File Library Tweak

[eric]

Feel free to contact me by PM if you think it's appropriate to get a contributor waiver, but yes, you might have been caught up in the fix to the participation thresholds.

Last month, our bandwidth exceeded what our host allows (driven by library downloads), and I had to dip into the emergency fund for the first time in over a year.

Keep in mind that the same cost increases that all of us have seen at the grocery store and gas pumps also affect the site.

I'm not going to beg people to subscribe, but if you've been part of this site for more than a year or two, I do hope you'll consider one.

[MMCdude]

So contributors (unpaid) are subject to the download quota?

[magmateus]

No changes to the quotas, but if you were getting unlimited downloads without a paid subscription, it's possible that a bug in the programming might have been fixed which was allowing that.

That's exactly what happened!
Regards.
Mateus

[eric]

Have there been any recent changes to download quotas? I was previously seeing "unlimited" (or something like that), but now when I go to the file library it's showing "Exceeded 500mb Quota"...

Thanks

No changes to the quotas, but if you were getting unlimited downloads without a paid subscription, it's possible that a bug in the programming might have been fixed which was allowing that.

[R. Steele]

Have there been any recent changes to download quotas? I was previously seeing "unlimited" (or something like that), but now when I go to the file library it's showing "Exceeded 500mb Quota"...

Thanks

From the Help section of the File Library -- for your information - If you believe the download quota you are currently seeing is incorrect for you, please leave Eric a note.

Downloading files from the file library is a privilege available to all registered members.

Unpaid Members are able to download under the following rules:

• A maximum of two files may be downloaded at the same time
• Download speeds will be limited to 30Kbps - 60Kbps depending on server load
• A maximum of 500 Mb or 150 files can be downloaded over a 30 day timeframe. Routes do not count against the 500 Mb.
• Adjustments to download quotas may be made to ensure site stability and availability
• Members who exceed their allocation may see their downloading privileges suspended for up to 30 days

Paid options start at $5 per month for those who want to download without a quota at broadband speeds.

[eric]

Will the items requiring payware include information on which payware to seek out?

That's already part of the description in most cases. As many of the payware items already exist in the catalog, I'm a bit torn on whether or not these should just be a bundle, or if a separate link would be a better choice.

[TrainSimJack]

Seems like a great idea!

Will the items requiring payware include information on which payware to seek out?

[MMCdude]

Have there been any recent changes to download quotas? I was previously seeing "unlimited" (or something like that), but now when I go to the file library it's showing "Exceeded 500mb Quota"...

Thanks

[michelouim]

I know for one i will use it, will help to know beforehand for any requirements

Thanks for that improvement

[Whatever2006]

That feature is interesting and I'm sure it's going to be very useful in the long run.

[eric]

Our library is filled with lots of great options using free and freely available models, as well as repaints of payware items. To help make it a little bit easier for those who might not know the difference, I've added a small optional feature for those who upload files into the file library, and will soon be adding a new filter to the search function that can leverage this feature.

When uploading to the library, you will now have the ability to indicate whether or not your upload requires payware, as well as whether or not it is currently available for those who may not already have it to purchase.

This is optional information that you can now start providing at the time of upload, and the Edit feature can be used to add this information for existing uploads as well.

I am also tagging some existing uploads that have this information within the file description (e.g. as shown in the screenshot below).


When searching the library, results returned which include a payware requirement will be indicated as shown in the green highlighted portion of the screenshot.

When the new subcategory searching is activated, the ability to filter out payware dependent items will also become available. That is planned for some time this summer, depending upon availability of programming resources.

I hope those of you who do contribute items to the file Library will start using this new feature.

As always let me know if you have any issues or feedback regarding the site's searching functions.