Basic Torrent Mumbo-Jumbo (A.K.A. Jargon)

Here's a list of words that you often deal with when using torrents, and also a list of meanings, so you can see exactly what someone says when they complain that the new game they wanted wasn't going anywhere because no one seeded, and there weren't many peers.

TERM DEFINITION
'BT' Bit Torrent
BitTorrent A simple file transfer protocol
BitTorrent Client The program that's used to manage the upload and download of torrents.
Torrent
  1. This refers to the small file that you download from the web that contains the data you need to find the file to download – information on the tracker, the name of the file, etc.
  2. This can also refer to the files that you downloaded with the .torrent file. One might say 'I downloaded that torrent, its awesome!', and they're talking about both the .torrent file, and the files associated with it.
  3. In some cases it refers to the files available via the protocol.
Peer A peer is another computer that is hooked up to the internet that you can transfer date to and fro. A peer doesn't have the full file, but mere pieces of it. Some also refer to peers as leechers. This is the same thing.
Leech

A leech, or leecher, is someone who has a negative effect on the swarm – one who downloads a file, and then doesn't seed the file.

The term leech is also sometimes used to refer to a peer, a person of the swarm who doesn't have the entire file. Some say this is incorrect, while others argue that it is just as correct as using peer.
Seed A computer that has a complete copy of the file, and is continually seeding it to those who don't. Once your client finishes downloading, it will seed until you tell it to stop. You can also start seeding a file that is already complete – that you've never downloaded – to start seeding. It's important to be a seed, as it helps the swarm, and keeps your ratio good.
Submitter One who has submitted a .torrent file to a website.
Uploader The very first person to seed the torrent.
MakeTorrent The process of making a .torrent file for data files and for the web.
Reseed When there are very few or no seeds for a torrent, most of the peers will get stuck with an incomplete file, since no one has the file they need to finish it. When this happens, someone with the complete copy needs to seed the file until the peers can complete the file and seed themselves.
Swarm The collective gathering of machines for a torrent file.
Tracker A server on the internet that coordinates the actions of the clients. When you open a torrent file, your computer will connect with the tracker, and start allotting files from those you're connected to. It keeps track of exactly what computers have what files, and without a tracker, downloading torrents wouldn't be possible in the same way.
Downloading The act of receiving data from another computer, a peer or a seed.
Uploading Sending data to another computer in the swarm who doesn't have that data
Share Rating/Ratio This is the ratio of how much you've uploaded, divided by the amount you downloaded. You should always strive to achieve a share ratio of at least 1.0, so you've uploaded as much as you've downloaded.