DTS-CD incomplete / corrupted posts in newsgroups

[pe1dna]

Somebody with the alias

[email protected] (quadradial_radio)

Has posted carole King and Sly&the family stone in a.b.c.i.o last few days.

Both posts are incomplete at my newsserver and there are no parity files posted along. :-(((

I already tried several means to get in touch with him because i had to let several other albums posted by him in the past let go because of lack of parity files. But no response so far...

Are you reading along here Quadradial_radio? Please post parity files! Newsgroups are too unreliable to get these amounts of data distributed without some error corrections!

 

[Cai Campbell]

Yeah, dammit, if you're going to distribute free music for all us cheap bastards, learn to do it right! I'm sick and tired of getting nothing for nothing! Oh... wait...

Dude, you get what you pay for!

 

[Bob Romano]

You should use a news service that is more reliable. There are several cheap ones out there that have good completion and retention. Check out Usenetserver or Newshosting. I use both and what I cant get with one (Usenetserver) I get with the other (Newshosting).

[email protected] (quadradial_radio) does not post parity files. Never has.

Also, you may want to request help from other members of the group. Normally all the QR posts are complete but this weekend there were tons of problems with newsgroups no matter what service you use.

 

[pe1dna]

Cai, i'm sorry for my 'cheap' message. I know, i'ts not very polite to complain about somthing's free.

It was NOT meant the way you take it. It was NOT meant as a complaint and i offer my apologies if it came over as such. English is not my primary language.

My point was that I just think it is a pity to waste all this time and bandwidth on the users side when it can be prevented with only a little bit of extra effort on 1 persons - the senders - side.

Usenet is an inherently unreliable distibution medium. And it will always stay that way. With almost 1TB traffic *per day* right now, and doubling or tripling every year it is always pushing against the limits of every ISP and news provider.

I did not know that it is quadradial's policy to not send parity files. That's ok with me - i'll just take it as it comes. And i do thank him and all the others for posting DTS!

In that case the downloaders just will have to do more effort to get the files complete. Get a second account at a different news provider and put in some more time.

 

[Cai Campbell]

Better yet, contact Quadradial directly and pay him to make you perfect, error-free copies. He puts a huge amount of work into making these conversions, and although it is certainly nice of him to make them available for free, I feel he should be fairly compensated.

But like you say, it isn't polite to complain about something that's free. Nor, do I feel, is it polite to turn around and publicly offer these same titles for trade.

 

[JonUrban]

Besides, I am sure that Quadradial would only charge you a "minimal" fee that would cover the cost of the burn time, blank media and postage, but no where near the time it takes to create these conversions. I think we all have to pause and give immense credit to the <em>incredible</em> amount of work that he has done to preserve these old quad recordings. The fact that he takes the time to upload them for all to hear (for free) only proves that he has a great love for the music and the 4 channel format that will live on forever.

Those who have not done a conversion will never know the amount of real time it takes, however, the rewards of the process surely make it worth it. Sharing the result is one of the fun things about it.

:-jon

 

[Bob Romano]

I have to agree with Cai & Jon. I have several of QR's conversions and every one is a gem! Worth every penny (and not a lot of pennies for what you get)! Also, if you have questions (as I have had in the past) regarding quality or the "best" version, he is normally happy to answer questions.

Bob

 

[QM]

OK... I'll go out on a limb here and I sincerely hope I am not misunderstood.

Regardless of the task at hand there are standards. If an attempt is made with respect of those standards then no one can ask for more. To quote one of my most favorite movie passages... "If I throw a dog a bone I don't want to know how it tastes." However, we all know there are faults in data transfer and the worst situation occurs when you are within an inch of a complete file download and the missing inch is unobtainable. We've all been there and done that.

If an upload is complete on the server where it is uploaded then there really is nothing more that the uploader should have to do, but that is rarely the case. The files that a particular server receives do not always propagate to the millions of servers around the world. A couple of PAR files help to reinforce the upload and add a security blanket for the downloaders. It is now common and courteous practice to provide these additional PAR files.

It is, of course, the discretion of the uploader whether or not the extra effort should be made to provide these additional files. Perhaps the best way to think of it is to provide not a tempting taste, but the entire entree.

Just my 2 cents,
QM

 

[Cai Campbell]

To carry your analogy a step further, it would be like giving a bum an order of fries and then have him complain that you didn't give him a happy meal.

If he wants the happy meal, and some assurance that it wasn't dropped on the floor, then he should go to McDonalds and buy the damn thing. There are no "standards" for handing out freebies.

If you really want to support this hobby and ensure that more great titles get converted from quad to DTS, then you need to go to the source and reward the hard work with cold, hard cash. You can then save the hours of time and bandwitdth wasted downloading and assembling the "free" discs and do something more productive.

 

[pe1dna]

Cai, your analogy is not correct.
Using your words - It is like giving the bum just a sniff of a happy meal, en then throwing the complete meal in front of his eyes in the spring-loaded garbage bin.

Does the bum have reason to complain now? I believe so...

 

[Marcsten]

So far, paid nothing. So far got nothing. So far, energy expended worrying, excessive! Turn on the news - is this really the worst thing in the world? Lets move on , shall we?
Marc

 

[QUADradial]

OK..an explanation. I used to upload par files. Then one day, my computer absolutely refuses to run the smartpar program. It crashes every time. I tried a new version of it..same result. So..until I redo my PC...what ya get is what ya get. I do check my posts on two servers. If it's complete, then I delete my files and move on...or go look at porn.

 

[Bob Romano]

Quadradial wrote:
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>If it's complete, then I delete my files and move on...or go look at porn.[/quote]
Ahhhh... a man after my own heart!!!

By the way.. thanks to everyone who posts! Your posts are always welcome.... and complete for me!

 

[QM]

QR... you're an integral part of the a.b.c.i.o community and any effort you make uploading is greatly appreciated. I rarely, if ever, have had any problem with your uploads. They're always high quality and consistently complete for me as well. I sincerely hope that at least you didn't take my previous comments as a complaint. They certainly were not meant to come accross that way.

Please keep up the great work.

QM

 

[bmoura]

I completely agree. Keep up the good work Tab !

 

[pe1dna]

Thanks for the response QR.
You might want to try fsraid to generate par files:
www.fluidstudios.com/fsraid.html

Of your last 4 album uploads 1 was complete on easynews.com. Of course i am very thankful for that one. If everyone else has more complete albums there must be a problem with easynews's feed, or i have to start looking for another news provider.

Thanks for all the good work!
Joop

 

[Cai Campbell]

Yes, thanks Quadradial! Of the last 200 CDR's I've purchased from you, all 200 have come through without a problem! And with the time saved not having to muck around with newsgroup crap and burning coasters, I got a bachelor's degree in organic chemistry!

 

[QUADradial]

I tried it, Joop...and it crashed. I have new hardware on the way, so in a few weeks I should be good again.

Tab