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|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOTE: The definitions of these keywords are to be interpreted as follows: |
| |
| MUST=obligatory (release not allowed if rule not followed) |
| SHOULD=suggested (release allowed if not followed) |
| CAN+MAY=optional (release allowed if not followed) |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GENERAL |
| |
| 1.1 Releases pred before this ruleset are deemed legitimate and are exempt |
| from most nukes except for the following violations: |
| |
| .1 Rules 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.1-2.6, 6.1, 6.6 |
| |
| 1.2 A release MUST contain an SFV and NFO. |
| |
| .1 A release MAY contain relevant JPG files. |
| |
| .2 A release MAY contain relevant PDF files. |
| |
| .3 Valid filetypes are: .flac, .jpg, .m3u, .nfo, .pdf, .sfv. |
| |
| 1.3 A release MUST not mix files from retail sources and or shops/services. |
| |
| 1.4 Trackfixes are not allowed. Bad quality releases require a complete |
| repack and MUST include the ADDITIONAL type tag: -REPACK-. |
| |
| 1.5 The following are reasons for a bad quality release: |
| |
| .1 One or more tracks from the release are incomplete, contain skips or |
| other technical flaws. |
| |
| 1.6 The maximum directory and filename length is 255 characters. Directories |
| and filenames MUST only contain valid characters: a-z A-Z 0-9 _ . - () |
| |
| 1.7 Shops/services will often separate a split release, so for this reason a |
| split MUST be merged and released in full. Source URLs for all sides of |
| the split MUST be provided in the nfo. |
| |
| 1.8 MQA releases are not true lossless and are not allowed. |
| |
| 1.9 Releases with mixed bit depths and sampling rates are allowed if provided |
| that way by the shop/service at the time of pre. |
| |
|1.10 Name your price releases from all shops/services are allowed. |
| |
|1.11 Playlists from all shops/services are not allowed. |
| |
|1.12 If a release isn't complete on any scanned site & majority of dupe bots |
| within 72 hours of pre, it MUST be nuked as incomplete and CAN be |
| propered. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DUPES |
| |
| 2.1 A release MUST include all audio tracks. Releasing just the bonus tracks |
| or some other subset of tracks is not allowed. |
| |
| 2.2 A release MUST not be identical to a previous release. |
| |
| 2.3 A release MUST not have all its tracks included in one previous release. |
| |
| 2.4 A release is not identical to a previous release if: |
| |
| .1 The previous version has a different mastering. |
| |
| .2 The previous version has a different tracklist. |
| |
| .3 The previous version has a different version of a track. |
| |
| NOTE: 2.3.2 does not mean a difference in the order of tracks. |
| |
| 2.5 A release MUST not be a collection of discs that have already been |
| individually released. |
| |
| For example, releasing a Deluxe Edition that combines an Album and EP |
| after they have both been individually released is not allowed. |
| |
| NOTE: Boxsets and REMASTERED releases are excluded from this rule. |
| |
| 2.6 All releases MUST follow the above dupe rules as well as the following |
| source specific rules: |
| |
| .1 SD WEB is not allowed after CD/CDR. |
| |
| .2 SD WEB is not allowed after SD WEB. |
| |
| .3 SD WEB is allowed after HD WEB. |
| |
| .4 SD/HD WEB is allowed after VINYL. |
| |
| .5 HD WEB of lower quality is not allowed after HD WEB of higher quality. |
| |
| SD WEB: 16bit/44.1khz and 16bit/48khz |
| HD WEB: >= 24bit and >= 48khz+ |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ENCODING |
| |
| 3.1 A lossless release other than FLAC (e.g. WAV) MUST be encoded using |
| FLAC 1.3.1 (no alphas and betas allowed) |
| |
| .1 A release MUST be encoded using the --compression-level-8 option. |
| |
| .2 A release SHOULD be encoded using the --verify option. |
| |
| .3 A release MUST not be encoded using --replay-gain or any kind of |
| option that changes the audio source quality. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| RELEASE NAME |
| |
| 4.1 The tag -FLAC- MUST be in uppercase in the release name and always |
| before -YEAR- and -GROUP tags. |
| |
| 4.2 Release name MUST contain: |
| |
| - Artist, Title, Bit Depth, Source, Year, Group. |
| |
| .1 ARTIST tag means performer, band, musician. MUST be a unique name. |
| (ie. no OST in place of artist). |
| If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" can be used. |
| Compilations (eg: Soundtracks, Samplers) with various artists MUST use |
| the word "VA" at ARTIST field. |
| |
| .2 TITLE tag means the title of album. It MUST be a unique name. |
| (ie. no Self-titled). If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" |
| can be used. (Self name artist title MUST not be considered an unknown |
| title). |
| |
| 4.3 Using a CATALOGUE number in a release name is optional. |
| |
| .1 A CATALOGUE number is and MUST be a release catalogue reference |
| provided by the label. ISRC/digital distributor codes/custom messages |
| are not allowed. |
| |
| .2 Spaces, hyphens and punctuation in CATALOGUE MAY be removed in favor |
| of normalization. .nfo representation and any vorbis tag that |
| references it SHOULD state the untouched catalog. |
| |
| .3 If a CATALOGUE number is used, the name of the record label MUST be |
| provided in the .nfo |
| |
| 4.4 Valid SOURCE tag: (Uppercase letters MUST be used) |
| |
| .1 WEB |
| |
| 4.5 TYPE describes the difference in tracks, tracklist or year of this |
| release compared to another version. Difference in tracks usually is: |
| length, mixing, mastering, recording, number of channels. Difference in |
| tracklist usually occurs with specific presses, in different countries, |
| with different artists or different/more tracks for the same release |
| title. Different year reports to reissue releases. |
| |
| Some releases need to be identified from the normal ones due to their |
| source nature. (eg: soundtrack compilation, remastering, etc). |
| |
| Therefore valid allowed TYPE tags are: |
| |
| - ##th Anniversary Edition |
| - Audiobook |
| - Bonus Edition |
| - Boxset |
| - Clean |
| - Collectors Edition |
| - <country> (e.g.: JP_Reissue) (Uppercase MUST be used for country) |
| - Deluxe Edition |
| - Demo |
| - Digital 45 |
| - Digital Edition |
| - EP (Uppercase MUST be used) |
| - Expanded Edition |
| - Explicit |
| - Limited Edition |
| - Ltd Edition |
| - Millennium Edition |
| - OST (Uppercase MUST be used) |
| - Reissue |
| - Remastered |
| - Single |
| - Special Edition |
| - Split |
| - Super Deluxe Edition |
| - Tour Edition |
| |
| .1 Most TYPE tags are optional unless stated below. When used, they MUST |
| be placed in the correct order. |
| |
| .2 TYPE tags other than OST and Single are allowed in the album title if |
| presented that way by the shop/service. |
| |
| .3 Unless stated above, the first letter of each word in the TYPE tag |
| MUST be capitalized or the entire TYPE tag MAY be capitalized. |
| |
| .4 TYPE can be a combination of the keywords featured in rule 4.5 using |
| the _ (underscore) space replacement. (e.g. -Reissue_Limited_Edition-) |
| |
| 4.6 Clean and Explicit TYPE tags MUST be used only after one or the other has |
| pred. |
| |
| 4.7 A single track release MUST use the -Single- TYPE tag. |
| |
| .1 Single track Albums and EPs are exempt from rule 4.7 |
| |
| .2 A multi track single (digital equivalent to a CDS/CDM) MAY use the |
| -Single- TYPE tag. |
| |
| 4.8 A soundtrack MUST use the -OST- TYPE tag. (Uppercase MUST be used) |
| |
| .1 A soundtrack is a selection of recorded songs that accompany a |
| game/film/series. Also known as an original soundtrack (OST), this |
| musical selection can include original songs or pre-existing songs |
| that played during the game/film/series or were specifically recorded |
| for the game/film/series. |
| |
| .2 Best Of compilations by composers do not require the -OST- tag and can |
| not be nuked if present. |
| |
| .3 Singles do not require the -OST- tag and can not be nuked if present. |
| |
| 4.9 Valid ADDITIONAL tags: (Uppercase MUST be used) |
| |
| - DIRFIX, NFOFIX, PROPER, READNFO, REAL_PROPER, REPACK, REAL_REPACK. |
| |
| .1 When an ADDITIONAL tag is used, the nfo MUST mention the release name |
| that it is replacing or updating and the reason. |
| |
| .2 A DIRFIX MUST only be used to fix parts of the release name that do |
| not affect Vorbis tag contents. |
| |
|4.10 Valid EXTRA tags: (Uppercase MUST be used) |
| |
| - ##BIT, ##KHZ |
| |
| .1 The ##BIT EXTRA tag MUST be in release name |
| |
| .2 The ##KHZ EXTRA tag MAY be in release name |
| |
|4.11 LANGUAGE (LANG) MUST follow ccTLD or ISO 639-1 identifiers (2-chars) if |
| used: (Capitalized letters MUST be used) |
| |
| http://www.lingoes.net/en/translator/langcode.htm |
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes |
| |
| .1 LANGUAGE tag is recommended for non-English releases. |
| If the vocals are non-English and the majority of them are best |
| described using one LANG code, then the most |
| appropriate LANG code SHOULD be chosen and MAY be used as a tag |
| in the release name. |
| |
|4.12 Mandatory release name formats: |
| |
| - Artist-Title-EXTRA-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-LANG-EXTRA-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-LANG-TYPE-EXTRA-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-CATALOGUE-LANG-TYPE-EXTRA-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-CATALOGUE-LANG-ADDITIONAL-TYPE-EXTRA-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GRP |
| |
| - Artist-Title-16BIT-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-JP-16BIT-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-JP-EP-16BIT-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-JP-EP-16BIT-44KHZ-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-CATALOGUE-JP-EP-16BIT-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| - Artist-Title-CATALOGUE-JP-REPACK-EP-16BIT-WEB-FLAC-2023-GRP |
| |
| .1 WEBFLAC and WEB_FLAC are not allowed. |
| |
| .2 _-_ is not allowed in the release name. |
| |
| .3 -- MAY be used to separate artist and title. |
| |
| .4 - __ . () MAY be used in the artist and title. |
| |
| .5 -(CATALOGUE)- and -CATALOGUE- are allowed. |
| |
| .6 Any spaces in ARTIST and TITLE SHOULD be replaced with _ |
| (underscore(s)) |
| |
| If ARTIST or TITLE has . (dots) or - (dash), it SHOULD |
| be kept as close as they appear on the cover/booklet/physical medium. |
| |
|4.13 YEAR tag MUST be the year when the record company/artist published it. |
| For non-original presses, the additional TYPE tag SHOULD be applied. |
| |
| (example: release originally released in 1990, but rip is from 2000 |
| reissue, correct year would be 2000, with additional TYPE tagging). |
| |
| NOTE: IF a YEAR can not be found it's allowed to use 198x 199x 200x but it |
| MUST be mentioned in the .nfo |
| |
|4.14 Typos in release name (ARTIST and TITLE) are tolerated if either artist or|
| title is 100% correct. |
| |
| .1 If ARTIST and TITLE are both incorrect then the release MUST be |
| repacked and MAY be propered. |
| |
|4.15 ARTIST and TITLE MUST not be translated to English from their native |
| language. English alphabet characters MUST be used to reflect artist |
| and/or title names (ref to rule 1.6). |
| |
| .1 Incorrectly converted foreign characters are tolerated. |
| |
|4.16 Internal releases MUST be tagged GRP_iNT or GRP_INT. |
| |
| .1 Internal releases MUST follow this ruleset. They are not exempt from |
| nukes. |
| |
| .2 Internal releases MUST not dupe an existing release that is 365 days |
| old or newer. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FILENAME |
| |
| 5.1 Filename MUST contain: Track Number, Track Artist, Track Title. |
| |
| 5.2 All filenames (.flac, .jpg, .m3u, .nfo, .pdf, .sfv) MUST be lowercase. |
| |
| 5.3 Tracklist containing all additional infos like featured artists or |
| remixers, if they are present on source, SHOULD be provided as long it |
| does not exceed the maximum filename length (see rule 1.6). |
| |
| If additional information can be found, it is encouraged to write them |
| as well. |
| |
| .1 Releases with differences in tracklist because of metadata provided by |
| the shop/service are not subject to nukes or propers. |
| |
| .2 If the tracklist has changes, due to incorrect metadata provided by the|
| shop/service for example, it is encouraged to correct and explain them |
| in the .nfo |
| |
| .3 If the tracklist is written in more than two languages, the ripper is |
| free to write them both or just a single language. If one of the |
| languages is English then the English tracklist MUST be used. |
| |
| 5.4 Typos in filenames (ARTIST and TITLE) are tolerated if either artist or |
| title is 100% correct. |
| |
| .1 If ARTIST and TITLE are both incorrect then the release MUST be |
| repacked and MAY be propered. |
| |
| 5.5 ARTIST and TITLE MUST not be translated to English from their native |
| language. English alphabet characters MUST be used to reflect artist |
| and/or title names (ref to rule 1.6). |
| |
| .1 Incorrectly converted foreign characters are tolerated. |
| |
| 5.6 Recommended filename formats: |
| |
| - nr-artist-title.flac |
| - nr-artist_featured_artist-title.flac |
| - nr-artist-title_remixer_or_featured_artist.flac |
| |
| .1 _-_ MUST not be used in the filename. |
| |
| .2 - -- __ . () MAY be used in the filename. |
| |
| .3 Featured artists are allowed to be included in the artist or title. |
| |
| 5.7 Including a -crcvalue suffix on each .flac file is allowed. |
| |
| 5.8 Including a -grpname suffix on each .flac file is allowed. |
| |
| 5.9 Filenames MUST be unique for REPACK and PROPER releases. |
| |
|5.10 In VA releases the actual artist name MUST be before song title. VA |
| (Various Artists) is not a valid artist (01-va-song_title is |
| unacceptable). |
| |
| .1 Excludes single audio track releases if it's a compilation of several |
| tunes produced/mixed/remixed by a single artist/producer. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| VORBIS TAGS |
| |
| 6.1 FLAC files MUST contain Vorbis comments. Vorbis comment field names |
| MUST be unique. Multiple comment fields are NOT allowed even though |
| the specification supports this. |
| |
| 6.2 All FLAC files MUST have the following Vorbis comment field names and |
| corresponding field contents: TRACKNUMBER, ARTIST, TITLE, ALBUM, GENRE, |
| and DATE (format: YYYY). |
| |
| .1 All FLAC files SHOULD also have the following Vorbis comment field |
| names and corresponding field contents: TOTALTRACKS, DISCNUMBER and |
| TOTALDISCS. |
| |
| .2 For VA releases the ARTIST field contents MUST have the corresponding |
| artist name not "VA". |
| |
| 6.3 Typos in Vorbis comments (ARTIST and TITLE) are tolerated if either artist|
| or title is 100% correct. |
| |
| .1 If ARTIST and TITLE are both incorrect then the release MUST be |
| repacked and MAY be propered. |
| |
| 6.4 ARTIST and TITLE MUST not be translated to English from their native |
| language. English alphabet characters MUST be used to reflect artist |
| and/or title names (ref to rule 1.6). |
| |
| .1 Incorrectly converted foreign characters are tolerated. |
| |
| 6.5 Vorbis comment field contents use UTF-8 character encoding to allow easy |
| representation of any language. It is recommended to use UTF-8 in field |
| contents to ensure accurate tagging. Filenames MUST follow Rule 1.6. |
| |
| 6.6 The GENRE field content MUST be the same for all the files in a release |
| and it MUST be one of the genres listed: |
| |
| A Cappella, Acid, Acid Jazz, Acid Punk, Acoustic, AlternRock, |
| Alternative, Ambient, Anime, Avantgarde, Ballad, Bass, Beat, Bebop, |
| Big Band, Black Metal, Bluegrass, Blues, Booty Bass, BritPop, Cabaret, |
| Celtic, Chamber Music, Chanson, Chorus, Christian Gangsta Rap, |
| Christian Rap, Christian Rock, Classic Rock, Classical, Club, Club-House, |
| Comedy, Contemporary Christian, Country, Crossover, Cult, Dance, Dance |
| Hall, Darkwave, Death Metal, Disco, Dream, Drum & Bass, Drum Solo, Duet, |
| Easy Listening, Electronic, Ethnic, Euro-House, Euro-Techno, Eurodance, |
| Fast Fusion, Folk, Folk-Rock, Folklore, Freestyle, Funk, Fusion, Game, |
| Gangsta Rap, Goa, Gospel, Gothic, Gothic Rock, Grunge, Hard Rock, |
| Hardcore, Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, House, Humour, Indie, Industrial, |
| Instrumental, Instrumental Pop, Instrumental Rock, Jazz, Jazz+Funk, |
| JPop, Jungle, Latin, Lo-Fi, Meditative, Merengue, Metal, Musical, |
| National Folk, Native American, Negerpunk, New Age, New Wave, Noise, |
| Oldies, Opera, Other, Polka, Polsk Punk, Pop, Pop-Folk, Pop/Funk, |
| Porn Groove, Power Ballad, Pranks, Primus, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic, |
| Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Punk Rock, R&B, Rap, Rave, Reggae, Retro, |
| Revival, Rhythmic Soul, Rock, Rock & Roll, Salsa, Samba, Satire, |
| Showtunes, Ska, Slow Jam, Slow Rock, Sonata, Soul, Sound Clip, |
| Soundtrack, Southern Rock, Space, Speech, Swing, Symphonic Rock, |
| Symphony, Synthpop, Tango, Techno, Techno-Industrial, Terror, |
| Thrash Metal, Top 40, Trailer, Trance, Tribal, Trip-Hop, Vocal, Unknown. |
| |
| NOTE: Both Psychedelic and Psychadelic are correct and MAY not be nuked |
| if used. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NFO CONTENT |
| |
| 7.1 The following NFO content SHOULD be present: |
| |
| - Codec of source (when the source is FLAC) |
| - Bit depth of source (e.g. 16BIT, 24BIT) |
| - Sampling rate of source (e.g. 44.1kHz) |
| |
| 7.2 The following NFO content MUST be present: |
| |
| - Codec of source (when the source is not FLAC) |
| - FULL URL to the release on the shop or service where the files were |
| acquired |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Signed (in alphabetical order) |
| |
| AOVF BABAS dh ENRiCH ENTiTLED KALEVALA KLV MOONBLOOD OBZEN OSKOREIA PTC |
| RUIDOS VEXED WAVED |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| WEB FLAC rules 1.0 apply from 2023-08-01 00:00:00 CET (Central European Time) |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|