Dime Mods: Are These Folks Serious?

[JeffCarney]

So I uploaded a boot to Dime last night and somehow I screwed it up. I have almost no experience with doing these but I realized the mistake I made and wanted to just re-up.

If only it were that simple.

I end up going through this whole ordeal by email to try to re-do this without deleting the original file.

Now let's keep in mind the premise here:

I am attempting to "share the wealth," if you will. Trying to upload something for the benefit of the Dime community. I get nothing out of this except a headache because some of this stuff is a little tricky. I'm sure after I have done a few they will be a no-brainer, but you'd think these folks would understand that some of us are not "experts" at uploading Torrents to DimeADozen the day we are born.

The first email I receive insists that I follow a link which then tells me that I must answer five questions about my replacement Torrent. I attempt to do this, but I guess I make a couple of more "newbie" mistakes.

I then receive a second email that would make John Cleese proud.

I am about to just respond with something like "skip it," but decide not to let this guy get to me and defeat the purpose.

I realize that the Dime Mods surely want people to follow every instruction perfectly so that they don't have any "issues," but man, it's a little scary to think of how many people might be sitting out there with great stuff. And they simply don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with their treatment of new uploaders.

[80s were ok]

i stopped reading at "uploading a boot"

[Adm.Kirk]

The mods are just as bad at RYM. They get their knickers in a twist over the simplest things. I had submitted something to them that had "from" in the title. I was taught in school that from should not be capitalized. I was told in no uncertain terms that RYM rules were to be followed and that from must be capitalized! I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Bill

[JeffCarney]

The mods are just as bad at RYM. They get their knickers in a twist over the simplest things. I had submitted something to them that had "from" in the title. I was taught in school that from should not be capitalized. I was told in no uncertain terms that RYM rules were to be followed and that from must be capitalized! I'm still trying to figure that one out.


Unreal.

That's one for the WGAFF!? file.

[rapidfirerob]

They are tough, no doubt.

[trurl]

i stopped reading at "uploading a boot"

But you took the time to post about it.

[Jerjo]

I tried it once and failed miserably as well. So I just seed whatever I've downloaded for a few months

[JeffCarney]

i stopped reading at "uploading a boot"


But you took the time to post about it.

Some people feel compelled to share as many thoughts with a group as they can. It's truly a bewildering concept for the rest of us.

[JeffCarney]

I tried it once and failed miserably as well. So I just seed whatever I've downloaded for a few months

I can relate. I uploaded a show some years ago but recalled it being such a pain that I just never bothered again.

Definitely feeling that way again x 10.

But I guess my point is that I wonder how much stuff is missing because people like us just say "... the hell with it"?

[80s were ok]

my point is that you started with "Tried to upload a boot"....are bootlegs no longer illegal? They were back in the day.

[rapidfirerob]

These are all ROIOs, no commercial releases, nothing posted the artist doesn't want posted. If they are not on Dime, they won't see the light of day.

[JeffCarney]

my point is that you started with "Tried to upload a boot"....are bootlegs no longer illegal? They were back in the day.

Either this is taking "PC" to a level never considered possible by even the stiffest media censor or you don't know what DimeADozen is all about.

Say it with us: BOOTLEG!

Woooo ... scary. :huh

[Oreb]

They sound like some (not all, D.T.) of the mods at RYM.

Frustrated little bureaucrats.

Life is too short.

[Adm.Kirk]

They sound like some (not all, D.T.) of the mods at RYM.

Frustrated little bureaucrats.

Life is too short.

Agreed. I still like RYM. For the most part, it's a very good site. I've made all sorts of contributions to it but that capitalization issue blew my mind. Frustrated little bureaucrats is spot on!

Bill

[Rael]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is RYM?

Yeah, I've been tempted to upload at Dime myself but it seems like more of a headache than anything else. I remember a couple of years ago when previously uncirculated shows by taper Dan Lampinski surfaced. What a great time that was! He did some wonderful audience recordings. It does make you wonder if others are sitting on their own recordings somewhere.

[helicase]

The mods are just as bad at RYM. They get their knickers in a twist over the simplest things. I had submitted something to them that had "from" in the title. I was taught in school that from should not be capitalized. I was told in no uncertain terms that RYM rules were to be followed and that from must be capitalized! I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Bill
Wait till you get something with "but" in the title. According to their capitalization guide it depends on which sense of "but" you're dealing with, whether you need to capitalise it or not...

[JeffCarney]

Yeah, I've been tempted to upload at Dime myself but it seems like more of a headache than anything else. I remember a couple of years ago when previously uncirculated shows by taper Dan Lampinski surfaced. What a great time that was! He did some wonderful audience recordings. It does make you wonder if others are sitting on their own recordings somewhere.

That's the thing. For every guy like me who is putting up with email that is so condescending it makes me want to puke, there are probably 10 who don't bother dealing with them.

And who knows how many try to follow their "procedure" and don't even get that far because they find it too complicated.

If the goal of Dime is creating a central place for the free sharing of bootlegs, it appears that they must be limiting their database with their approach.

Btw, I'd argue that the reason my problem happened in the first place is because of their odd way of doing things. I don't want to bore folks to tears with technical stuff, but they basically want to replace your Torrent with theirs after you are finished and you download that for Seeding. Well, I did that and meant to delete the old Torrent, but deleted the files along with it.

At least I think that's what happened. :lol

[Don Arnold]

Dime Mods: Are These Folks Serious?


The mods are just as bad at RYM.

Yeah, but those Mods at that Progressive Ears site. They really take the cake. :)

[Oreb]

Agreed. I still like RYM. For the most part, it's a very good site. I've made all sorts of contributions to it but that capitalization issue blew my mind. Frustrated little bureaucrats is spot on!

Bill I feel your pain! I tried entering a lot of modern classical stuff there once. Never, ever again.

But yes, a good site for all that.

[JeffCarney]

Well, my Torrent was uploaded so problem solved. Old one was deleted.

The last couple of emails have even been just fine. Maybe the one that pissed me off was just an exception. Or maybe the guy realized he was a bit "over the top."

[Plasmatopia]

I have a few shows I'm sitting on because it's just too much of a pain. Partly it's a pain just getting all the files ready which is just due to lack of time and inclination on my part. But I have no patience for jumping through all the hoops required by places like Dime. I did upload a couple of things to Archive dot Org which was bad enough. I found the mods there (at least the ones I dealt with) were extremely nice and helpful.

But I don't think my shows are particularly well recorded or anything. It's probably no great loss to the music world.

[ronmac]

Some people feel compelled to share as many thoughts with a group as they can. It's truly a bewildering concept for the rest of us.

Especially the empty thoughts. Sometimes, I think certain people just like to read their own posts.

I've never been a fan of the concept of peer-to-peer sharing. It just makes me nervous about what I might contract from another computer. (Perhaps, that's based in ignorance, but still...) I've found that there are plenty of non-torrent resources for lossless recordings out there and can usually find what I'm looking for.

[ronmac]

But I don't think my shows are particularly well recorded or anything. It's probably no great loss to the music world.

Not necessarily. Some of my favorite recordings are of inferior sound quality. It only takes a little while to listen beyond the quality and enjoy what's being played. There are also many historical recordings that are of marginal quality, but serve a real purpose.

[Adm.Kirk]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is RYM?

www.rateyourmusic.com

An excellent site, despite the problems with the mods on occasion, for catalouging your collection and it's great for reviews, polls and all sorts of things related to music and movies.

Bill

[Adm.Kirk]

Wait till you get something with "but" in the title. According to their capitalization guide it depends on which sense of "but" you're dealing with, whether you need to capitalise it or not...

This is exactly the type of thing you run into at RYM. Ridiculous.

Bill

[rapidfirerob]

Especially the empty thoughts. Sometimes, I think certain people just like to read their own posts.

I've never been a fan of the concept of peer-to-peer sharing. It just makes me nervous about what I might contract from another computer. (Perhaps, that's based in ignorance, but still...) I've found that there are plenty of non-torrent resources for lossless recordings out there and can usually find what I'm looking for.
I'm confident Dime is safe. I know folks who've been using it for many years.

[Plasmatopia]

I've never had any computer security problems associated with Dime. I assume such problems are more of an issue with places like Pirate Bay, etc.?

Dime isn't riddled with advertising (at least not that I recall - it's been a while).

[paythesnuka]

Well, my Torrent was uploaded so problem solved. Old one was deleted.

The last couple of emails have even been just fine. Maybe the one that pissed me off was just an exception. Or maybe the guy realized he was a bit "over the top."

I bet I know who the mod that pissed you off was. Does his handle start with an "N" and end with a "D"?

[JeffCarney]

I bet I know who the mod that pissed you off was. Does his handle start with an "N" and end with a "D"?

Well spotted.

But again, things went very smoothly after we got around a hurdle or two, and I realize I screwed up in the first place.

I just don't understand the basis for treating people who are trying to feed your database like that. I'm sure it's a very frustrating gig and I'm sure there are endless problems and boneheaded mistakes, but it's a bit like telling somebody who is giving you a ride that they aren't driving the way you prefer.

[JeffCarney]

I have a few shows I'm sitting on because it's just too much of a pain. Partly it's a pain just getting all the files ready which is just due to lack of time and inclination on my part. But I have no patience for jumping through all the hoops required by places like Dime. I did upload a couple of things to Archive dot Org which was bad enough. I found the mods there (at least the ones I dealt with) were extremely nice and helpful.

But I don't think my shows are particularly well recorded or anything. It's probably no great loss to the music world.

It's really not complicated. All you need is Trader's Little Helper (free program).

Convert files to FLAC
Make Checksum file
Add "info" sheet from Notepad with details, songs, etc.
Then Create Torrent with TLH using the folder with all of the above.

[PeterG]

i stopped reading at "uploading a boot"

Me too!

[jeffo621]

It find it interesting because I uploaded a bootl.... a live recording of an artist that was okay with the free sharing of their recordings... one time at the the request of someone at dime (it was a reseed). I ran into some difficulties, so I emailed the mods and we exchanged a number of friendly emails over the course of the next hour and they very politely walked me through all the steps to ensure that I was able to get the torrent properly uploaded

[Plasmatopia]

It's really not complicated. All you need is Trader's Little Helper (free program).

Convert files to FLAC
Make Checksum file
Add "info" sheet from Notepad with details, songs, etc.
Then Create Torrent with TLH using the folder with all of the above.

If it's so easy why did you screw it up? :)

J/K! Thanks for the tip. I have TLH, but only ever used it to FLAC-ify and de-FLAC-ify stuff. I'll look into that when I have some free time.

[JeffCarney]

If it's so easy why did you screw it up? :)

J/K! Thanks for the tip. I have TLH, but only ever used it to FLAC-ify and de-FLAC-ify stuff. I'll look into that when I have some free time.

Well, the making a Torrent wasn't much of an issue, I just got messed up when it said to download their Torrent and replace yours. When I did that I went to delete my old Torrent and ... duh ... that deleted my files.

Besides, I screw things up that I wouldn't describe as "complicated" all the time. :)

Btw, I since uploaded another boot without any trouble at all. I think I've got the hang of it.

For those curious, I uploaded a Rainbow show and an now an Amon Duul II show. Both from silver CD bootlegs.

[JeffCarney]

It find it interesting because I uploaded a bootl.... a live recording of an artist that was okay with the free sharing of their recordings... one time at the the request of someone at dime (it was a reseed). I ran into some difficulties, so I emailed the mods and we exchanged a number of friendly emails over the course of the next hour and they very politely walked me through all the steps to ensure that I was able to get the torrent properly uploaded

Nice. Maybe that's the way it usually works.

[Adrian]

The mods are just as bad at RYM. They get their knickers in a twist over the simplest things. I had submitted something to them that had "from" in the title. I was taught in school that from should not be capitalized. I was told in no uncertain terms that RYM rules were to be followed and that from must be capitalized! I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Bill

Out of curiosity, I went over to check out their site. They're just enforcing a house style, the same as a publication does. It's actually fairly common to require prepositions of four or more letters to be capitalized. (The client I edit for has a headline style that's nearly identical to what RYM requires.) I can see how it might be a frustrating thing to deal with, though.

[proggosaurus]

For those curious, I uploaded a Rainbow show

oh, I am curious about that one

[JeffCarney]

oh, I am curious about that one

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=440079

[per anporth]

I guess that all places have their foibles, Jeff! Dime is a bit scary for newbies - but, allegedly, some folks have found PE3 hard to come to terms with!

I've got nothing but admiration for the people who take the time to work with these recordings, & to share them. It's fascinating, following those musicians who are comfortable with recordings being shared, & those who aren't (for example, Van Morrison, Greg Lake, in recent times)...

Anyway, I had a similar experience with the mods at Dime, but on a different issue - material had been posted which I thought might have been under licence - as with your experience, one of the Mods was curt to the point of rudeness; but one of the others who joined in the conversation couldn't have been friendlier, or more helpful.

[davis]

These are all ROIOs, no commercial releases, nothing posted the artist doesn't want posted. If they are not on Dime, they won't see the light of day.

Dime probably has the biggest variety of bootlegs, but I also use the sites the links below go to. As for legal issues, one thing the moderators are very strict about is if you upload a show that contains songs that are included on official releases, those specific songs Must Be Excluded from your upload and noted as such. Other than concert recordings, there are torrents of unreleased songs/jams, alternative versions of songs, demos, outtakes, pre-show soundchecks, interviews. There's ton of Jimi in all those categories. and there's a lot of bootlegs available that are much better SQ than you would expect. As long as you refrain from selling copies of what you download or collect by trading, it's all fine. I've been approached by people wanting to buy copies of what I have, and I've said absolutely not each time. If it's only one show, I'll just make a copy and send it. if it's more than one, I'll just ask them to refund me for the cost of postage or send me as many blank discs as they received with music on them.

http://www.thetradersden.org
http://www.guitars101.com/ and
http://archive.org/browse.php?collection=etree&field=%2Fmetadata%2Fcreator

[Jerjo]

The thing I hate about Guitars 101 is they store everything on Rapidshare or some piece of crap like that. Navigating those sites is a pain and often a source of malware.

[davis]

^ Yep, if it's on Rapidshare, every time I go there it says file no longer available. If something is at FileFactory, I get to dl it.

[GuitarGeek]

I think the one and only time I Had a problem was when I recorded an interview by a musician, and uploaded to the site. They actually rejected the first version of the torrent, because I numbered the tracks "1", "2", "3", etc, instead of "01", "02", "03", etc. So I had to go back, retitle all of the tracks (I think there was about a dozen or so) and redo the whole torrent. But after that, I had no problems.

Generally, I don't have any problems, especially not when I re-up something that's fallen off the tracker.

[yogibear]

i say if its that tough then eff em .

[davis]

i say if its that tough then eff em .

effing slacker ;)

I'd like to learn how to create torrents. I'd have trouble with the lineage cause I have no idea where some of my stuff came from. I either got it from a trader or dld it myself. I've upgraded a lot of things. i.e., mainly increasing the input levels.