FTP Access Rights are too hard to obtain.

[AS95678]

You must submit a unique release to BetaArchive in order to obtain FTP access. Nothing new there. Notice the word UNIQUE. And it must be DUMPED. All this means is that 99% of people who want to download a beta (Windows Server 2008 R2 Build 6801 in my case) are unable to. You not only need a leaked beta OS or abandonware, but it has to be different than what is already on the FTP. And the "Your dump may be better than what is on the FTP" exception for abandonware and beta only applies to a select few people. I know and understand the repercussions of letting the general public access the FTP en masse, but it was WAY easier when you had to make 10 posts and not upload. It just feels kind of unfair. All i have is Windows 8 RP and Longhorn Build 4074.

EDIT: I also have a Dell OEM copy of Windows 98 SE

[mrpijey]

No it doesn't have to be different from what's on the FTP, it can also be a better copy. If we have something on the FTP you can ask us and we can tell you if we need a better copy, better scan, better dump, additional scans, whatever. We may have a lot of stuff on the FTP, but far from all are in what we would call a "complete set", i.e a properly dumped and fully scanned release.

It's also very easy to find a unique release since we accept everything from old 30 year old betas to newly released games that went on sales yesterday. All you need to do is dump and scan it according to our guidelines and upload it.

And of course it was easier before as you didn't have to do anything but simple posts. You didn't need to add anything to the FTP (therefore add to our collection and the community) or do anything that actually benefits the purpose of BetaArchive (which is preservation of betas and abandonware, NOT increasing post count of a php forum), so yes, it was simpler before as it required less from the members.

Also finally, remember BetaArchive is a zero profit community and everything you see here is either paid and provided by me and Andy (which is dev time, hardware (servers, storage) and services (domain, licenses, server rent costs etc), or the community by voluntary donations. So asking for a little bit help by providing new releases to our collection for the benefit of the entire community is a very low price to get access to the entire FTP. For free.

[Darkstar]

...the "Your dump may be better than what is on the FTP" exception for abandonware and beta only applies to a select few people.

what? Where did you get that impression?



It's actually pretty easy. Just take the oldest game/operating system/application CD/DVD you find in your home (or in a friend's), scan it (or have someone else scan it), dump it, and upload it. Chances that exactly your version of that piece of software is already on the FTP are very very slim. Note that there are still some limitations as to what is accepted and what not(e.g. no driver CDs and stuff like that) but any game or regular operating system disc should be fine.

As for the "I don't want to upload, I just want to leech a windows beta", there are other places for that (no, I won't tell you where). This is a collector community, we're not here to provide you with free downloads just because you feel like it, you have to show at least some level of dedication...

[Karzahni]

It's not going to help you get Server 2008, but there's a site with majority of Windows betas from the beginning up to Longhorn.

I'm afraid to speak it's name though because it also deals in piracy (although only OSes older than XP, not including XP) If a mod/staff/long-time member approves I will mention it...

It starts with "Win"

[James]

THe world won't catch fire if you mention WinWorld.

[AS95678]

I also have a Dell OEM copy of Windows 98 SE. The disc is purple

[Andy]

We're open to suggestions on how else you can contribute that would be beneficial to the community and allow you to receive access in return.

[computebrute]

Nothing in life is free, you apparently don't know that yet. You give us one thing, you get 21967 others.

[MSUser2013]

I also have a Dell OEM copy of Windows 98 SE. The disc is purple

I suppose this is acceptable, Considering I don't remember seeing this on the FTP, Scan the disc within these guidelines. Dump it using Alcohol 120% within these guidelines. And then upload it to the FTP. It should be accepted if you follow these guidelines.

[DJ Deedahx]

It's not the first time I've seen these threads... So let me make myself clear once and for all.

It's not too hard. Granted, I received FTP Access a few months before that rule was put into effect, but by any chance you may have friends, family, coworkers, or other people you may know that might have some old software lying that they would very much like to get rid of. So you could easily grab that, put it in your CD/DVD drive (assuming the software is on CD-ROM) and take a full copy of it using Alcohol 120%. Again, not that hard to do.

Now for the scans... In my opinion, it's pretty much a gray area. Although it would be most helpful for all of us, not everybody here is privileged to have access to a scanner at home or anywhere else. But if you happen to, then by all means take advantage of it. Scanning, if I recall correctly, is best done using a 600+ ppi setting.

So I would highly suggest that you go take a look around to see if any of the aforementioned people have any old software lying around, then come back with your findings and one of us with access to the FTP will tell you what we have and don't have.
However, I do suppose you're allowed to browse using the upload account, but NOT download using it.
Staff, if said info isn't correct, feel free to remove it at your earliest convenience.

Indirect clarification by staff: If you're in the unfortunate situation of not having a scanner, good quality photos are acceptable. Just remember to PM mrpijey and explain your situation.

I hope I was clear enough. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM mrpijey or me.

[DarkerJ]

I do agree with OP here. It's unfair because 1. Not everyone owns physical copies of software, even fewer own physical copies of betas and 2. This means you have to buy something on eBay or in a thrift store, and possibly scanner, Kryoflux and/or disc drive. This is basically the same as paying for access. And that's assuming your release is unique, or better (which it usually isn't)

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that. Why should we have to limit this wealth of info and releases we have to ones who have this material or money to get it?

I think it should be: A contributing release, OR 100 contributing posts.

[Gnome]

I do agree with OP here. It's unfair because 1. Not everyone owns physical copies of software, even fewer own physical copies of betas and 2. This means you have to buy something on eBay or in a thrift store, and possibly scanner, Kryoflux and/or disc drive. This is basically the same as paying for access. And that's assuming your release is unique, or better (which it usually isn't)

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that. Why should we have to limit this wealth of info and releases we have to ones who have this material or money to get it?

I think it should be: A contributing release, OR 100 contributing posts.

Are you going to sit and read through 100+ posts to find "contributing" ones?

[computebrute]

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that.

If you were to "Live below the poverty line" you wouldn't /shouldn't be paying for and using the internet, let alone this website.

[Andy]

If anyone has any reasonable suggestions for other ways people can contribute then I'm all ears. Otherwise you'll have to obey the rules in place.

[Darkstar]

This means you have to buy something on eBay or in a thrift store

You surely have friends, right? So why not ask them, some of them might have some CDs that they can part with for a day or 2 (or even forever) until you scan and dump them. Or you can ask around at your workplace (or at school) for some stuff they might not need anymore. Or walk into a recycling center and ask to search through the CD recycling boxes (where I live they have these boxes at the local tech stores as well). Or you could scan your local newspaper for some stuff, often people give stuff away for free when someone dies for example and they have to get rid of all their stuff. Or you could check with a local flea market for stuff you find for a few bucks. It's not that hard being creative, and it doesn't cost you more than, say, a Big Mac.

[James]

If anyone has any reasonable suggestions for other ways people can contribute then I'm all ears. Otherwise you'll have to obey the rules in place.

Perhaps instead of a number of "contributing posts", we could theoretically implement a policy of contributing useful information, like a number of tutorials that are coherently written and easily followed; or perhaps documentation or something like that?

[DJ Deedahx]

Perhaps instead of a number of "contributing posts", we could theoretically implement a policy of contributing useful information, like a number of tutorials that are coherently written and easily followed; or perhaps documentation or something like that?

THAT could work as well, to be fair... One should be allowed to drop his knowledge of a certain operating system on here and be rewarded.

...but ONLY in certain conditions.

[DarkerJ]

If anyone has any reasonable suggestions for other ways people can contribute then I'm all ears. Otherwise you'll have to obey the rules in place.

Perhaps instead of a number of "contributing posts", we could theoretically implement a policy of contributing useful information, like a number of tutorials that are coherently written and easily followed; or perhaps documentation or something like that?

Exactly! People that come to this site and want to download from it usually do have some technical knowledge, and I'm sure they'd be willing to share it for access.

This means you have to buy something on eBay or in a thrift store

You surely have friends, right? So why not ask them, some of them might have some CDs that they can part with for a day or 2 (or even forever) until you scan and dump them. Or you can ask around at your workplace (or at school) for some stuff they might not need anymore. Or walk into a recycling center and ask to search through the CD recycling boxes (where I live they have these boxes at the local tech stores as well). Or you could scan your local newspaper for some stuff, often people give stuff away for free when someone dies for example and they have to get rid of all their stuff. Or you could check with a local flea market for stuff you find for a few bucks. It's not that hard being creative, and it doesn't cost you more than, say, a Big Mac.

You didnt address the fact they might not even have a scanner or disk drive. Many cheap computers these days dont have one. And in many places down here in Wyoming, aside from larger towns like Gilette and Cheyenne, and probably most rural areas in the world, they dont really have the option of going to recycling centers, thrift stores or flea markets and just picking up discs. And again, thats assuming theres anything unique in those boxes, that isnt music, AOL discs and other shareware junk, something as common as Windows XP or 98 or even CDs of their home movies and files. Also, from experience, most people who are poor dont have friends that are much better off than them.

Perhaps instead of a number of "contributing posts", we could theoretically implement a policy of contributing useful information, like a number of tutorials that are coherently written and easily followed; or perhaps documentation or something like that?

THAT could work as well, to be fair... One should be allowed to drop his knowledge of a certain operating system on here and be rewarded.

...but ONLY in certain conditions.

Like what?

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that.

If you were to "Live below the poverty line" you wouldn't /shouldn't be paying for and using the internet, let alone this website.

Are you sure about that? In this day and age, a lot of financial services and other important things for people living below the poverty line (like Food Stamps, child support) are done electronically. Nowadays you cant really get by without an internet connection, and they are quite cheap these days too. DSL can go for as low as 10-15 bucks a month, which unless you are in extreme poverty, is justifiable for many people.

[beta.a.brian]

Sometimes scanners just aren't the best quality,and I only have one and it scans at a measly 450 dpi.That's below the requirement of 600dpi,but can there be an exception?

[mrpijey]

That's not your scanners limitation, but some junk software you got. Most scanners work with the scanner software that comes with Windows, and I have not yet lived to see software that absolutely limits itself to low DPI settings without the possibility to change them.

[MrFreeman]

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that.

If you were to "Live below the poverty line" you wouldn't /shouldn't be paying for and using the internet, let alone this website.

Are you sure about that? In this day and age, a lot of financial services and other important things for people living below the poverty line (like Food Stamps, child support) are done electronically. Nowadays you cant really get by without an internet connection, and they are quite cheap these days too. DSL can go for as low as 10-15 bucks a month, which unless you are in extreme poverty, is justifiable for many people.

I was going to say the same thing, but you beat me too it. Even to get a JOB, you need to use the internet. Nothing is done on paper these days, which might actually be a good thing.

EDIT: fixed broken quotes.

[MSUser2013]

If anyone has any reasonable suggestions for other ways people can contribute then I'm all ears. Otherwise you'll have to obey the rules in place.

What about donations? I think donating between $10-25+ USD could be good enough to support this site enough for users to get both FTP access and Donator Membership at the same time.

[Kshatri]

DSL can go for as low as 10-15 bucks a month, which unless you are in extreme poverty, is justifiable for many people.

Internet is cheap for many years (~10$/month). To have new PC is relatively not, but some use second-hand hardware from friends/relatives/etc.
There are many people in the world for wich to buy something just to get access to FTP is unacceptable. And to find needed free stuff to dump is almost impossible. So it's not easy for many ones, indeed. Not impossible, but not easy.

[MrFreeman]

DSL can go for as low as 10-15 bucks a month, which unless you are in extreme poverty, is justifiable for many people.

Internet is cheap for many years (~10$/month). To have new PC is relatively not, but some use second-hand hardware from friends/relatives/etc.
There are many people in the world for wich to buy something just to get access to FTP is unacceptable. And to find needed free stuff to dump is almost impossible. So it's not easy for many ones, indeed. Not impossible, but not easy.

Offtopic Comment

I'm not the one who made that point.

[computebrute]

You might say "well that's not a big deal, just buy the stuff you need" but if you say, live below the poverty line, like my own mother does, you probably want to eat more than buy stuff like that.

If you were to "Live below the poverty line" you wouldn't /shouldn't be paying for and using the internet, let alone this website.

Are you sure about that? In this day and age, a lot of financial services and other important things for people living below the poverty line (like Food Stamps, child support) are done electronically. Nowadays you cant really get by without an internet connection, and they are quite cheap these days too. DSL can go for as low as 10-15 bucks a month, which unless you are in extreme poverty, is justifiable for many people.

I was going to say the same thing, but you beat me too it. Even to get a JOB, you need to use the internet. Nothing is done on paper these days, which might actually be a good thing.

EDIT: fixed broken quotes.

Fair enough then. You need the internet to get a job, but if you haven't got a job, what else would you do on the internet instead of trying to get your life together and finding a job for the time being? My point is that If I were extremely poor, I wouldn't use the internet for BA, but rather to improve my situation. It's all about priorities rather.