True.

There has to be a way that we can accurately measure throughput speed without needing a special server to hammer.

How bout.... when the user downloads files, it takes the speed of the d/l every few second(10kb/s, 20kb/s, 15kb/s...) and then averages it. It then stores it in a database. When the user gets an upload request, it averages the upload the same way.

Then, the avg. upload & download speeds, max recorded upload & download speeds could be reported when you hover over the person with your mouse to d/l.

(hover tooltip)
-------------------------------------------
| Client Name_.: Default_______.| (1)
| Avg/Max UL__: 25/31 KB/s____.|
| Avg/Max DL__: 43/55 KB/s____.|
| Files Shared_.: 156 (405MB)___| (2)
| Curent ULs__.: 1 (2 slots left)__| (3)
| Est. Wait____: 0 sec_________| (4)
| IP Address__.: 121.56.16.xxx__| (5)
-------------------------------------------

1.) Let clients name themselves. Mainly just to have names in the chat window.
2.) Let users know how many files a person is sharing (amount and overall size)
3.) Let users know how many files a person is currently uploading, and number of slots left.
4.) Estimated wait time before downloading a file (queue length, basically)
5.) IP address, masking last octet.

Edit: Screw Ping Times. I thought it was a "might as well" sort of thing. But they -are- useless, after all.