Ratios

The Ratio (also known as an upload/download ratio, call/post ratio, and myriad other terms) is the policy of disallowing certain actions on an online site to a user unless that user contributes to the site in another fashion.

For significant amounts of human history, members of a club would be expected to provide resources to that club, or in some way be asked to provide a service or resource upon entry. (For example, many fraternities collect dues from members, a public speaking society might require new members to give a presentation at their first meeting, or the duties of secretary/board member of a group might be passed along across members over time).

In the online realm, a user who would join a BBS, forum or site might use the resources of that site (downloading files, reading messages, using chat, and so on) without contributing any of their own. While the terms "leech", "lurker" and "parasite" might be used, the fact is that a technical environment is often inclined to utilize a technical solution. Therefore, a ratio might be put in place.

Ratios are usually programmatic formulas, known publicly and shown to members upon entry. For example:

• Requiring a number of files contributed before you may download files (upload/download ratio)
  
• Requiring posting on message boards or forums after a certain number of logins (post/call ratio)
  
• Requiring a percentage of time seeding a torrent after downloading
  
• Being asked to provide a new program or file not seen before before being allowed entry

History of Online Ratios

The program AE:TAC (ASCII Express Total Access Control) (circa 1985), a file transfer-via-modem program for the Apple II, allowed the setting of upload/download ratios.

Solutions and Alternatives

Some sites allow the users to circumvent a ratio by contributing funds to the site's upkeep.

Ratios are considered to be a crude (but sometimes necessary) attempt to keep a site active and/or flourishing – by letting the program dictate the rules, the administrators can avoid messy personal interactions while still enforcing contributions. With each new range of online environments that result in drained resources, a new sort of ratio is likely to be enforced.

Another possible solution to drained resources is the Barrier to Entry, where a site becomes invite-only or requires cash to enter. Sometimes this barrier is set very low, such as the $5 membership fee of Metafilter, while other sites (some private bittorrent trackers, for example) require a large range of pre-requisites before entry. These barriers do not necessarily preclude Ratios, however.