Seed uploads not tracking?

gelbanna

I'm new to this site and torrenting in general..
I've downloaded a couple torrents and have been seeding them. But my ratio on site hasnt increased at all. All of them sitting at 0.00 kB

I've definitely seen some transfers going, and even uploaded some files myself to seed. But it hasnt counted any of that seeding for upload total at all.

frostycab

@gelbanna What does your client say it's uploaded and downloaded? Without that information there's nothing to go on. Over what period has this taken place?

MrMazda

@gelbanna After looking at your account, I see there is SOME upload that has been credited to you, and that you're not using a torrent client that is known for having issues.

I am also seeing that there aren't any leechers currently on any of the torrents in your profile, which is likely not helping the situation. I would recommend downloading some freeleech torrents, as these do not count towards your download totals, but absolutely DO count towards your upload totals, and they generally have far more leechers than other torrents.

It should also be worth noting that I noticed that you're using a VPN. It is fine to use a VPN, but you should be aware that when using a VPN, you need to make sure that your VPN provider supports port forwarding, and that the port your torrent client uses is forwarded through your VPN to your computer, both in TCP and UDP. This is a necessary step for getting proper upload traffic with our system.

gelbanna

@frostycab
Ok i see. I'm using Surfshark for VPN, and I dont think it supports port forwarding..
So even if i grabbed a freeleech it doesnt help my ratio, as it wont be able to track the uploaded seeds.

I guess im just not able use this site currently.

Thanks though!

ianfontinell

@gelbanna that's not what mr mazda meant, any traffic reported by your client WILL be logged by the tracker and affect your ratio, the issue is that without full port-forwarding support, people who are trying to download the torrent will be unable to contact your client, so they will start downloading from other seeders if they're available.

If you use the site mainly to download older torrents, or things that you're actively searching for, as opposed to brand new torrents, your ratio you naturally plummet.

Because this is a simple offer/demand situation, when you download q torrent that has no leechers, it means you won't have anyone downloading the files from you.

So overall to keep a good ratio, you must focus on downloading torrents that have more demand. That is, brand new torrents, the sooner you get a new torrent the more likely you are to seed it enough. And the other option already mentioned is freeleech torrents, as downloading those won't ever decrease your ratio but any byte uploaded will be credited normally.

gelbanna

@ianfontinell

Hmm, but since I've uploaded some of my own files and seeded that, it has been downloaded by others . So wouldn't that mean that they were able to connect to my client?

Total traffic on that torrent was 6.5GB, but I only got the upload score from the initial upload, nothing from the seeding.

Is there a set up guide for the port forwarding? I looked at my qbittorrent settings and "Use UPnP/NAT-PMP port forwarding from my router" is enabled already.
I guess the VPN im using is the main issue?

ianfontinell

@gelbanna because you said you're new to torrenting I am avoiding being too technical, but the truth is it can be a very complicated subject. Without port-forwarding, your client operates in passive mode, you will only be able to connect to other peers by initiative of your client. So no, others cannot reach your client, but your client is able to tell other peers "hey I have those files if you want".

That's not optimal, but it does the trick for torrents with high demand. If you want to learn more about why this connectivity limitation occurs and why port-forwarding is so important for torrenting, you can read this topic I made: https://community.gaytor.rent/topic/69993/tutorial-how-to-check-if-you-re-able-to-port-forward

I can say in advance that yes, using a VPN without port-forwarding will put you in the situation described in that topic.

gelbanna

Thanks @ianfontinell
I appreciate your help
For now I'll just wait for my current VPN subscription to run out, and try again in a few months with one of the suggested VPNs

Kevin4fm

@gelbanna Following on from what @ianfontinell said, to make it just a tiny little bit more complicated but explain more, at least one person in a torrent swarm (all the people linked to a particular torrent, whether leeching or seeding) needs to have port forwarding.

So that's why you have seeded torrents that you have downloaded to some extent, and why you've been able to upload new torrents of your own. You may have noticed with a new torrent you've uploaded, that sometimes there's inititally no movement, even though two or three people are trying to leech. Then 'inexplicably', another leecher joins and suddenly it's full speed ahead. That's most likely because that one new leecher has port forwarding.

It's perfectly possible to leech, seed and add new torrents from behind a VPN without port forwarding. I've done so here for ages, and maintained a 1:2ish ratio. It does take a little managing - e.g. grabbing freeleech torrents, especially when they're newly freeleeched, and trying to grab normal torrents when they're new, so you get to be a seeder early on, but it's easily doable.

However, port forwarding makes things soooo much easier. Since I got it a few months ago, I'm uploading at pretty near my full capacity most of the time. I can also grab a lot of the "orphaned" torrents that say they have one or two seeders, but that just wouldn't work before.