5

Strangers in the swarm

Mike Kent

Abstract:

What happens economically, culturally and socially in file sharing ‘communities’? This chapter enters the Bit Torrent swarm and explores the complex, intricate and yet rule-bound relationships in this transitory community.

Key words

online file sharing

Bit Torrent

swarm

peers

seeds

leeches

No more mirror of being and appearances, of the real and its concept; no more imaginary coextensivity: rather, genetic miniaturization is the dimension of simulation. The real is produced from miniaturized units, from matrices, memory banks and command models – and with these it can be reproduced an indefinite number of times. It no longer has to be rational, since it is no longer measured against some ideal ...

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