And as far as the MySQL support goes, that's definitely coming. We want to integrate Blogtorrent with the Drupal/Civicspace CMS real soon, and part of that will be rewriting it to use a database instead of flat files.
We definitely thought about that, and other people have raised that concern. But here's how we view it:
First, the only person who gets an executable to download is a first time user. Once Blogtorrent is installed, the tracker detects that and just serves you up regular torrent files (or blogtorrent files for uploaders). So we aren't creating any habits here.
And considering the first time user, they fall into one of two camps. Either they're an experienced user who understands what's bad about running an executable from an untrusted website, or they're not.
If the former, they'll be happy to install Blogtorrent if the tracker is running on a site they trust, while if it's on "war3z d00d's p2p moviez page" they probably won't. And they won't have to. It will be enough to check out Blogtorrent.com and download it there.
And if the latter is true (our user doesn't know what's bad about running executables from shady sites) then their computer is probably already a petri dish of virii trojans, adware, and virii, or it will get that way soon. And the majority of such users would have a hard enough time wrapping their heads around how Bittorrent works that they'd just give up without the executable installer.
Deciding to *not* give these users an executable installer just means deciding (on their behalf) that they should continue their life in adware purgatory, but without that video clip or album they wanted. We wouldn't really be protecting anybody by not providing this feature.
And I know Bittorrent is pretty easy to install, but trust us, we've talked to so many people who have tried *so* hard to get it and failed miserably. With the executable, anybody who wants a file will end up getting it. And next time they're covered.
I think this previous post covers our thinking on the subject pretty well.
When it comes to really large files, uploading them from a home computer to a webserver is no picnic. Most people don't have more than 500MB on their web hosting account. And uploading really large files in a web form is really flakey--there's no status bar, etc. Also, if your original file is on a home computer with a cable modem, just getting the file uploaded could take a couple days. In the meantime, Bittorrent would have spread a large part of that file around to several peers, and people could have begun downloading it.
For a large organization with a large server, Dijjer could be a better bet. But for a blogger with not-much-web-space and a cable modem, we think Blogtorrent will be easier to use.
As an independent musician, I find it odd that they have never responded to an email asking for more info from an artist's POV - especially when asking for clarification on their stance on iTunes downloads. Silence can often speak volumes.
Well, it's true that we can be slow to respond to emails, because we get way too many of them (until just recently we were a two man team, now we're a two man / one woman team). But I just searched my inbox for "geekboy" and didn't find any messages. Is it possible you emailed us from another address? Email me again and I'll answer whatever questions you have.
Our stance on iTunes downloads is pretty simple: if the money goes to musicians, that's great. If most of it goes to a major labels that's a bad thing, for musicians and music culture.
As for public accountability, as has been pointed out already in this thread, there isn't much potential for scamming. We don't even know if the codes we get are real or fake until we redeem them, so giving people receipts would be silly.
DISCLAIMER: The band I am in offers ALL of our CDs for free on our web site, all the time. iTunes wouldn't touch us if we were the last band on earth.
Actually, iTunes will still let you in, even if you are giving away free mp3s on your website. You just have to go through CDbaby.
Slashdot Mirror
Holmes
Downhill Battle
We definitely thought about that, and other people have raised that concern. But here's how we view it:
First, the only person who gets an executable to download is a first time user. Once Blogtorrent is installed, the tracker detects that and just serves you up regular torrent files (or blogtorrent files for uploaders). So we aren't creating any habits here.
And considering the first time user, they fall into one of two camps. Either they're an experienced user who understands what's bad about running an executable from an untrusted website, or they're not.
If the former, they'll be happy to install Blogtorrent if the tracker is running on a site they trust, while if it's on "war3z d00d's p2p moviez page" they probably won't. And they won't have to. It will be enough to check out Blogtorrent.com and download it there.
And if the latter is true (our user doesn't know what's bad about running executables from shady sites) then their computer is probably already a petri dish of virii trojans, adware, and virii, or it will get that way soon. And the majority of such users would have a hard enough time wrapping their heads around how Bittorrent works that they'd just give up without the executable installer.
Deciding to *not* give these users an executable installer just means deciding (on their behalf) that they should continue their life in adware purgatory, but without that video clip or album they wanted. We wouldn't really be protecting anybody by not providing this feature.
And I know Bittorrent is pretty easy to install, but trust us, we've talked to so many people who have tried *so* hard to get it and failed miserably. With the executable, anybody who wants a file will end up getting it. And next time they're covered.
I think this previous post covers our thinking on the subject pretty well.
When it comes to really large files, uploading them from a home computer to a webserver is no picnic. Most people don't have more than 500MB on their web hosting account. And uploading really large files in a web form is really flakey--there's no status bar, etc. Also, if your original file is on a home computer with a cable modem, just getting the file uploaded could take a couple days. In the meantime, Bittorrent would have spread a large part of that file around to several peers, and people could have begun downloading it.
For a large organization with a large server, Dijjer could be a better bet. But for a blogger with not-much-web-space and a cable modem, we think Blogtorrent will be easier to use.
Holmes Wilson
Downhill Battle
Our stance on iTunes downloads is pretty simple: if the money goes to musicians, that's great. If most of it goes to a major labels that's a bad thing, for musicians and music culture.
As for public accountability, as has been pointed out already in this thread, there isn't much potential for scamming. We don't even know if the codes we get are real or fake until we redeem them, so giving people receipts would be silly.
Actually, iTunes will still let you in, even if you are giving away free mp3s on your website. You just have to go through CDbaby.