[thelist] File delivery system?

[kasimir-k]

> On Sat, Mar 24, 2007 at 03:03:39PM +0000, kasimir-k wrote:
>> I would have thought that if the connection is still open after the file
>> has been output to the client, then I could be pretty sure that the
>> client has received the file.

Bill Moseley scribeva in 24/03/2007 15:31:
> No, you can't assume that.

So basically, with HTTP, there is no way of knowing whether the client 
has received a file or not, right?

>> But if the idea is to limit the number of downloads...
> 
> And that's different than them downloading it once and copying it multiple
> times on their own machines?

It actually is. For example if I'm selling large files, there's the 
bandwidth cost. And if somebody wanted to redistribute the purchased 
file, it would be a lot easier for them to send the link to others, than 
sending the file itself.

Of course this is no help against professional pirates, but for average 
consumer it significantly reduces the temptation to share the file.

.k