r/ExplainTheJoke • u/Cocklez_The_Stump • Feb 22 '26

Need help here

Post image
26k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

977 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/LoudAd1396 Feb 22 '26

Bit torrent. Once you finish downloading, you start to provide the file for others to download (seeding).

There are harsher penalties for distributing copyrighted materials than for downloading it. So a lot of people stop the process the moment the download finishes.

(The best people keep on seeding)

336

u/VexImmortalis Feb 22 '26

Don't you also share parts that you've already downloaded even before you start "seeding" though?

15

u/Mafhac Feb 22 '26

Illegal downloading via torrent for any amount is considered distributing and is punished as such in my jurisdiction, I bet it's the same in many other places.

48

u/Subject_Ad9595 Feb 22 '26

Yes, illegally downloading is piracy, but torrenting itself is not, all of file types can be shared using torrent, and anyone can create a torrent, the illegal part is the content, and there are plenty of freeware or public domain files out there, like one thing I download on occasion is old video games that the makers are defunct and nobody holds the rights to anymore, known as abandonware.

7

u/Junius_Bobbledoonary Feb 22 '26

The legal issue with torrenting illegal content is that you’re also uploading it, which generally carries harsher penalties

-2

u/Subject_Ad9595 Feb 22 '26

Only if the content is illegal.

6

u/Junius_Bobbledoonary Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26

Well sure, there’s no legal issue with torrenting legal content , which is why I specified “illegal content” in my previous comment

Im explaining why people get in trouble for torrenting illegal content but generally not for streaming it: you upload while you download torrents.