You don't seem to get my point. MegaUpload was host to a lot of illegal stuff, but many many people used it to upload their legal stuff as well. MegaUpload is gone and has taken its illegal and legal content with it. Files that were never rehosted only have a very tiny chance to ever pop up again if someone still has them on their hard drive. It brings a tear to my eye when I stumble upon an interesting old homebrew project (or whatever), look for the download link and find out the file is no longer available because its host no longer exists. The file is nowhere to be found on the internet, and the odds of someone ever uploading it again - hell, even still owning it - are as good as nonexistent. All because people rely on that file sharing site to exist forever, considering it's so popular anyway.

And private FTP's > private trackers IMO.

I'm not saying it's not a tragedy to see "Those Missing Files" - it is. What I'm saying is that this is EXACTLY the purpose of sites like this one - to preserve, like a time capsule. If only the project was submitted, surely there would be space for it on the DS-Scene server.

Besides, never realy fully on one storage spot. Always backup. Jesus saves. And makes incremental backups.

...you must've used crappy trackers in the past.

This post has been edited by Foxi4, Mon, January 23rd, 2012 at 23:45

Well, yes, but if the author of such projects is knew to the scene, they may not know about sites like these, or wish for their files to not be rehosted so they can easily track all downloads. I can see where you're coming from, though.

And not really lol, I just prefer 'the FTP experience' to 'the torrent experience'. I probably use both at about the same rate, though.

I remember instances of DS-Scene hosting apps againts the clear will of the creator, purely for the purpose of safekeeping. Retro is very serious about his job, and that deserves praise. Whenever something is found, it should be immediatelly put in "the vault", even if it's insignificant.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Man, I was listening to the Xenoblade OST while typing this comment and one of the sad songs just came up, so now I can't stop thinking about everything that's been lost forever.

Aw man, while I was typing that sentence, another, even more sad song came up.

Now I feel all sad

Well, I found that Ace Attorney homebrew on MU, and only on MU I believe. I suppose whomever didn't keep that is SOL.

For my own site (which is pretty dead due to lack of updates nowadays. If anybody feels like regularly playing and screenshotting freeware games, send me a PM ), I've always followed this rule:
Link to the dev's site if he has one, and save the file just in case. Then if the link doesn't work (I usually don't notice til someone says: "Hey, that link doesn't work!") I change it so the download goes to the file instead of the site.

If a game's "official download" is a listing site or something like Megaupload or Vector or such, I host it myself.

The tricky part is the grey zone where the dev has his own site, but the downloads go to a listing site thing. I linked to such a page for Bravegear Tribute, and, as it's a rather big game, never actually hosted it myself. Now their links don't work anymore and I'm in trouble getting the actual game. It's SOMEWHERE and I can still get it, but, to put it in D&D terms, I need too damn high a luck roll (got the files several times from there, but there was always something broken. That server has some weird hicups...)


Now, that's a rule and if every dev. did like Foxi suggests, it wouldn't even be necessary. The problem is, though, that not every dev. does so, and definitely not every dev. has a site of his own. They'll end up on only listing sites or stuff like Megaupload and, as Ariel has, lots of times you only find out about the game when it's already too late. You can't possibly know every homebrew in existance, and it's impossible for every homebrew dev. around to know about this site.

Hell, even I, for a personal project from five or so years ago, suffered that problem. Recently went looking for it again and found it... but not the version I was looking for. What I found, was a previous, unfinished one. For another personal project from yeeaars ago, I wanted to pick it up again recently. Problem is... there were so damn many versions of it, I don't know which one's the right one... I THINK it's two at the same time (one with the game itself, one with a prototype of the intro)

So yeah, in theory it's nice if every dev. did as you say. In reality, though, it's simply impossible, due to plenty of factors.

Good news, everyone! This bullshit case is going to be over soon!

And by soon, I mean law soon, so in about 5 years seems reasonable.

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-wins-crucial-evidence-disclosure-battle-with-us-govt-120529/

And now I'm really off to bed because I've got a giant headache

This post has been edited by Nathan, Wed, May 30th, 2012 at 14:49

Reason: Ho-hum

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-asks-court-to-dismiss-the-criminal-case-120530/

TF isn't a warez site btw if you didn't check the link(s).