Bit Torrent for Dummies

[Tide]

Hello, I am a regular trader on direct connect hubs and i understand that pretty well. I downloaded Bit Torrent yesterday and already have downloaded two shows but i have many questions that i cannot find the answers for.
For Example:

Once i close the BT window on a show after it is complete and noone is uploading from me, is it not accessable to other users?

If not, how can i make it accessable once again?

What happens if i move a show into my shared folder for direct connect?

What exactly is available from my PC to share?

I have about 100 gigs of shows in my HD and would love to be a contributer to this site, but i seem to be very lost about how to do so. Any advice would be awesome..........THANKS

[U2Lynne]

Let's see Tide Pools....

First, check out our Other Links (under Quick Links) for a list of other resources to help you out. Also, we have a lot of information in our FAQ (also in the menu bar) that should help you out.

Once i close the BT window on a show after it is complete and noone is uploading from me, is it not accessable to other users?
Once you close the window, no one may connect to you any longer. Common etiquette says you shouldn't close your window until you have allowed people to upload from you as much as you downloaded from others (a 1:1 sharing ratio).

If not, how can i make it accessable once again?
It depends on the client, but in general, you double click the torrent file again and when it asks you where to put the files, you click on the folder that was made during the last download. For instance, I have a torrent file called U21992-04-23.shnf.torrent and it created a folder called U21992-04-23.shnf where it put all the files. So, I would click on the folder U21992-04-23 when the client asks where it wants me to put the files. It will then go through and verify that the show is completely downloaded and then you will start seeding the show.

What happens if i move a show into my shared folder for direct connect?
Your client will get confused about where the folder is, so you will need to redirect it to where the folder is as I outlined above.

What exactly is available from my PC to share?

I have about 100 gigs of shows in my HD and would love to be a contributer to this site, but i seem to be very lost about how to do so. Any advice would be awesome..........THANKS
We are very big on lineage here. We want to know where a show came from. If you have shows that have clearly defined lineage (please read our Audio/Video BitTorrent Seeding Policy in our FAQ), then those shows are eligible to be shared here. If you have questions about something, feel free to either post in Technobabble or ask a Mod.

[feralicious]

What exactly is available from my PC to share?

I have about 100 gigs of shows in my HD and would love to be a contributer to this site, but i seem to be very lost about how to do so. Any advice would be awesome..........THANKS
It's not the same as DC or other p2p programs in that there is no designated folder that you share. You are only sharing the show for which you have a BitTorrent window open. BT is totally different. People don't search your files and pick something to download. They cannot see what you have on your computer at all. You have to "hand" them the show you are offering at the time, then they choose to grab it or not.

If you want to share some of the shows you have you would have to pick which one, make a torrent file and upload it to a tracker. This will be the only thing you are sharing since you need to make a torrent file and have it on a tracker for people to find it. Then you upload it for a day or two until many people have gotten it and you can close your window and the other people who downloaded it will (presumably) keep their windows open and keeping uploading the show. It will remain active as long as people keep sharing without you needing to keep your window open.

As Lynne mentioned this site has standards that must be met, so you should check the FAQ for that, but from what I understood you were thinking you would just share by putting them in a particular folder or something which is not the case with BT.

This is a good beginners FAQ that explains just how BT works:
http://dessent.net/btfaq/

[Tide]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, i do have a better understanding and i have been researching. All of my shows have very clear lineage and would pass the standards here easily. Now i must figure out how too get them on here.
Thank you for the replies. I hope to be an active member here soon. And a major contributer as well.

TP