A 3rd message to seekers of the soul...

I know I had a lot to say during my first two posts addressed to my downloaders, uploaders, chat roommates, and list buddies (much of which applied to some of these groups more than others), but wait! There's more. Isn't there always?

First off, yes, I'm sharing. Get over yourselves. Browse me if you want, but please don't do it more than twice because every time you do, you freeze my P2P program and my computer, risking a P2P program crash, followed by my having to restart my machine, which can take forever. If you want to ensure that I'm sharing, simply add me to your userlist long enough to look at the (obnoxiously large) filecount that will show up behind my username. Yep, over 130,000 files served. And counting. See? And if I'm downloading from you, then you automatically have unrestricted access to ALL of those files, because I've already added you to my userlist, out of courtesy. So if your attempt to browse me is unsuccessful (as evidenced by a "waiting for file list..." or a "error getting file list..."), just run a search for whatever you're looking for (for best results, try searching amongs users in your list only), and I'm sure my name will come up in the search results. And remember kids, I have NO CONTROL over "waiting for file list..." or "error getting file list...". Really. I have done absolutely everything I can from my end; my program, ports, and router are all configured properly (I check this regularly), my connection is always on (although the signal strength of said connection can vary widely), and I am not running a firewall or incompatible software. Hell, I'm not even running Vista or Windows 7, so there are no shenanigans limiting my number of P2P connections. In short, "waiting for file list..." or "error getting file list..." is NOT the same as me not sharing files. If I was such a loser (someone who wasn't sharing files), then you would browse me and it would say, "no files shared". Which it won't. So there.

Second, what's up with all the links flying around? I swear, one of the worst feature updates our P2P put into place was a lift on the server ban you got smacked down with when you messaged your whole userlist. Since they relaxed that, I receive all these private messages several times a day, with nothing in the message but a link to a Podcast, a YouTube video, a graphic format, or some other website I don't know. Please. Why do you expect me to blindly click on it? I won't. I promise. Why? Because I have no way of knowing what the hell the ramifications will be if I did. How do I know that video isn't some sick twisted psycho getting his rocks off slaughtering puppies? How do I know that unfamiliar website isn't chock full of viruses waiting to hijack my computer and rewrite my registry or data mine my information? For all I know, those image links may depict lewd acts involving kids. How am I supposed to know for sure? Hell, I don't even know you, for Christ's sake. I mean, you didn't bother introducing yourself or starting a conversation (a simple "hi" that dangles into the cybernetherworld does not count), so why the hell should you care if I check out your link or not? At least, not without a minimum, "hey, [my name], what's up? It's me, [your non-P2P name]. I thought this would be right up your alley", (because, you know, I already have an inkling of who you are and all)...

Third, I have a new pet peeve. (How is that possible? I thought I had covered them all already. Oh well.) This is the aggravating "disallowed file extension". It works like this: in the program settings, you can choose to block the downloading of certain file types. This is great for preventing the downloading of a virus or some other unwanted program or file type (although you should be paying closer attention to the file extensions you're downloading anyway, instead of relying on the program to do it for you, and for God's sake, do NOT click on an .exe file unless you're downloading software!). However, when you block file extensions like .sfv and .nfo, and then queue albums (by clicking "download containing folder") that contain these files, I don't know if or how it shows up on your end, but on my end it says "disallowed file extension" and it stays there, in my queue, even when I clear the finished and/or aborted transfers. Which means I have to manually right-click on the file you blocked and right-click to delete it myself. This sounds like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill until you have to do it 20 times a day and they're interspersed with other queued downloads so it's not like you can select the whole group of blocked files and delete them with one mouse click. Day after day, it adds up to be a giant pain in the ass. Here's a thought: if YOU don't want these files on YOUR machine, YOU have two options: you can either download it anyway (they're less than 1k, so it's not like they'll clog your harddrive) and then delete it after the fact, or you can simply queue the folder and then delete it from the queue before it has a chance to download (this method might only work if you don't already have the filetype "disallowed", though--not sure). Bottom line is, quit making me do your work for you; quit queueing files you don't intend to download.

Next, and this is a much gentler request because it goes out to people I hold dear enough to extend sufficient trust such that you can actually upload to me (although this hasn't happened in a while, so if you've uploaded something to me recently, don't think this is directed at you): please, please ask me first before uploading anything. This is because I've been known to run preciously low on harddrive space. Often, I have queued downloads of my own and I have made sure to have enough harddrive space left over for those incoming files--but often, no more than that. Uploading extra stuff to my harddrive without my knowing it's coming and having cleared extra harddrive space to accommodate it will cause my other downloads to fail. I know y'all wouldn't do anything like this on purpose, so please don't take this as a scolding, because it's not. I'm just giving you the heads up because you're the kind of considerate ppl who would want that anyway. Please don't be discouraged from uploading! I love the stuff y'all send me and I wouldn't want to miss out on anything you think I might like. It's eerie how well some of you know my tastes LOL. Just please arrange it with me first is all.

Next, and this is NOT a gentle request (because this does not go out to those who are friends because friends don't pull this shit): STOP SPAMMING ME. This is sort of a piggyback on the "don't send me links/graphics/etc" above, except that I feel the need to further emphasize the spam aspect because the bad economy + shit people has = some very brazen ppl out there. What motivated me to write this part is the idiot who said, "here's my girlfriend's (sales/business/MLM) link: sorry for the spam". Apologizing for spam does not let you off the hook, nor does it make your message or your link less spammy or trashy. No, I'm not going to visit your site. No, I'm not going to buy your product. Yep, I know the economy sucks and I know it's tough for you (if you tried to live on so-called "passive income" from things like stock dividends or via the Kiyosaki mindset, you deserve it). The economy sucks here too; it's tough all over. Guess what? We've got it rough, too. (Try graduating six figures in debt and no hope for a job so you have to make your own, only to have to fight an uphill battle trying to recruit customers. I should know. Wanna trade places? Didn't think so.) Just because we're both users of the same P2P does not make us friends, nor does it make me a built-in customer or even part of a target market. Spamming is just trashy, always has been. It's the whole Golden Rule thing: if you don't want it done to you, don't do it to others.

Last but not least, KUDOS (non-sarcastic!) to those of you with no files shared, hanging out in the chat rooms, who refrain from downloading from others. I don't care if you're not sharing anything, as long as you're not clogging the queues of others.

For now, that is all.