I agree information shouldn’t be behind an invitation, but it does solve 3 important things:
Keeps the law out of your hair
Seed requirements ensure torrents stay alive
Incentivizes strict quality control and uploading new content
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve downloaded something from a public source and it’s been crap quality, or isn’t even the thing I wanted to download. Sometimes the file is fine but it takes 3 weeks to download because it has one seeder with a 10kbps upload rate. That’s a big “if” on if I can find it at all if it’s something more obscure.
Until someone solves those 3 issues in another way, I don’t see a better solution.
I agree information shouldn’t be behind an invitation, but it does solve 3 important things:
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve downloaded something from a public source and it’s been crap quality, or isn’t even the thing I wanted to download. Sometimes the file is fine but it takes 3 weeks to download because it has one seeder with a 10kbps upload rate. That’s a big “if” on if I can find it at all if it’s something more obscure.
Until someone solves those 3 issues in another way, I don’t see a better solution.