Possible Alternatives to BitTorrent for Fansubs?

[GHDpro]

I know usenet is also under attack; but it's only the usenet providers/nzb sites/uploaders who are getting into trouble. As a downloader, you should be pretty safe.

Originally Posted by mist2123

an Ftp server in Iran

Ah. How? Afaik most Iranians are limited to dialup-speeds as instructed by their government.

[Slice of Life]

I'm sure intelligence reports suggest that Iran is working on Trackers of Mass Copyright Destruction.


I'm also (seriously) sure that people are worrying too much. Alternatives will grow like mushrooms once they are needed.

[cyth]

Getting an IRC client, connecting to an IRC network and joining a #channel is something anybody can do, I believe. The biggest problem to picking up IRC for downloading anime is getting to know how the channel works.

Newbies need to know two basic guidelines to finding anime on IRC:

1. Read the TOPIC
2. xdcc send #[insert pack number]

Reading topics
Your goal is to find information in the #channel topic that will direct you to XDCC bots that hold anime. I've joined a few channels of a few random groups that are currently listed on AnimeSuki's top page. Let's take a look at them:


#animeone (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? XDCC: http://xrl.us/aonex Opening that link will take you to a site with all the information you need. For example, under the Archive section you'll find two bot names AonE|Urd and AonE|Mars with their respective file lists. Choose the file you want, go back to the IRC channel, and private message the bot with the file you want, i.e. the username AonE|Urd with the words xdcc send #1 for [AnY-AonE]_Ah__My_Goddess_-_Promo_[D373BE47].avi

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#as-fansubs (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? Trigger: !list, !dcii06 OK, so you don't want to download D.C. II ~Da Capo~ 06, you want to download episode 01. Well, type that trigger !dcii06 in the channel anyway! You'll get two responses by doing so:

-ShinkuKai- XviD: /msg [Sekai]Archive xdcc send #71 /msg charger xdcc send #261
-ShinkuKai- h264: /msg [Sekai]Archive xdcc send #72 /msg charger xdcc send #260

Typing /msg [Sekai]Archive xdcc send #72 in the channel does the same as private messaging the username [Sekai]Archive with the words xdcc send #72. That will get you D.C. II episode 06. But we want 01, right? We can assume that [Sekai]Archive is carrying more than just one file. Message it with the words xdcc list. In this case, the bot gives us the following reply:

-[Sekai]Archive- XDCC LIST Denied. Get pack #1 for packlist

A pretty straightforward instruction, right? OK, let's type xdcc send #1. The bot sends us a text file. Look into your IRC download folder. Opening it will give you a full list of what [Sekai]Archive is carrying. Search for your beloved D.C. II 01 file listing:

#31 32x [174M] [ASF]_Da_Capo_II_-_Episode 01_(Xvid_704x396)_[702C500A].avi
#32 88x [175M] [ASF]_Da_Capo_II_-_Episode_01_(h264_1024x576)_[12390CEC].mkv

Do you want the AVI or the MKV? Let's go with the MKV: Message [Sekai]Archive back with the words xdcc send #32

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#catchphrase (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro 01 & 02 released: !neuro01, !neuro02. Triggers again. For example, type !neuro01 in the channel to get the info this trigger offers:

-[Yako]- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro [XviD] (186MB) /msg Ashes|Ruby xdcc send 79 - /msg Ashes|Yellow xdcc send 41
-jocAWAY- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro [XviD] (186MB) DDL: http://vs248022.vserver.de/sexxl/%5b...38F9DFE%5d.avi
-[Yako]- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro [H264][HD] (232MB) /msg Ashes|Ruby xdcc send 89 || /msg Ashes|Yellow xdcc send #46

Ho-ho... We can choose between two bots and also a DDL link! Again, pick the episode, pick the format, pick the bot/username carrying it, message them with the words xdcc send #[insert pack number]. I'm going to download Neuro 02 in H264 HD, so I'm gonna have to message Ashes|Yellow with the words xdcc send #46

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#froth-bite (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? www.Froth-Bite.com This group has a website! Check it out. In the menu on the left you'll find a section named Releases -bot lists Go to that section where you'll find all the xdcc lists of all their XDCC bots. I'm personally aiming for their Sky Girls episode 11, so I'm going to message F_B|CD-Pengu with the words xdcc send #12 Wee~

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#shinsen-subs (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? XDCC Bots: http://bot.page.us Go to that page, find your file, find the bot that's carrying it, go back to the IRC channel, message the bot with the xdcc send #[insert pack number] command, and you're done. Personally, I want their latest Tsubasa Chronicle - Tokyo Revelations 01 episode, so I'll search their bot listing site with the keyword 'Tsubasa' and use their handy Clipboard command to get the bot command /msg SHS|Sheska-chan xdcc send #378 automatically. I'll just paste that into the IRC channel and get the wanted file.

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#sprocket-hole (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? | /msg Sprocket|Random xdcc get 13 (7 PAS) 14 (4 WS AVI/Xvid) 15 (4 WS MKV/H264) 16-18 (1-3 WSv2 Xvid), 19-21 (1-3 WSv2 H.264). Now, I know this might be a bit hard to understand for any newbie, but let's tackle this anyway.
Sprocket Hole Fansubs don't release anything else than CLANNAD at the moment, so it's safe to assume anything you download from Sprocket|Random will be CLANNAD. The listed xdcc get command does the same as xdcc send! What about all the randomness after that, you ask? Fansubbers like to use abbreviations in topics because topic space is limited. Sprocket Hole Fansubs used the abbreviation 7 PAS for CLANNAD episode 07, and 4 WS AVI/Xvid for their WideScreen/AVI/Xvid version of CLANNAD episode 04. The list of abbreviations goes on, but the important thing to us is the pack number beside these abbreviations. For 7 PAS we have 13, for 4 WS AVI/Xvid we have 14. So if I want CLANNAD 07, I'll just send a message xdcc get 13 to Sprocket|Random and receive the file.

If you want to avoid the confusion with all these abbreviations, you know the bot name (Sprocket|Random), message it with the words xdcc list and get the full list of the files it carries.

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#ureshii (at Rizon - irc.rizon.net)

See what it says in the topic? http://ureshii-fansub.org If you open their website you'll see a section in their navigation bar called Distro (abbr. for Distribution!). You'll find a few links there: Their scarywater BitTorrent tracker site, DDL from Anime Treasure, and also an XDCC bot listing for Ureshii|Mr_T. Clicking that last link will take you to the XDCC list site with all the files you can imagine. So if I want to download their Dennou Coil 20, I need to remember the file pack number, which would be #56 at this moment. I go back to the IRC channel, message Ureshii|Mr_T with the words xdcc send #56 and receive the file.

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#a.f.k. (at EnterTheGame - irc.enterthegame.com)

OK, so this topic leaves us high and dry for the first time. They only listed their scarywater BT site and some other sites where we won't find any bot lists. But don't you worry! If you've read the rest of this post, you should know most (if not all) bots have a prefix of some sort that separates them from other users. Also, they are usually voiced (+) or hopped (%) to separate them from the rest of the IRC lurkers. If we look at the previous examples, we've had to deal with the following bots:

Ureshii|Mr_T
Sprocket|Random
SHS|Sheska-chan
F_B|CD-Pengu
Ashes|Yellow
[Sekai]Archive
AonE|Urd

Five out of seven of these bots had some kind of prefix to link them directly to the group in question, but they were all voiced or hopped. #a.f.k.'s bot is no exception here. If you look at the #channel user list, you'll see only a few people voiced, and that's where you'll find the user afk|IzumiKonata. Message that bot with the words xdcc list for its bot list, then just do what you always do: xdcc send #[insert pack number]. I want to download Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 09, so I'll have to message it with the words xdcc send #27


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Conclusion #1: IRC is a useful tool if you know two to three guidelines. Being able to read what you FEAR is the most important part of mastering IRC. All channels are different, but fansubbers want you to find the files. Asking politely for help or advice might get ignored in some channels, but rest assured there are users always happy to help out, even if it's just giving you links to tutorials and such. You should read them, you should master IRC, you should be a lot more anonymous than downloading from BT, since the only one knowing what you download is the biggest criminal of the channel, and that's the person illegally offering files on the bot in the first place.

Conclusion #2: I have too much time.

For extensive and easy to read tutorial on IRC you should read Kirika's IRC guide on http://www.kasshin.net

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by Toua

... wordy manual ...

Kirika's guide, as many such "ultimate" guides on a variety topics, neglects the most important ...

STEP 0: Cleanse your hard disk, buy Window$, and install it.

However, many Linux users prefer not to switch to a closed source(!) OS for security(!) reasons. I know that there is some xdcc linux client floating around but I've never tested it (there was no need to).

[Quarkboy]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

Kirika's guide, as many such "ultimate" guides on a variety topics, neglects the most important ...

STEP 0: Cleanse your hard disk, buy Window$, and install it.

However, many Linux users prefer not to switch to a closed source(!) OS for security(!) reasons. I know that there is some xdcc linux client floating around but I've never tested it (there was no need to).

Using irc in linux is not a problem at all. There are a bunch of decent irc clients out there. In fact, when I used to use irc for all my downloading needs in the mid to late 1990s, I used xchat, if I recall, while running my debian then "unstable" woody.

And anyone who runs linux probably is techie enough to know basic IRC anyway.

[cyth]

I use X-Chat on both Windows and SUSE (I actually bought the license to the official Windows build; unofficial builds and *NIX versions are, of course, free). Other clients widely used are irssi and Pidgin. These are all open-source, free clients.

Also, why such concern for the open-source communities when you don't even know IRC is widely supported for their OS. If anything, BT up until recently had poor *NIX support, from a technological standpoint.

[TigerII]

You are my heroes Toua. That wa sthe first easy guide I have seen for it. Thanks very much.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by Toua

Also, why such concern for the open-source communities when you don't even know IRC is widely supported for their OS. If anything, BT up until recently had poor *NIX support, from a technological standpoint.

It's also my OS. As I said: I never tried xdcc under Linux because there's no need to. You'd be surprised what a law-abiding person I am. I download only, lets call it "unproblematic" stuff (like mainly unlicensed anime, as opposed to material from companies with the really big money behind them and an army of lawyers on standby here.) and Comcast is far away. I even hardly ever use irc for what it was originally meant too (big timeburner IMHO).

I'm quite sure that I would be able to download from irc for you if you pointed a gun at my head. But don't overestimate the computer literacy of Joe Ubuntu in the modern age of clicky-click. You just don't need all the computer-savvyness anymore when using Linux.

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by Access

For hotline lots of servers had agreements where you had to click 'I accept' before being allowed to the server. You had to agree that you were not a member of any kind of law enforcement, or any user acting on the behalf of a CO. (I doubt that alone would hold up to much real protection, though)

To put it nicely, those agreements were legal garbage and worth nothing in courts. Hotline was also subject to being spammed very heavily and there were tons of fake servers.

[Gaiarth]

You know, when I first started getting fansubs, we did it my swapping actual video-tapes between ourselves. Maybe the future of safe fansub watching lies in going back to snail-mailing them

[wao]

I've turned entirely to streaming anime by watching it off niconico - 'course that place is pretty heavily monitored now and anime producers are explicitly very angry at people who upload anime there (and people expect them to be nice to us when we're "stealing" hi-quality copies, saving 'em and sharing them too... I'd like what they're smoking.)

People have thought of the act of downloading/watching anime uploaded by others being made illegal but I don't think it is in Singapore (well I hope not). Personally my favourite mode of downloading if I really would need to get something for reference or some random use would be IRC. I usually find what I need, and what I can't find is so obscure I'm willing to use BT because they'd be... well, I just can't see them putting "Legend of Sirius" on their monitoring list or something, especially if it's an unusual tracker.

Otherwise it's that or DDLs off places (I strictly refuse to download from any place that accepts donations though). But this whole experience has really taught me/made me realise I'm happy with much less; actually I don't want to keep most things I watch, and for first viewing I'm fine with 512x384 videos, if they're fast (subs not needed).

But regarding some of those places I'm kinda surprised some of them haven't been caught at all yet (I'm looking at you, certain-popular-journaling-site)

[Ranko]

Originally Posted by Gaiarth

You know, when I first started getting fansubs, we did it my swapping actual video-tapes between ourselves. Maybe the future of safe fansub watching lies in going back to snail-mailing them

That would be harder to track.

Why is it the afk channel tells me i'm banned, i've never been on enter the game before.............

[valet]

Originally Posted by Gaiarth

You know, when I first started getting fansubs, we did it my swapping actual video-tapes between ourselves. Maybe the future of safe fansub watching lies in going back to snail-mailing them

Way to go, now suspicious looking men from Singapore are going to be hanging out around your mailbox at about noon each day.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Ranko

Why is it the afk channel tells me i'm banned, i've never been on enter the game before.............

You either wanted to join with a guest, Anonymous*, or *emo* nickname, or you're on a brazillian connection, or you're using Chatzilla.

... yeah, old-school fansubbing channel.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Ranko

That would be harder to track.

Why is it the afk channel tells me i'm banned, i've never been on enter the game before.............

You'd have to write them and ask. There could be a dozen reasons - all the way down to an unfortunate selection of a nickname that was banned or a poor choice of software client.

Some irc channels are "whitelist" --- you have to be on a list in order to get past the bouncer into the club.

But I'd try just logging in with a different nick first and see what happens.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Vexx

You'd have to write them and ask.

Yep, you could whine to bayoab about it (he's an operator of that channel and has posted in this topic). He loves to help people. o.ob

[N-Bomb]

Originally Posted by Ranko

That would be harder to track.

Why is it the afk channel tells me i'm banned, i've never been on enter the game before.............

Bay (the leader of afk (AKA bayfk)) won't say, but some of us believe it has to do with certain abuse he suffered at the hands of some Singaporeans at AX.

My personal theory is that it has to do with bay wanting all of .sg to have to use torrents and get prosecuted by Odex.

[ender]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

I know that there is some xdcc linux client floating around but I've never tested it (there was no need to).

Hint: Xchat, Irssi and a ton of others. A lot of XDCC bots run some version of Iroffer, and most of them run on a *nix box. There are also fserve scripts for at least Xchat and Irssi.

[X10A_Freedom]

Gave "Share" a shot, and I have no idea how to get it to work!

[martino]

Originally Posted by X10A_Freedom

Gave "Share" a shot, and I have no idea how to get it to work!

Share will be almost useless to you, unless you are specifically looking for raws...