Re: SourceForge's download links

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From: Michael G Schwern
Subject: Re: SourceForge's download links
Date: 20:39 on 03 Feb 2005
On Thu, Feb 03, 2005 at 02:48:36PM +0000, Leon Brocard wrote:
> I think SourceForge is the only site that manages to get the simple
> idea of letting people download files horribly wrong.

Oh no, Fileplanet has trumped this.  To download something from Fileplanet,
from Gamespy for example, you click on the download link.  Do I get my file?
No.  First I have to register and log in!  Don't worry, registration is quick
and free.  All you have to do is give them a username, your email address
and a password.  Oh and your date of birth.  And your gender.  Postal code.
And country.  And skip past a whole bunch of profile gathering crap, but
don't ignore it all because if you're not careful to uncheck a few key boxes
you'll find yourself signed up to one daily and three weekly 
spam^Wmailing lists.

Now can I have my file please?  Nope.  Welcome to the dreaded high lord of
all idiotic mirroring systems, the fileplanet download queue.  You are
presented with a list of high-speed servers, their location and their
wait time.  Wait time?  Yes, fileplanet servers have queues.  No worries
though, the wait time on all those high-speed servers is "NONE!"  Great!
Oh, I'm sorry.  Are you not FilePlanet Subscriber?  Did you not pay $6.95
a month?  You can't use these gleaming examples of 21st century technology.
You have to use the public servers.  As you scroll a bit further down the
page to find the public servers you realize that "public server" is said
with much the same tones as "public bathroom".  "Wait Time: 43 minutes".
"Wait Time: 27 minutes."  "Wait Time: 23 minutes".

But I just want a 1 meg patch file!!!!

With a resigned sigh you click on the download link.  A window pops up and
perhaps you go off to make a sandwich while your computer sits in the queue.
Coming back 20 minutes later... what do you mean I'm not in line?!  Amongst
all the text in the window, with such informative information such as
the reasons why FilePlanet was unable to violate your browser with the 
FilePlanet Download Control, is crammed one very important line.  Its 
another link you have to click on to get into the queue!

Clicking on that you are now in the queue.  Which means you are not in the
queue yet.  You are now told that the public server is full, thanks for the
tip THEY'RE ALWAYS FULL, and that there are 236 happy people downloading
with 197 waiting in line ahead of you with an estimated wait time of...
oh its not 23 minutes anymore now its 37 minutes.  Would you like to
subscribe to fileplanet now?  Its just $6.95/month and you could jump right
through all this nonsense.

One final click, a meta refresh and you're finally in the queue.  For real.
A nice little refreshing window keeps you up to date as to how far you've
slogged ahead in the line and how much longer this gulag will last.  There's
even the option to ring a little bell when your download is ready because
there's just one last hurdle to leap over.  You can't walk away at this
point, oh no.  When you finally reach the head of the queue you have to
click on YET ANOTHER LINK to download the file.

So let's take a tally.

Click.
Registration with default mailing lists.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Wait queue.
Click.

Registration, mailing lists, 5 clicks and a poorly implemented wait queue.
This is nothing new.  Fileplanet has always been this way.  As I'm an
optimist I want to believe that this is all a maniacal scheme to drive
folks to come to the decision that $7 isn't worth all this and sign up for 
FilePlanet's protection racket.  Because the only alternative is a dark
distopian world where someone believes this is a good system.  The best that
can be done to manage their mirrors and handle their high load of slobbering
gamers wanting the latest "Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" [1] 
trailer.

Yours in hate.


[1] Why no, I only wish I had the genius to have made that up.
http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/dead-or-alive-xtreme-beach-volleyball/5556p1.html?fromint=1

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