Thanks for the link,
Jack - it was interesting as promised.
The article gives a good idea what is to be expected after FastTrack's blocking of the open source giFT client. As the commercial players get too protective or shot down by the RIAA similar p2p technology will inevitably be developed by non-commercial programmers and communities.
As for freeloaders, many active sharers
do hate them which has become obvious from e.g. Morpheus board. I agree with
assorted that it is not such a crucial factor in Gnutella as the network is anonymous and thereby not community-oriented by its nature. I also agree that too strict ratio-like approaches are not likely to fly - when resources are available it is counterproductive to limit downloading from anybody. Leech control mechanisms become relevant in resource competition situations. If active sharers are intelligently (not in a trivial mechanical way that can be fooled) and non-exclusively rewarded in bandwith and queueing competition, it will encourage sharing in a natural way without preventing newcomers from getting their stuff either.
- tg
