Can you provide some examples of such private trackers that you'd recommend? I'm mostly interested in music.
They have a ton of lossless audio, and you generally have choice in terms of which version of something you would like (e.g., an older release, if you don't like the remasters [1], or want specific deluxe/international editions -- Japanese CDs often come with bonus tracks). They also have very helpful curated collections of similar music and such.
Plus, having a RED account tends to help serve as a way to get to other trackers (of course, you should genuinely use the site rather than collecting accounts, etc.). RED is also unique compared to a lot of other decent trackers in that they don't require you to be invited by someone else or already have an account on another site; you can sign up by doing a short interview on their IRC [2]. Worth noting, though, that it'd be best to do it on a Friday night or something when you'd have time to waste; all of these sites are run by volunteers, so it can be a few hours of idling before you'd actually get a chance to sign-up.
For East Asian music, like K-pop, J-pop, J-rock, etc., Jpopsuki has the most extensive collection. SugoiMusic is another one, but I haven't checked it out very much.
And although it is primarily an eBook site, MyAnonamouse ("MAM") has a fair bit of sheet music, plus they also do IRC sign-ups.
Other than that, though, Orpheus ("OPS") is another decent music tracker. But realistically, RED tends to have much more available. However, I do think it's a cool site and I do respect how transparent they are, with even the site being open-source [3].
---
[1]: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war> [2]: <https://interviewfor.red/en/index.html> [3]: <https://github.com/OPSnet>
I wouldn't be surprised if someone else offered an invite. I am sure a fair number of HN people have accounts, but since RED has a relatively easy official route, I would go with that option if it's something you can find the time for; it'd suck to potentially build up an active account somewhere just to end up banned because your inviter also happened to invite someone else who did someone silly, like sell their account, etc.
There are lots of little random smaller trackers that have open signups, which you can usually find on Reddit, as roboyoshi mentioned. They'll vary in quality a lot, though, but occasionally there is something interesting there.
Other than open signups and person-to-person invites, most trackers have some sort of official invitation route. Typically this is just having an account on --insert partnered site-- for X months, don't get banned, have a minimum amount of data downloaded/uploaded.
In addition, as far as useful trackers go that have regular pathways without knowing anyone or having any account on any site, the ones below are the only ones I am super aware of.
IRC invites:
- RED; general music
- MyAnonamouse; ebooks/audio books/sheet music
- BakaBT; anime
- AvistaZ/ExoticaZ/CinemaZ; AZ is great for people who like Asian movies, and they have a Discord where they announce open signups, which is usually a couple of times a month
- Jpopsuki; East Asian music
- M-Team; movies, tv, adult content <-- good pathway into the Chinese communities if you don't have Chinese friends
If any weebs out there end up on U2, jpopsuki, animebytes, etc., I have such an absurd amount of bonus points, so feel free to PM or емаil me and I'll send you a load of credits to get started without worrying about ratios - plznospam |AT| omarassadi.com