_ _ _ _ ____ _ | \ | | ___ _ __| |_| |__ / ___|| |__ __ _ _ __ ___ | \| |/ _ \| '__| __| '_ \\___ \| '_ \ / _` | '__/ _ \ _ | |\ | (_) | | | |_| | | |___) | | | | (_| | | | __/ (_) |_| \_|\___/|_| \__|_| |_|____/|_| |_|\__,_|_| \___| _____ _ _ _ ____ ____ ____ | ___| __(_) ___ _ __ __| | |_ _ | _ \___ \| _ \ | |_ | '__| |/ _ \ '_ \ / _` | | | | | | |_) |__) | |_) | | _|| | | | __/ | | | (_| | | |_| | | __// __/| __/ |_| |_| |_|\___|_| |_|\__,_|_|\__, | |_| |_____|_| |___/ visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northshare/ for more information. After you sign up for the group, you will eventually get an email that gives much greater detail about .NorthShare and how to participate. Help improve the quality and availability of files on P2P by participating in .NorthShare. If you are a P2P nut, fanatic, or afficionado, .NorthShare might be of interest to you. What is .NorthShare? Rather than ask, "Where can I find good files," perhaps one might ask, "How can I help provide the community with good files?" .NorthShare is a simple concept. When one finds interesting applications or reading material that are public domain or open source, one adds them to the shared folder of a P2P file-sharing program with reviews and comments. This method allows other file-seekers to find new content with a reasonable assurance that downloading it won't be infringing on anyone else's property rights or license agreements. It is "Friendly File-Sharing." What's the concept behind .NorthShare? .NorthShare is a meeting point to introduce new and useful file content to the P2P networks. .NorthShare is a new idea in P2P file sharing. It does not require any snazzy new software or amazing new network protocols. It is an idea rooted in taking personal responsibility for maintaining and enhancing the quality of files available on P2P networks. Why .NorthShare? I've used many P2P clients to search for files relevant to my needs. Unfortunately for me, what I keep finding is the same old stuff. I find much ripped-off copies of softwares almost all of which have freeware and open source counterparts. Why would anyone even want a pirated copy of M$ junkware when there are free alternatives and even legal ways to get free copies? Why would one want to wait 3 days to download a 700 MB .ISO file to find out it is a fake? .NorthShare addresses these problems by ensuring that the people who introduce new files take ownership of their participation. Files will not be added to the .NorthShare server shares without a rigorous inspection and targeted, concise metadata provided by the contributor and sysop. I also find many ebooks and audio materials that are generally either poor quality or infringe upon someone's intellectual rights. But what about constantly updated, new, original, *lawful* content? How much of that is being shared via P2P today? Sadly, not much. Yet there are countless numbers of freely available ebooks and software for every concievable subject and need. What does the name, .NorthShare, mean? I decided to call my effort to introduce new content ".NorthShare," indicating that there is a direction and purpose. Since north is the direction that makes a compass work, .NorthShare seems like a good name for a good idea. How does one participate in .NorthShare? That is the simple part. One can visit the Yahoo! NorthShare group and sign up, then send email to the moderator introducing new and useful content. The files will need to be available either online or in the contributor's P2P shared files folder. The .NorthShare moderator will get the files, review them, check to make sure they are appropriate, then post them. Regular notices are posted about new files. The exact instructions for submitting files to .NorthShare are automatically emailed to one upon signing up for the .NorthShare Yahoo! Group. Where can one get .NorthShare files? There are several options, depending on which P2P client one is using. The .NorthShare server runs Shareaza. It is connected to the Gnutella2 and eDonkey networks. So one must be using a compatible P2P application such as Shareaza, eDonkey, Gnutella2, BearShare, LimeWire, or any eDonkey Core application. The .NorthShare server does not yet serve files to the FastTrack or WinMX/OpenNap networks. One can do a general search for files using the keyword "northshare" and wait anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours to get search results, depending on how widely distributed a particular file has become; or, one can visit the .NorthShare file list and click on the posted magnet and ed2k links which will automatically start a search for that particular file. What will .NorthShare do for participants? .NorthShare is a way to strengthen the effort to get useful, royalty-free files uploaded and available widely on P2P. If one uses P2P, it just makes sense to share files and assist in making more content freely available. If you gain satisfaction from knowing you are helping to improve P2P, then .NorthShare is for you. What does it take to make .NorthShare work? Share your files! Millions of P2P users leech huge collections of files but don't put any in their shared folders. This is a pity! When you find new files, add them to the shared folder, and send a notice to .NorthShare. .NorthShare will take care of the rest. It only takes a few minutes to participate, and the reward is in the deed itself--improving available P2P content. Visit the Yahoo! .NorthShare Group of the .NorthShare HomePage today for further information and instructions. Contact information and recommendations are below. Thank you for choosing a .NorthShare file. .NorthShare Contact Information eM: northshare-owner@yahoogroups.com weB: http://www.northshare.tk/ grouP: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northshare/ Recommendations Shareaza: .NorthShare unabashedly recommends Shareaza above all other P2P file-sharing software. Having downloaded, installed, and extensively tested almost every P2P client available, I can say without a doubt that Shareaza is the most effective, versatile, and easy to use. Shareaza downloads from *several* P2P networks simultaneously, uncluding Gnutella, Gnutella2, and eDonkey. It can be customized with skins, and with the proper settings is very easy on system resources. For more information or to download Shareaza, visit http://www.shareaza.com now. Note: .NorthShare is not in any way affiliated with Shareaza or its distributors. ExoSee: ExoSee is a new P2P application that comes in two flavors of Client and Community Server. Although there are a few bugs, ExoSee still works well. It features the ability to set up a community where others can connect to the community server to get and share files. .NorthShare strongly recommends ExoSee and .NorthShare encourages you to test the beta and help in the further development of ExoSee. Further Information is available at http://www.ExoSee.com. Note: .NorthShare is not in any way affiliated with ExoSee or its distributors. From time to time .NorthShare will host an ExoSee community server so that users can occasionally connect directly to the .NorthShare community to get new .NorthShare file releases.