Welcome the freeloaders. They are tomorrow's sharers once they build up a
collection. The "freeloader percentage" went down from 35% to less than
12% in the few years gnutella has existed.

Let's not forget that the biggest draw in gnutella is that it was designed from
the ground up to be a sharing network instead of a trading market.
The emphasis is on freedom to share instead of on upload/download
ratios or greater access for "elite" people who "earn" privilege. Every time
people made such suggestions to the developers they were always ignored or
turned down flat.

Gnutella is designed to be friendly and inviting to new users with nothing to
share or those who cannot due to various (and valid) reasons. This
friendliness has paid off because a clear majority of these "freeloaders" have
found something to share all by themselves without being forced to do so.

Having "no time for them" goes completely against our intentions in having a
free and open sharing network like gnutella in the first place. Having
both time and files for them is what we intended all along.

Freedom to share means having the freedom to control what and how
much we share, and even freedom not to share if we so choose. Let's
respect each others' freedoms and choices here.