[Hebdomad]

Yeah, I didn't use OiNK although I did read up on the ratio system (which seems like a good idea except for the centralised nature of its data storage). However, I'd question your assumption that soulseek and its ike are awful in comparison. I'm not doubting OiNK had a good community or that ratios increased the incentive to seed but it is in no way necessary to the activity and as it forces a community it creates a target for litigation.

If you decide that file sharing is only possible with ratios you force the aforementioned flaw which seems detrimental to (decentralised) file sharing's evolution.

I doubt you could create a decentralised ratio system (in the UK at least) because you'd need to either encrypt the user-ratio information to keep it anonymous which wouldn't work because you're required to keep encryption keys by law now If I'm recalling the specifics correctly, or constantly pass the information around a number of servers to abate its reliance on one server and one location for litigation which would only serve to force a game of hide and seek and that may not scale well. You could fragment, instead of pass, the data around multiple servers but that would only work if you can claim the servers are ignorant (possible as you're dealing with fragmented data) and you have enough to make it crazy to sue everyone involved, but then the system breaks down if one server goes offline.

Back to the original point, unless the police are referring to illegal material he had on his computer(s) (mp3s and what have you) the claim seems either mistaken or fictional.