Many of the regulars of this side of the board may have heard me or other older bootleg maniac talking about the old DC++ lossless hub for Dream Theater bootlegs that once used to be the best place and the fastest mean to share our collection of taped shows with others.
For those who have never heard of it, here's a brief summary of what it was about in Weymolith's words:
The requirements for it is a DC++ client software which you'd then use to connect to the hub and to download shows from other users.
The rules are simple: nothing official is allowed, nothing that has been requested by MP not to be shared is allowed, no bands that are against bootlegs are allowed, which essentially means pretty much exact same as this very forum. Also not allowed are shows that have requests from the taper/releaser that it shouldn't be traded electronically (GDT shows mainly). You're not required to have any shows before entering the hub, but you are required to share what you download, this of course is to prevent people from just leeching. You can trade shows electronically at the hub but the main thing is to share the shows to everyone in the hub.
It all sounds heavenly, but the downside is that the hub requires a monthly 50$ to stay online and working. Throughout the years the hub was kept alive by the frequent donations of those who enjoyed the benefits it used to grant, but the passing of time inevitably saw a shrinking of the community that once used to gather more than 50 users, and as a result of this the donations rarefied, until finally the hub was forced to close almost a year ago.
I have always wanted to get the machine running again, as I highly value sharing with others what I had the luck to find within my hand's reach. However, I'm a student with no income and I cannot afford the monthly fee, nor I think would be fair if the burden were to fall completely on Weymolith or anyone else's shoulders, as it happened in the past.
Yet if there were to be at least ten potential users interested in this daring project and willing to
contribute regularly, each of us would have to carry a tiny (and I hope affordable to the most) share of the onus.
My quantitative goal is to get below the minumum threshold of 5$ per month per user, that is to say at least 10 regular users. Now, if you understand and agree with our proposition and are willing to contribute to clear the unpleasant but inevitable economic encumbrance, just post here.
The more we are, the greater will be the possibilities of sharing and enjoyment, and of course the lighter will be the amount needed to keep the house together.
Any suggestion, comment, critique or just general piece of discussion is greatly welcomed. Feel free to chime in and say what you think and join up, if you can.