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Streamload 

Streamload

This guide is in FAQ form. It originally appeared in Noated (but yes, I wrote it). It gives you a blow-by-blow account on how to get started on Streamload.

Update: I wrote this guide in 2005 or 2006. Streamload hasn't been around for a while now. It's been replaced by MediaMax. Or renamed to MediaMax. Whatever. Since the conversion, a lot of anime fans have abandoned this means of file sharing because they are frustrated with MediaMax downtimes and missing uploads. The sharing boards that I mention in this page may no longer exist because the people who maintain them left. I myself have cancelled my MediaMax account a long time ago and have stopped checking in to see if things have improved. However, I am still keeping this page up as some sort of a memorial to how great Streamload has been.

How do I use it?
If you do not have a Streamload account, here’s a three-step way to do it.

1. Go to Streamload's site.
2. Click “Sign Up” and fill out the sign-up prompts. As most online services go, you will be asked to choose a username and password. They’ll send you an e-mail to verify your e-mail address.
3. Users always start out with trial accounts, otherwise known as freeloader accounts. You may choose to upgrade your account. See What types of Streamload plans are available? for the different types of accounts you can have.

Once your account is created, you can just log in from the Streamload homepage. Typically, Streamload keeps you logged in at a particular computer until you click “Log Out.”

The next few sections will deal with managing your Streamload account. They involve working with files, which may be a little hard to follow if you don’t have files in your account to begin with. You can jump to How do I get files? if you wish ;)

Okay, I have an account and I logged in. Now what?
Your account page has five tabs, namely, “Inbox,” “Sent Items,” “Free Storage,” “Hosted Files,” and “Trash Can.” You can also see these sections in a window by the left side of your screen. Here are some blurbs on what goes under each tab/section:

Inbox- this is the default tab/section that Streamload opens when you go into your account. When other Streamload users send you files, they show up here. They’re in e-mail form, which means you can open each entry and find the sent files as attachments. The sender can also choose to include a message with the files.

Sent Items- this is an archive of all the files you sent to other Streamload users. Again, they’re also in e-mail form, so you can see which files went to which user.

Free Storage- this is where you can put all your files and organize them by folder and by subfolder and by subsubfolder, if you wish. This is where you can store an unlimited number of files.

Paid Storage- only users with paid accounts get Paid Storage. If that applies to you, you can put files in this section. The space of your Paid Storage depends on the paid account that you have.

Hosted Files- this is where you can put your files and have people download them from you, whether they have Streamload accounts or not. Their downloads will be counted against your download quota (the number of megabytes you can download per month), so be careful about the type of files you host and the security you choose to have. You can host files by moving/copying files from the other sections, such as Free Storage and Paid Storage, to the Hosted Files section. Once they’re there, you can click “Edit” and then “Basic Edit.” There is an entry called “Hosting Restrictions.” You can choose to have no restrictions, which means anybody who knows your hosted Streamload URL can download fromm you, or you can choose to protect the files with passwords. That way, only people with the correct password can download your files. Usually, your hosted files URL is http://www.streamload.com/yourusername.

Trash Can- recycling bin. ‘Nuff said.

What types of Streamload plans are available?
From your user page, go to “Account Info.” There is a place that says “Subscription Summary.” Under it, click “Edit Membership.” If you have the Freeloader plan, you will then find a screen that has the button “Become a Streamloader.” That’s right, Freeloaders and Streamloaders are different from each other ;)

After you click on the “Become a Streamloader” button, you can choose from gigabyte or terabyte general plans. Here we’ll just cover the gigabyte plans ^_~ Each plan allows you to download a certain number of gigabytes’ worth of files every month (if you go with the monthly subscription) or every year (if you go with the annual subscription). Your month/year starts from the day you started your paid plan. For example, if you signed up on the 15th of the month, your subscription renews every 15th.

You can use your downloads throughout the month/year, until the next month/year arrives. At that time, your account will reset. For example, you have the basic monthly subscription, which gives you 1 GB of download every month. You used up only half of that when the month ended. When the new month comes in, Streamload resets your account back to 1 GB. You lose remaining downloads you had from the previous month. Sorry, no rollover XD To get your money’s worth, use up all your downloads before the month ends.

Freeloader- where you start out with. No fees. You get 100 MB every month.

Basic-
Monthly: $4.95
Every month, you can download up to 1 GB worth of files. This is good if you’re into mp3s or follow a few manga scanlation releases.
Annual: $44.95
Every year, you can download up to 12 GB worth of files.

Standard-
Monthly: $9.95
Every month, you can download up to 10 GB worth of files. This is good for downloading a new anime series or two every month, give or take some manga series and mp3s.
Annual: $99.95
Every year, you can download up to 120 GB worth of files.

Enhanced-
Monthly: $19.95
Every month, you can download up to 25 GB worth of files. Lets you get more anime and manga series.
Annual: $199.95
Every year, you can download up to 300 GB worth of files.

Platinum-
Monthly: $39.95.
Every month, you can download up to 60 GB worth of files. Never run out of downloads again! XD Good if you’re the type who would store his/her whole media library into Streamload and just download files when you feel like viewing them.
Annual: $399.95
Every year, you can download up to 720 GB worth of files.

All paid plans include 10 GB of paid storage. You can choose to have more paid storage each month with the following rates, which is billed every month:

15 GB storage- $4.95
25 GB storage- $9.95
125 GB storage- $48.95

It should be noted that most people are able to get along with just Free Storage ;)

How do I get files through Streamload?
Ah, yes, here we go. Two ways to get files:

1. Upload them.

There is an “Upload” button in your Streamload account page. Go to the folder that you want to stick your files in and click this button. Then specify the location of your file in your computer. Streamload will then upload for you.

You can also use the Streamload Uploader. You can download it, along with other Streamload utility programs. Then just open the program, drag and drop folders to it, and have it automatically upload the files to your account. You must first configure the program so it’s linked to your account. Just click on “File” and then “Configure.” Once it uploads to your account, you will see an e-mail from yourself (it has your IP number) that contains the files.

Of course, if you don't have files to begin with, the Upload tool might not come in handy. Most likely, you're getting on Streamload because there are files that you don't have but would like to have. Okay, okay, stop grousing and read on XD

2. Request them from other Streamload users.

Noated has the Streamload Hunt forum, where you can post a request for a particular anime/manga series. It also has the Streamload Share forum, where generous people with huge collections of anime and manga list what they have. You can then request from them by posting replies to their thread. Make sure you follow the rules of each Streamload sharer.

There are also Streamload distros all over the Web. You can use search engines and keywords like “Streamload,” “distro,” “anime,” and “manga” to locate them. Make sure you follow the rules of each distro.

Rules? What rules?
Ah, yes, rules.
People who share their Streamload files aren’t required to fill your request. Keep in mind that they’re doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. Most of the time, they have rules that help them share more efficiently and keep them from going nuts. Streamload requesting does come with its own pet peeves. Here are some rules you might encounter when requesting:

1. Request only a certain number of files within a certain period of time- for example, one of the rules says you can only request five files every 24 hours. That means you can’t request more than 5, and you must wait for 24 hours to pass before you can request again.

2. Do not request “all”- sharers spend a lot of time building their collection and organizing it. How would you like it if you spent months requesting so you can have a nice, long list of anime, and someone comes along and says, “Send me all that you have”? It’s possible to send an entire collection to other users, and some sharers are really nice and do so. Such instances are rare, however. It usually happens when the sharer is going to stop sharing soon and makes an announcement that he/she is sending his/her collection to those who request within a certain amount of time. For most sharers, you have only a limited number of requests.

3. Do not use “all,” “above,” or “up” when requesting- this pertains to series. If you want all available episodes within an anime series or all available chapters within a manga, usually only the title is enough. These all-encompassing terms are usually a pet peeve among sharers.

4. Always be polite- should go without saying. Sharers are not obligated to fill your requests, and they are taking time out of their schedule to do so. A “Thank you” after your request would be nice. If there are problems with the files that you got, nicely inform the sharer so he/she is aware of it. Chances are, he/she will try to get a repaired file because that means he/she has a corrupted file too.

How do I download?
Now you have files in your account. To download, click the checkbox next to the file. Then click the “Download button.”

You can download a folder of files, or several files, at the same time, if you have a paid account. Freeloaders can only download a file at a time, and that file cannot be more than 10 MB. This rules out most anime episodes and a number of manga chapters.

To download a folder of files or several files at the same time, click several file/folder checkboxes and click the “Download” button. It will take you to a download prompt, where you can tell it to send the file to your Streamload Downloader. This is a great program that gets your files for you while you do other stuff. Like the Uploader, you need to configure it with your login information so it can connect to your account. The Streamload Downloader checks for new downloads every 5 minutes, by default.

How do I cheat Streamload?
This is a no-no. Streamload is vigilant about users who try to get more than what they paid for. Some notes of caution:

1. If you try to log in from different computers in very different geographic locations, you account might get temporarily frozen. It raises a red flag to Streamload, indicating that other people might be sharing your account. Not good.

2. Most request forums are on the lookout for people with multiple Streamload accounts and block them. People can open several Freeloader accounts and just use up the downloads. When Streamload catches you, they freeze your account. They also freeze accounts of those who send files to you. That means sharers who fill requests from people with multiple Streamload accounts also get inconvenienced (at the least) by this.

3. Purposely splitting up files to make them freeloader-friendly is another no-no. Streamload can catch users who have lots of files split up into small pieces, because they appear to cater to Freeloaders. Naturally, Freeloaders are always encouraged to become Streamloaders. Having lots of freeloader-friendly files do not help this objective.

4. Compressing large files into tinier-size files is yet another no-no. Streamload doesn’t like people who try and circumvent the rules :P