Arcade Art Library looking for a good home

[sirwoogie]

Gents,

It has come time for me to let go the arcade art library site. I didn't do to much other than ensure it ran quickly and securely. I need to consolidate my hosting, and this doesn't quite fit. It runs the 4images software, but I'm not sure how much effort would be involved to make it run under something else. The files there are raw, but you'd loose all the metadata 4images maintains. It'll run under php for linux or windows. I'd transfer the domain as well. I can run this for a while longer during the transition.

The storage is currently at 6GB, and the transfer is between 15-20G per month.

If I can't find a new home, I may just roll up the site into a massive torrent file and let it go that way.

Any takers?

[SavannahLion]

I can stash the wad but I can't host it. The 15-20gb/m transfer would kill me.

Given the economics, how about this for an idea?

Create a group...maybe non-profit group, which is comprised of say a dozen members who splits the cost of hosting and bandwidth costs between us. I haven't analyzed the numbers but let's say costs are around $100 a month, with 10 members in the group, that works out to be around $120 a year. A lot easier to swallow than the $1,200 a year for one owner.

Those costs would naturally be reduced through one-time donations.

What does one get in return? Umm.... not sure....

How about increased download speeds for all files for full-time members or access to the full wad as a giant download or maybe some sort of software that allows us to dynamically synch the site on the fly.

One time donators can get say X MB's worth of high speed downloads. Or maybe immediate access to uploaded files whereas non-donators have to wait X number of days for the file to "age" before it becomes available.

It's an idea.  

Note: My agency keeps kicking me over to corp. filings (it's annoying really) so I can help work out the details of establishing a non-profit group for this. Though I would advise against creating one in California unless there's some advantage one can think of.

[milhouse]

The guys at emumovies.com might be interested.  Otherwise a torrent would be a nice way to keep it alive. 

[rooter]

6GB?  Burn it to DVD-DLs and sell them for $10/pop. 

Yeah, then he can make $150-$200 and open himself up to a few hundred lawsuits from major corporations.

[Vigo]

The $10 isn't for the art, it is distributed free but shipping and handling costs $10 

[yotsuya]

The $10 isn't for the art, it is distributed free but shipping and handling costs $10 

That reminds me of the early days of eBay...

"You're bidding on a blank CD-R. I will burn a copy of the Smashing Pumpkins' new album on it to verify that it works..."

[Vigo]

It still beats the "you must dispose of everything you do not have legal right to within 24 hours" line.

[SNAAKE]

It still beats the "you must dispose of everything you do not have legal right to within 24 hours" line.

I never disposed dem romz

can someone explain why it cost $1200 to run a site? dont many hosting companies offer unlimited disk space/bandwidth for less than $20/month. plus domain fee or whatever.

[leapinlew]

Sad day!

I'm in for the torrent file...

[rooter]

Guess what, chuckles, he's open to those lawsuits already.

 

Not if he takes the site down.  It is also considered a greater offense if you are selling other peoples work rather than being a resource for other people to distribute it.

Nice attitude.

[rooter]

Not if he takes the site down.  It is also considered a greater offense if you are selling other peoples work rather than being a resource for other people to distribute it.

Nice attitude.

 

The Arcade Art Library pretty much just a fan site.  I find people that are so passionate about something, that they spend their precious time developing such a site, admirable.  Most companies actually promote that sort of thing.  The other is selling something that doesn't belong to you.  Which, in my opinion, is a dirt bag move.  Companies and artists frown on that, to say the least.  Seeing which side of the coin you are on should lead you to my opinion of your character.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, these days, it's pretty much a torrent file for 6gb of data.

Is the other library site still around?

[rooter]

Being passionate about something illegal makes it no less illegal. 

 

Laws are different depending on where you are standing.  Morals are not.

I will refer you to "fair use", try to let this thread get back on topic, and stop paying attention to you now.

Thanks for your compelling and insightful conversation.

[SavannahLion]

can someone explain why it cost $1200 to run a site? dont many hosting companies offer unlimited disk space/bandwidth for less than $20/month. plus domain fee or whatever.

I was just picking random numbers out. I inflated them because I was just too lazy to check. So, checking into it, my domain provider offers hosting services ranging from about $4/month to $25/month. Not surprisingly, they're very vague about how much bandwidth you're allowed. I just went digging through their contract info for the past five minutes and I still haven't found it. I probably have to log in to see that tidbit and I'm too lazy too. Oh well.

Anyways, the number of unlimited bandwidth offers in the U.S. is dwindling. I have serious doubts the $4/month plan is anywhere near unlimited and I'd question the $25 one as well.

I'm seeing companies that once offered unlimited bandwidth quietly drop those plans and switch to a metered rate. From what I've read, U.S. companies are gradually aligning their available plans to those found in other countries, namely those that strictly have metered access.

[zorg]

sirwoogie did you get my pm ??

[Dervacumen]

What about a group buy for the art?  Put a little $$ in your pocket to cover the cost, burn it and get the art out to whoever wants it?  <-- that sounds bad, but it's not.

[tecfox]

pm sent

[Crazy Cooter]

Torrent it with a web page listing the contents and allowing submissions for future versions of said torrent.

[pharoah007]

I hope you find a host.

Failing that... a Torrent is a good way to make sure the art lives on.  "heads" like us will save it on our portable hard drives and have the art people need when they ask.

If it does go to Torrent, I will be one of the 1st to archive it in my port HD.

[jennifer]

         I have enjoyed that site for quite some time,  It would certianly be sad to see it shut down. The unfinished works would suffer
 and be lost in a torrent world.... Whatever happens, Jennifer would like to thank you sirwoogie, for the time we did have.

[JoeB]

15-20GB per month? That's it?

Why not toss it on amazon S3? At 5 cents per GB, your data hosting fees would ~1$ per month!!  You can then use something like dreamhost or something cheaper to host the PHP files .. total cost would be 20-40$ per year.  I'm sure you can get enough paypal donations here for that.

[jimfath]

6 gigs? That doesn't seem like a lot. I have 4.5 gigs in files shared with about 40 people via Drop box. It's a lot of video and pdf files (I'm a writer) . They'll give you up to 18 gig free if you refer enough people. They start you at 2 gig and give you 500 mb per each user referral.  It's in the cloud and always available. I dunno if that would work they way you want it to. Plus someone would have to be the gate keeper.

Just an idea.

[zorg]

Bump

SirWoogie did you know the meaning of the word communication