I’ve been using public trackers for the past 20 years, and never had a problem with them. I never got any virus or malware, and almost always found what I was looking for. What I couldn’t find through public trackers, I’d find it with soulseek. So I’m wondering what are the actual advantages of using private trackers?
Specific niches that don’t see much love in public trackers. Are you looking for a spanish dub for a recent movie? An eroge? Indie rock music? Your chance of finding it with a private tracker dedicated to such content is way higher.