> Okay, let me be a little bit more specific about my provider.
> They allows incoming connections, but only if they're not to file-
> sharing applications. What are people supposed to do in that
> situation?

Hmm, he does not allow it? Should we really believe that, may I ask something... ?
I could imagine that you are using an university or company internet access... so they forbid file sharing generally, but allowing gigs&terrabytes of traffic downloading and no uploading? Maybe you could tell where I'm wrong.

But if your ISP forbids P2P generally then he will block e.g. known gnutella ports, so it makes no sense to disable "Accept incoming hosts" in Bearshare anymore... it's allready blocked.

My suggestion: IMHO the option "Accept incoming hosts" is for network topololgy/debugging purpose only and will be better suited in the setup dialog or could be eighther deleted in future releases. I agree with the fact that some newbies will disable it just because in fear of hackers... incoming hosts maybe sounds too scarry for them (*guessing*). Check what the Bearshare online help tells about it... doesn't it sound scarry for all non-geek/non-programmer. Should I suggest it as "Feature Requests" at http://bearshare.net/ ?

PS: For sure you all know the workaround when only port 6436 is blocked, but all other highports remain unfiltered.
PPS: Sorry for my english, I try my best, really