I have only been use public (for about 20 years), but I have been curious about private trackers for a while. I have a good grasp of the concept, seeding requirements, etc. What would be one or two recommended private trackers to start with? (for TV, movie, music)

[–] tooting_lemmy@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's the hard part, getting in. You basically have to beg and jump through hoops to get an invite. I'd rather just pay for Usenet, lol.

[–] cooper@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I joined PHD recently since it's one I could get into without an invite. There is a lot of content, but almost no one is downloading. As a result, I can't build up my ratio so I can download anything. Imo, these places go against the spirit of torrenting and it seems like they can't even function properly when people only download brand new content.

[–] tooting_lemmy@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yeah to get a good ratio you basically need to get a seedbox which cost money anyway. Might as well just use Usenet. I have one private tracker I use I found the best thing to do is seed large obscure tvpacks. Also porn.

[–] cooper@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have a server so I'd be happy to long seed, but I can't even get started unfortunately. Too bad.

[–] Jarmer@vlemmy.net 2 points 1 year ago

if you have a seedbox, the easy way to get a good ratio is just to follow whatever release group is popular on the site, and just literally start seeding every single thing they release. Often times on PHD you'll get a free or half download if it's an internal group, and if it's a popular movie or show it'll get loads of downloads. I did this exact thing, and after a little while I had basically infinite ratio and have been using the site for years without even worrying about ratio.

[–] kuraitengai@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You got a link to a good guide for understanding the ins and outs of Usenet? I torrented a lot in the mid to late 2000s but then stopped. Working on building up my collection again. Was looking into Usenet. Found a couple free indexers and got NZBGet. But nothing would download. Figured out the other day I needed a provider in addition to the indexer.

So like basics… you pay for a provider. Then you get/paid for indexers and link those to the provider, then you can download stuff with NZBGet?

Normally I would have searched for guides like that in Reddit, but yeah….

[–] tooting_lemmy@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

This was the guide I used. https://blog-harveydelaney-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/blog.harveydelaney.com/configuring-your-usenet-provider-and-indexer-with-sonarr-radarr/amp/?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16884082633644&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.harveydelaney.com%2Fconfiguring-your-usenet-provider-and-indexer-with-sonarr-radarr%2F

[–] Frolie@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Red (music) and MAM (audiobooks) have open interviews and have good invite forums that can get you into other trackers. Both are best in class for their categories. Starting with RED truly is a trial by fire with the hardest ratio economy around but it is definitely the most rewarding. MAM is super friendly and easygoing but it can take a few jumps and some time to make it to the bigger trackers. Getting in a good general tracker like FileList, Torrentleech, or IPT really opens up the amount of content available to you starting out if you can find an invite, just know you generally can't make it to other trackers from them. That being said general trackers own their own can be enough to satisfy many peoples needs. Good luck with your journey, I'd be happy to help if you have any more questions.