So I use a VPN when torrenting as per usual but with Soulseek I wish to share my music with others and that requires me to open a port. I have no problem doing so I just do not pay for a VPN that can do this at the current price I am paying. Is it possible/what are the chances of me getting in trouble ISP wise from using soulseek with no VPN. With where I live I would get in trouble with no VPN and torrents for clarity.
I see posts from years ago saying no just wondering if things have changed.

Thanks

  • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    11 months ago

    “Need” no, but I would. I don’t like exposing my real IP to peers, idk them, and my ISP doesn’t need to know a GODDAMN thing.

  • Katlah@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    11 months ago

    As far as I know you don’t need a VPN to use Soulseek, but it’s obviously always recommended to use one over not using one.

    • glibg10b
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      11 months ago

      but it’s obviously always recommended to use one over not using one

      Why? Why does it matter whether your traffic is visible to your ISP or a VPN company?

      • Banzai51@midwest.social
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        11 months ago

        Because you are doing something illegal. Your ISP might not care, but if someone complains, they HAVE to start the process. You’re not only protecting yourself, but your ISP from the music industry’s wrath.

      • Azzu@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        It’s more about being visible to other users. If other users have your IP address, they can go to your ISP and complain about your IP address sharing copyrighted material. In certain jurisdictions they have to give out your info so that legal action can be taken against you.

        If you use a VPN, they only know that somebody using this VPN is sharing copyrighted material. Since VPNs usually do not log who sends what, they can’t be made to give out users data, so you’re safe.

  • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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    11 months ago

    Could somebody complain to your ISP? Yes.

    Is this likely to happen? No.

    I’ve been using slsk for about 20 years, and I’ve never gotten a warning about it. If I start torrenting, I’ll get a warning from my ISP tomorrow. I think that it’s considered too obscure to be worth monitoring.

      • quirzle@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        This would possibly be applicable if Soulseek users were having action taken against them, but has that ever happened? Action taken against individual pirates has pretty focused on bittorrent users. I know Soulseek itself has been sued, but have any users?

        • LoudWaterHombre@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          11 months ago

          I wouldn’t set the platform as scope but instead peer to peer technology. Looking at that scale there are quite some people being sued. Also being sued in that regard is a case of over protection because you really don’t want to be sued, not even once.

          • quirzle@kbin.social
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            11 months ago

            I would set the platform as scope but instead peer to peer technology.

            The post has a pretty specific question, and including actions taken against users outside that scope is closer to fearmongering than answering the question at hand. Lumping all p2p usage together isn’t useful as long as they’re specifically targeting BT sharers; they’re not going to accidentally gather IPs of Soulseek users with their torrent honeypots.

              • quirzle@kbin.social
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                11 months ago

                Survivorship bias is about surviving/passing a filter or selection process that’s actually happened, not one that could theoretically happen one day.

                • LoudWaterHombre@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  11 months ago

                  It happened, that P2P users have been sued because lawyers were getting into the share and wrote down the IPs of the other user.

      • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        I’m not aware of any neo-Nazis (literal or otherwise). I don’t spend any time in the chat rooms, though.

        • vasco@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          11 months ago

          like half of the network is 4channers nazis. Sometimes you might stumble in neonazi material depending on the search terms.

          • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Like I said, I’ve never ran into this, and I’ve been using it for about 20 years. Politics never comes up, because I’m almost never chatting with other users.

  • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    Tailscale has the Funnel feature that doesn’t require an open port (well, it’s a UPnP port), and maintains an encrypted tunnel to your music server for anyone you decide to share it with.

    Alternatively you could get as many of your friends to use Tailscale itself to minimize the need for the Funnel feature (so anyone you know get them using TS, for the general sharing let it happen via Funnel).

    Tailscale is free, and easy to setup.

    • Blxter@lemmy.zipOP
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      11 months ago

      Definitely looking into tailscale thanks for this.

      Edit: Did not solve original problem but was the solution to other things I have been doing. Unless I am mistaken I can not use the funnel feature to open ports the way that is needed.

    • vasco@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      11 months ago

      This is awesome, do you happen to know a tutorial for this? I have tried google but only some youtube videos that are worst than nothing

  • Aurix@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Soulseek is Peer To Peer like a torrent. You will likely run into legal trouble, if that program is monitored more heavily.

  • notthebees@reddthat.com
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    11 months ago

    I would recommend using a VPN. Since it is p2p, theres a non zero chance that you might get in trouble. Some ISPs don’t care and will only act if DMCAed.

  • stevedidWHAT@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Anytime you switch from consumer to sharer, you run some heavier risks.

    Plex should be a cautionary tale

  • Tinfoiledhat@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Haven’t used soulseek in about a decade, so things might have changed, but back then my workaround was this: I search for what I want, find a person who’s sharing it, and if their library was good I’d allow them to see my library before downloading from them.

    So basically I’d share with folks I downloaded from, but not the general public. Not foolproof, but drastically reduced chance that somebody with a well-curated library was there just to prosecute.

    • datavoid
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      11 months ago

      Wouldn’t a well curated library be the ultimate honeypot?

      • Tinfoiledhat@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        True. Now I pay for VPN with port forwarding, so if I were to use soulseek again I’d just share. Back then I was in the same boat as OP and couldn’t afford a VPN.

  • rotkehle @feddit.de
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    11 months ago

    using it in Germany without VPN since ages and never got a letter from anyone :)

    • taanegl@beehaw.org
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      11 months ago

      Bro, don’t crap on SoulSeek. Music collectors all over the world use it. You can find some rare gems on there you won’t find in Spotify, Tidal, YouTube or any other music platform.

      And comparing it to limewire is kind of unfair.

      • Blxter@lemmy.zipOP
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        11 months ago

        Honestly I was sleeping on soulseek for a while it is a great source of music.

      • TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        Who is crapping on anything? I just haven’t heard of SoulSeek since the days of Limewire. longer even