http/ftp download now slow?

[criexeaux]

I have had this VERY handy tool for awhile now(I think since 1.1x or maybe even earlier, I'm not sure). I used to get around 210 kb/s down. I haven't downloaded anything in a while until minutes prior to this post. That was my max speed compared to 150-170 before i added the firewall exceptions both in windows and my router which remains intact. Earlier today, I decided to download an embedded video and my speed climbed from 7x - 10x just as bitcomet usually did when starting any download, whether direct or torrent, as usual. However, it topped at 100+ and started dropping slowly. Curious, I checked if any of my settings changed: listen port is still GREEN, windows firewall exception still correct, router exception still correct, etc. The counter just kept going until it was playing between 20 and 40 kb/s. After this, I counter-checked with other download methods and it was normal at 180-200+ so I was assured the site was not under some kind of maintenance, also considering how I have used bitcomet to download from that site countless times. I know this does not work with FF4 yet but I managed to find a way to copy the url and paste it into bitcomet and this happened. Did something change? I am pretty sure it is not with my pc as this has been my setup since last year so I am really confused right now... Help...???

[kluelos]

Bittorrent downloads are nothing at all like http or ftp downloads. The latter come from a server. Bittorrent downloads come from you -- from people like you with computers like yours and connections like yours.

What's at the other end of the pipe? In one case, a fast server connected to a big pipe. In the other case, an unknown number of individuals, constantly changing, connected to little pipes, and located all over the world. This is always the single biggest factor in bittorrent downloads -- the size and composition of the swarm at this moment.

They are not downloading to you. They are trading with you. IF you don't give them what they want, the won't give you what you want. If you are slow, or unreliable, or much of what you send arrives garbled, you aren't a good trade partner and the best available peers will find others who are faster and more reliable to trade with. You'll be left with the dregs. Like tends to find like. Remember that every decision to transfer is mutual.

You have to do everything that you can to make yourself an attractive trade partner, but at the end of the day, the size and composition of the swarm is always the overwhelmingly important factor.