Community, Collaboration and Contribution: Evaluating a BitTorrent Tracker as a Digital Library

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • February 28, 2019
Creator
  • Bross, Jordan
    • Affiliation: School of Information and Library Science
Abstract
  • This study explores the BitTorrent file sharing technology as a means for the construction of a digital library by a community of decentralized internet users. The private BitTorrent tracker What.CD, which currently has over 100,000 users, is the primary focus of the paper. In addition to an overview of the BitTorrent protocol, a detailed analysis of the facets and features of What.CD serves to demonstrate how the collaboration of users contributing their own content via a file sharing website can build an unparalleled library of digital media. It examines the role of authority and privilege at a private BitTorrent tracker, as well as the methods employed by What.CD to maintain a large and well-structured catalog of content produced by a community of anonymous users around the globe.
Date of publication
Subject
DOI
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Marchionini, Gary
Degree
  • Master of Science in Library Science
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Extent
  • 40
Deposit record
  • d099ff28-0166-4201-84af-6106824d638f

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Community, Collaboration and Contribution: Evaluating a BitTorrent Tracker as a Digital Library 2019-05-13 Public Download