haha yea scary stuff. this difference between p2p and torrents is that:
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is a system of sharing files directly between network users, without the assistance or the interference of a central server. The decentralized nature of peer-to-peer file sharing removes the need for a central server, and removes the possibility of centralized control. Because peer-to-peer file sharing networks do not require a central server, they are more scalable and more redundant than centralized file sharing schemes. PLus its harder to have have these clients charged with anything because there is no centralized hub, as torrents do. (i.e. torrent spy, pirate bay, mininova, etc)
BitTorrent is a protocol designed for transferring files. It is peer-to-peer in nature, as users connect to each other directly to send and receive portions of the file. However, there is a central server (called a tracker) which coordinates the action of all such peers. The tracker only manages connections, it does not have any knowledge of the contents of the files being distributed, and therefore a large number of users can be supported with relatively limited tracker bandwidth. The key philosophy of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound.) In this manner, network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible. BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases, in contrast to other file transfer protocols.
