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[narfstar]

Status was something built in to the forum software. It is common to "reward" people for posting to engage as a community. Janus will be gone until Wednesday. He is planning on making an announcement to newbies.
If you have any knowledge or willingness to learn about public domain status I think he wants to up someone to VIP for agreeing to assist in that area. Wait until he gets back, I do not know what he has in mind.

[narfstar]

Right Astaldo it has been commonly stated that this is one of the friendliest comic forums. Knowledgeable too.

[greatscot]

Yes. Sometimes it doesn't happen right away - it may reach 0 and stay there for a little bit but not too long..

Due to physical problems I haven't been on my computer much and this is the first time I visited the GAC site since January.

I too am having problems when I tried to download a comic. I got:
"Your Download Limits
This section shows the limits the admin has imposed on you for downloading files. The bandwidth limit is the total size allowed for all of your downloads. The file limits show the total number of files you are allowed to download. The times show how long you have before these limits expire or are reset. If either of your limits reaches zero you will not be able to download files.
Reset limits is off. When either of your limits reach zero you will not be allowed to download any more files.
Remaining bandwidth:    0 B remaining
Bandwidth time remaining:    0 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes
Files remaining:    0 files remaining
Files time remaining:    0 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes the same error"  which seems to be similar to the messages as everyone else.

Please tell me what to do to be able to download.

Thank you.

[narfstar]

On our new server newbies have had to be limited to 20 downloads a month. greatscot you should now have your 20 that you can get.

[Komandi]

Re: The bandwidth problems

Has anyone thought about hosting the actual files off-site and maintaining this site as a database with links? 

I used to be involved with a group that digitized and distributed unclassified (and public-domain) A-Bomb test footage and their site had similar problems with bandwidth.  The solution we used was to upload the files to the Internet Archive (which is set up just for this type of thing).  That site's bandwidth problems were solved since people could then download the actual files from the Internet Archive via links. 

As an aside, there are a lot of golden-age comics on the Internet Archive already for those who want something to download while waiting out their time on this site. 

Oh, and keep up the good work! 

[Astaldo711]

Janus or Narf will have to see if this is a viable solution. Thanks for the suggestion at any rate! I've looked on Internet Archive and most of the comics there seem to be westerns, not really my genre. I grabbed some but haven't read them yet.

[Komandi]

Yeah, for some reason the comics currently on the Internet Archive are about 80% westerns. 

But HEY, we can change that! 

 

[Astaldo711]

True. There's nothing stopping anyone with the books to upload them of their own volition. That's what bchat does. He provides a link to his book on another site.

[narfstar]

where do you find these comics on the internet archive, what link?

[bchat]

Do we really want to point people towards a site that hosts non-PD material?  IA has a number of files for Action Comics (after taking a quick look).  While files on GAC need to be approved before they're available, cutting down on the possibility that something with a valid Copyright won't sneak through, IA doesn't seem to have such a set-up.  Members always seem to posting lists of files (movies, books, what-have-you) that need to be removed because members can apparently upload whatever they feel like.

[Astaldo711]

That's true bchat. I think it's probably best that we try and find a solution here and "keep it in the family".

[narfstar]

Thanks Astaldo I removed the link. From previous I thought it was all pd.

[Komandi]

Do we really want to point people towards a site that hosts non-PD material?  IA has a number of files for Action Comics (after taking a quick look). 

I just checked and saw no Action Comics or any other non-public domain books there.  Are you sure you were at the correct site? 

I must admit, you've got me confused.  The whole point of the IA is to make public domain material like this available. 

[bchat]

IA has Vigilante stories from Action Comics ... do a little digging and you'll see the files associated with Vigilante's are marked with "Action Comics" in the file names.  Whether it's only a part or the whole thing, it's still "Action Comics" & under Copyright.

I believe IA's intention is to only host PD material, but thanks to various people who contribute to that site, it doesn't always end-up that way.   The Vigilante stories are marked as "PD" when they clearly aren't, so people are (possibly innocently but maybe not) sneaking things in.  Unlike this site, there doesn't seem to be anyone who is approving the files who knows better or cares.

[Poztron]

On our new server newbies have had to be limited to 20 downloads a month. greatscot you should now have your 20 that you can get.

Uh, I'm getting a little confused here. The Bandwidth Limits topic by Yoc has it:

For now here are the new limits -
Non member Guest users - NO Uploading or Downloading allowed anymore.  Sorry.
Registered members (Newbie,Jr member, etc) - 200mb or 20 scans every 24hrs.  Check your User_CP to see where you are.
VIP members - scanners or those who make a subscription or donation (new scans or cash) - NO LIMITS on upload or downloads.

So...for non-VIPs, are the new limits to 20 downloads (or 200mb) a month or every 24hrs??

BTW, I'm asking this out of a wish for clarification. I think the site is fantastic and I support whatever needs to be done to keep it viable.  I'm currently locked out of any further downloads, though I don't believe I've done 20 downloads in the last 24 hours. I find it a little hard to make sense out of the CP's info on bandwidth etc.

[bakerman3]

In just the last month, this site has gone from

unlimited downloads

to 200 MB a day

to 200 MB a MONTH?

I understand there was a server change, but I think this site will lose A LOT of visitors if this is truly the case.  I'm very interested to hear what Janus has to say when he gets back and what his rationale is. 

If it's to get people to pay for what they used to get for free, I don't know if people will go for it.  Some will, of course, but the majority?  That remains to be seen.

[Astaldo711]

Janus had this to say about that;
The site will never be a for profit site and will always remain a non-profit site. Any funds we do receive simply go back to the site. Its a hobby for me, and I believe the site should be able to fend on its own.
He's not trying to get rich here. He wants the site to continue as is. Donations are for maintaining the site.
Yes, right now newbies only have a set amount to download per month.

The way it looks to me is if you are a Jr. Member or Full Member you get these limits every 24 hours. Mine has been 24 hours so far but doesn't always reset of it's own volition.
Your status is based on posts - except for VIP status. It's to try and promote a sense of community.

[narfstar]

You got it Astaldo. It is not uncommon for sites to reward participants in their forums with perks. Janus does want to limit those who will not even contribute a comment to 20 a month. That does not seem unreasonable to me.

[Astaldo711]

Not too much to ask for free comics. Think how much it would be if you were to buy them? Try looking up some on http://www.metropoliscomics.com/

[narfstar]

Well Sky I believe it is auto. However, the admin could demote someone who abused it. I know you were just joking around but that was the worry from some about having a quoto of posts causing useless posts.

[builderboy]

Narf (or Yoc),

I know that I am a newb, and am under the bandwidth restriction, but I understood the restriction to be a 24-hour limit. I tried to do 2 downloads this AM, the 2nd took me to the limit, and my userCP told me my reset time remaining was 25 days, 0 hours, 54 minutes.

Yoiks!  Is this the glitch that I had heard about?  I start a new job next month, and plan to be an ongoing contributer, so this hopefully won't be an issue soon.

Any help that you could provide in resetting my account would be greatly appreciated.

- BB

[BobS]

Remaining bandwidth:     3.3 MB remaining
Bandwidth time remaining:    25 Days, 0 Hours, 44 Minutes
Files remaining:    9 files remaining
Files time remaining:    25 Days, 0 Hours, 44 Minutes

[bchat]

The FREE way to no longer be a Newbie is to post ... a lot.  The best way to post a lot?  Start a conversation that you're passionate about that you feel others would get involved with.  I would enjoy reading some conversations about comics in general, or Golden Age in particular, even if I have nothing to add to the thread, but there is also the "General Discussion" category where people can talk about whatever they want.  Before all the trouble with the other server & then the switch to the current one, there were a few solid conversations going-on, but they seemed to be derailed by all the problems the site experienced.  I, for one, would like to see some people talking about comics again.

[builderboy]

thanks, bchat.  Maybe I will start a thread on digital restoration techniques and ethics (how much intervention is too much).  I know that when I blundered in here, I was poorly versed in the etiquette of how this site works. Narf clued me in (not that I am not still partially clueless  ).

I am sure that some of the vets here have powerful techniques for delivering beautiful art, and I am always eager to learn.

[narfstar]

JVC produces a very high quality art book called ImageS and knows a lot about restoration