jgf Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I just had to scroll through 33 pages (thirty-three pages!) of Alpha India uploads to get to the next most recent files. Given that the average Alpha India file is only about 20k I do not deem it unrealistic to ask that these all be placed in one zipfile for download instead of occupying 33 pages with individual files. (It would also be much more convenient for those who wish to download most, if not all, of these files; especially considering you must wait for the intermediate page to load and agree to the copyright notice each time.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisrel Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I whole-heartedly agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgcripe Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 I just had to scroll through 33 pages (thirty-three pages!) of Alpha India uploads to get to the next most recent files. Given that the average Alpha India file is only about 20k I do not deem it unrealistic to ask that these all be placed in one zipfile for download instead of occupying 33 pages with individual files. (It would also be much more convenient for those who wish to download most, if not all, of these files; especially considering you must wait for the intermediate page to load and agree to the copyright notice each time.) No wonder the site was down for maintenance. What's up with AI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCD Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Larry (JGF) makes a valid point, one I made a few years ago and was told to "but-out" by the moderators. I suggested a separate site for people like Alpha India but got nowhere. Seems to me the majority are being penalized for the convenience of the few! There are several options that would resolve this issue. Why not be proactive and act? After visiting the forum sites I wanted to see this morning, I went to the File Library to see what might have been added to FS2004 in the last few days. Once there, I saw a few ne offerings and then ran into the 33 pages of Alpha India files. As I understand it, these files are flight plans, or some such thing, done periodically, and uploaded so Alpha India folk can download them. We see these from other groups regularly, some in greater numbers than others, but the point is they are an annoyance to all but the specific addressees. THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN PLACE, a place where they do not annoy the majority, yet are easily available to those who need them. As it stands now, the FS2004 new Files Library will be messed up for weeks as these files, meaningless to most, slowly filter to the end and are finally dropped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Nels_Anderson Posted April 28, 2016 Founder Share Posted April 28, 2016 I find it a bit strange that people complain because other people or groups are actually contributing too much to our mutual hobby. If you think about it, most files in our library is of interest to a minority of people here. Just compare the download counts for any file versus the membership count here. So, if we only host files of interest to the majority, we would essentially stop hosting files. If every group "had their own place" as was suggested, then we might as well shut this place down. Just be aware that there are tools to deal with this. Have you ever looked at our Advanced Search? You can limit your search by date, which would allow you to search around this large group of files. Also, you should know that I'm aware of the issues when we get unusual submissions like this. In this case, for all the non-AIG files that were uploaded that day, at the end of the day I changed their submit date so they would show up again as new files the next day. That should prevent these files from being overlooked by people who only viewed the top of the new files list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UPHILL3 Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 And I thought I was the only one annoyed by having to flip through all those pages: That's the reason file compression was invented for. Displaying all those files gives proof to the old adage that more is not always better... It's also not the case where the flight sim community is ungrateful for freeware - we just may not express it in these Forums often enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCD Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Nels, I undrstand your position as it relates to "other tools"... I am a frequent user of the "Advanced Search", when I know what I'm searching for (but you need to be aware of the fact that it has not always worked as intended! As for this issue, we will never agree. I use the "File Library - New Files - FS2004" option a couple of times a week to catch up on what has been added. Today, I had to pass through 33 PAGES of Alpha India before I found out what had been added over the last few days. I'll say it again, put these highly specialized downloadable files in a folder where those who want them can quickly get them (I'm sure they have about as much interest paging through countless tubeliners just to get to their 33 pages as we do having to go through theirs. To me, this isn't rocket science, it's logic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Well, mine was not a complaint of anyone uploading "too much", nor a question of appreciation of anyone's efforts; I don't even think a separate section for AIG is necessary. Combining all these files into one would be no more than a 5-6meg download - one trip to the copyright page and a few seconds d/l and you have them all, as opposed to sitting here for a half hour or more d/l'ing them one at a time. Much more convenient for those who want them; much more convenient for those who don't, as they won't have to scroll through dozens of pages of them; much more convenient for the site as one 5meg file consumes fewer clusters than dozens of 20k files; much more convenient for the uploader, one file vs dozens. Everyone comes out ahead. (BTW, I'm not Larry; hopefully he wasn't too insulted.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Nels_Anderson Posted April 28, 2016 Founder Share Posted April 28, 2016 I tend to agree, combining them into large files makes sense to me too. But as librarian I can only organize and provide what's given to me by the actual creators. Maybe someone should ask AIG why they don't combine them? Maybe there's a perfectly good reason, or maybe no one has suggested it to them before. In the past they've always done releases in much smaller quantities at any one time, so not sure why this one time we got so many files at once. But only the guys at AIG know. Maybe one of you that's interested should ask them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Nels_Anderson Posted April 28, 2016 Founder Share Posted April 28, 2016 It just occurred to me exactly how to use the Advanced Search. It is quite possible to create your own FS2004 new files list that omits the Alpha-India Group files. Here's how: You need to fill in exactly two boxes on the form. "Find Files that have...all of these words" - fill in "fs2004" "But don't show files that have...any of these unwanted words" - fill in "alpha-india" Try it...you'll get a nice new files list with no AIG files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napamule2 Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 As a rough estimate the 33 pages would equal about 110 Mb. To zip the different name files (aprox 350 kb each) would require a separate folder for each different name. That would be around 400 ZIPPED FOLDERS (placed within the one final zip). THAT is why they did not put them all into one zip file. I don't know if any zip program could handle the 'load' but I could be wrong. At any rate it was v.e.r.y. 'Interesting' (but STUPID- hehe). Chuck B Napamule i7 2600K @ 3.4 Ghz (Turbo-Boost to 3.877 Ghz), Asus P8H67 Pro, Super Talent 8 Gb DDR3/1333 Dual Channel, XFX Radeon R7-360B 2Gb DDR5, Corsair 650 W PSU, Dell 23 in (2048x1152), Windows7 Pro 64 bit, MS Sidewinder Precision 2 Joy, Logitech K-360 wireless KB & Mouse, Targus PAUK10U USB Keypad for Throttle (F1 to F4)/Spoiler/Tailhook/Wing Fold/Pitch Trim/Parking Brake/Snap to 2D Panel/View Change. Installed on 250 Gb (D:). FS9 and FSX Acceleration (locked at 30 FPS). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCD Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Works for me, Nels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 .... I don't know if any zip program could handle the 'load' but I could be wrong. ... I don't know of any that wouldn't. I frequently create zipfiles of 1gig or more in size when backing up graphics folders. In the case of those AIG files, just put all those zips in one folder then zip that for upload; after downloading you don't even have to extract the entire contents, just highlight what you want and extract those. Even if the d/l is 100meg that is not large by today's standards, and is certainly an easier d/l than a couple of hundred individual files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napamule2 Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Oh yeah? I would like to know which CORRECT 'readme.txt' and which preview 'pic.jpg' you would highlight and download. No way to do that without folders. Chuck B Napamule i7 2600K @ 3.4 Ghz (Turbo-Boost to 3.877 Ghz), Asus P8H67 Pro, Super Talent 8 Gb DDR3/1333 Dual Channel, XFX Radeon R7-360B 2Gb DDR5, Corsair 650 W PSU, Dell 23 in (2048x1152), Windows7 Pro 64 bit, MS Sidewinder Precision 2 Joy, Logitech K-360 wireless KB & Mouse, Targus PAUK10U USB Keypad for Throttle (F1 to F4)/Spoiler/Tailhook/Wing Fold/Pitch Trim/Parking Brake/Snap to 2D Panel/View Change. Installed on 250 Gb (D:). FS9 and FSX Acceleration (locked at 30 FPS). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.