Guide to everything concerning Downloading and Uploading

[Gnarf]

Hello ^_^

I joined the forum in march 2006 and found it very hard to find out about everything in the forum. I've downloaded something before, so I knew how to download, but the whole upload- and thank-thingie really were beyond my horizont at that time. It took me forever to find out how to thank and rep people and how to upload to help out other forumers ^^
Anyway, the time I'm here now, I saw a lot of people asking how the things in here worked. Of course there are a lot of helpful posters, who answer the questions every time, but I think, a good tutorial would help out many people in here ^_^

How to download

First of all, on aarinfantasy there is a whole subforum just for all the links Download Central (Yaoi/BL), that way you are able to find everything you want. There are three ways to download episodes / music / manga in here:

Direct download

This is quite easy. You open up the thread and simply look for the file you want to get.
If you have decided, you right-click on the link and choose "save as". Now you save the file in the folder you want and that's it, it downloads.
Sometimes, the server asks you for the login and password. Don't worry, somewhere in the thread you will find the login data, just use it and the download should begin safely.

Another possibility are the

Host Links

There are people, who don't have the money to buy webspace, but still want to help out others. Therefore hostsites exist. They are full of commercials but allow people to upload files for free.
To download from them you open up the link.
Some sites like sendspace or mediafire give you the download link at once. Just look out for the link and click it, the download should start at once.
Other sites expect you to enter a code before you are able to download the file. Type it in and everything should work well.
There are also sites, where you need to wait some time before you are able to access the link, for example megaupload. But no worries, you will get the file after waiting that time.
Other hosts like badongo split the files, if they are too large. In this case, just read the instructions on the site, you most likely will need to download a file-merger to merge the parts.
Some hostsites only allow you to download a certain amount of files a day. So don't get crazy about a message like "filelimit exceeded", other people get those as well. It just means you need to wait a few hours or a day to be able to download from this specific host again.

Of course you can also use

Bittorrent

Bittorrent is a software with which you are also able to download files. You can get it from http://www.bittorrent.com
There are many different clients, if you are more experienced, you can of course use another client.
Anyway, when you installed the software, you are ready to go. Just click the link. It will lead you to a torrent-file. Open it up and it will automatically start the client, you've installed before. The client downloads the file for you.
If you want to know more about Bittorrent, have a look at the guide that Kawaii posted.

Now that you know all about downloading and checked the threads you notice: Damn, a link doesn't work. What to do now?

How to request

For direct downloads, there is only one solution: Please send the owner of the link a pm. Don't post questions in the threads, most likely the owner won't even look there. Just pm the person, they will come to you sooner or later.

To request hostlinks there are two possible ways:

If it's a series already hosted in the "Host Links" section, please have a look in the section. Under the sticky threads you will find a thread called "Requests for uploads". There you can post your request. Somebody will answer you and help you out, if it's possible.

Of course these sections and threads exist for music, games and mangas also, just look around, I'm sure, you'll find it.

Look here to find request and reupload request sections for manga, game, or other downloads.

Now you know all about downloading, but please read further.


How to say Thanks and give Rep

This is a special topic. Aarinfantasy uses a great system, so you can say "thank you" to the person who helped you in some way without spamming the threads.

"Why saying thanks?"

You see, uploaders put a lot of effort into uploading files exactly for you. One file (around 200 mb) can take 1-6 hours of time just to be uploaded, depending on the speed the uploader has. For example, I myself can upload up to 90 kb/s. On filefactory, a server who is very fast to upload, a file takes 45min until 1 hour for me to finish. Sendspace for example "only" allows me to give 30 kb/s upload speed. That way it takes around 2-3 hours.
And now imagine people, who upload a whole 26-episodes long series just for your pleasure.
Of course, after thinking about it, you want to give them something back.

Therefore this forum offers you a very simple, effortless solution.

Saying Thanks

It's really easy. On the right bottom of every users post you find a little button called "Thanks". Just push it. It takes one second of your time. No money, time or strength involved. That way you don't need to type any words and other users can see, that you liked what they did.

Please don't post "Thank you" in the thread. That way you only get a warning from the mods. The threads should stay clean, so nobody needs to look through 20 "thank you"-sites just to get one link.

Giving Rep

Sometimes giving "thanks" just isn't enough. For example you asked a person to upload a whole series for you on a specific hostsite. After knowing how much time this costs the person, you want to give him/her something special. You can do that. Just give them a rep.
To make it easy, the difference between a rep and a thanks is, that a thanks gives the person one rep point, the rep gives them more (if you want to learn more about the rep points, please look here).
To give a rep you just click the star of the post Click it and a little window will open. Just enter the reason, why you use it and add your name (so the person knows, who gave it them).
All done, the person will be very happy about it.


Now you've learned all about downloading and how to show your appreciation, you are ready for the next step:


How to upload

Uploading

A very simple act, if you know how to do it. First of all there are many different upload-services. Famous ones are for example megaupload, sendspace and filefactory. Danabahn made a very good guide, just have a look.
When you open up the desired hostsite, you will see a formular, where you can put in all the information. Put in your file, a description and accept the rules (to make it short, fill out all the required information). Now click the "Upload"-Button.
You will see a site telling the status of your upload. That way you can always see, how long the upload takes. Please leave this site open until it's done and don't click any commercials, they will stop your upload. Other sites in a new browser will work, don't worry.
After waiting the timespan the server tells you, you will get a link, where your file is hosted. Now just post the link in the existing thread for the series and you are finished.

Please do not doublelink! Please only upload new files or try to find a hosting service, which isn't available in the thread yet. If there's a working megaupload link, please do not upload the file on megaupload again. First of all, you won't get any points for double-linking and secondly it's considered as spamming in here.

Anyway, this is how it works. Easy, isn't it?

Receiving Points for your Upload

You get credits for uploading BL stuff on aarinfantasy. See here for more information.
To get the link to your post, just look at the upper right corner of your own upload post. You will see a small number. if you click it, it will lead you to a site, where only your post is listed. This link you should post in the contribution-thread.
If you are not sure, what points are and what to do with them, Aarin explained it great here.
After a while you will get a pm with a donation. Now you have your points.



Getting rep for your effort

Of course people will thank and rep you for your effort. In order to see how many rep-power and points you already have, just have a look at your own post. at the left you see part of your profile together with your amount of points and rep-power.
You want to see how many rep-points you already gathered and the last ones you've got? Just look under "User CP" right above. You will see your last five thanks/reps together with the full amount of rep-points.

I really hope this helps some of you to understand the system a bit better ^_^

~ Gnarf