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Hi this may be a question that has been asked before but after a bit of searching I could not find anything this specific so I have taken the liberty to ask just in case.

I have just answered a question over on the main site concerning some problems with the Grub2 loader. How can I recover Endpoint Encryption bootloader?

As stated in the comments section the user did not create the recovery disk when they had access to the OS and now the need has arisen its not possible to create it.

After doing a few checks in Goggle I found a downloadable version of the recovery software on a not so respectable torrent site. I would never advocate copyright theft etc. but If a torrent link was from a reputable source is it okay to link to the .Torrent file directly?

I do have issues with this from my point of view in the sense that not everybody knows how to use Torrent software and also there is no way of guaranteeing that the source is sound and thus could cause more damage than good but I wondered if there is a written or even unwritten rule on this?

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There is no rule against this and it might be who of someone to create a "How do I use torrents?" question that we can link as when we post PPA's with What are PPAs and how do I use them?

However, in order to offer the best quality answer I would truly recommend testing or at the least verifying the torrent is what it is. It's no different (though there isn't an explicit rule about this) when linking directly to a .deb or a PPA in the end you're offering software as a solution and not testing or verifying ahead of time will only cause more trouble then assistance.

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  • Thank you for that. I already test most of the packages I answer questions on and try to ensure that my solutions work. I guess it makes sense to create a Torrent question as I've noticed larger legal files are being uploaded and shared via Peer2Peer and with so many 'dodgy' torrent sites out there it may also help new users fight their was through the torrent forest.
    – Christopher Stansbury
    Commented Aug 7, 2011 at 21:16
  • You asked for it Marco - askubuntu.com/questions/56300/…
    – jrg
    Commented Aug 8, 2011 at 14:00
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Torrents are fine as long as there is no possible copyright issue under US law. That's what you have agreed to adhere to here.

If the file is freely re-distributable, post away but as Marco says, it would be nice if you could test to check that the torrent works, is what it says it is, and does what you say it can (as to actively try to not waste people's time).

That said, most freely re-distributable applications will be available directly from their creators. If something can be had this way, it's wholly preferable.

If it's legally grey or you're not sure, don't post it. Posting copyrighted materials or links to them (US courts seem to view them as practically the same thing, but IANAL) will probably result in an indefinite suspension.

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    There is always the possibility of copyright issues. Remember web sites being contacted to take down open source software.
    – cweiske
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 7:14

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