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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: August 16th, 2023

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  • There’s a race within “the scene”. The first group to release the content (meeting all of the technical requirements, lest they get “nuked” or “propered”) gets credits, while everyone else gets nothing. The Wikipedia page on “Warez scene” is a good place to start if you want more technical details.

    That said, scene groups don’t release everything. Some shows just aren’t popular enough, or are unavailable to the various release groups. That’s where I think this show is. While scene releases don’t usually say their source, they do state the type, e.g. WEB (aka Web-DL). I suspect that the episodes get released on AMZN/DSNP/HULU/whatever at 5am ET, and that’s when a member of EDITH grabs it in 720p to release around 5:10. They might go back later to release the 1080p version, but it looks like in previous seasons they kept getting sniped.

    TL;DR: I bet the streaming content becomes available right before the scene release, which is why it’s so consistent.


  • “Scene” releases are always the fastest. They do not directly travel by torrent, although they are commonly uploaded to various trackers. You can watch one of the PreDB sites to see when one gets released (finding the content itself is up to you). Their native format is split RAR, but most trackers will have them unRAR’d.

    Private trackers tend to prefer P2P release groups. Common ones are NTb, FLUX, and especially on one tracker, Kitsune. These are always slower than scene, but advocates will say the quality is higher.

    Side note: it looks like recent episodes of that show were released by EDITH in 720p around 5am EDT. I don’t see any 1080p releases for this season. So either it’s only available in 720 or it’s not a very popular show.




  • I wouldn’t worry about the battery. Any potential harm comes in before it gets to the battery, and there’s likely a DC-DC converter before that anyway.

    The first thing to validate is the listed specs. If your laptop expects 12v (usually listed on a sticker on the device), don’t connect a 19v brick. Same for center-positive/center-negative. USB-C bypasses all of that, since it negotiates a matching spec before charging.

    The second thing is how well it adheres to the specs it lists. This isn’t something that you can really test yourself. It would require a lot of specialized equipment and skills, since the answer can change in different circumstances. It might work fine for a while, but eventually deliver rich, chunky volts. This will (likely) fry the motherboard, and maybe more than that. USB-C does NOT bypass this. Some of the worst chargers on the market are USB-C.

    The only realistic way to avoid the second is to get a quality charger from a trustworthy source. Many will only recommend OEM, but you also have to be careful about counterfeits on eBay or scAmazon. You can use aftermarket, but only if it’s a trustworthy brand like Anker.








  • There is a ratio, which may be a new experience if you’ve only used public trackers. It’s not really a big deal if you have some patience, though.

    TL (as do most ratio trackers) gives you bonus points for your time seeding, even if you have done nothing more than make it available. You don’t have to upload even a single byte unless someone wants it, and you’ll still get points. These points can be used to buy upload credit.

    If you simply keep seeding everything you download, and buy credits as needed, you’ll quickly have more ratio than you could ever hope to burn. No need to spend money or anything.

    As for limited content, it’s a general tracker. You probably have niche interests, so you would be better suited on a more specific tracker. I’ve almost never had issues finding anything mainstream, although quality can be a crapshoot. That’s the main reason I usually use other trackers.


  • It’s not entirely true that you can’t identify him from that Facebook account. It’s just really, really hard.

    Facebook almost certainly knows who he is. Like specifically, name and all. Their data mining is VERY extensive, and he likely has other accounts.

    Anyway, with a lawyer’s help, you can (possibly) get a court order for Facebook to reveal what they have on the guy. They certainly have things like IP addresses and timestamps, but they also probably have name, other associated accounts, viewing history across the web (from those “share with Facebook” icons/links, even if untouched), and hundreds or thousands of additional pages.

    Is it worthwhile? Probably not. But it can be done.



  • During US prohibition, there were “grape bricks” with warnings not to dissolve in water and place in a cupboard for 20 days, because then it would turn into wine.

    A simple negation probably won’t cut it legally (the bricks had a significant legal purpose), but you could probably word it in a similar way. For instance, “While VPNs are effective at anonymizing yourself during piracy, they can also protect your privacy from data mining ad companies”.

    At some point, you’ll have to conspicuously avoid the topic and let people infer. Remember when high-speed connections were advertised as being great to “download movie trailers”?


  • Part of this is exactly why your boss exists. Raise your concerns with them, and get them on your side. They can also (vaguely) let you know if you are alone on it, or if it’s affecting the entire department.

    Your boss is also in a much better position to talk to the other guy’s boss, or someone further up the chain. It also removes the emotional component (similar to how even lawyers should not represent themselves in court), and keeps it focused and level.

    There are a lot of other good comments in this thread. Bring them to your boss as possible solutions, and let them fight the battle for you. It also shows you have a desire to solve this (rather than just gripe), and gives them options they may not have considered.




  • Amazon has largely become AliExpress with faster shipping. You have to be very careful to make sure that’s not what you’re getting in the first place.

    Amazon also encourages counterfeits and fraud through their policy of “commingling” all sellers, even if it’s a trustworthy and reputable product. If any of those third party sellers are scammers, the entire product is tainted.