[GAC-UK]

Hi and welcome to Golden Age Comics!

PLEASE NOTE -- if you are new to the site (or not that new, but still) and find that you cannot download, please read the thread titled: "HERE'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO START DOWNLOADING!" If you still need aid, please post in the appropriate area.
http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2234.msg25664.html#msg25664

NO Mailinator.com/.info accounts/Disposable e-mail address providers, etc. -- please use a valid email address. Don't mess with us on this. Thank you in advance.
http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7.0.html

Download One File At A Time -- downloading simultaneous files burns your downloads and opens you to failed downloads. Please download one file at a time.
http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2197.msg25174.html#msg25174

Thinking of donating in order to become a VIP? -- See Question #4!


NOTE - Brand new members: your accounts may not start for 24hrs until the bandwidth limits are renewed for the day.  Check your 'User_CP' above the site's banner.  Renewal time remaining should start being listed when your account is fully registered.  This is an ongoing software problem we are looking into.  Our apologies.



Question 00 - "I can't download from GAC.  What is a 'session ID' error?" 
Anyone can usually download from GAC, member or not BUT - If you keep getting this error:

Error: Your session ID does not match the session ID for this download link. If you are following this link from our site, please report it to the admin.. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin

Answer - This is a 'time-out' error.  It seems if you REFRESH the page (press F5) and then QUICKLY try the download link again it usually will work.  You might have to repeat it a few times though.


So you've got some problem eh?
Well we try to answer the most common questions here.

But first there are some Rules to follow just to keep things running smoothly here. 
Please give them a read.  It wont take long, thanks!
http://tinyurl.com/nt7vqa

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Question 0 - "How do I READ these files after I've downloaded them?"
Answer - you must have a comic reader program such as cdisplay READ THIS THREAD for how to make and read CBZ,CBR,RAR and ZIP files found on the site.


Question 1 - "Exactly WHERE is the GAC site anyways?"
Answer - try this link: http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/index.php, and remember, log-in details are the same for the download & forum areas, so be sure you are using the correct log-in details.


Question 2 - "I can't log-in on the main GAC site!"

Answer for FIREFOX - check if you have the 'NoScript' addon installed.  If you DO and don't have the GAC urls in the 'Whitelist' section you might not be able to log in.  Add them to the 'Whitelist', reboot Firefox and try to log in again.

Answer - If you see the following error message you when you can't log in to GAC..

Error: Login failed... There was an error locating the details for this user
Failed inside $this->usertype->do_login().

Remember, your download account has the same username/password that you use here on the message board/forum so try logging in here.  (The link is just below the big Golden Age banner at the top of the site on the left.)
Now log out of the forum and log back in. Once logged in everything should work.
Visit the download site at: http://goldenagecomics.co.uk and log in.
Type the username/password you used when logging into the forum and attempt to log in.

To confirm you are logged in correct it will say at top of the download site:
"Logged in as: Your USERNAME ( Log Out | USER CP ) [ Upload File ] [ Search ]"

Usually this error is commonly caused by typos while typing in your username on the website or using lower-case when your username contains upper-case. ie: serj instead of Serj. If you still receive this error even after typing your username exactly as you use on the forum please contact a moderator by PM to look at your account in more detail.

You might also see this error when logging in on GAC:

Error: Login failed... The password does not match the one in our records.
Failed inside $this->usertype->do_login().

First check you have typed your password in correctly. (see above about typos exc.)  If you are still experiencing this problem after double checking everything you might be one of the very few that have found a bug that affects a small % of our users (about <1%) and happens at random. First you might try logging in from another computer or using another browser. If this fails or is unavailable to you the next possible solution is to find a trustworthy friend who can attempt to log in for you using their machine/browser but only trust your "real" friends as you will have to give them your username/password. We strongly suggest you reset your password once you have managed to log-in. A final option and perhaps the safest is to PM your username and password with error to a member of staff (be sure they are admin or moderators only!) Ask the staff member kindly if they can try and log into your account for you.
After a staff member logs in and out of your account it usually works perfectly fine with no password issues. Again we suggest changing your PW once you've regained your use of the GAC site.  Sadly this is a random bug so wish us luck in trying to track down what's causing this problem.   


Question 3 - "Why can't I download?  It says my bandwidth limit is exceeded!"
EDIT - GAC member stewartandrew64 created a visual tutorial for those with this problem.
Check it out here -  http://tinyurl.com/4h5vyf
Answer - So the site say you've exceeded you daily download limit when you click on a link to get a book?
And this the first time you've clicked on a link this today?  Sorry, we've had this problem for a while.  For some reason the site sometimes doesn't renew your download limit from your previous visit.
If you should get the message try checking your User CP link to renew your limit. (The UserCp link is just to the right of your User name above the yellow Golden Age banner)

NOTE - currently any non-VIP members, newbie, jr, sr, hero members now have a 100scan/300mb monthly bandwidth limit.  If you haven't been able to download for two or more days send one of the moderators a Personal Message (a PM). However, if you have been leeching our files (something we really dislike) consider that fact before alerting us to your activities.

Question 4 - "I love GAC, anything I can do to help?  How do I become a VIP member?"
Answer - Glad you enjoy our site!  VIP members are people who scan and upload at least one of their own PD books or make a cash donation to help pay the bills to keep the site up.  You can read about making a donation here!

Question 5 - "I found a link/was sent a link to one of the scans.  I hit download but I get the following message:

Error: Your session ID does not match the session ID for this download link. If you are following this link from our site, please report it to the admin.. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin

Answer - If you see this message you've either following a link from an external site, forgotten to log in OR you took too long to hit the Download button.  By rights you don't even need to be logged in to download from GAC.  If you see this error message it seems if you REFRESH the page (press F5) and then QUICKLY try the download link again it usually will work.  You might have to repeat it a few times though.

Question 6 - "I clicked a link and got a 'No referring URL was found error.  What's up?"
Answer - If you see the following message:

Error: No referring URL was found. The admin has chosen not to allow downloads from users with no referring urls. This is usually because you are using a firewall that blocks this URL. Disabling or closing your firewall will often solve this problem and allow you to download files..

Please check your firewall settings on your computer to check if referral URL's have been blocked. To test this try disabling your firewall/privacy program ie: Norton and then checking website to see if you can download. GAC requires all users show what page referred them to the downloads, if for any reason this referral is empty or another websites URL you will be unable to download the file and show this message.


Question 7 - "I clicked cancel on a download but it still counted on my download limit!  Why?"
Answer - Sorry, it just does.  We can't change that, it's hardwired into the software.  So be sure you want something before you click download.  This is just the way it is.  Even if you stop a download the file size will Still be used against your daily limit and no, you can not resume a broken file.  Sorry.


Question 8 - "These scans SUCK!  They are fiche or incomplete, etc. etc."
Answer - Gee, sorry you didn't enjoy your Free scans.  If you happen to have a paper copy or a more complete book PLEASE feel free to scan it and share it on the site.  We depend on scan donations so whatever you see is what was uploaded by our members.  If you have something we don't to scan let us know.  Not all books are eligible for the site for legla reasons.  And NOTHING after 1959 is allowed.  See below.


Question 9 - "I have some great books with 'GM' in the bottom left corner/Marvel/DC/Archie/Street and Smith scans to share.  Can I upload them?"
Answer - No thanks.  We can't use any scans from these publishers as they are Not in the public domain.  'GM' scans are of books in the PD but were produced for sale by Graffix Media who claim to have copyright on them.  To avoid the hassle we have agreed to not host any books with their watermarks.  Mainly because the 'GM' absolutely RUINS 'their' scans!
BUT... We are always looking for new PUBLIC DOMAIN books to share here. 

Click HERE for a list of acceptable publishers please look at this link.
Click HERE for a list of 'Comics Not Allowed'

Question 10 - "How do I get my own avatar?"
Answer - So you want to have your own cool avatar eh?  There's two ways to do it:
Click on your "PROFILE" link and go to "Forum Profile Information."  You can select from the existing 'Actors' or 'Musicians' folders or upload youf own.  The size limit is 125  x 125 and note OBSCENE avatars will be deleted.

Or you can upload it to a secondary online host.  First I uploaded a 125x125 (the size limit on GAC) scan to Imageshack.com.  Then I go to GAC and hit 'Profile' at the top of the page.  In Profile on the left I hit 'Forum Profile Information'.  It's in there you can add the 'direct display' link provided by Imageshack.  Just past the URL in the 'I have my own pic:' entry.  If you did it right the uploaded picture should appear at the top of the page within seconds.


Question 11 - "How do I upload my public domain comic scans?"
Answer - Hey, thanks for wanting to share with the gang here! 

First be sure you've read the Rules for the site - specifically rule 2 - file types.  http://tinyurl.com/nt7vqa
Also be sure to check the link on what is and isn't allowed above in Question 9!

Done?  Cool.  So we now know not to upload PDF files.  After you've compressed your file into a Zip or Rar file (use Winzip or Winrar) you can rename the file to *.zip or *.CBZ if you like.  We can handle both.  (If one type of file fails on upload for you please try another file type in your file name.  Personally I can't upload a *.CBR files but I can a *.CBZ)
Also be sure to avoid special characters in your file names.  ie: don't use any of the following in a file name:
` ~ ! @ $ % ^ & * < > ? ; : '

Finally a shorter file name is better than a very long one.

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There are TWO ways you can upload a set of scans to the site.
If you become a VIP member (send a PM to Narfstar asking for the ftp details) you can upload one or multiple books to the sites private FTP. 
For more info see this link: CLICK HERE!

If you are a newbie you can only use the Upload File link on the site which is explained here -
You can upload a single scan directly to the site using the [ Upload File ] link above the site's banner.

THIS METHOD IS NOW WORKING.  PLEASE GIVE IT A TRY.

NOTE - Check out this tutorial with examples of this method that can be found at this link (thanks to Yoc):
http://tinyurl.com/9xlrh6

Points to remember if you do use this method -
1. Remember to follow the file name standards already started for the title. These should be used in the 'Download Name' field at the top of the page that opens when you hit the Upload File link I mentioned above.

2. You can fill in anything you like in the 'Download Description' section. I like to mention the scanners name and if the book is missing any pages as well as noted artists if there are any.

3. If you want to include a thumbnail of the cover (always nice) be SURE to enter 1 in the "Number of Thumbnails" box and then hit 'Update Form' BEFORE doing ANYTHING else.  Once updated you will see 'Thumbnail image:' has been added.  You need to Browse to where you have the cover saved.

4. Click in the browse box for the 'Download:' field and find the CBZ,CBR,RAR or ZIP file you've made of your file.  Again I strongly suggest only using CBZ files.  Rar and CBR files still fail for me.

5. Next you need to select the publisher/title of your book under 'Publications' in the 'Category:' section.  Left click on any name in the list - then type the first letter of the name of the publisher.  The list should jump to that name.  ie to find 'Ace' hit 'A'.  Left click on that publisher if it's there.  Next see if the title of your book has it's own sub-category and left click it if there is one. 
If there IS NOT A LISTING FOR YOUR PUBLISHER USE THE UNSORTED FILES SECTION just bellow Hillman Publications.  Sorry, the publishers are Not in alphabetical order.  DO NOT USE THE 'UPLOAD NEW COMICS HERE' OPTION.  Thanks!

6. Now hit 'PREVIEW' to initiate the upload.  Depending on your Internet connection the upload can take some time.  Patience is a virtue here if you are on dial-up.

7. This can be tricky.  Read carefully!
When the upload is done a page will appear that looks exactly like the site's normal download page EXCEPT there will be a 'CONFIRM' link at the bottom of the page. You might have to scroll the page down to see it.  Hit that Confirm button to activate the download link for the entire site.

8. You should see a message with a green 'information' icon like this:

Followed by this:

Thank you for adding this new file to our database.. The admin has required that files are approved before they are added to the database. Your file will appear in our database if the admin approves your file.

That means one of the admins or moderators will have to do the final activation of your upload.  But your work is done.  If all went well the book should appear on the site in the next little while.  If you want to be sure it gets noticed mention the upload in the Message Board Uploads area to get a moderator's attention or send one a PM directly.

If you see this red Error icon and the following message then the upload did NOT work:

Error: No file uploads of this type are allowed. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin

Try using a different file type and check the file name doesn't have any of the above special character in the name.

And if you get the following error message:

"Error: You can not put downloads in the base category. Please select a different category...

That means you didn't select a Publisher/title folder.  Best to always check if there are any other issues of the title on the site using the Search link.  If there are click on one to learn what publisher/title category they belong in and use the same for yours.  Finally copy the file name standard found on the site for your upload.  This helps the site to display issues in numerical order.

And that's it for manually uploading single issues to the site.
For uploading multiple books obviously using the FTP is the easier method.

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Take care all,
-GAC-UK Staff