Questions about p2p program ratings on ZP

**ston** · October 11th, 2003, 08:26 AM

I was just looking at ZP's listing of p2p filesharing applications. It seems that some of the listings are very outdated. For instance, it lists Morpheus as "a slightly altered version of KaZaA, modified to work with MusicCity's excellent array of servers" It's common knowledge that Morpheus got kicked off Fasttrack nearly 2 years ago, and that it was before joining Fasttrack that Morpheus ran its own OpenNap servers. It also lists Toadnode, an obscure program which was discontinued about 2 years ago.

The list also does not include a lot of popular p2p apps such as DC++

So I assumed that those p2p listings were simply neglected for a long time. Then I noticed that one well-known p2p application (which shall remain nameless!) was only very recently removed from the list.

I think I can somewhat understand how the neglect continued for so long. New P2P users are probably not going to notice the section's ommission of common p2p apps - while veteran P2P users are unlikely to ever look at the section at all.

This section badly needs a total review and rewrite. Will anyone be revising this horribly-outdated P2P list? If not, how can members contribute additional applications or revisions to the list?

**Malicious Intent** · October 11th, 2003, 09:41 AM

This list is horribly out of date like you said. The peoples vote seems to be spammed and cant be searched. Press the "File Sharing" icon at the top for a better list and details.
The section you speak of needed updating the first time that I signed up and hasn't changed since.

**mojo-ris-in** · October 11th, 2003, 10:20 AM

A long time ago I suggested that the program reviews be updated and a user panel be formed to honestly evaluate the various networks. Nothing ever happened but I still believe this should be done because the system now is swayed too much to fanboys and is misleading to new people. With that said, the only way to get it changed is push for it with the powers that be, namely Dub and Jorge. If enough people want it and ask for it, it'll probably happen.

**Malicious Intent** · October 11th, 2003, 10:34 AM

Well I'm requesting regular updates. The world of p2p isn't as simple as installing k-lite like when I first started p2p. P2p changes every day and the list and reviews of programs should reflect that.

**mojo-ris-in** · October 11th, 2003, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Malicious Intent

Well I'm requesting regular updates. The world of p2p isn't as simple as installing k-lite like when I first started p2p. P2p changes every day and the list and reviews of programs should reflect that.

I agree 100% with that

**ston** · October 11th, 2003, 11:07 AM

The list does seem to get updated when one of the abovementioned "powers" personally favors a newly released application, as was the case for Waste.

As we have seen recently, the current voting system is easy to abuse when a P2P developer can cast multiple votes for his own program, as well as spam the hell out of the comments section.

I can understand that completely redoing the section would be a big job, but until then an easy start would be just to delete the discontinued p2p apps from the section.

**dubstylee** · October 11th, 2003, 12:08 PM

We are constantly working on making ZP a better place for people to learn about file sharing. We have over 100 applications listed and with two of us its a bit of a handful. I will be the first to admit our rating system is out of date and needs revision. I promise it is on the to do list, but until we get to it use this thread to post ideas/comments/questions.

**DudeAsInCool** · October 11th, 2003, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by dubstylee

We are constantly working on making ZP a better place for people to learn about file sharing. We have over 100 applications listed and with two of us its a bit of a handful. I will be the first to admit our rating system is out of date and needs revision. I promise it is on the to do list, but until we get to it use this thread to post ideas/comments/questions.

Why not delegate it to one of your pro's and then make your final revisions from there? I nominate the above critics to put it together for your final edits since they seem to know what they are talking about...

**Malicious Intent** · October 11th, 2003, 12:26 PM

Good to hear Dubstylee. Looks like a lot of work is going into this site a the moment.

ideas/comments/

-The new system should stop fanboys from spamming, perhaps only one comment per user or only professional opinions. Perhaps a team of mods like the news mods? Perhaps make use of the new reputation? Opinions should be changable and people should be held responsible for keeping thier opinion up-to-date.
-It should include risk rating, perhaps in as much detail as the number of people being sued from that network, or something simple like whether it is being targeted.
-What protection it has from the RIAA
-If it is kept up-to-date it should be an important part of the website. Don't ask me how. This would be better for motivation for the mods and/or poster to keep it up-to-date.
-It should included whether it is a growing or dieing network.
-Leechers/uploaders ratio would be excellent, although perhaps impossible. A prediction would be nice.

**ston** · October 11th, 2003, 02:53 PM

@dubstylee,

Why not let the user's write the reviews? I am sure there are many experienced ZP members that have used a lot of different P2P applications and are capable of writing excellent reviews. Advertise and there should be no shortage of people volunteering. (seems that nearly everyone around here has an opinion) You could then pick the best reviews to post, or edit and combine several into a review.

As for myself, if I was writing a review of a P2P application, I would include things like:

Complexity - Is it simple to use with very few features such as Imesh or Xolox that make it best suited for beginners?

Adware/spyware - optional or not, types of spyware and how invasive/hard to remove?

What it does best and worst - Mp3's, albums, movies, or isos? Large files or small files? High or low bitrate? How long does it take to download both small and large files?

What you are especially likely to find there - such as Italian Opera on OpenNap, Techno on Soulseek, or Morning Musume on WinMX.

Features - does it have any unusual or innovative features that distinguish it from the rest? Does it lack any features expected in a modern P2P?

Special considerations - Can it defeat difficult corporate or university firewalls as web-based p2p apps often do? Can it be easily set up on a LAN or small private network? Is it suitable for dial-up users?

technical aspects - how advanced is the protocol, such as multisource downloads, multi-part downloads, partial-file sharing, chunk size(if any), hash verification, error correction, protection from file corruption and corruption proliferation, open or closed-source, frequency of major updates? How firewall-friendly is it? Is it a processor or bandwidth(maintaining network connection) hog?

Community customs and etiquette - are there required (formally or informally) minimum amounts to share? Is downloading a big file as informal and automatic as eMule or BitTorrent, or does it likely require making an arrangement for a trade as is common on WinMX?

Developer involvement - What kind of relationship do the developers have with the P2P community? Popular as Pablo or as hated as Sharepro?

Quirks and bugs - Shareaza used to corrupt large ed2k downloads, Imesh would erase almost-completed downloads if source went offline, WinMX often showed "ghost files" when browsing a user's shared file list.

User Population - besides the number of users, what kinds of people tend to use it? Beginners or experienced? Dedicated sharers or "gimme-gimme"-type leechers? Does it have a loyal dedicated following of technically competent users such as you'd find on IRC or newsgroups? Are there a lot of support or link websites such as eDonkey?

Security - It's not a good idea for a USA user to use Kazaa, enable browse, and share >1000 popular songs.

What is it similar to? - Most current P2P apps were derived from the features, utility, and "look and feel" of Napster, the major exceptions being eDonkey and Bittorrent - 2 innovative clients that approached filesharing from a different angle and created their own sub-category of P2P.

**phalkon30** · October 11th, 2003, 03:40 PM

All very good ideas. I especially like the idea of having a normal member be a mod. There are countless people on this site that would love to help out ZP, but don't know how.