Soul Seek

[Beejus]

Soulseek is an ad-free, spyware-free, just plain free file sharing application

New Version Of Soul Seek

Version 149 includes a few minor fixes, some optimizations to search handling, and a change in the way the client handles itself in the distributed network that should help ease things up for the server if enough people use it. Expect this to become the minimum allowable version soon if no unexpected problems arise.

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Download Soul Seek NOW (http://www.slsk.org/slsk149.exe)

Sometimes the SoulSeek server goes down, to check go Here! (for server status) (http://www.remmelt.com/slskboard/status.php)

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[eclectica]

Beejus fucking Christ!

[Beejus]

I'm loving the sig E....

that's a really good point, if all 60 million of us banded together we could elimate the threat that we have to sneak around...someone needs to go national with this shit....

hack television signals for a minute, make notice of the issue and the solution, and take a vote.

the revolution will come...

[eclectica]

SoulSeek really is cool. I kept trying to find a song on WinMX, and got zero results, so I logged onto SoulSeek and got about twenty results. I downloaded it and got it immediately, with no queue. It's outrageous when you think that the one time a week when I need a song, either I have to wait in a queue or I can't find it at all. Meanwhile I upload hundreds of mp3s a week on WinMX and have tons of people in my queue.

The problem with WinMX is that the quality of the searches depends on the primary node you are connected to. SoulSeek uses a centralized server, like Napster did, which is more efficient. The only reason p2p moved away from centralized servers is to avoid being shut down by the RIAA.

[Beejus]

Yeah, this program is definately like Napster in many ways. It even resembles the GUI rather closely. And the fact that the chatrooms are built in/hotlist, it's just too close for comfort.

It's only a matter of months until this program is deader than dead. Unfortunately.

But until then, grab what ya can and run!

[eclectica]

One problem with SoulSeek, is that it causes many people to share their downloading folder, because that is selected by default. Look at this screenshot and you will see that although I've selected my shared folder to be "mp3s", my download folder "downloads" is also shared because the option "Share save folder" by default is checked. Yet you don't see a checkmark next to the folder in the listing.

http://www.tatom.org/images/SoulSeek.jpg

[nanook]

man, that sucks.
i've never tried soulseek.
and probably won't.

[eclectica]

Originally posted by nanook
man, that sucks.
i've never tried soulseek.
and probably won't.
Well it works okay if you uncheck that option "Share save folder".

Currently I leave a connection on to both WinMX and SoulSeek and split my 13.3 kbps upload bandwidth so that WinMX gets a max of 1 user uploading at 6 kbps, and SoulSeek gets a max of 1 user uploading at 7 kbps.

While there are fewer uploads on SoulSeek than WinMX, it may seem foolish to allocate more bandwidth to SoulSeek, but from my experience just recently trying to find a song where I got zero results on WinMX and 30 results on SoulSeek, and I was able to download with no queue, I came to realize that a lot of uploading I've been doing on WinMX doesn't do much good if it all goes to leeches or to people who only log onto the network when they are looking to download a song.

[nanook]

well, E, i downloaded soulseek and tried it last night.
seems others have no problem getting my stuff, but all i saw were queues, not even any "available" ones, which i can always find on winmx. and there weren't that many results.
although i found that a lot of the tunes people wanted were my techno stuff, there were a lot requesting my hip-hop.
i guess they have evolved into more of an "open" app.
i guess i am just stuck on winmx and it's lay out.
i like it's bandwidth throttle, opennap (when i want it), and the ping and i guess everything else.
i feel much more in control with it. and i like that.
damn, i'm hardcore.

[Beejus]

soul seek is my favorite p2p application now, I've learned it's many secrets and I have contacts with huge mp3 collections so I can find what I want, when I want :)

*search tip..* try multiple instances of searches because there's more than 1 server and it doesn't always check all the servers

[Beejus]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by eclectica
One problem with SoulSeek, is that it causes many people to share their downloading folder, because that is selected by default. Look at this screenshot and you will see that although I've selected my shared folder to be "mp3s", my download folder "downloads" is also shared because the option "Share save folder" by default is checked. Yet you don't see a checkmark next to the folder in the listing.

I did that first thing... my major issue with SoulSeek in the beginning was if you share a shitload of tunes, it takes forever to load up because it's caching all these songs, blah blah blah, but now I got it set up better and my shit is private to only those on my list..

[eclectica]

They both are great programs, but SoulSeek is more resource-intensive on computers. I think nanook, there could be room in your life for not only WinMX, which you are married to, but SoulSeek, which would be like your extramarital lover. It's good to have both, right?
:eatout:

[nanook]

believe me when i say that i have tried most of the apps.
and there is always one or two things missing that i love about winmx.
i am more than willing to use another app.
like u, i was looking for this tune.....La Marche de la lune, by Dynamic....and could not find it on winmx...so i used this tune to test soulseek.
and yes, it was there, but with phenonmenal queues.
and i will always advocate that though there are the same queues in winmx.....there r always a shitload of "available" tunes, which do not show up in soulseek.
if i were shown how to tweak this program, then i would consider trying it again.
i must get on Beej's "special" list, so i can view all of those files he has.
do u go by "eclectica" on soulseek, E.?

[eclectica]

I go by the name "eclectica" on SoulSeek. The best way to find me on any network is to do a search for "ochy curiel". Hardly anyone else has that music.

Sometimes I can't even run SoulSeek because it is freezing up too much. It seems to put the computer in the role of node (like primary connection on WinMX) too, which adds about 1 kbps of uploading bandwidth. I can see this because the amount of connections to the computer using port 2234 is high. Right now there are about thirty people connected to my port 2234 and I am connected to port 2234 of about ten people. I think SoulSeek is partially decentralized, like WinMX. Or maybe it depends what server you connect to in the beginning.

Currently I have 6 kbps allocated to WinMX with two slots and 5 kbps allocated to SoulSeek with one slot, but SoulSeek is using about 6 kbps because of the node status I have.

Depending on which program pisses me off more, I send more bandwidth to the other one. If I get a ton of leeches on WinMX, then I send it all to SoulSeek, but if the SoulSeek program freezes up or I get no uploads for a while, then I close it and dedicate it to WinMX. I am running it on the computer which has Windows Millennium with a 233 mhz processor and 96 MB of memory. It is my dedicated server computer, or p2p computer.

It would be hard for you on dialup to run both networks at the same time. Maybe some day you'll get broadband.
:sad:

[Criminal_Sniper]

ok few things about soulseek
i love it

its the best source for music on the internet that i know of best amount of music for 60k users its very impressive ive made my music collection at least 6 or 7 times larger using only it ive even stopped downloading movies because i have endless music on small queues (compared to emule edonkey winmx and such programs)

it does freeze up at times but i guess it was searching overloadin my litttle 56k but no i think its the prog cause it happens elsewhere that ive used it on faster connections while search results come through and also it slows down ur dl and ul speed greatly almost stopping it

multiple servers? well i think its the main server and an isle server but they are seperate servers through different programs (still soulseek however) they couldnt fit so many on 1 so they started a second they will make many and then join them into one multiserver app
the smaller server when it had about 3 or 4 users in a room i was there and i still got about a half a dozen songs before i stopped chatting (56k gimme a break)

anyone doubting it dont because it a great app
queues? uve not used emule before (or winmx for that matter its terrible)
if u guys have cable damn what are u waiting for?

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Criminal_Sniper
if u guys have cable damn what are u waiting for?
I've heard a lot of complaints about dialup users, but I can't say that they are bad for p2p networks. I think they are a solid reliable base. They are forced to remain connected for a while to get their downloads, and in the process they are sharing. High speed users can leech quickly and disconnect once they get what they need. I believe that there are more leeches on broadband than on dialup.

Most users have an asymmetrical bandwidth of upload and download speeds. But the asymmetry is larger for broadband than for dialup. A typical ADSL connection speed downloads at 768K and uploads at 128K, while dialup downloads at 56K and uploads at 33.6K. So right away broadband users have a leech advantage.

How would you define a leech? To me it is a person who downloads much more than he uploads.

[Criminal_Sniper]

no i think a leecher isnt quite someone who uploads less than downloads i think its if they arent sharing at all not giving people the opportunity and noone wanting things from u are different

i can say i dont upload at all some days but i dont know i cant force them ive dealt with cable user who used to have 56k so dont mind me getting from them or getting from me and mine uploads faster than i download lol
i think good on bt i always upload more lol but why should i seed on a 56k its not fast enough for it
one day.........
cable............
soul seek freakin rules for now still!!!!!
SS4EVA!!

[eclectica]

Hey I just noticed Criminal_Sniper007's message to me on SoulSeek!

Bond...James Bond

[Criminal_Sniper]

haha bond 4eva
yeah im a sniper so i killed him and took his name!!
:cool:

[eclectica]

SoulSeek does have its leeches. I've got someone now who has queued up about 500 of my mp3s. That should take a couple of weeks to download. I've never gotten such large queues in WinMX.

[Criminal_Sniper]

ban them when they do that
i get banned for 2 cd's queued sometimes some people are assholes

[nanook]

no frickin' doubt, E........dump them.....that's riciculous.

[eclectica]

The user gave up after about thirty songs. Usually the leeches are in a hurry and they want instant gratification.

[Criminal_Sniper]

put in ur info 1 cd and if they go past it they earn a ban it easy and one of the many great things of soulseek
rock on soulseek!!!!

[eclectica]

We are working on a software upgrade. The server might be unavailable a couple of times today. Thanks for your understanding.

[Criminal_Sniper]

really sucks :sad:

[eclectica]

It looks like SoulSeek is having problems with their domain name (http://www.gandi.net/whois?l=EN&domain=slsk.org).

The Soulseek News (http://slsk.blogspot.com/) has a patch available to download.

It fixes the program to connect to their IP address without having to use the domain name.

Also, you can connect to their site by way of their IP address:
http://38.115.131.131/

[Criminal_Sniper]

lol i got on and it wad 100 in the biggest chat room i dont bother with it but its usually 3 to 4 hundred so it was fairly empty
isle server style!
this will be fixed i hope :sad:

[eclectica]

It's been quieter on there since this problem of theirs. But at least we don't have to worry about the server being too crowded or overloaded now. :D

I'm not sure what happened to their domain name but they used to have soulseek.org and they let it lapse. But this domain was not going to lapse for another year. It could be some kind of hijacking that occurred, like what happened to Al-Jazeera's website (http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-1016447.html).

[Criminal_Sniper]

well its sure running nicely for me how bout u lot?
new version im guessing sometime soon
by version 2 or 3 it will be the biggest fastest and most stable place to get music there is!
had some fast speeds lately

[eclectica]

It's been quieter since they lost their domain name, but I have seen a good amount of traffic since they released their fix; almost to the point of normalcy.

I received an e-mail from Nir Arbel on 2003-09-05 at 20:42 GMT as follows:
Subject: If you can't connect to Soulseek...

We're having problems with our domain registrar that, among other things, would keep the regular Soulseek client from connecting. We've released a patched version of the client to overcome this problem, and you can read all about it (and download it) at the official Soulseek blog, at http://slsk.blogspot.com/. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Thanks, Nir
I could have gotten that e-mail because I gave $5 to their PayPal account. So did those who didn't give by way of PayPal get any type of e-mail? I forget if the program asks for an e-mail address during the initial setup.

[Criminal_Sniper]

nope i dont think so
just username n password
luxcky u got it huh? lol;)

[Criminal_Sniper]

but i amso managed to find it outside of the link up there do ppl knoe or cant be bothered or some moved to isle some may have stayed

[eclectica]

http://www.slsknet.org/

[eclectica]

Originally just seven top level domains were created (.com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org), but more have been added lately.

There are different registry operators assigned for the domains. For example, the registry operator for .org domains is Public Interest Registry (http://www.pir.org/). When you register a domain you don't go to that group but instead to a registrar like Gandi (http://www.gandi.net/) or Register.com (http://www.register.com/). See this page (http://www.icann.org/tlds/) for more information on top level domains.

.org domains have a Redemption Grace Period (http://www.pir.org/faqs/rgp), which means that up to thirty days after a domain is accidentally deleted, it can be restored. According to ICANN's RGP proposal (http://www.icann.org/bucharest/redemption-topic.htm), "Registrars may only RESTORE Registered Names in order to correct unintentional deletions caused by registrant, registrar, or registry mistake (or as required by operation of the UDRP or other applicable dispute resolution policy in order to implement a court, arbitral tribunal or Administrative Panel decision). Registrars should not restore names in order to assume the rights to use or sell them."

I sent an e-mail notifying Nir Arbel of SoulSeek that the domain slsk.org is still in RGP status and could be restored up until early October. Here is the reply I received from him:
We asked gandi.net to start the RGP process, but they're refusing to, and it doesn't look like we can force them to... Thanks for the info though.
Now I'm wondering if the next step is to file some kind of complaint (http://reports.internic.net/cgi/registrars/problem-report.cgi) against the registrar gandi.net.

[Criminal_Sniper]

can u really complain though?
think of why they may have done it to start with?
the normal site dont wory for me now so i guess they will just stay with what they have

[Criminal_Sniper]

accident indeed!
:p not :eek:

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Criminal_Sniper
think of why they may have done it to start with?
I don't know if it was SoulSeek's mistake or the registrar's mistake, but if it was the registrar's mistake, then I would wonder if there was some pressure from the record companies that caused them to behave in an unprofessional way. If that is the case, they should do whatever they can to put shame on the registrar and to get their domain name back.

I hope that the SoulSeek staff eventually explains the reasons why things happened at some point in the future.

[Criminal_Sniper]

well i hope so
i wish it were multi server and multi source
only things i want to make it perfect

[eclectica]

One thing that makes SoulSeek work well is that even if the server goes offline, a person in queue who is already downloading from you will get the rest of the files in queue from you. That means the program is storing IP address information in order to continue the p2p exchange. In WinMX the server is consulted for each transfer request, so that all queues will be lost once the server goes down.

[eclectica]

Tuesday, October 07, 2003
A screwup in 149b came into play when the old slsk.org domain got picked up today, which is why you can't connect. Get 149c (http://www.slsknet.org/slsk149c.exe) for a quick fix.

[eclectica]

The old slsk.org domain name has been activated and now resembles the official SoulSeek site. It is not run by them but by someone else instead. Are their intentions malicious or just greedy? Unfortunately Nir and Rosalind Arbel have not released any details to the public about how they lost their domain name slsk.org. Here is the official notice at SoulSeek forums, regarding it:
http://slskboard.savagenews.com/index.php?showtopic=9477

Check out the false SoulSeek site:
http://www.slsk.org/
It is the same as this site:
http://www.p2p.ag/har/slsk/
So there is an affiliation between the owners of slsk.org and p2p.ag.

Check out the two variations of P2P.AG, and how when you refresh the pages a different looking site comes up:
http://p2p.ag/
http://www.p2p.ag/

What concerns me about the P2P.AG site is that every link clicked has a file for download, called "p2p.exe", which is 65,288 bytes in size. I scanned it with Norton antivirus and it came up clean, but I was too scared to run it. Any volunteers?

[eclectica]

The program (p2p.exe) which they have for download is probably really the Mainpean Stardialer (http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/m/mainpean_stardialer.asp).

[Criminal_Sniper]

its become leech central

[eclectica]

I only use two networks: WinMX and Soulseek, and of the two WinMX is the bigger leech network. By "leech", I mean there are many more people trying to download than willing to upload. But I wonder in the overall scope of p2p programs, what the biggest leech network is.

The fear caused by the RIAA lawsuits has caused people to feel justified in leeching. And otherwise there's little sense of community duty that would cause people to stay online and share.

[Criminal_Sniper]

soulseek i cant seem to be able to share
i can't see my shared folder either
i think thats a big problem in ss getting to browse files
u go to similar users and find the fastest and maybe 2 or 3 out of 10 show up

damn that server was a bastard yesterday up n down all night

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Criminal_Sniper
soulseek i cant seem to be able to share
i can't see my shared folder either
i think thats a big problem in ss getting to browse files
u go to similar users and find the fastest and maybe 2 or 3 out of 10 show up
The only thing I can think of causing your files not to be shared, is in Options-->Files Sharing Configuration, if you have "My shared files should be available to: People in my user's list" checked, instead of "Everyone". If people are only sharing with others on their list, then if you run into them in chat you will not be able to get their files. You won't find their stuff with searches either. For that reason alone it sounds like they should get rid of the list sharing feature, because it must create an extra server strain by customizing search results. Or does the client filter out the results instead? I am against list sharing, because it is a form of leeching. Here is a thread (http://slskboard.savagenews.com/index.php?showtopic=10543) at the Soulseek forums with people arguing the pros and cons of list sharing.

You dropped down from sharing about 2500 to about 1500. Where did the other songs go? Were you always sharing your save folder?

[eclectica]

I wonder if this is the cause of your problems. (see attachment) :devil:

[Criminal_Sniper]

i actually dropped down lower than 1000 but i had a few on cd to get back on
back to almost 1700 today - getting there :)

[Criminal_Sniper]

and lol yeah ive been banned a few times
mostly i read the rules though
leechers
i dont care about leechers banning me
and i uploaded my first 2 files today
no longer leeching (kinda)
but they not so interested i guess

[assorted]

Originally posted by eclectica
One problem with SoulSeek, is that it causes many people to share their downloading folder, because that is selected by default. Look at this screenshot and you will see that although I've selected my shared folder to be "mp3s", my download folder "downloads" is also shared because the option "Share save folder" by default is checked. Yet you don't see a checkmark next to the folder in the listing.



thats not a problem, that's a plus.

tricking users into sharing is part of what makes a p2p client very good. just look at winmx, a bad p2p client. noones sharing on that thing. then look at soulseek; which does the "tricks users into sharing" thing PLUS does the "doesn't exit when you click the X" thing. these 2 factors combine totally help soulseek have the massive good song selection it has.

people need the good in them tricked out of them :)

[Criminal_Sniper]

well i say it sucks
ive seen and had this happen to me
when it was sharing more than u would like it to
not meaning leeching but not sharing things u dont want to
not meaning not share some of ur music
private files that are not wanted on a p2p network
ive never seen someone let me get more than about 2 cd's unless i knew them well
not going to see a movie download are we now?

u can not and shouldnt be forced to share
there should be multi source and credit rating and multi server as ive said before
:director: lol
winmx just sucks to me
not tried open nap though

[eclectica]

It's been my habit to separate my download and shared folders, so that I can make sure material is worthy before sharing it. While forcing people to share their material sounds like a good idea, it also brings about an increase in the amount of crap that is shared too. Recently I tried out Ares, but I didn't like the fact that it forced me to share my download folder. That is a step beyond what Soulseek does, which merely has the option selected by default. There is no way not to share your download folder in Ares.

I used to connect to all sorts of OpenNap and SlavaNap servers. I was even running one myself for a year. I would connect to at most twenty, with 50,000 users. I would always use WinMX to connect to them. But what I've seen is that most file transfers on "opennap" would fail. While I liked the extra diversity, there were too many overloaded servers, with high numbers of users or not enough bandwidth and resources. On top of that there were compatibility problems with different clients connected to those servers.

I ended up giving up on "opennap" except for one server. This one SlavaNap server is a diamond in the rough, and has been running at least two years now. It deserves the medal of excellence for p2p servers. It is the [WorldMusic] network, salsa.no-ip.com:4567 operated by FreeLans (http://phpbb.slavanap.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=60). This is the only one I connect to anymore.

What makes a small server valuable is if it specializes and contains rare files. Otherwise if 500 users are sharing only common tunes like the Beatles, it is a waste and they might as well join a larger network.

[assorted]

Originally posted by eclectica
It's been my habit to separate my download and shared folders, so that I can make sure material is worthy before sharing it. While forcing people to share their material sounds like a good idea, it also brings about an increase in the amount of crap that is shared too.

that arguement doesn't hold up well when you consider that soulseek in general has pretty decent quality stuff overall, it's hardly a kazaa when it comes to file quality.

[eclectica]

Check out this Soulseek parody site. I posted it on the Soulseek forums and they promptly deleted it. I thought it was funny.
http://soulseeks.netfirms.com/

[eclectica]

Soulseek interview at slyck.com
http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2747