Anyone else experiencing this, and/or have any ideas why this is suddenly an issue?

 

All the other content I'm selecting is working fine, but most/all episodes of TBBT are failing with "article missing".  I suppose there could have been some sort of "takedown" filed, but I always thought that since newsgroups aren't really 'stored' in one place, that this wasn't really possible.

 

ideas?

Takedowns are possible, and most newsgroup providers have a DMCA takedown process.  If you look on their site you'll usually find a link where you can file a takedown request.

I didn't really know they could take stuff down

The newsgroups don't generally take all the files down, just enough parts so that you can't complete the download.

I didn't really know they could take stuff down

http://www.morganelligroup.com/?p=386

morganelli group ?? ?

 

What a joke! It's a one person company. Joe Morganelli. Look at their website. All the blog posts are written by him. The team page has just him. I would be surprised if this guy ever got paid. His website looks like nothing more than an advertising platform full of self smugness.

 

I bet he sends a bunch of DMCA requests for popular content hoping to generate some buzz so he can pitch to potential clients. I doubt he has any time to really go after the clients since he is doing it all by himself. I am sure pretty soon the indexing sites will have a workaround that will prevent him from doing what he is doing before he's able to turn profit. And he will be forgotten 

 

PS. Megaupload is planning on coming up with a system that is immune to DMCA requests where they will password protect and encrypt everything and the material will technically be personal material, not public so DMCA takedown will not be applicable. It would be the same as me uploading a file on dropbox and sending the download link to my friend. Dropbox does not have to comply with a DMCA takedown request for that file because it is personal property, not public. This dude Joe or whatever does not have the authorization or permission to look inside that file.

So, is anyone else having issues downloading episodes of the Big Bang Theory, or am I just 'doing it wrong' suddenly? 

Some servers don't honor cancels.

I've never had issues, just using the free xsusenet to nab the new episodes with sickbeard..

I check my TBBT episodes and foind that S06E09 show snatched but didn't complete. All others or present.

The Big Bang Theory CBS HD 120 / 121 Continuing

Tried a alternate release and it completed.

All of the big name Usenet providers honor takedowns. Astraweb being the worse because of their automated DMCA system. A user on another forum tested it by creating a fake archive named similar to a popular title for DMCA requests, within hours of being uploaded it was no longer available.

 

Content providers like HBO use bots to search for their content in the names and send the automated request. Since astraweb is the most popular upload provider these requests can be fulfilled before the data gets propogated to other servers.

Yes.. Having this problem as well... A few other shows too.. Boardwalk empire a few weeks ago, and maybe Aarow?

 

Got a small block account with a Netherlands server set as backup, and the problem is gone

Yes.. Having this problem as well... A few other shows too.. Boardwalk empire a few weeks ago, and maybe Aarow?

 

Got a small block account with a Netherlands server set as backup, and the problem is gone

Which server?

Here's a good breakdown of Dutch providers:

 

http://www.ngprovider.com/euro-based-usenet-providers.php

Does the DMCA apply to servers outside of the US? I didn't think it did.

 

In that case, astraweb should still have complete materials on their EU servers, right??

 

Their customers are allowed to connect to both US and EU servers.

So, is anyone else having issues downloading episodes of the Big Bang Theory, or am I just 'doing it wrong' suddenly? 

Never had issues until just now. TBBT indeed, no matter what version i get, 720p web dl, 1080p web dl, x264 stuff... i cant download it. Sabnzbd is complaining about: Download failed - Out of your server's retention? The episodes are 8 hours old, and show up complete on e.g. nzbindex.nl...

 

is this the shape of things to come?

BTW, this is a good tool to check the nzbs beforehand:

 

http://www.zoon.dk/nzb-completion-checker/

I believe that astraweb is a US based company (the domain is certainly registered there).  Assuming they are US based they will comply with takedown requests on all of their servers.  Even if it's not they will likely still comply with takedown requests simply because they cannot afford being drawn into the quagmire surrounding the legal implications of the business they engage in.  Nobody wants to be the next megaupload.

So, is anyone else having issues downloading episodes of the Big Bang Theory, or am I just 'doing it wrong' suddenly? 

Never had issues until just now. TBBT indeed, no matter what version i get, 720p web dl, 1080p web dl, x264 stuff... i cant download it. Sabnzbd is complaining about: Download failed - Out of your server's retention? The episodes are 8 hours old, and show up complete on e.g. nzbindex.nl...

 

is this the shape of things to come?

 

There are lost of complaints about incomplete fiies on Astraweb. Check the forums on Nzbmatrix. You might get a block acct with another provider to check. I was with Astraweb for about 4 years, switched to Newshosting. Think Supernews has a three day trial.  I dont think take downs are the issue. Take down are more common with newly released movies. The last batman movie, had lots of takedowns.

There must be something else going on... this is not astraweb related. I've just purchased a 30 day pre-paid account with Eweka (dutch usenet provider) and this specific episode shows up there complete as well, but once you download, parts are missing and there are no parsets.... same as astraweb. Something fishy is going on... i'll try newshosting as well, see what that does...

 

*edit* if this was a takedown by some DMCA enforced act, you would assume they would cripple older episodes as well... i can get the previous episode without a problem...

Opted for another trial at a dutch usenet provider, tweaknews. And... downloaded TBBT S10E06 with no problems. According to other forums, a lot of US based??? usenet providers have to comply to DMCA takedowns, and the networks (HBO etc) are actively and aggressively searching them with automated bots and auto generated takedowns more and more lately.

The issue isn't whether the provider is US based, its if they have US based servers. A lot of the companies are based in Europe and the Netherlands, but they have US servers as well. Even if not US based if they operate on US soil they are bound by the DMCA.

 

@Jowi, it IS astraweb related. If you look at the contents of the NZB file you will see that the address originates with Astraweb. As I said previously Astraweb is the most popular upload provider, meaning most of the content on usenet originates with the Astraweb servers. After it is uploaded(or more precisely while it is uploading) it is "synced" and propagated to other servers. If during this window while its being synced to other servers it is hit with a DMCA it will be incomplete on most providers. Since as I previously stated Astraweb uses an automated service to pull down DMCAs so it happens quickly, it will be incomplete on most providers.

 

The providers often have different routes for the propagation. For example Astraweb when propagating to other servers it takes a fairly direct route(and often times these are the posts that are complete). For an unknown reason to me(but probably makes sense to them) occasionally the propagation takes a strange route going across Russia first, which lengthens the time it takes for propagation. These posts are almost always incomplete because there is more than enough time for it to be hit with a DMCA.

 

To add to the mess, for the last few months Astraweb has had propagation issues where it syncs extremely slow to other servers, often times syncing incomplete files when the originating file on their server IS complete. This is especially the case on weekends.

 

In this case, Eweka, is not a true dutch usenet provider. They are a Highwinds reseller and Highwinds pulls DMCA requests just as much as Astraweb does. The company is dutch but since they buy from Highwinds they are bound by the same laws. Tweaknews on the other hand is dutch owned and operated.

 

If a search doesn't tell you if a provider is dutch owned and operated or if its a reseller for another provider, you can usually do a traceroute on the address, for example news.eweka.nl or news.tweaknews.eu(nl). You'll see with eweka the end address is hwng.net(highwinds newsgroups) and goes through highwinds servers, for me it bounces off the US servers. Tweaknews on the otherhand goes to their Amsterdam server farm.

 

As far as websites showing the file is complete, usually if the files are there its considered complete, regardless of if the entire file is there. Some websites use user reporting to tell if it is complete, so if no one ever bothered to report it as incomplete, it will be regarded as complete until the end of time.

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

EDIT: I also think this should be moved to Lounge, not really a Customization issue(although I see why it would be posted here since it deals with Sab, but its a usenet issue not a sab issue)

 

Great explanation Influencer, thanks!

Still, if this continues or gets worse i guess i have to quit my subscription with Astraweb.

Great explanation Influencer, thanks!

Still, if this continues or gets worse i guess i have to quit my subscription with Astraweb.

Or just buy a block for fills. Super(Giga)News has the same issues. The solution for me is to buy blocks from other services. My 5GB BlockNews block has lasted years.

NZBMATRIX have closed up shop.  Does anyone know of a good indexer out there ? Happy to pay if not too much.