MERRYKISSMASS2U
02-09-2008, 11:57 AM
Rules:
General uploading rules
* Do not tag your releases. Your name goes next to the upload anyway, there's no need to plaster it all over the place!
* No material that is freely available online from an official source may be uploaded on the site in the same quality. The only exception is if an independant artist/label chooses to upload their music to the site.
* Only music, apps, comedy (audio), audio-book, e-Learning videos and e-Books are allowed here.
* Do not upload a torrent unless you intend to seed until there are at least 1.0 distributed copies.
* Duplicate torrents in any category are not allowed. There are some exceptions to this rule which are outlined in the relevant section below.
* Do not advertise other sites in either your torrent descriptions or the contents of your torrent. We don't have any advertising, you shouldn't either.
* If you fail to meet the requirements or violate the rules on more than one occasion when uploading, your uploading privelages will be revoked permanently.
Music-Specific Uploading Rules
* Music releases must have an average bitrate of at least 192kbps, regardless of the format. There is one exception to this rule:
o LAME V2/APS, V1 and V0/APX releases are allowed to dip below 192kbps. We strongly encourage the use of LAME 3.97 with the V0 switch for encoding. You can find out more information about LAME and its options at the Hydrogenaudio wiki". You can also find a thorough guide for good CD ripping on jiGGafellz' site.
* Albums must not be ripped to a single track. If the tracks on the original CD were separate, you must rip them to separate files. If you need a tool to split up an MP3+CUE into individual tracks, you could try musiCutter.
* All music torrents must include a complete track listing.
* Music releases must be properly labelled and must also have corresponding tags (ID3/APEv2/Vorbis comment).
* No transcodes or re-encodes of lossy releases are acceptable here. There are no exceptions to this rule, no matter how rare you claim it is. The only acceptable transcodes are releases that were transcoded from a lossless source (eg. CD or FLAC).
* Music releases must be a folder containing the music, not an archive (i.e. .rar, .zip, .tar). The only exception to this is if it is a single file where a torrent of a single file would be acceptable, though still not archived.
* CD Image files like .bin, .iso and .nrg are not allowed in music torrents.
* Radio, television, web rips and podcasts are not allowed. It does not matter whether it's FM, direct satellite, internet or even if it's a pre-broadcast tape (too difficult for us to moderate such things). Radio does not have enough bandwidth to meet our 192kbps rule. Plus, anything on the radio has already been through several conversions/reencodes.
* Audience recordings are not allowed here, no matter how rare you think they are. The only exception to this is audience recordings that were uploaded while this rule was not implemented. They all have [audience] in their title.
* Music uploaded here must not be freely available on the web (from official sources such as record label or band websites). If you could just download from the web, so can everyone else. Uploads can be from other torrent sites but you take responsibility for determining that the music is not transcoded.
* Music releases should be properly labelled. This means you should not be sharing a folder which is just the album name. The minimum you should have for a folder is 'Artist - Title'. It is also highly recommended that you include the track numbers in the file names - if a torrent without track numbers in the file names is uploaded, a torrent with the track numbers can take its place.
* File names must reflect the song titles. You may not have file names like track01.mp3, track02.mp3, etc.
* Torrents should never be tagged as [REQ] or [REQUEST]. If you fill a request using Requests then everyone who voted for it will be automatically notified.
* The Artist field in the torrent name should contain only the artist name. Any tags like [Advance] or sub-genres (if you must use them) should come at the end of the Title field.
* CD sourced music must not contain pops or clicks (rip/encode errors). They will be deleted if reported.
* Cassette and VHS sourced music is not suitable for this site, the frequency range is not good enough to meet the high quality we strive to maintain here.
* All music torrents must be encoded with a single encoder using the same settings. This means you cannot create a torrent which contains both CBR and VBR files, nor can you upload torrents containing a mix of APS/V2 and APX/V0.
* All music torrents must represent a complete album (ie. must not be missing tracks, or, in the case of a multi-disk release, disks).
* Duplicate torrents are not allowed on the site. These are our dupe rules:
o If there is no existing torrent of the album in the format you've chose, you can upload it in any bitrate at or over 192kbps.
o If a torrent is already up in the format and bitrate you want to upload it in, you are not allowed to upload it - it's a dupe. So if there's a 192kbps MP3 version on the site, you are not allowed to upload another 192kbps MP3.
o Once a V2 (LAME VBR setting with an average bitrate of 192kbps) rip has been uploaded, you are not allowed to upload any CBR (Constant Bitrate) torrent with a bitrate under 256kbps.
o Once a V0 (LAME VBR setting with an average bitrate of 250kbps) rip has been uploaded, you may not upload any CBR rip with a bitrate under 320kbps, nor may you upload a V1 (LAME VBR setting with an average bitrate of 220kbps).
o You may upload a V0, V2, or 320 at any time as long as another rip with the same bitrate and format doesn't already exist. So if a V0 is on the site, you may still upload a V2 or 320.
o A FLAC release which contains a .log of the rip process can be uploaded when there is already a FLAC without a .log, or the existing torrent has CRC mismatches. In the latter case, the existing torrent must be reported or your new one will be deleted as a duplicate.
o A rip from a different medium or release of an already existing torrent counts as a different release, and the dupe rules do not apply between the two torrents. So if a FLAC ripped from a CD is already up, you are still allowed to upload a FLAC ripped from vinyl. And if a 320kbps release of an original mastering of an album was uploaded, you are still allowed to upload a 320kbps remaster.
Multi Album Torrents
* Multi-album torrents are now not allowed on the site under any circumstances. That means no discographies, pitchfork compilations etc. Discographies make it a hassle for users to download individual albums, result in a lot of duplicate albums being uploaded and are generally very poor quality.
* User-made compilations (eg. "34 of my favourite Grateful Dead songs") are not allowed.
* All music torrents must be one release, so if an album is 2CDs, it is fine to upload that as a single torrent. However, uploading 2 or more different albums in one torrent is strictly forbidden. Greatest hits, best of compilations, and box sets with several CDs are ok.
Comedy (Audio) and Audio Book Specific Uploading Rules
* Duplicate torrents are not allowed. For example, if a torrent exists on the site at 256kbps, no further torrents at 256kbps are allowed. Significantly higher or lower bitrate rips or different file formats of the same content are allowed (applies to lossy codecs only). There is one exception to this rule:
o LAME --V8 (or --V8 --vbr-new [with or without -mm]) rip is allowed on the site at any time, even if a 85kbps CBR rip is already on the site. Only 1 V8 rip, though. The --V8 may be sourced from a higher bitrate lossy encode.
* Lossy-sourced audio is permitted in these, and only these categories. That means the source can be cassette, VHS (audio), radio, and even a higher bitrate. We strongly discourage from sharing transcoded material, but realise that for these categories, the audio-quality is less significant than for music.
* This rule is not meant to allow the uploading of radio talk shows. We are primarily a music site, and those do not belong in any of our categories.
* Music is not permitted in these two categories. They are for spoken word only.
* Releases must be a torrent of a folder containing the audio files and have a bitrate (or rough average bitrate) at least 16kbps mono (ideally much higher).
* Archive files (.rar, .zip, etc.) are not permitted in these, or any other audio category.
App Specific Uploading Rules
* Application 'packs' are not allowed. The only exception to this rule is if the applications are from the same company, i.e. Adobe CS and Macromedia Studio. That means no '0-day' packs, or 'video utilities' compilations.
* App releases (whether Windows or Mac) must not be freely available tools. There are no exceptions to this rule.
* Unix apps are not allowed here - don't upload any.
* App releases can be either a torrent of a folder or an archive, but archives must not be password protected.
* App releases must either have a small description of the program (either taken from its website, or from an nfo) or a link to information; ideally both.
* The torrent name must not just be a non-informative filename.
* Serial numbers should not be posted in torrent descriptions. They should be in a file (text or otherwise) contained within the torrent.
* Torrents containing collections of cracks or keygens are not allowed. A crack or keygen for an application is only allowed in a torrent containing that application.
* Torrents containing collections of hacking or cracking tools are not allowed.
* Collections of pictures or wallpaper are not applications. They do not belong in this or any other category.
* All applications must come with a crack, keygen, or other method of ensuring that the downloaders can install it freely and easily.
eBook (and eLearning Book) Specific Uploading Rules:
* eBook releases can be either a torrent of a folder, an archive or original format (.chm, .pdf etc). Neither the eBook or archive can be password protected.
* Collections of pictures, posters or wallpaper are not eBooks. Do not upload them on our site.
Comic Book-Specific Uploading Rules
* Comic book releases can be in an archived format, such as ZIP or RAR, in PDF format, or in a folder containing the images (highly discouraged). The preferred format for comic books is either a CBZ (a ZIP archive with the .cbz extension) or CBR (a RAR archive with the .cbr extension) archive. Other archive formats, such as CBT for TAR archives, are allowed but strongly discouraged.
* The contents of the archive or directory must be image files (JPEG or PNG) named sequentially, so as to be displayed in the correct order by software such as CDisplay, FFView and CBView. The page numbers must be zero-padded for this same reason. (Good: file01.jpg, file02.jpg .. file30.jpg NOT: file1.jpg, file2.jpg, file3.jpg...file30.jpg)
* Pages must be scanned cleanly and be of good quality. Scans of poor quality will be deleted, especially if the quality is so poor as to render difficulty in reading. Poorer quality scans may be acceptable for very old or rare comics, at the discretion of the site staff.
* The filename should include at least the Book's name (ie: Uncanny X-Men), the volume (if there's more than one volume of that book), and the issue number. It is recommended to also include the cover year and the scanner information (to differentiate between different scans of the same book), as well as the issue's title (ie: Days of Future Past). The folder name should uniquely identify the content. You can include the title of the content, as well as the issue numbers included, if that applies to your upload. The title, volume, cover year, and story name can often be found in small type, at the bottom of the page opposite the inside cover.
* For example:
o Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight - #01 - 2007 - The Long Way Home Part 1.cbr
* Folders should be named with the title of the series and the issue numbers. For example:
o Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight - #01-#08
* 0-Day comic uploads are allowed
* Series packs are both accepted and encouraged, but please make sure they include a sequence of books (ie: 1-8, 10-40, Volumes 1-4, etc). The only exception to this rule is if you post a 'complete series pack', in which the books missing from the pack are all unscanned.
* A dupe is defined as two scans of the same book by the same scanner, where the same pages have been scanned". These are not dupes:
o Two copies of the same book by the same scanner, but one is a c2c copy, and the other is a "no ads" copy
o Two scans of the same book by different scanners
o Two scans of the same book by the same scanner, when the copy you're uploading contains fixes
eLearning Video Specific Uploading Rules
* The eLearning Videos category is to be used only for tutorial videos.
* This category is only suitable for tutorials on how to use features of applications, musical instruments or computer hardware. i.e. no kung-fu training, how to dance videos or lecture material which does not fit into one of the 3 topics already mentioned.
* Uploads in this category must be either in a video file format (.avi, .mov etc) or a disk image (.iso, .bin/.cue etc), not archive files (.rar, .zip etc).
* As with other categories, they must also not be freely available on the web and should include a proper description and/or a link to further information.
Specifically Not Allowed
* Games of any kind, whether PC, Mac or phone. No games.
* Radio talk-shows
* AllData programs and data (car parts)
* Videos of any kind (other than eLearning Videos). No movies, no TV shows, no concerts.
* Pornography or nudity of any kind. This includes pictures, comic books, etc.
* Anything not specifically allowed above. If you have any doubts, ask before uploading.
IRC Conduct
* Be respectful to the ops/admins. These are staff members who volunteer their time for little compensation and deserve a little respect for all of the hard work they do to keep the site running for YOUR benefit. Staff members have an @, &, or ~ in front of their nickname on IRC. In fact, you should be respectful to anyone with a symbol in front of their name. They earned their bling in front of their nick, so please respect it.
* Do not link shock sites or anything NSFW (not safe for work) without a warning. If in doubt, ask a staff member in #what.cd-help about it.
* No excessive swearing. None. Swearing every other word is not cute. Not even close.
* No typing in all caps for every line you type, every now and again is fine, so long as its a short outburst.
* No personal insults. Arguing over the internet is pointless and you cannot win. Repeat offenders receive a ban.
* Really shouldn't have to specify this but no racism, insulting other peoples religions or beliefs. A sweeping remark or joke about the idea is fine to a degree, but nothing personal (see rule 5).
* Spamming/flooding is not cool. Ever. Flooding the channel in any way, (join/part floods, control code floods, text floods, etc.) earns you a ban automatically. Spamming (e.g. by using an automatic now playing script) earns you a ban as well. Just don't do it.
* Do not attempt to pick an IRC nick purposely similar to someone else's, this is especially true for mods/admins. The only exception to this is if it is your site nick, in which case you have probably been vetted already. Also, don't pick a nickname that violates rules 3 to 5.
* No advertising your uploads, your personal sites or your online auctions. In the first case, there is #what.cd-announce, in the second and third, nobody cares.
* Staff have the final say. This is a dictatorship, not a democracy. If you don't like it, leave.
* Don't PM, DCC, Query, or do anything else private with anyone you don't know or have never talked to without asking.
* ALWAYS READ THE TOPIC. ALWAYS.
Forum Etiquette
* Many forums (eg. the tutorials forum) have their own set of rules. Make sure you read and take note of these rules before you attempt to post in one of these forums.
* Don't use all capital letters, excessive !!! (exclamation marks) or ??? (question marks), it seems like you're shouting!
* No lame referral schemes. This includes freeipods.com, freepsps.com, or any other similar scheme in which the poster gets personal gain from users clicking a link.
* No asking for money for any reason whatsoever. We don't know or care about your friend who lost everything, or dying relative who wants to enjoy their last few moments alive by being given lots of money.
* No posting music requests in forums, there's a request link on the top bar, please use that instead.
* No flaming, be pleasant and polite. Don't use offensive language, and don't be confrontational for the sake of confrontation.
* Don't point out or attack other members' share ratios. A higher ratio does not make you better than someone else.
* Try not to ask stupid questions. A stupid question is one that you could have found the answer to yourself with a little research, or one that you're asking in the wrong place. If you do the basic research suggested (i.e., read the FAQ) or search the forums and don't find the answer to your question, then go ahead and ask. Staff/FLS are not here to hand-feed you the answers you could have found on your own with a little bit of effort.
* Be sure you read all the stickys.
* Use descriptive and specific subject lines. This helps others decide whether your particular words of wisdom relate to a topic they care about.
* Try not to post comments that don't add anything to the discussion. When you're just cruising through a thread in a leisurely manner, it's not too annoying to read through a lot of "hear, hear"'s and "I agree"'s. But if you're actually trying to find information, it's a pain in the neck. So save those one-word responses for threads that have degenerated to the point where none but true aficionados are following them any more.
Or short: NO spamming
* Refrain from quoting excessively. When quoting someone, use only the portion of the quote that is absolutely necessary. This includes quoting pictures!
* No posting of requests for serials or cracks. No links to warez or crack sites in the forums.
* Please refrain from starting political or religious discussions. These types of discussions lead to arguments and flaming users, something that will not be tolerated. This is a filesharing community in which we share music and apps.
* Don't waste other people's bandwidth by posting images of a large file size.
* Be patient with newcomers. Once you have become an expert, it is easy to forget that you started out as a newbie too.
* Do not include pornographic or semi-pornographic material in your posts.
We've been very happy to open invites again, but we're still seeing invites being given out publicly to people the inviter doesn't personally know. This breaks the chain of trust you get from inviting people you know or have thoroughly interviewed. Inviting people on public forums via trades or "giveaways" will result in your account and the account of your invitee being disabled. Please only invite people you trust to the site.
Also we will be updating the ratio requirements. We've seen that 20GB is far too generous a buffer for people and we will be reducing this drastically. Ratio rules will now come into effect from 5GB, though the new rules will not be applied for two weeks to allow users to try and get themselves into acceptable ratio levels.
The new requirements are:
Downloaded (GB) - Requirement
5 - No Requirement
5-10 - 0.10
10-15 - 0.15
15-20 - 0.20
20+ - 0.30
We hope this will end up benefiting the community as a whole by promoting more seeding and less H&R, it will also allow us to enforce fairer requirements as a lot of people have reached 19.5GB down and only a few hundred MB up. Personally I've been dying to disable them and open the space for new members.
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