't uploading, but they're

> still seeds as long as they're in the swarm with 100% of the data.

Don't you (or shouldn't you) have 100% of the torrent data -AND- allow your system to upload (to someone, to anyone) in order for the tracker to classify you as a seeder?

You're saying that's not always the case?

Can a tracker know that you're not really uploading (by choice)? Even if it did, would it still list you as a seeder?

[Ultima]

Well, just because a seed isn't uploading during a particular stretch of time doesn't necessarily mean it's never going to upload again, right?

As long as you have 100% of the data, you have 0 bytes left to download. Anyone who reports 0 bytes left is assumed to be a seeder by the tracker.

[Switeck]

A seed can be running a torrent but have their GLOBAL upload speed set so low that that particular torrent seldom if ever gets even 1 KB/sec for a few seconds out of maybe 5-30 minutes for ONE peer on that torrent. (...and it probably isn't you!)

[EricPost]

I also wondered about this. Here's why, I looked all over for a torrent, to make sure it wasn't out there. I figured why bother uploading a torrent that others have done already

So I upload this file "FILE A" I'll call it.

It says it is 41.2 MB

I uploaded it on Pirate Bay and it says

Seed Peer

0(1) 0(0)

After 1 hour it says

Seed Peer

0(1) 5(15)

After 8 hours it says

Seed Peer

0(2) 15(125)

But when I look at uTorrent it says:

I've upload 38.8 of a total of 41.2

Now if you recall I did a serach and didn't find any torrents for this file. Can I assume that of the two people listed as a seed I am one of these and somehow the other person listed as a seed got parts of the torrent I haven't uploaded from some other source?

[Switeck]

Your ip may have changed since you started, and the tracker still remembers your old...and considers there to be 2 seeds as a result.