Honestly, I agree with you.

Of course, if someone offered to come by my house and set this all up for free I wouldn’t say no, but nowadays with a fast enough internet connection and the right tracker you’re a few keystrokes and maybe 15 minutes away from any movie or TV series you might feel like watching.

The 15/20 minutes saved don’t justify the massive work and maintenance to keep this all running.

What’s the evidence that they managed that because they were closed?

Keeping torrents alive and allowing free downloads aren’t necessarily related

I could never wrap my head around the concept of “karma farming”

Because they’re needlessly elitist and self-congratulating. The whole point of piracy is to spread stuff, not gatekeep it. Enforce quality control, vet those who can upload, put checks and limits, maybe even put rules against hit and runs, but do not close the access to downloading stuff to anyone.

I hate private trackers and I think they should be a thing of the past