As I'm sure most of you know, we've had several popular external sites go down over the past 2-3 years, resulting in a fairly noteworthy loss of files. I started re-uploading some of my PhotoBucket files this weekend, but the main one for C&C is AtomicGamer from 2015. After fixing a few posts that were broke by PhotoBucket, I decided to revisit the lists Thunderfall (link) and I (link somewhere in the forum, but haven't found it yet) created of missing files.
Some have been re-uploaded, including ones that were still under active development. But a number haven't, including some very prominent ones such as Rhye's of Civilization. So that got me thinking, I know there has to be someone who has ROC downloaded, even if I can't find a copy on my hard drive. We might not be able to get to 100%, but we can probably restore some classic Civ3 mods and files.
However, we'll need some help. I don't know if Rhye still stops by here at all, but there definitely will be some mods whose creators don't. And to really make the re-uploads visible, they'll need to be updated in the Downloads Database (and potentially in the original thread) - very few people will find the links when they're looking for them otherwise. Put another way, we need either a mod or an admin to update links in the Downloads Database once a file is re-uploaded. I'm not sure which; it depends on if a mod would have sufficient access.
I took a look at the new structure of the Downloads Database in XenForo, and I think with a tweak of the code I wrote to create the initial list of soon-to-be-missing files in 2015 (unfortunately, I only had time to figure out what would be missing, not grab it all), I could fairly easily create an updated list of what's still missing. Spot checks indicate it's likely more than half of what went missing. But with that we could start with a list and a goal. I could even sort it by downloads to prioritize it, or make a contest of it by putting out a list of, say, 7 per week to try to re-upload, rather than dumping an overwhelming list of 100+ all at once.
Eventually I'd like to look into fixing broken links in C&C threads that are pre-Downloads Database as well, and perhaps automatically archiving some content (S&T would be easier in that area; the challenge in C&C is every external site has a different user interface, so only stuff uploaded directly to CFC is easy, and that's the least likely to disappear). But restoring especially the most prominent missing mods from AtomicGamer seems like a good place to start.
(Note: I know this could have gone into Re-Upload Requests or IMPORTANT: Loss of Files, but I know I tend to skip past the stickies and expect quite a few other people do as well. I'm hoping to get a few people on board, so I wanted to maximize visibility)
Anyone up for searching their old archives?
Some have been re-uploaded, including ones that were still under active development. But a number haven't, including some very prominent ones such as Rhye's of Civilization. So that got me thinking, I know there has to be someone who has ROC downloaded, even if I can't find a copy on my hard drive. We might not be able to get to 100%, but we can probably restore some classic Civ3 mods and files.
However, we'll need some help. I don't know if Rhye still stops by here at all, but there definitely will be some mods whose creators don't. And to really make the re-uploads visible, they'll need to be updated in the Downloads Database (and potentially in the original thread) - very few people will find the links when they're looking for them otherwise. Put another way, we need either a mod or an admin to update links in the Downloads Database once a file is re-uploaded. I'm not sure which; it depends on if a mod would have sufficient access.
I took a look at the new structure of the Downloads Database in XenForo, and I think with a tweak of the code I wrote to create the initial list of soon-to-be-missing files in 2015 (unfortunately, I only had time to figure out what would be missing, not grab it all), I could fairly easily create an updated list of what's still missing. Spot checks indicate it's likely more than half of what went missing. But with that we could start with a list and a goal. I could even sort it by downloads to prioritize it, or make a contest of it by putting out a list of, say, 7 per week to try to re-upload, rather than dumping an overwhelming list of 100+ all at once.
Eventually I'd like to look into fixing broken links in C&C threads that are pre-Downloads Database as well, and perhaps automatically archiving some content (S&T would be easier in that area; the challenge in C&C is every external site has a different user interface, so only stuff uploaded directly to CFC is easy, and that's the least likely to disappear). But restoring especially the most prominent missing mods from AtomicGamer seems like a good place to start.
(Note: I know this could have gone into Re-Upload Requests or IMPORTANT: Loss of Files, but I know I tend to skip past the stickies and expect quite a few other people do as well. I'm hoping to get a few people on board, so I wanted to maximize visibility)
Anyone up for searching their old archives?
