In invite giveaway threads on some of the torrent invite forums, you'll often see people who are giving away invites to popular trackers with the rule "must use a seedbox".

While a seedbox certainly helps to keep a good ratio, most of the time seedboxes are used simply for overseeding, and buffering accounts; however, users are not required to have a ratio of 3:1 on any tracker - a 1:1 ratio is more than sufficient. However, even a 1:1 ratio can be a challenge on some trackers such as BitmeTV, where it is notoriously difficult to seed. Here are some tips for keeping a good ratio without the use of seedboxes.

Keep Seeding
Whilst most activity on a torrent occurs when it is first uploaded, many users - particularly ones with seedboxes - will stop the torrent from seeding as soon as it becomes less active. However, there may still be people downloading the files, even six months later - and if you're still seeding, you will get upload. Some users leave their torrent seeding indefinitely, HDD space permitting, and this is generally a pretty good idea.

Cross-seeding
This is particularly useful between scene trackers. If an identical release is uploaded on more than one tracker, you can download the files from one tracker, and then seed on all of them. How? Once the files have completed downloading, simply download the torrent file from each of the others, and point it to where you downloaded the files. It will hash for a minute, and then begin seeding.

WARNING: If you do use this method, always watch to make sure that the torrent fully hashes - if any files are different, it will download these. Often, some trackers will use archives in their releases (RAR files) and some will not - if you try to cross-seed these, it will download the whole file!

IRC bonuses
Some trackers, such as AceTorrents and TorrentVault, offer bonuses for being in their IRC channel. All you need to do is set up an IRC client, log into their channel every time you're online, and watch the upload credit (or karma bonus) roll in!

Freeleech/Double upload/Half Leech
Trackers often run freeleech specials for events such as birthdays or milestones. Take advantage of these - not only will you have the opportunity to download anything you want, without harming your ratio, you'll also find that activity levels are higher, so you'll generate more upload than usual.

Seed bonuses
Seed bonuses are used on many trackers, in different forms, but most offer a points system which can be exchanged for custom titles and upload credit. If you leave your torrents seeding, they will generate more points, even if there are no leechers. Often, bonus systems will also offer points for posting in the forums and leaving comments on torrents.

Upload your own content
If you have a good enough upload speed, you can apply to be an uploader on some trackers. On many larger trackers, seedbox users have auto-download scripts, meaning that your upload is guaranteed to be snatched at least a couple of times.

Filling Requests
Many trackers, such as What, offer bounties for filling requests. These can vary, from very small amounts up to huge bounties for requests which have been voted up.

Donate for upload
If all else fails, some trackers offer upload credit in return for your donations. Bitmetv offer this directly, while trackers such as AceTorrents offer upload credit as well as other donation benefits.