"Servers"
 

Hi,
I just started using Gnotella.
When I compare the number of users (about 1000 is what I get) with the number of users on Imesh or so, 10's of thousands, I wonder if I am not missing the better part of the connected clients. So I'd like to ask if there are more than the standard 2 (server)clients and where I can get ip's of those.

Thx.

Gnutella doesn't work the same way iMesh or Napster does. Once you have the IP address of at least ONE person who uses Gnutella (notice I didn't say "servers", because there are no Gnutella servers--there are only nodes on the network) then you will have access to the entire network.

You don't exactly have access to the whole network, but only to that part, which is reached by your search requests.
Read the thread "how does it really work" for further information.

I'm not sure how reliable this info is, but I was advised by someone that IMESH actually tracks your browsing and other online habits to use against you in targetting spam, etc and so is probably a good one to avoid. See the post I put up about it. I guess the above responses answer your other questions, but i wanted to add that the networking of this family of clients, gnotella being one, is modelled much more in the way the general internet is, with no central or main servers, but a distribution of stored data (shared files in this case) which are available to anyone on the network. you are making your queries effectively to all of us, rather that a catalog database somewhere that can be busy or get prosecuted or sued by copyright lawyers. Not that anyone would do anything illegal here though!!!!