TMB Wiki - User contributions [en]

Template:Infobox Radio Show

2008-12-23T21:41:22Z

Bc: Fix for new skin

<div style="float: right; border-left: 1em solid #f8f8f8; border-bottom: 1em solid #f8f8f8;">
{| style="width: 25em; border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 90%; background: #fbfbfb;" cellspacing="5"
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 1.5em" | '''{{{name}}}''' <hr />
|-
! align="left" | Genre:
| {{{genre}}}
|-
! align="left" | Host:
| {{{host}}}
|-
! align="left" | Time:
| {{{time}}}
|-
! align="left" | Station:
| {{{station}}}
|-
! align="left" | Country:
| {{{country}}}
|-
| align="center" colspan="2" | <hr /> {{{url}}}
|}
</div>
<includeonly>[[Category:Radio Shows]]</includeonly>

Template:Infobox BitTorrent clients

2008-12-23T21:41:04Z

Bc: Fix for new skin

<div style="float: right; border-left: 1em solid #f8f8f8; border-bottom: 1em solid #f8f8f8;">
{| style="width: 25em; border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 90%; background: #fbfbfb;" cellspacing="5"
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 1.5em" | '''{{{name}}}''' <hr />
|-
! align="left" | Latest release:
| {{{latest_stable_release}}}
|-
! align="left" | OS:
| {{{operating_system}}}
|-
| align="center" colspan="2" | <hr /> {{{url}}}
|}
</div>
<includeonly>
[[Category:Bittorrent Client Guide]]</includeonly>

MediaWiki:Monobook.css

2008-12-23T21:39:39Z

Bc: Whoops, a little over zealous there! CSS for tables reverted

/* edit this file to customize the monobook skin for the entire site */

/* wikitable class for skinning normal tables */
table.wikitable {
background: #f9f9f9;
border: 1px #aaaaaa solid;
border-collapse: collapse;
margin-top: 0.2em;
margin-bottom: 0.2em;
}
table.wikitable th, table.wikitable td {
border: 1px #aaaaaa solid;
padding: 0.2em;
}
table.wikitable th {
background: #f2f2f2;
}
table.wikitable caption {
font-weight: bold;
padding-bottom: 0.2em;
}

MediaWiki:Monobook.css

2008-12-23T21:35:58Z

Bc: Deleted all CSS as it was hacks for the old skin

/* edit this file to customize the monobook skin for the entire site */

Uploading Guidelines

2008-03-21T21:22:03Z

Bc: Protected "Uploading Guidelines" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

{{Policy}}

Not everything written on this page is an unbreakable [[Rules|rule]]. There are times where it may be appropriate to ignore some guidelines, but if you're new to The Mixing Bowl you should probably follow them at all times until you've got a feel for the ethos of the site.

==General Uploading Etiquette==

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck and if your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.
* Please keep the scene crap to a minimum. By all means include the nfo with the upload, but don't copy and paste a screen full of indecipherable symbols and "shout-outs" into the torrent description.
* CDs given away free with magazines are allowed to be upped, but only if the audio is mixed and then '''only once the next months magazine edition is out''', ie once you can no longer purchase the magazine with the CD.
* 'Tape Packs' are only allowed to be upped '''once they are over two years of age''' (from the event date). No exceptions.

'''The following action can be taken if an admin feels someone is uploading against the spirit of these guidelines :'''

* Ban the individual torrent. You will not be allowed to upload the same mix again if this happens.
* Demote the member back to standard member status. This means you will lose your uploading rights and also resident status if you had attained it.
* Official Admin Warning for the member. Two of these and you are banned forever.
* Ban the member.

==Readers' Mixes Uploading Etiquette==

* The readers mixes section was created for members to get feedback on mixes they want to share.
* All torrents in this section are ratio free to encourage people to download and give feedback to the member.
* Don't upload more than 2 readers mixes a week, '''this forum is not your own'''.
* Don't upload readers mixes to increase your ratio, eg with a bunch of playlisted autofaded tracks with no care or thought. You should upload because you want to get some feedback and share your creation!
* Don't excessively bump/pimp your own mixes. Bumping one mix a few times is fine, but '''bumping your back catalogue in one go is not!'''
* Blatant use of Artist name in titles is unacceptable if an admin feels it's only done to trick people into downloading.
* Don't create a mix with just a new artist's album mixed in a different order than the official album; '''show the artist you are supposedly paying homage in some respect.'''

'''Please Note:'''
* Everyone started somewhere and we strongly encourage people to share mixes they have created so some of these wordings are intentionally left vague.
* The admin will make decisions on a case by case basis. If you don't agree with the decision that's fine but remember the rules, specifically: [[Rules|Do not defy the admins' expressed wishes]].
* If you feel someone is uploading against the spirit of the readers mix forum report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] the torrent stating why, and then please leave decisions to the admin team, ie no backseat moderation thank you!

'''To ensure every member gets fair exposure the following action can be taken if an admin feels someone is uploading against the spirit of this section :'''

* Move torrent to the studio promo/anything else forum therefore removing the ratio free aspect of the torrent.
* Ban the individual torrent. You will not be allowed to upload the same mix again if this happens.
* Demote the member back to standard member status. This means you will lose your uploading rights and also resident status if you had attained it.
* Official Admin Warning for the member. Two of these and you are banned forever.
* Ban the member.

==A State of Trance==

* The only duplicate [[MP3]] upload allowed is the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?search=%22tmb+hq%22&anor=or TMB HQ] version.
** So, if a rip from another source is uploaded first, a 'TMB HQ' version can still be uploaded. If the 'TMB HQ' version is uploaded first, then that is the only version allowed.
* Strictly no discussions/comments about the merits of the rip quality in the torrent thread.
* Any derogatory comments towards the upload/uploader will be deleted without warning/notification and the poster will be punished.
* The only place we encourage discussion about the relative quality of ripping methods is in [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=56792&page=1 THIS one thread].

==Torrent Naming Guidelines==

Properly naming your torrent is very important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names. So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD, eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

==How to attract more downloaders to your torrents==

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a CD learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

==Common mistakes made by new uploaders==

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, eg (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''Important:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

FAQ

2008-03-21T20:56:46Z

Bc: /* What are the different user classes? */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml

Basic or cookie authentication can be used or you may supply a username and password like this: http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml?user=USERNAME&pass=PASSWORD

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

FAQ

2008-03-21T20:56:06Z

Bc: /* Uploading */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml

Basic or cookie authentication can be used or you may supply a username and password like this: http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml?user=USERNAME&pass=PASSWORD

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Uploading Guidelines

2008-03-21T20:44:32Z

Bc: New page: {{Policy}} Not everything written on this page is an unbreakable rule. There are times where it may be appropriate to ignore some guidelines, but if you're new to The Mixing Bow...

Links

2007-11-27T15:49:39Z

Bc:

Links that may be useful to the [[TMB]] community. This page is now unlocked so all TMB members can add new links. Please keep them relevant and work safe.

==TMB Links==

*[http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group] - Looking out for digital rights in the uk.
*[http://www.frappr.com/themixingbowl Frappr] - Want to stalk one of us? All the info you need is here!
*[http://www.themixingbowl.org/rss.xml RSS feed] - TMB RSS feed. See the [[FAQ#How_does_your_RSS_feed_work.3F|FAQ]] for more information.

==BitTorrent Information==

*[http://www.btfaq.com/ Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide] - Everything you need to know about BitTorrent. Required reading for all n00bs.
*[http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html The BitTorrent FAQ] - The official bittorrent FAQ.
*[http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent EtreeWiki - Bit Torrent] - Everything you could ever need to know about bittorrent.

==BitTorrent Software==

*[http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] - Bram Cohen's official BitTorrent client
*[http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ Azureus] - "Azureus is a java bittorrent client. It provides a quite full bittorrent protocol implementation using java language."
*[http://www.bittornado.com/ BitTornado] - "The SHAD0W's EXPERIMENTAL BITTORRENT CLIENT".

==Radio shows/stations==

*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ Radio 1] - BBC Radio 1, home of the Breezeblock, Essential Mix plus many more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/ 1Xtra] - BBC 1Xtra, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] - BBC 6 Music's 6 Mix show.
*[http://www.vinylizer.net/ BTTB] - Back To The Basics - Eclectic German radio show.
*[http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel/ Solid Steel] - Ninja Tune radio.

==Tracklists==

*[http://www.geocities.com/swampmaster000/theswamp.html The Swamp] - Breezeblocks & 6 Mix tracklist and info site
*[http://www.thepeelsessions.co.uk/ Peel Sessions] - Details of every Peel Session since 1992
*[http://www.essentialmix.ca/ essentialmix.ca] - Searchable Essential Mix tracklists
*[http://www.essentialmix.info/ Essential Mix Tracklistings] - Plus listings for John Digweed Kiss 100, Breezeblock and Annie On One
*[http://www.tracklistings.net/ tracklistings.net] - Essential mix and Kiss 100 tracklistings
*[http://danozz.chopnet.net:394/web%20pages/php/tracklist.php Danozz Tracklists] - Loads of Carl Cox sets here plus E-Mix and more
*[http://www.trainspotted.org/index.php Trainspotted.] - An ongoing collaborative tracklisting resource for non commercial mixes (Including various Essential mixes) with cue sheets available occasionally.
*[http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6 TA Tracklisting Forum] - Intense tracklisting efforts including large artist related (for example: [http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/showthread.php?s=&forumid=6&threadid=350603 Sasha 1989-2006]) tracklisting archives.

==Torrent Sites==

*[http://oink.cd/ Oink's Pink Palace] - Quality UK site providing 'music, app and ebook releases'
*[http://thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] - Tons, TONS! of torrents
*[http://www.mininova.org/ MiniNova] - Torrent indexing site
*[http://www.torrentspy.com/ Torrent Spy] - Another torrent indexing site.
*[http://www.uknova.com/ UK Nova] - Fantastic UK TV torrent site.
*[http://www.mvgroup.org/forums/index.php? MV Group] - Torrent releases of quality documentary and science series.
*[http://www.sonofshun.com Son of Shun] - Contains shows related to politics, science, sociological, and documentaries.
*[http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/ Digital Distractions] - More TV torrents.
*[http://www.empornium.us/ Empornium] - Pr0n!

==[http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Category:Audio_Tools Audio Tools]==

Links

2007-11-27T15:41:08Z

Bc: Protected "Links" [move=sysop]

This page is protected to stop it from being filled with rubbish. You can [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Wiki%20links%20page send an admin a message] if you've spotted any dead links or if you have suggestions for other links that you think should be added.

==TMB Links==

*[http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group] - Looking out for digital rights in the uk.
*[http://www.frappr.com/themixingbowl Frappr] - Want to stalk one of us? All the info you need is here!
*[http://www.themixingbowl.org/rss.xml RSS feed] - TMB RSS feed. See the [[FAQ#How_does_your_RSS_feed_work.3F|FAQ]] for more information.

==BitTorrent Information==

*[http://www.btfaq.com/ Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide] - Everything you need to know about BitTorrent. Required reading for all n00bs.
*[http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html The BitTorrent FAQ] - The official bittorrent FAQ.
*[http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent EtreeWiki - Bit Torrent] - Everything you could ever need to know about bittorrent.

==BitTorrent Software==

*[http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] - Bram Cohen's official BitTorrent client
*[http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ Azureus] - "Azureus is a java bittorrent client. It provides a quite full bittorrent protocol implementation using java language."
*[http://www.bittornado.com/ BitTornado] - "The SHAD0W's EXPERIMENTAL BITTORRENT CLIENT".

==Radio shows/stations==

*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ Radio 1] - BBC Radio 1, home of the Breezeblock, Essential Mix plus many more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/ 1Xtra] - BBC 1Xtra, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] - BBC 6 Music's 6 Mix show.
*[http://www.vinylizer.net/ BTTB] - Back To The Basics - Eclectic German radio show.
*[http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel/ Solid Steel] - Ninja Tune radio.

==Tracklists==

*[http://www.geocities.com/swampmaster000/theswamp.html The Swamp] - Breezeblocks & 6 Mix tracklist and info site
*[http://www.thepeelsessions.co.uk/ Peel Sessions] - Details of every Peel Session since 1992
*[http://www.essentialmix.ca/ essentialmix.ca] - Searchable Essential Mix tracklists
*[http://www.essentialmix.info/ Essential Mix Tracklistings] - Plus listings for John Digweed Kiss 100, Breezeblock and Annie On One
*[http://www.tracklistings.net/ tracklistings.net] - Essential mix and Kiss 100 tracklistings
*[http://danozz.chopnet.net:394/web%20pages/php/tracklist.php Danozz Tracklists] - Loads of Carl Cox sets here plus E-Mix and more
*[http://www.trainspotted.org/index.php Trainspotted.] - An ongoing collaborative tracklisting resource for non commercial mixes (Including various Essential mixes) with cue sheets available occasionally.
*[http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6 TA Tracklisting Forum] - Intense tracklisting efforts including large artist related (for example: [http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/showthread.php?s=&forumid=6&threadid=350603 Sasha 1989-2006]) tracklisting archives.

==Torrent Sites==

*[http://oink.cd/ Oink's Pink Palace] - Quality UK site providing 'music, app and ebook releases'
*[http://thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] - Tons, TONS! of torrents
*[http://www.mininova.org/ MiniNova] - Torrent indexing site
*[http://www.torrentspy.com/ Torrent Spy] - Another torrent indexing site.
*[http://www.uknova.com/ UK Nova] - Fantastic UK TV torrent site.
*[http://www.mvgroup.org/forums/index.php? MV Group] - Torrent releases of quality documentary and science series.
*[http://www.sonofshun.com Son of Shun] - Contains shows related to politics, science, sociological, and documentaries.
*[http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/ Digital Distractions] - More TV torrents.
*[http://www.empornium.us/ Empornium] - Pr0n!

==[http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Category:Audio_Tools Audio Tools]==

Links

2007-11-27T15:40:54Z

Bc: Unprotected "Links"

Main Page

2007-10-08T16:47:43Z

Bc: Protected "Main Page" [move=sysop]

__NOTOC__
==[http://themixingbowl.org themixingbowl.org]==
'''We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...'''

'''If you like dance music, nightclubbing or anything related to: House, Trance, IDM, Breaks, Hard House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Hip-Hop, Big Beat, Trip-Hop, Turntablism or whatever spastic genre name is flavour of the month and haven't already [http://themixingbowl.org/signup.php signed up] then what are you waiting for?'''

This Wiki is the best place to find information on anything TMB-related including [[bittorrent|how bittorrent works]], [[Digitising_cassette_tapes|ripping old tapes to mp3]] or [[:Category:Uploading Own Recordings|how to upload your own mixes and recordings]]. We have listings for many [[:Category:Radio Stations|international dance music radio stations]] amongst many other things. Please scroll down the page for more information. If you have a specific query, use the search box on the left of the page or check out the [[FAQ]] first.

If you want to add or modify wiki topics please feel free to do so. Any TMB-related contribution is '''very welcome'''!

==Audio Resources / Information==

*[[:Category:Audio Formats|Audio Formats]]: Information about many audio formats including [[MP3]], [[FLAC]], [[MP2]] and [[Ogg_Vorbis|Ogg Vorbis]].
*[[:Category:Audio Tools|Audio Tools]]: Lots of useful tools to edit and tune audio files (with guides).
*[[Cue-Sheets]]: Everything about cue-sheets (making them, using them, where to find them).
*[[:Category:Media Players|Media Players]]: Media players for your OS of choice.
*[[:Category:Music Genres|Music Genres]]: Need to find out about [[wrong music]] or [[DnB]]? You've come to the right place!
*[[:Category:Radio Shows|Radio Shows]]: Radio Shows with lots of details (time, broadcasting format,...)
*[[:Category:Radio Stations|Radio Stations]]: Want to listen to Dance radios worldwide? Want to record them? We have info on frequencies, bitrates, direct links to broadcasting schedules and internet streams...

==Special TMB Guides==

*[[One Stop Ratio Shop]]: Guide to maintaining a healthy ratio.
*[[:Category:Bittorrent Client Guide|Bittorrent Client Guides]]: HOWTO's for many different Bittorrent clients, their usage and specific optimization for TMB.
*[[:Category:Uploading Own Recordings|Recording Shows From Radio]]: Guides on recording from radios and editing and digitising analogue sources.
*[[Preparing releases from internet-based broadcasts|Ripping Internet Streams]]: What you need to do to make the perfect internet radio stream rip.
*[[Internet Radios|Is the upload of Stream Rips allowed?]] Here you will find rules about allowed and forbidden uploads from Internet broadcasts.

==TMB Social Life & Special Member Contributions==

*[[TMBisms]]: The essential guide to TMB slang.
*[[:Category:TMB Town and City Guides|TMB Town and City Guides]]: Going somewhere? Meeting other TMB members? TMB-member guides for town and cities around the world.
*[[TMB Wallpaper]]: TMB User Artwork
*[[:Category:Live Events|Live Events]]: Dance music events around the world - [[Glade]], [[Global Gathering]], [[Love Parade]], [[Antiworld]], [[Springseven_Graz]], [[The Big Chill]]...
*[[TMB_Gamers]]: TMB Gamers Section, Gamertags, Usernames, Teams, Clans, Etc

Main Page

2007-10-08T16:47:00Z

Bc: Torrent moved to Main Page

Talk:Main Page

2007-10-08T16:47:00Z

Bc: Talk:Torrent moved to Talk:Main Page

Uploads are ON!

Talk:Torrent

2007-10-08T16:47:00Z

Bc: Talk:Torrent moved to Talk:Main Page

#REDIRECT [[Talk:Main Page]]

Main Page

2007-10-08T16:46:23Z

Bc: Reverted edits by Bc (Talk); changed back to last version by Blitzer

Main Page

2007-10-08T16:45:13Z

Bc: Reverted edits by Blitzer (Talk); changed back to last version by Mady

ProjectX

2007-06-30T17:16:14Z

Bc:

'''ProjectX''' is a useful tool for de-multiplexing Transport Streams (.ts files). Typically it is used to process files captured with [[DVB]] cards. ProjectX has many useful features, but an intuitive user friendly interface isn't one of them. This guide is written for demultiplexing radio shows, and therefore does not cover many of ProjectX's video features.

==Downloading==

Download the latest version from Doom9's website (do not download it from the ProjectX website!):

* http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/software.htm

ProjectX is written in Java so you will need to have a Java VM installed on your computer too:

*http://java.com/getjava

==Configuring for first use==

#Extract the all files from the zip file and run ProjectX.jar.
#Go to the ''View'' menu and change the look and feel to the one you feel most comfortable with.
#Go to the ''PreSettings'' menu and select ''PreSettings''
#Go to the ''output'' tab and deselect ''Teletext'', ''Subpicture'', and ''Generic_VBI''.
#Go to the ''audio'' tab and deselect ''delete CRC in MPEG-Audio Layer1,2''.
#Close the ''PreSettings'' window.
#Click on the ''prepare >>'' button on the main window.
#Go to the ''Edit'' menu and select ''process all collections'' and close the ''ProcessWindow'' window.

==Usage==

[[Image:ProjectX_tut1.png]]

#Drag and drop files onto the window marked with '''A''' or click on the ''+'' button next to '''A''' to browse for files. If you want to de-multiplex more than one file at a time click on the ''+'' button next to '''B''' to create a new collection and you next file. Do not add more than one file to each collection unless you want the files in each collection to be joined together when de-multiplexing (you probably don't want to ever do this). If the files you are adding are audio only you might get a ''cannot find sequence header'' error in the preview window which can be safely ignored.
#Click on the ''+'' button by '''C''' and choose an output folder.
#Press the ''QucikStart'' button.

==Checking ProjectX log files for errors==

ProjectX will produce a log file for each collection which contains important information about any Transport Stream errors it might have encountered whilst de-multiplexing. This will alert you to any dropouts that have occurred, thus saving you the embarrassment of uploading a crap file.

Below is a portion of a log from a Transport Stream that contained errors (the red parts indicate the errors):

!> PID 0x2C2 (PMT) (376 #3) -> ignored
!> PID 0x12 (EIT) (752 #5) -> ignored
!> PID 0x0 (PAT) (8836 #48) -> ignored
ok> PID 0x1B0 has PES-ID 0xC0 (MPEG Audio) (9212 #50)
!> PID 0x14 (TOT) (21056 #113) -> ignored
!> PID 0x11 (SDT) (73132 #390) -> ignored
!> PID 0x10 (NIT) (365848 #1947) -> ignored
!> PID 0x1B0 -> packet 435135 @ pos. 81805192 out of sequence (7/3) (shifting..) (~00:00:00.000)
!> incomplete ts packet at EOF detected @ 230378960
packs: 446246 100% 230379132

--> MPEG Audio (0xC0) on PID 0x1B0
-> check CRC of AC-3 / MPEG-Audio L1,2
-> add frames
Audio PTS: first packet 11:28:10.812, last packet 12:33:05.148
-> adjusting audio at its own timeline
-> src_audio: MPEG-1, Layer2, 48000Hz, jstereo, 160kbps, CRC @ 00:00:00.000
!> missing syncword @ 27653281, @ 00:23:02.664
!> found syncword @ 27653636
!> missing syncword @ 27655557, @ 00:23:02.760
!> found syncword @ 27655680
!> 9 frame(s) (216ms) inserted @ 00:23:02.760
!> 2 frame(s) (48ms) inserted @ 00:23:03.120
audio frames: wri/pre/skip/ins/add 162272/0/0/11/0 @ 01:04:54.528 done...
-> 538 stereo/jointstereo change(s) detected...
---> new File: 'D:\demux\(2006-03-25) Dub Bashment.mp2'

In this example ProjectX was unable to recover 216ms of audio 23 minutes and 2.76 seconds into the stream, and a further 48ms at 23:03.120. By default missing audio is replaced with silence to ensure the audio stream remains the same length it would have been had it contained no errors.

:Sometimes you will see a warning about a packet being out of sequence in the first part of the log, but get no missing syncword errors/frames inserted in audio section. This is because not all packets contain audio data, and the error will be affecting a different stream instead (if your Transport Stream contains a video stream there will be section in the log file for video errors). Often Transport Streams will contain some data streams that you are probably aren't interested in, and therefore errors in these probably don't matter.

Below is a portion of a log from an error free Transport Stream:

ok> PID 0x1842 has PES-ID 0xC0 (MPEG Audio) (376 #3)
!> PID 0x12 (EIT) (752 #5) -> ignored
!> PID 0x0 (PAT) (9400 #51) -> ignored
!> PID 0x106 (PMT) (10152 #55) -> ignored
!> PID 0x14 (TOT) (21620 #116) -> ignored
!> PID 0x11 (SDT) (64108 #342) -> ignored
!> PID 0x10 (NIT) (93436 #498) -> ignored
!> incomplete ts packet at EOF detected @ 439238500
packs: 1040243 100% 439238656

--> MPEG Audio (0xC0) on PID 0x1842
-> check CRC of AC-3 / MPEG-Audio L1,2
-> add frames
Audio PTS: first packet 09:08:02.225, last packet 11:12:51.809
-> adjusting audio at its own timeline
-> src_audio: MPEG-1, Layer2, 48000Hz, stereo, 192kbps, CRC @ 00:00:00.000
audio frames: wri/pre/skip/ins/add 312072/0/0/0/0 @ 02:04:49.728 done...
---> new File: 'D:\demux\(2006-03-28) Breezeblock.mp2'

==Dealing with audio errors==

There is no way to recover missing audio that has occurred due to packet errors, however there are several different methods for dealing with the gaps.

===Fill gaps with silence===

This is the default method. It keeps the audio the same length as it would have been had there been no errors. This is useful if you are de-multiplexing a video stream with your audio as it will keep the two streams in sync. You will hear audible drop-outs where the errors would have been.

===Fill gaps with previous frames===

Instead of inserting silence ProjectX can insert duplicates of the last audio frame it encountered before the error. Occasionally this can sound better than inserting silence, but usually only if the gap being filled is very short (<=48ms). If the gap is longer you will normally hear a buzzing sound which is worse than silence.

You can enable this behaviour by going to the ''audio'' tab in the ''PreSettings'' and ticking ''fill gaps with prev. frame''.

===Delete gaps===

The third method is to just delete the gaps. This will result in a jump/skip where the error would have been. You will loose sync with any video streams if you do this.

You can enable this behaviour by going to the ''special'' tab in the ''PreSettings'' and ticking ''Audio: use only first PTS for sync'' (intuitive huh?).

This is usually the best method for dealing with errors so it can be tempting to always leave this ticked, however this is not a good idea for several reasons:

*You will not know how many dropouts there have been or how big they were (if there were lots it might not be worth keeping).
*You will not know the time where the drop-outs occurred (maybe it didn't occur anywhere important).
*You will forget to untick it when you are de-multiplexing video which will cause sync problems.

Generally it is best to only use this method when you already have already de-multiplexed using one of the other methods so that you know how big the gaps were, and untick it when you've finished.

==External Links==

*http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/software.htm
*http://www.paehl.com/open_source/?Convert_Tools:ProjectX
*http://java.com/getjava

[[category:Audio_Tools]]

TMB Gamers

2007-06-05T23:53:25Z

Bc:

== TMB Gamers ==
Use this section to share your console usernames/number with the TMB community. If you are comfortable editing this page, go ahead and add in your username or console numbers.

Put your TMB name first and then your console name/number after it.
For example: TMBuser - XboxKiller

'''Warning: the TMB wiki is public and can be viewed by non-members.'''

== Xbox Gamer Tags ==

== Playstation usernames ==

== Wii Console Numbers ==

== DS Numbers ==

== Warcraft ==

== Call of Duty ==

== Counter-Strike ==

One Stop Ratio Shop

2007-05-05T23:03:32Z

Bc: One heading is enough :P

==What’s this Ratio all about then?==
Your usage of this site is tracked to calculate what is known as your [[ratio]]. Your ratio is, simply, the amount you have uploaded divided by the amount you have downloaded.
So, if you have downloaded 200MB and uploaded 300MB, your ratio would be 300/200= 1.5.
But if you have downloaded 300MB and only uploaded 200MB, your ratio will be 200/300=0.66.
Ideally, all members should aim to have a ratio above or around 1.0 – uploading as much as you have downloaded.

====What is a Bad Ratio?====

Strictly speaking anything under 1.00 is a bad ratio.
*''Auto warnings'' Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued.
*''Auto bans'' Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

====How Can I See What My Ratio Is?====
Go to the drop-down menu at the top of any Mixing Bowl page, and then click on your user name under ‘Inbox‘. The page you will now see shows how much you have uploaded and downloaded, and your overall ratio. This page also shows you which torrents you are currently “leeching” (downloading) and “seeding” (uploading). On each torrent, you can also see how many other “seeders” and “leechers” are currently active.It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio takes into account those values for each torrent.

==How Do I Improve My Ratio?==
For your ratio to increase, you simply need to upload more than you download. This is achieved by “seeding”. The way that BitTorrent works, you are already “sharing” as soon as you start to download a file – packets of data that you receive are sent out to other people who are downloading the same file. But most users will be downloading much faster than they can upload. So in order to “seed” (and therefore improve your ratio), you need to keep the file active long after you have finished downloading.

===Keeping files open===
Whilst there are numerous tips and tricks you can utilize to improve your ratio, the most important factor is time. The most desirable situation is to have a computer that you can leave seeding 24/7. Unfortunately there are often cost and lifestyle implications to this solution, and therefore may not suit all members. The MixingBowl is primarily an archive site, therefore it is important not to remove files from your BitTorrent client :-

*Keep your BitTorrent client open whenever your computer is switched on
*Don’t remove files from your client, you never know when someone needs a reseed
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed'''. You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. Azureus) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Check torrent age===
One of the most common mistakes made by new users is to download torrents that are weeks or even months old, the availability of these mixes is certainly one the most valued aspects of the site, however they should be treated with caution by users with low ratios. If you download a torrent which is more than one or two weeks old remember that it may well be days, weeks, or months before another leecher appears to whom you can upload data.

===Torrent page tools===

Thanks to the hard work of the coders there are a number tools which can help you pick and choose your downloads carefully. Some of the most easily accessible information can be found at the top of every page on the website.
Check the last uploaded table regularly and jump onto torrents that interest you. This gives you a chance to be one of the first downloaders which is a great opportunity to upload data to others.

[[Image:LastUploaded.gif|frame|center|The last uploaded table is a useful tool for jumping onto torrents that interest you!]]
[[Image:DefaultTable1.gif|frame|center| To set a default table you need to edit your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php/ profile]
]]

The main torrent page [http://www.themixingbowl.org/browse.php] is where you will find the most useful information. Sorting the torrents by the number of [http://www.themixingbowl.org/browse.php?anor=or&sort=leechers/ leechers] is almost guaranteed to help you find a torrent on which you can upload lots of data.
[[Image:LeechersTable.gif|frame|center|Click on '.L.' to sort torrents by number of Leechers]]

===It’s good to talk===

One of the main reasons behind the success of The Mixing Bowl is the strong sense of community within the forums and throughout the torrent threads. Believe it or not you can actually improve your ratio simply by providing feedback on the torrents you have downloaded. Many users choose their downloads by browsing the torrent forums, instead of using the main torrent page, often the decision to download a particular torrent is based solely on the comments within the torrent thread. Of course, it is simply a matter of common courtesy to thank the uploader for providing the torrent, but in doing so you 'bump' the torrent thread to the top of the forum which will bring it to the attention of other users. Providing feedback becomes even more important if you have downloaded a torrent which is more than a few weeks old!

===Popular torrents===

*[http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?incldead=1&anor=or&search=essential&sort=added/ The Essential Mix]

*[http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?search=state&c6=1&anor=or&g12=1/ A State of Trance]

*[http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?incldead=1&anor=or&search=hobbs&sort=added Mary Anne Hobbs (Breezeblock)]

*[http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?search=worldwide&anor=or/ Gilles Peterson Worldwide]

*[http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php?incldead=1&anor=or&search=vinylizer&sort=added Back to the Basics]

A regularly repeated piece of advice given to those with low ratios is to jump onto popular torrents such as the Essential Mix as soon as they are uploaded. Whilst it is certainly helpful, there is simply no need to download torrents that you are unlikely to listen to just to raise your ratio.

===Uploading===

'''You don't need to become an uploader to raise your ratio''', if you have a non-commercial mix that you think other users would enjoy then by all means apply for uploader status. Because The Mixing Bowl is an archive site it is important to avoid duplicates, make sure you do a thorough search of the torrents before uploading. When searching make sure you tick 'including dead torrents', a torrent may appear to be dead (have no seeders) but often a seeder will not be shown by the tracker if there has been no activity on the torrent for a while.

If you have a set to upload make sure you 'sell it' properly, include all information relevant to the mix such as the tracklist, length, audio quality and most importantly why you like the set and why other users should download it! This is important as you will lose the vast majority of potential downloaders if you don't put some effort into the description.

If you want to become an uploader read the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/faq.php#4/ FAQ] agree to the uploading rules and post in [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158/ here] with '''what you'd like to upload''' and we'll get you sorted :-

- '''Non-Commercial Only'''
- Include www.themixingbowl.org.nfo [http://www.themixingbowl.org/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo](Click File --> Save As)
- Put your release inside a folder, name it appropriately.
- Do not tag your releases with your username in the folder, file, or title.
- Include as much info as possible, tracklists are good.
*Azureus tutorial [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Azureus/ here]
*uTorrent tutorial [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/UTorrent#How_to_Create_a_Torrent/ here]
*MakeTorrent turorial [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/MakeTorrent#How_to_make_a_torrent_using_MakeTorrent_2/ here]

===ISP woes===
If you are worried about exceeding monthly data limits imposed by your ISP check the terms and conditions of the contract. Many ISP's offer off-peak unmetered bandwidth , these typically include the hours between midnight and 6am.

===Rss feed===

RSS is a subscription format that gives you the option to instantly get notified when new torrents are added to our site. If you have a torrent client with support for RSS you can even let it search for your favourite series and automatically download new episodes as soon as they show up.

*To setup an RSS feed in Azureus see [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Azureus#How_do_I_set_up_Azureus_to_auto_download_torrents_via_RSS_feed.3F/ here]

*To setup an RSS feed in uTorrent see [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/UTorrent#How_to_Setup_auto-downloading_via_RSS/ here]

===Readers Mixes===

Readers mixes have become one of the most popular sections of the site over recent months. Mixes are ratio free to download, however, anything that you upload will improve your ratio. If you download a mix from this forum please listen to it and give the mixer some feedback.

==Why being Clever is Good For Your Ratio==

You've probably noticed references to "clever" and "stoopid" users on OiNK's Pink Palace. What OiNK calls "clever" others may call "connectable". It refers to whether other people in the same torrent as you can contact you in order to share data. Being connectable is a Good Thing. Why?

''A connectable user can share data with anyone in the torrent. Two unconnectable people can't establish a connection between them. If you're the only leecher and all the seeders are unconnectable, you won't get any data.''

This information is for people who want to become connectable. It's going to take some reading and work on your part to fix it. The payoff is that you'll be able to connect to the non-clever peers in a torrent. That can dramatically improve your speed since those peers are connected to fewer others. If you're seeding, you'll be able to send data to anyone, not just "clever" users. That'll make your ratio go up faster.

First of all, it may be beyond your control to affect this. If you're connecting from a college or from work, you'd have to get the people who administer the network to fix this. They'd have to assign you a static IP address and forward some ports from their firewall/router to that IP address. It's pretty unusual for them to do this. They don't want their bandwidth used for file sharing - that's why they installed that firewall in the first place.

On the other hand, if you own or administer the router you can forward ports yourself. It's my firm belief that you're more likely to succeed if you understand why you're doing things. So, a bit of background first. (When I refer to BT here, I'm talking about the BitTorrent protocol and/or your particular BitTorrent client. For the purposes of this document, it shouldn't matter which BT client you use.)

===IP Addresses===
For purposes of this document, we'll assume that every device on the internet needs to have an IP address. Your ISP somehow assigns you an IP address. It may have been programmed into your router by hand or more likely is assigned automatically by a DHCP server. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Each computer behind your router also has an IP address. Routers almost always include a DHCP server and by far the easiest way to get a computer connected on your network is to let the router supply the IP address automatically. This is called a dynamic IP address. That address is not necessarily the same every time your computer connects to your local network. For most purposes it wouldn't matter. You can also tell a computer to use a hard-coded (supplied by you) address. In that case it's called a static IP address. It's easy to screw up a static address entry, because you have to supply not only the IP address, but a subnet mask, gateway address and DNS server address(es). Some routers have an Address Reservation feature where you can use the router to always assign the same IP address to any given computer. That's really the best of both worlds if you want IP addresses to be predictable. More about that later...

===TCP/IP===
The protocol used by BitTorrent is called TCP/IP. Most of the data moving through the internet is TCP/IP. Information is divided into small bundles called packets. Each packet has an originating address and port number (together they make up a "return address" ) and a destination address and port number. That's how the computers you contact know where to return information - you're sending your return address with every packet. When your computer opens a new connection it just adds 1 (or some number) to the last port number it used. When a connection is closed, that port number becomes available again, in case your PC makes it all the way through the 64K or so port numbers. You can think of the IP address like a street address and the port like an apartment number. Once you get to the building, you need to know which door to knock on.

===How NAT routers work===
NAT stands for Network Address Translation. A NAT router allows multiple computers to connect to the internet via a single IP address. For the most part, individual connections to the internet originate at your computer. You want to browse a web page, connect to an email server, etc. When your outgoing connection hits the router, it notes your IP address, port number and the destination address. It assigns a unique port number to your request. That information gets added to a table of such addresses that the router maintains. The router then modifies the outgoing network packet so that to the rest of the internet it looks like the request originated from the router's IP address with that unique port number. When information comes back from the internet, the router knows by the IP it came from and the port it's addressed to where to send that information. It replaces the IP and port with that of the computer that originally sent it. It then passes that on to your network, where your computer receives the data. When your computer closes this connection, the router throws away the table entry for that connection. Unless otherwise configured by you, connections have to originate behind the router. That's because a NAT router ignores any incoming data that doesn't match a port and IP that are currently in its table. The router really doesn't have a choice in this case, because where would it send that data? The result of this is that your NAT router protects you from all the crap flying around the internet. Even if you only run one computer, a NAT router is a good investment if only for the protection it gives you.

Most NAT routers have something called DMZ (demilitarized zone). When you put an IP address in the DMZ, any unrecognized traffic is sent to that address. There are two downsides to this: Only one computer can be put into the DMZ at a time and any computer in the DMZ might as well be connected directly to the internet. If that computer doesn't have a very good software firewall, it will quickly be compromised. Windows leaves certain ports open for file sharing, messages, etc. Some of these can be exploited by hackers. Stay away from the DMZ if you can.

There might be a legitimate reason for people from the internet to connect to one of your machines. You could be running a web, FTP or mail server for example. And of course you want to be "connectable" on BitTorrent. To meet this need, most routers allow you to open or forward ports. What this means is that a packet arriving addressed to a certain port on your router would always be sent to a specific IP address and port in your network. This is independent of whether that computer is actually waiting for traffic on that port. If the computer is not expecting any traffic, the packet is rejected by the computer. At most, the originating computer on the internet would receive a reply saying that the port was closed.

It's possible to have different ports forwarded to different computers. There might be two people running FTP servers. To the outside world, they'd be on different ports. Inside your network they could each be on the default port 21. The router would send data to the IP address associated with each forwarded port. You can run BitTorrent simultaneously on several computers behind the same NAT router if the router is properly configured.

===How the BitTorrent protocol works===
You download a .torrent file from somewhere. In that file is the name of the tracker, a port number and a 20-byte ID that identifies the torrent within that tracker. Your BT client connects with the tracker (since you initiate this connection, it always works properly with your router). You tell the tracker the ID as well as the port number that your BT client is listening on. The tracker looks at who else is using that torrent and gives you a random subset of those users' IP addresses and listening ports. This random set of users is called your swarm. The tracker also tells your swarm about you, giving your IP address and port number. Your BT client attempts to contact swarm members directly and starts negotiating for "pieces" of the files in the torrent. Swarm members are also free to try to contact you.

Now your BT client has a list of IP addresses that it is trying to contact. The objective for BT is to open a connection between your computer and each computer in the swarm. Once that connection is made data starts flowing both into and out of your computer. It makes no difference which computer initiates the connection so long as you do connect. If both users are behind routers then that connection can't be completed. That is, not unless at least one router has been told how to forward data to the computer running BT.

===Port Forwarding===
There are two ways to forward ports. Let's talk about the pain-free way first. Many routers support something called uPnP. As far as I can tell, this means that computers behind the router can tell the router to open ports as needed. I use the BitTornado program for my BT needs. In it's default configuration BitTornado uses a random port between 10000 and 60000 and uses uPnP to automatically make sure that port is forwarded by the router. When you close BitTornado it should close that port. If your BT client and router both support uPnP, this is certainly the easiest way to go. Multiple computers running BT simultaneously behind the same firewall will also work properly, unless they happen to pick the same port number. It's easy to change the port number range in any BitTorrent client so that two computers' port numbers will never overlap. You don't even need a static IP address in this case, as the router will always know where to forward packets.

The not-so-easy way to forward ports is to use your router's web interface and specifically tell it what ports to forward where. You need several things for this to work. They are:
*A static IP address for your computer
*Your BT client configured for a known port or small range of ports
*Your router configured to forward those ports to your static IP address
*Any software firewall must be disabled or configured to let traffic on BT ports through

===Establishing a static IP address===
Directions can be found in almost any router manual that I've seen. You can also look at [http://www.portforward.com/networking/staticip.htm/ www.portforward.com]
What ports to use: Pick a number between 50,000 and 60,000. If your BT client can have multiple torrents open using a single port (Azureus, BitComet, etc.) then you only need to open a single port. If you need a separate port for every torrent, figure out how many you'll have open and use a range of at least that many ports.

==External links==

*[http://www.portforward.com/ http://www.portforward.com] Help with forwarding your ports. Specific help for many brands/models of router
*[http://wiki.theppn.org/index.php/BitTorrent_Tutorial/ http://wiki.theppn.org]A BitTorrent tutorial
*[http://torrentspy.sourceforge.net/ http://torrentspy.sourceforge.net]TorrentSpy lets you see the files within a .torrent file, lets you check downloaded files against that .torrent file and can create .torrent files
*[http://btfaq.com/natcheck.pl/ http://btfaq.com/natcheck.pl] NatCheck will check to see if you're connectable on a particular torrent
*[http://dessent.net/btfaq/ http://dessent.net/btfaq]A BitTorrent FAQ
*[http://www.grc.com/ http://www.grc.com]The ShieldsUp! application on this site can help with opening ports. If you succeed the test should fail on the forwarded ports only
*[http://www.slyck.com/bt.php/ http://www.slyck.com/] The Slyck web site is full of good info on many P2P applications including BitTorrent
*[http://btfaq.com/serve/cache/1.html/ http://btfaq.com/]Another BitTorrent FAQ
*[http://gruven42.webhop.org/xpfwbt/xp_firewall_bt.htm/ http://gruven42.webhop.org/]Using the Windows XP Firewall with Bit Torrent
*[http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/ics/icsconfiguration.htm/ http://www.practicallynetworked.com/] How to map/forward ports with Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing
*[http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/hnw_services_add.asp/ http://www.microsoft.com/]Information about the Microsoft Windows XP firewall
*[http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308127 http://support.microsoft.com/] How to manually open ports in Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP
*[http://userpages.umbc.edu/~hamilton/btclientconfig.html http://userpages.umbc.edu/]Tweaking your system to get the most out of BitTorrent

Links

2007-04-30T09:37:42Z

Bc: /* Tracklists */

This page is protected to stop it from being filled with rubbish. You can [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Wiki%20links%20page send an admin a message] if you've spotted any dead links or if you have suggestions for other links that you think should be added.

==TMB Links==

*[http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group] - Looking out for digital rights in the uk.
*[http://www.frappr.com/themixingbowl Frappr] - Want to stalk one of us? All the info you need is here!
*[http://www.themixingbowl.org/rss.xml RSS feed] - TMB RSS feed. See the [[FAQ#How_does_your_RSS_feed_work.3F|FAQ]] for more information.

==BitTorrent Information==

*[http://www.btfaq.com/ Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide] - Everything you need to know about BitTorrent. Required reading for all n00bs.
*[http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html The BitTorrent FAQ] - The official bittorrent FAQ.
*[http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent EtreeWiki - Bit Torrent] - Everything you could ever need to know about bittorrent.

==BitTorrent Software==

*[http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] - Bram Cohen's official BitTorrent client
*[http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ Azureus] - "Azureus is a java bittorrent client. It provides a quite full bittorrent protocol implementation using java language."
*[http://www.bittornado.com/ BitTornado] - "The SHAD0W's EXPERIMENTAL BITTORRENT CLIENT".

==Radio shows/stations==

*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ Radio 1] - BBC Radio 1, home of the Breezeblock, Essential Mix plus many more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/ 1Xtra] - BBC 1Xtra, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] - BBC 6 Music's 6 Mix show.
*[http://www.vinylizer.net/ BTTB] - Back To The Basics - Eclectic German radio show.
*[http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel/ Solid Steel] - Ninja Tune radio.

==Tracklists==

*[http://www.geocities.com/swampmaster000/theswamp.html The Swamp] - Breezeblocks & 6 Mix tracklist and info site
*[http://www.vheissu.freeserve.co.uk/ Peel Sessions] - Details of every Peel Session since 1992
*[http://www.essentialmix.ca/ essentialmix.ca] - Searchable Essential Mix tracklists
*[http://www.essentialmix.info/ Essential Mix Tracklistings] - Plus listings for John Digweed Kiss 100, Breezeblock and Annie On One
*[http://www.tracklistings.net/ tracklistings.net] - Essential mix and Kiss 100 tracklistings
*[http://danozz.chopnet.net:394/web%20pages/php/tracklist.php Danozz Tracklists] - Loads of Carl Cox sets here plus E-Mix and more
*[http://www.trainspotted.org/index.php Trainspotted.] - An ongoing collaborative tracklisting resource for non commercial mixes (Including various Essential mixes) with cue sheets available occasionally.
*[http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6 TA Tracklisting Forum] - Intense tracklisting efforts including large artist related (for example: [http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/showthread.php?s=&forumid=6&threadid=350603 Sasha 1989-2006]) tracklisting archives.

==Torrent Sites==

*[http://oink.me.uk/ Oink's Pink Palace] - Quality UK site providing 'music, app and ebook releases'
*[http://thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] - Tons, TONS! of torrents
*[http://www.mininova.org/ MiniNova] - Torrent indexing site
*[http://www.torrentspy.com/ Torrent Spy] - Another torrent indexing site.
*[http://www.uknova.com/ UK Nova] - Fantastic UK TV torrent site.
*[http://www.mvgroup.org/forums/index.php? MV Group] - Torrent releases of quality documentary and science series.
*[http://www.sonofshun.com Son of Shun] - Contains shows related to politics, science, sociological, and documentaries.
*[http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/ Digital Distractions] - More TV torrents.
*[http://www.empornium.us/ Empornium] - Pr0n!

==Audio Tools==

*[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] - A free audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
*[http://www.mpesch3.de/ mp3DirectCut] - Edit MP3's without re-encoding.
*[http://www.foobar2000.org/ Foobar2000] - Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform.
*[http://mitiok.cjb.net/ LAME binaries] - Binaries of the best mp3 encoder.

Links

2007-04-30T09:37:27Z

Bc: /* Tracklistings */ dupe heading

This page is protected to stop it from being filled with rubbish. You can [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Wiki%20links%20page send an admin a message] if you've spotted any dead links or if you have suggestions for other links that you think should be added.

==TMB Links==

*[http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group] - Looking out for digital rights in the uk.
*[http://www.frappr.com/themixingbowl Frappr] - Want to stalk one of us? All the info you need is here!
*[http://www.themixingbowl.org/rss.xml RSS feed] - TMB RSS feed. See the [[FAQ#How_does_your_RSS_feed_work.3F|FAQ]] for more information.

==BitTorrent Information==

*[http://www.btfaq.com/ Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide] - Everything you need to know about BitTorrent. Required reading for all n00bs.
*[http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html The BitTorrent FAQ] - The official bittorrent FAQ.
*[http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent EtreeWiki - Bit Torrent] - Everything you could ever need to know about bittorrent.

==BitTorrent Software==

*[http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] - Bram Cohen's official BitTorrent client
*[http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ Azureus] - "Azureus is a java bittorrent client. It provides a quite full bittorrent protocol implementation using java language."
*[http://www.bittornado.com/ BitTornado] - "The SHAD0W's EXPERIMENTAL BITTORRENT CLIENT".

==Radio shows/stations==

*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ Radio 1] - BBC Radio 1, home of the Breezeblock, Essential Mix plus many more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/ 1Xtra] - BBC 1Xtra, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] - BBC 6 Music's 6 Mix show.
*[http://www.vinylizer.net/ BTTB] - Back To The Basics - Eclectic German radio show.
*[http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel/ Solid Steel] - Ninja Tune radio.

==Tracklists==

*[http://www.geocities.com/swampmaster000/theswamp.html The Swamp] - Breezeblocks & 6 Mix tracklist and info site
*[http://www.vheissu.freeserve.co.uk/ Peel Sessions] - Details of every Peel Session since 1992
*[http://www.essentialmix.ca/ essentialmix.ca] - Searchable Essential Mix tracklists
*[http://www.essentialmix.info/ Essential Mix Tracklistings] - Plus listings for John Digweed Kiss 100, Breezeblock and Annie On One
*[http://www.tracklistings.net/ tracklistings.net] - Essential mix and Kiss 100 tracklistings
*[http://danozz.chopnet.net:394/web%20pages/php/tracklist.php Danozz Tracklists] - Loads of Carl Cox sets here plus E-Mix and more

==Torrent Sites==

*[http://oink.me.uk/ Oink's Pink Palace] - Quality UK site providing 'music, app and ebook releases'
*[http://thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] - Tons, TONS! of torrents
*[http://www.mininova.org/ MiniNova] - Torrent indexing site
*[http://www.torrentspy.com/ Torrent Spy] - Another torrent indexing site.
*[http://www.uknova.com/ UK Nova] - Fantastic UK TV torrent site.
*[http://www.mvgroup.org/forums/index.php? MV Group] - Torrent releases of quality documentary and science series.
*[http://www.sonofshun.com Son of Shun] - Contains shows related to politics, science, sociological, and documentaries.
*[http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/ Digital Distractions] - More TV torrents.
*[http://www.empornium.us/ Empornium] - Pr0n!

==Audio Tools==

*[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] - A free audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
*[http://www.mpesch3.de/ mp3DirectCut] - Edit MP3's without re-encoding.
*[http://www.foobar2000.org/ Foobar2000] - Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform.
*[http://mitiok.cjb.net/ LAME binaries] - Binaries of the best mp3 encoder.

Links

2007-04-25T14:06:36Z

Bc: /* Torrent Sites */

This page is protected to stop it from being filled with rubbish. You can [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Wiki%20links%20page send an admin a message] if you've spotted any dead links or if you have suggestions for other links that you think should be added.

==TMB Links==

*[http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group] - Looking out for digital rights in the uk.
*[http://www.frappr.com/themixingbowl Frappr] - Want to stalk one of us? All the info you need is here!
*[http://www.themixingbowl.org/rss.xml RSS feed] - TMB RSS feed. See the [[FAQ#How_does_your_RSS_feed_work.3F|FAQ]] for more information.

==BitTorrent Information==

*[http://www.btfaq.com/ Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide] - Everything you need to know about BitTorrent. Required reading for all n00bs.
*[http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html The BitTorrent FAQ] - The official bittorrent FAQ.
*[http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=BitTorrent EtreeWiki - Bit Torrent] - Everything you could ever need to know about bittorrent.

==BitTorrent Software==

*[http://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent] - Bram Cohen's official BitTorrent client
*[http://azureus.sourceforge.net/ Azureus] - "Azureus is a java bittorrent client. It provides a quite full bittorrent protocol implementation using java language."
*[http://www.bittornado.com/ BitTornado] - "The SHAD0W's EXPERIMENTAL BITTORRENT CLIENT".

==Radio shows/stations==

*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ Radio 1] - BBC Radio 1, home of the Breezeblock, Essential Mix plus many more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/ 1Xtra] - BBC 1Xtra, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Dancehall and more.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] - BBC 6 Music's 6 Mix show.
*[http://www.vinylizer.net/ BTTB] - Back To The Basics - Eclectic German radio show.
*[http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel/ Solid Steel] - Ninja Tune radio.

==Tracklists==

*[http://www.geocities.com/swampmaster000/theswamp.html The Swamp] - Breezeblocks & 6 Mix tracklist and info site
*[http://www.vheissu.freeserve.co.uk/ Peel Sessions] - Details of every Peel Session since 1992
*[http://www.essentialmix.ca/ essentialmix.ca] - Searchable Essential Mix tracklists
*[http://www.essentialmix.info/ Essential Mix Tracklistings] - Plus listings for John Digweed Kiss 100, Breezeblock and Annie On One
*[http://www.tracklistings.net/ tracklistings.net] - Essential mix and Kiss 100 tracklistings
*[http://danozz.chopnet.net:394/web%20pages/php/tracklist.php Danozz Tracklists] - Loads of Carl Cox sets here plus E-Mix and more

==Torrent Sites==

*[http://oink.me.uk/ Oink's Pink Palace] - Quality UK site providing 'music, app and ebook releases'
*[http://thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] - Tons, TONS! of torrents
*[http://www.mininova.org/ MiniNova] - Torrent indexing site
*[http://www.torrentspy.com/ Torrent Spy] - Another torrent indexing site.
*[http://www.uknova.com/ UK Nova] - Fantastic UK TV torrent site.
*[http://www.mvgroup.org/forums/index.php? MV Group] - Torrent releases of quality documentary and science series.
*[http://www.sonofshun.com Son of Shun] - Contains shows related to politics, science, sociological, and documentaries.
*[http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/ Digital Distractions] - More TV torrents.
*[http://www.empornium.us/ Empornium] - Pr0n!

==Audio Tools==

*[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] - A free audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
*[http://www.mpesch3.de/ mp3DirectCut] - Edit MP3's without re-encoding.
*[http://www.foobar2000.org/ Foobar2000] - Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform.
*[http://mitiok.cjb.net/ LAME binaries] - Binaries of the best mp3 encoder.

==Tracklistings==

*[http://www.trainspotted.org/index.php Trainspotted.] - An ongoing collaborative tracklisting resource for non commercial mixes (Including various Essential mixes) with cue sheets available occasionally.
*[http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=6 TA Tracklisting Forum] - Intense tracklisting efforts including large artist related (for example: [http://tranceaddict.com/forums3/showthread.php?s=&forumid=6&threadid=350603 Sasha 1989-2006]) tracklisting archives.

FAQ

2007-04-24T17:18:59Z

Bc: /* What are the different user classes? */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml

Basic or cookie authentication can be used or you may supply a username and password like this: http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml?user=USERNAME&pass=PASSWORD

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

File:Star.gif

2007-04-24T17:18:10Z

Bc:

FAQ

2007-04-24T17:11:18Z

Bc: /* How do I create a torrent? */ deleted inline tutorial and linked to bittorrent client catagory instead

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml

Basic or cookie authentication can be used or you may supply a username and password like this: http://themixingbowl.org/rss.xml?user=USERNAME&pass=PASSWORD

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Category:Bittorrent Client Guide

2007-04-24T17:07:57Z

Bc:

HOWTO's of popular Bittorrent Clients go here. Creating torrents, changing ports, optimizing upload speeds, becoming connectable. Only those clients relevant for TMB, please!

[[Category:Top Level]]

FAQ

2007-04-20T08:39:53Z

Bc: /* How does the auto ban/warning system work? */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Template:Policy

2007-04-14T21:11:07Z

Bc: Protected "Template:Policy" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

<blockquote style="border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; background: #fbfbfb; padding: 4px 8px; text-align: center; font-size: 90%;">This page represents official [[:Category:Policies|TMB policy or guidelines]]. Yarr!</blockquote>
<includeonly>[[Category:Policies]]</includeonly>

Rules

2007-04-14T13:21:05Z

Bc:

__NOTOC__
{{Policy}}

==General rules - Breaking these rules can and will get you banned!==

#Keep your overall ratio as close to 1.0 as possible.
#Do not defy the admins expressed wishes.

==General forum guidelines - Please try to follow these guidelines==

#Be excellent to each other.
#No language other than English in the forums.
#Only music torrents allowed.
#No requesting new files if your ratio is below 1.0.
#Please read the [[FAQ]] before asking any questions!

==Uploading rules - Torrents violating these rules may be deleted without notice==

#All uploads must include the mixingbowl [http://themixingbowl.org/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo nfo].
#Only '''non commercial music and videos''', i.e. nothing that you can buy in the shops, on amazon etc.
#If you have the tracklist, post it in the Description part of the upload form.
#Make sure your torrents are well-seeded at least until there are above 5 other seeds.
#If you have something interesting that somehow violate these rules, [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Rules%20page ask a mod] and we might make an exception

==Avatar rules - Break these and your avatar may be changed or removed==

#'''Must be work safe'''.
#Must be less than 100 KB in size.
#Should be no more than 150 pixels wide.

Category:Policies

2007-04-14T12:57:20Z

Bc: New page: A category for official TMB rules, policy and guidelines.

A category for official TMB rules, policy and guidelines.

Rules

2007-04-14T12:56:16Z

Bc: Protected "Rules" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

{{Policy}}

==General rules - Breaking these rules can and will get you banned!==

#Keep your overall ratio as close to 1.0 as possible
#Do not defy the admins expressed wishes.

==General Forum Guidelines - Please try to follow these guidelines==

#Be excellent to each other.
#No language other than English in the forums.
#Only music torrents allowed.
#No requesting new files if your ratio is below 1.
#Last, Please read the [[FAQ]] before asking any questions!

==Uploading rules - Torrents violating these rules may be deleted without notice==

#All uploads must include the mixingbowl [http://themixingbowl.org/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo nfo].
#Only '''non commercial music and videos'''. i.e. nothing that you can buy in the shops, on amazon etc.
#If you have the tracklist, post it in the Description part of the upload form.
#Make sure your torrents are well-seeded at least until there are above 5 other seeds.
#If you have something interesting that somehow violate these rules, [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Rules%20page ask a mod] and we might make an exception

FAQ

2007-04-14T12:56:05Z

Bc: Protected "FAQ" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Rules

2007-04-14T12:55:08Z

Bc:

FAQ

2007-04-14T12:52:53Z

Bc:

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Template:Policy

2007-04-14T12:51:27Z

Bc: New page: <blockquote style="border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; background: #fbfbfb; padding: 4px 8px; text-align: center; font-size: 90%;">This page represents official [[:Category:Policies|TMB policy or g...

FAQ

2007-04-14T12:22:22Z

Bc: /* My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do? */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==My ISP uses a transparent proxy. What should I do?==

===What is a proxy?===

Basically a middleman. When you are browsing a site through a proxy your requests are sent to the proxy and the proxy forwards them to the site instead of you connecting directly to the site. There are several classifications (the terminology is far from standard):

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top"|Transparent
|A transparent proxy is one that needs no configuration on the clients. It works by automatically redirecting all port 80 traffic to the proxy. (Sometimes used as synonymous for non-anonymous.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Explicit/Voluntary
|Clients must configure their browsers to use them.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR header is not sent; the server does not see your IP.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Highly Anonymous
|The proxy sends no client nor proxy identification to the server. (HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA and HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION headers are not sent; the server doesn't see your IP and doesn't even know you're using a proxy.)
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Public
|Self explanatory.
|-
|}

A transparent proxy may or may not be anonymous, and there are several levels of anonymity.

===How do I find out if I'm behind a (transparent/anonymous) proxy?===

Try [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. It lists the HTTP headers that the server where it is running received from you. The relevant ones are HTTP_CLIENT_IP, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR and REMOTE_ADDR.

===Can I bypass my ISP's proxy?===

If your ISP only allows HTTP traffic through port 80 or blocks the usual proxy ports then you would need to use something like [http://www.socks.permeo.com/ socks] and that is outside the scope of this FAQ.

Otherwise you may try the following:

*Choose any public '''non-anonymous''' proxy that does '''not''' use port 80 (e.g. from [http://tools.rosinstrument.com/proxy this], [http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html this] or [http://www.samair.ru/proxy this] list).
*Configure your computer to use that proxy. For Windows XP, do Start, Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections, LAN Settings, Use a Proxy server, Advanced and type in the IP and port of your chosen proxy. Or from Internet Explorer use Tools, Internet Options, ...
*(Facultative) Visit [http://proxyjudge.org/ ProxyJudge]. If you see an HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR in the list followed by your IP then everything should be ok, otherwise choose another proxy and try again.
*Visit TorrentBits. Hopefully the tracker will now pickup your real IP (check your profile to make sure).

Notice that now you will be doing all your browsing through a public proxy, which are typically quite slow. Communications between peers do not use port 80 so their speed will not be affected by this, and should be better than when you were "unconnectable".

===How do I make my bittorrent client use a proxy?===

Just configure Windows XP as above. When you configure a proxy for Internet Explorer you're actually configuring a proxy for all HTTP traffic (thank Microsoft and their "IE as part of the OS policy" ). On the other hand if you use another browser (Opera/Mozilla/Firefox) and configure a proxy there you'll be configuring a proxy just for that browser. We don't know of any BT client that allows a proxy to be specified explicitly.

===Why can't I signup from behind a proxy?===

It is our policy not to allow new accounts to be opened from behind a proxy.

===Does this apply to other torrent sites?===

This section was written for The Mixing Bowl, a closed, port 80-81 tracker. Other trackers may be open or closed, and many listen on e.g. ports 6868 or 6969. The above does not necessarily apply to other trackers.

===Why is my port listed as "---" even though I'm not NAT/Firewalled?===

The TorrentBits tracker is quite smart at finding your real IP, but it does need the proxy to send the HTTP header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR. If your ISP's proxy does not then what happens is that the tracker will interpret the proxy's IP address as the client's IP address. So when you login and the tracker tries to connect to your client to see if you are NAT/firewalled it will actually try to connect to the proxy on the port your client reports to be using for incoming connections. Naturally the proxy will not be listening on that port, the connection will fail and the tracker will think you are NAT/firewalled.

==Why can't I connect? Is the site blocking me?==

===Maybe my address is blacklisted?===

The site blocks addresses listed in the (former) [http://methlabs.org/ PeerGuardian] database, as well as addresses of banned users. This works at Apache/PHP level, it's just a script that blocks logins from those addresses. It should not stop you from reaching the site. In particular it does not block lower level protocols, you should be able to ping/traceroute the server even if your address is blacklisted. If you cannot then the reason for the problem lies elsewhere.

If somehow your address is indeed blocked in the PG database do not contact us about it, it is not our policy to open ad hoc exceptions. You should clear your IP with the database maintainers instead.

===Your ISP blocks the site's address===

(In first place, it's unlikely your ISP is doing so. DNS name resolution and/or network problems are the usual culprits.)

There's nothing we can do. You should contact your ISP (or get a new one). Note that you can still visit the site via a proxy, follow the instructions in the relevant section. In this case it doesn't matter if the proxy is anonymous or not, or which port it listens to.

Notice that you will always be listed as an "unconnectable" client because the tracker will be unable to check that you're capable of accepting incoming connections.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forums.php forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

FAQ

2007-04-14T12:11:30Z

Bc:

FAQ

2007-04-14T12:10:54Z

Bc: /* What are the different user classes? */

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:58:52Z

Bc: /* How can I improve my download speed? */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

If you are running more than one instance of a client it is the overall upload speed that you must take into account. Some clients (e.g. [[Azureus]]) limit global upload speed, others (e.g. Shad0w's) do it on a per torrent basis. Know your client. The same applies if you are using your connection for anything else (e.g. browsing or ftp), always think of the overall upload speed.

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my browsing so slow while leeching?===

Your download speed is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it will almost certainly saturate your download bandwidth, and your browsing will suffer. There are very few clients that allow you to limit the download speed ([[Azureus]] and [[uTorrent]] can), only the upload. So if your Client does not allow this then you will have to use a third-party solution, such as [http://www.netlimiter.com/ NetLimiter].

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:56:26Z

Bc:

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:54:44Z

Bc: /* How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents? */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

===How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?===

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:54:33Z

Bc: /* Downloading */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

==How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?==

See the [[Azureus]] page for information on how to do this.

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:51:18Z

Bc: /* Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear? */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the
background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.
This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:51:06Z

Bc: /* Downloading */

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind [[Bittorrent]] is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [http://www.utorrent.com/beginners-guide.php|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[Azureus]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account who has downloaded 1.5gb and has a ratio of 0.3 or less. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued. The following PM is send to the account by the system:

'''WARNING FROM ADMINS - READ OR BE BANNED... wrote:'''

You are receiving this autowarning because you have a VERY poor ratio.
This site is a community that '''requires all members to SHARE'''.
Using bittorrent while you download you also upload.
The easiest way to maintain your ratio is to stay seeding the file after you have
downloaded it until you have at least a ratio of 1.
You now have 30 days to make a significant improvement on your ratio or you will be banned from the site.
If your ratio gets worse you will be banned a lot sooner.
Because you have to increase your ratio you should read idea's for how to do this [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=4171 here].
If you have any questions AFTER READING THE FAQ and EXISTING help threads we have a
support forum you can ask for help in [http://www.themixingbowl.org/redir.php?url=http://themixingbowl.org/forums.php?action=viewforum&forumid=6 here].
Good luck, we hope you are still with us in 30 days.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio is still 0.3 or worse.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

Use the url : http://themixingbowl.org/rss.php?user=username&pass=password

Substitute your own username and password for the username and password above.

You can also restrict your feed to particular categories or genres of torrent by adding to the above url. Here are some examples:

Just category 9 ([[Breezeblock]])
&cat=9

Categories 7, 10 and 18 ([[BTTB]], [[Solid Steel]] and [[Annie Mac]])
&cat=1|2|3

Genre 11 ([[Techno]])
&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 AND genre 11 (Techno aired on BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11

For torrents in category 7 or 10 OR genre 11 (Techno or BTTB or Solid Steel)
&cat=7|10&gen=11&anor=or - torrents from (cat 1 or 2) OR (gen 3)

Or any combination of. To find out which categories use which numbers hover over the listings on the [http://themixingbowl.org/browse.php torrents page].

See also : [[How do I set up Azureus to auto download torrents?]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

Use [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Question%20from%20the%20Wiki this link] to send a question to the admin team, this will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly you may not get a response especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

You can use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form] to delete the account so you can re-register. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://www.themixingbowl.org/recover.php this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Change%20name%20request this link].

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

You can do it yourself by using [http://www.themixingbowl.org/delacct.php this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio by searching for your username in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/userdetails.php Members page], clicking your name on your [http://themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile page] will also take you to your user details. Your ratio is displayed near the top of the page.

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Help! I cannot login!? (a.k.a. Login of Death)===

This problem sometimes occurs with MSIE. Close all Internet Explorer windows and open Internet Options in the control panel. Click the Delete Cookies button. You should now be able to login.

===Why is my port number reported as "---"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|
!align="left" valign="top"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|User*
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:teal"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet BOTH the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:orange"|Moderator
|Can edit and delete any uploaded torrents. Can also moderate usercomments and disable accounts.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner).
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://www.themixingbowl.org/my.php Profile] page.

You will need to find somewhere to host your avitar as we don not allow members to upload their avatar directly to The Mixing Bowl. Some places where you can host your avatar are [http://photobucket.com/ Photobucket], [http://photobucket.com/ Upload-It!] or [http://www.imageshack.us/ ImageShack].

Please make sure you avatar is safe for work and is less that 100 KB in size.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorized users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/topics.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=158 you must post in this thread] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

* There are over 2,000 members here with uploading privelidges. '''You are not more important than anyone else'''.
* There are over 15,000 torrents in the database. '''Your upload is not more important than any other'''.
* Don't immediately upload lots of torrents after becoming an uploader; you will probably cock things right up and create a mess. Take it easy and ask in the forums if you get stuck andf your answer isn't covered here.
* Only upload 2 torrents at a time. Wait until they are well seeded by a few other people before you move onto more.
* Name your torrent and folder to be uploaded according the the guidelines.

===How to attract more downloaders to your torrents===

* Name/Title your upload clearly & according to our guidelines.
* Provide a good description including your method of capture if you are uploading a radio show or live set.
* If you are uploading a cd learn how to rip with EAC and encode it correctly with the lame setting '-V 2 --vbr-new'.
* Include a Tracklist if at all possible (you can often find them by searching google).
* Use sensible names for the folder and files to be uploaded.
* If possible include a .cue sheet.
* Seed it until there are a few other seeders.

===Common mistakes made by new uploaders===

* SHOUTING IN YOUR TITLES.
* @@>>!!??# or other useless characters in your title (aka ebay idiot syndrome).
* Useless folder title (always include the artist name, mix title and date if it is a radio show or live dj set).
* Useless info in the title, e.g. (OMG GREAT MIX!)
* Including your username in the title, filename or main file tags (comment tag is ok)
* CDs ripped with mediaplayer/itunes or other non gapless compliant applications.
* Uploading a single mp3 instead of uploading inside a clearly named folder.
* Uploading a mix then not seeding for a day (wait to upload if you can't seed for some time).
* If you have 2 parts put them in a folder and upload as one, DO NOT upload 2 separate torrents
* Forgetting to include the site .nfo file.
* Incorrect choice of category or genre.

'''IMPORTANT:'''

* If you have made any of these mistakes and an admin notices it they will ban (remove) your torrent. If any other member thinks your torrent hasn't followed the uploading guidlines they can report [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]] it (which will bring it to the attention of the admin team). If you have already had uploads banned the admin may revoke your uploading privileges. It will be harder for you to regain your uploader status as you will have to demonstrate an understanding of the guidelines and a willingness to follow them.
* If you have made these mistakes on any of your uploads don't panic. You can edit your own torrent including any of the details, you can also delete your own torrent. You should only delete your torrent if it can't be edited for example when you didn't upload inside a folder or had a useless filename, in this case you will need to make the corrections and upload again. To edit or delete a torrent view the torrent details (not the forum topic) and click [Edit this torrent].
* If you see a torrent you feel isn't up to scratch you should report it using the link provided in the forum thread [[Image:Rep.gif|Report Button]]. You could tell the uploader in the thread if it is something easily fixable, like incorrect genre or category, but don't start any flaming with abusive comments!

===How should I title my torrent? [torrent naming guidelines]===

Properly naming your torrent is VERY important. It makes the forum and torrent list much easier to view when there is a uniform list of names.

Most importantly it makes it MUCH easier for the admin team to pull out data. For example we will have YYYY - MM - DD drop down selections and separate artist/title fields on the upload page at some stage. If all the torrents were named as below we could automatically pull the information from the titles.

So whilst naming of your files and folders is to some degree down to personal preference we are going to enforce the torrent naming guidelines.

The date must always be in the form YYYY-MM-DD eg 2005-11-21 being the 21st of November 2005. Any other method can lead to confusion with the month and day.

Use a shortened version of the radio name where possible so that the titles fit the forum view. For Example:
EM = Essential Mix
BB = Breezeblock
AOO = Annie On One
ES = Essential Selection
BR = Blue Room
AM = Annie Mac
BTTB = Back To The Basics
KISS = Kiss 100
JP = John Peel / Peel Sessions
OW = One World
SS = Solid Steel
TR = The Residency

'''Radio Shows''' must be named %date%-%month%-%day% - %show title% - %artist%[ - %title][, %comment%]
For example:
2006-03-11 - EM - Pete Tong and Col Hamilton, Live at Lush Northern Ireland

'''Live sets''' must be named %artist% - %title% - %date%-%month%-%day%
For example:
Sander Kleinenberg - Live at Villa, Lima, Peru - 2006-02-22

'''Studio/Promo, Video and misc'''. Mixes must be named %artist% - %title%
For example:
Kutski - Back To The Oldskool

'''Readers mixes''' must be named %artist% - %title% (use your username as artist if you want people to remember what it was after downloading).
For example:
Wicked Lizard - Keep Prepared fo the Breaks Part II

For a '''megapack''' we either want the artist or radio show name followed by a usefull title.
For example:
Essential Mix - 2004 The Complete Year
Solid Steel 1999
DJ Yoda - Mixtape Collection

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/messageadmin.php?subject=Can%20I%20upload%20this%3F ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask that you include themixingbowl.org .nfo file to spread the word.

===How do I create a torrent?===

Firstly you will need a bit torrent client there are many to choose from but one which is used most by people on this website is [[Azureus]], and this tutorial will be written using this program.

#Right now to create a torrent firstly sort the files you wish to share and place them in to a new folder appropriately named for example Show - Artist - Date. Include in this directory as much information as possible in a text file, for example the tracklist of the mix. Also include themixingbowl nfo file which can be found here, this helps other people find where they got the file from so that we can get more members.
#Now open Azureus and go to file --> Create a torrent, this will open this window and fill in the information as shown:<blockquote>Announce URL = ''http://themixingbowl.org/announce.php'' this is also known as the tracker on other programs. Place in the comment ''www.themixingbowl.org''</blockquote>
#The next step asks to point to the directory where you have placed all your files.
#This step asks for the name of the torrent to be created just leave it the same as the folder you have created. It also asks for piece size just leave this as auto. Pressing finish creates the torrent.
#Next you need to go to the upload page. You may need to ask to become an uploader, you can do this here.
#Go to the site and log in and go to upload a torrent following the instructions and place as much information in the description and also select a type, genre and forum to put the file in.
#'''Then you need to find the torrent file you just uploaded on the site and download the file for seeding'''.
#It is advisable to replace the torrent file you originally created (i.e. the one you just uploaded) with the new one that you have just downloaded.
#Open the newly downloaded torrent file in Azureus (or simply double-click it) and then browse (using Azureus) to the location of the folder that you created the torrent from.
#Sit back, watch everyone uploading from you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. Some clients have been banned (for various reasons). If you attempt to use a banned client you will receive an error response from the tracker. The following clients are recommended:

*[[Azureus]]
*[[Utorrent]]

Because some reasons may involve security of the site or ratio cheating we will not discuss them so please do not post asking us to change our minds about banned clients or asking why individual clients have been banned. We also highly encourage you to avoid any clients in alpha or beta version, any ratio errors they create will NOT be rectified.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

This is a very particular case in that all computers in the LAN will appear to the outside world as having the same IP. We must distinguish between two cases:

#You are the single Mixing Bowl user in the LAN ''You should use the same Mixing Bowl account in all the computers.'' Note also that in the ICS case it is preferable to run the BT client on the ICS gateway. Clients running on the other computers will be unconnectable (their ports will be listed as "---", as explained elsewhere in the FAQ) unless you specify the appropriate services in your ICS configuration (a good explanation of how to do this for Windows XP can be found here). In the NAT case you should configure different ranges for clients on different computers and create appropriate NAT rules in the router. (Details vary widely from router to router and are outside the scope of this FAQ. Check your router documentation and/or support forum.) 
#There are multiple Mixing Bowl users in the LAN ''At present there is no way of making this setup always work properly with The Mixing Bowl.'' Each torrent will be associated with the user who last accessed the site from within the LAN before the torrent was started. Unless there is cooperation between the users mixing of statistics is possible. (User A accesses the site, downloads a .torrent file, but does not start the torrent immediately. Meanwhile, user B accesses the site. User A then starts the torrent. The torrent will count towards user B's statistics, not user A's.) It is your LAN, the responsibility is yours. Do not ask us to ban other users with the same IP, we will not do that. (Why should we ban him instead of you?)

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]].

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site rules.

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===Why do I get a "rejected by tracker - Port xxxx is blacklisted" error?===

Your client is reporting to the tracker that it uses one of the default bittorrent ports (6881-6889) or any other common p2p port for incoming connections.

The Mixing Bowl does not allow clients to use ports commonly associated with p2p protocols. The reason for this is that it is a common practice for ISPs to throttle those ports (that is, limit the bandwidth, hence the speed).

The blocked ports list include, but is not neccessarily limited to, the following:

BitTorrent : 6881 - 6889

In order to use use our tracker you must configure your client to use any port range that does not contain those ports (a range within the region 49152 through 65535 is preferable, cf. IANA). Notice that some clients, like Azureus 2.0.7.0 or higher, use a single port for all torrents, while most others use one port per open torrent. The size of the range you choose should take this into account (typically less than 10 ports wide. There is no benefit whatsoever in choosing a wide range, and there are possible security implications).

These ports are used for connections between peers, not client to tracker. Therefore this change will not interfere with your ability to use other trackers (in fact it should increase your speed with torrents from any tracker, not just ours). Your client will also still be able to connect to peers that are using the standard ports. If your client does not allow custom ports to be used, you will have to switch to one that does.

Do not ask us, or in the forums, which ports you should choose. The more random the choice is the harder it will be for ISPs to catch on to us and start limiting speeds on the ports we use. If we simply define another range ISPs will start throttling that range also.

Finally, remember to forward the chosen ports in your router and/or open them in your firewall, should you have them.

===What's this "IOError - [Errno13] Permission denied" error?===

If you just want to fix it reboot your computer, it should solve the problem. Otherwise read on.

IOError means Input-Output Error, and that is a file system error, not a tracker one. It shows up when your client is for some reason unable to open the partially downloaded torrent files. The most common cause is two instances of the client to be running simultaneously: the last time the client was closed it somehow didn't really close but kept running in the
background, and is therefore still locking the files, making it impossible for the new instance to open them.

A more uncommon occurrence is a corrupted FAT. A crash may result in corruption that makes the partially downloaded files unreadable, and the error ensues. Running scandisk should solve the problem. (Note that this may happen only if you're running Windows 9x - which only support FAT - or NT/2000/XP with FAT formatted hard drives. NTFS is much more robust and should never permit this problem.)

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent new members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.
This restriction is lifted once you have downloaded over 1.5GB and have a ratio better than 0.8.

FAQ

2007-04-14T11:50:20Z

Bc:

FAQ

2007-04-13T23:20:25Z

Bc:

FAQ

2007-04-13T23:15:02Z

Bc: /* Uploading */

FAQ

2007-04-13T23:04:49Z

Bc: /* Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video? */

FAQ

2007-04-13T23:03:47Z

Bc: /* Uploading */