DCM's FAQ - READ HERE FIRST before you post your questions

[aussie500]

Hi and welcome to the Digital Comic Museum!
We're here to provide access to the 1000s of public domain comics that have been created up to the end of 1959.
This forum is a place for members to meet and chat about the books on the site and many other related topics.

The most common questions we get on DCM are the following -
HOW DO I REGISTER TO DOWNLOAD THE COMICS?  - Read This Link.

HOW DO I READ THE COMICS? - Read This Link.

There are some Rules to follow to keep things running smoothly here. 
Please give them a read.  It wont take long, thanks!
Click here - Rules for the download site.

Other rules -
DO NOT POST LINKS TO NOR ASK FOR NON-PUBLIC DOMAIN COMICS
It's those kind of posts that could lead to our being closed down permanently.  Any such posts when found will be deleted and the offending posters WILL be permanently banned!

TREAT OTHERS ON THE FORUM AS YOU YOURSELF WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED.
BEING POLITE IS ENCOURAGED AND NOT THAT HARD TO DO.
We also discourage topics that might easily lead to hurt feelings or cross words such as Politics and Religion.  This is a comics first site and forum.  There are many many forums out there which would welcome such hot button topics so please, PLEASE if you feel the need to vent on such a topic go there and do it.

Table of Contents for this topic (Questions #s):

• Question 00000 - "Is there an APP for DCM?"
• Question 0000 - "I registered but didn't get an Activation Email, what should I do?"
• Question 000 - "I can't login on the Download site but I can on the forum.  HELP!'
• Question 00 - "I can't download ANYTHING from DCM!  All I get is this error message:
• Question 0 - "How do I READ these scan files after I've downloaded them?"
• Question 1 - "Where are the COMIC SCANS anyways?"
• Question 2 - "I can't log-in on the Download page!"
• Question 3 - "Why are there banner ads on your site?"
• Question 4 - "I love DCM, anything I can do to help?  How do I become a VIP member?
• Question 5 - "I found a link/was sent a link to a scan.  I hit download but I get the following message:
• Question 6 - "I clicked a link and got a 'No referring URL was found error.'  What's up?"
• Question 7 - "Can I safely use Anything on DCM in my own business? Do I need your permission?"
• Question 8 - "These scans SUCK!  They are fiche or incomplete, or not what I'm looking for, etc. etc."
• Question 9 - "I have some great books from Marvel/DC/Archie/Street & Smith/United Features to share.  Can I upload them?"
• Question 10 - "How do I get my own avatar on the forum?"
• Question 11a - "Can I scan a book already on DCM?"
• Question 11b - "Can I just scan the missing pages and add them to an incomplete scan on DCM?"
• Question 11 - "How do I upload my public domain comic scans?"
• Question 12 - "Can I request a specific comic be scanned?
• Question 13 - "How do I check if a book is in the public domain?"

Help, I've been banned!
Please read the 'Why am I banned from DCM?' topic here -
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/forum/index.php/topic,2796.0.html

============

Well we try to answer the most common questions here.
Please take some time and see if your problem is here and already covered before starting a new topic on the matter.
Mac users read the GREEN type and those wishing to upload be sure to read Question 11.

Question 0000 - "Is there an APP for DCM?"
Answer - Thanks for asking but NO, there is currently no app for DCM.
Please check our FAQ topic on how to read scans on DCM here.

Question 0000 - "I registered but didn't get an Activation Email, what should I do?"
Answer - If you registered on DCM and DO NOT get an ACTIVATION EMAIL please go to the following topic.
CLICK to continue: http://tinyurl.com/3g4kk2q


Question 000 - "I can't login on the Download site but I can on the forum.  HELP!'
Answer - See Question #2 or go to the following link, thanks.
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/forum/index.php/topic,2783.0.html


Question 00 - "I can't download ANYTHING from DCM!  All I get is this error message:

Sorry but you do not have permission to view this page...

This means you have not logged in yet OR you have never registered with the new site at all.  Some members who might recall registering recently on GAC will find they are not registered here.  This is not an intentional slight.  Please just register with DCM.

Note JAVASCRIPT must be turned ON to login on DCM.

CaptDJ has created a VIDEO CLIP explaining how to download for any new members unfamiliar with the idea. 
CLICK HERE TO GO SEE IT!

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Question 0 - "How do I READ these scan files after I've downloaded them?"
Answer - you must have a comic reader program such as CDisplay. READ THIS THREAD for how to make and read CBZ,CBR,RAR & ZIP files found on the site.


Question 1 - "Where are the COMIC SCANS anyways?"
Answer - try this link: http://digitalcomicmuseum.com  Or just click on DOWNLOADS at the top of this page beside 'home' to be taken there.


Question 2 - "I can't log-in on the Download page!"

Again note: JAVASCRIPT must be turned ON to log-in on DCM.

Answer for FIREFOX - check if you have the 'NoScript' addon installed.  If you DO and don't have the DCM urls in the 'Whitelist' section you might not be able to log in.  Add them to the 'Whitelist', reboot Firefox and try to log-in again.

Answer - If you see the following error message you when you can't log in to DCM..

Error: Login failed... There was an error locating the details for this user
Failed inside $this->usertype->do_login().

Remember, your download account has the same username/password that you use here on the forum so try logging in here.  (The link is just below the banner at the top of the site on the left.)
Now log out of the forum and log back in. Once logged in everything should work.
Visit the download site at: http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php and log in.
Type the username/password you used when logging into the forum and attempt to log in.

To confirm you are logged in correct it will say at top of the download site:
"Logged in as: Your USERNAME ( Log Out | USER CP ) [ Upload File ] [ Search ]"

This error is commonly caused by typos while entering in your username/password on the website ie. using lower-case when your username contains upper-case - sam instead of Sam.

You might also see this error when logging in on DCM:

Error: Login failed... The password does not match the one in our records.
Failed inside $this->usertype->do_login().

First check you have typed your password in correctly. (see above about typos etc.)  If you are still experiencing this problem after double checking everything you might be one of the very few that have found a bug that affects a small % of our users (about <1%) and happens at random.

Make sure is that you have javascript enabled. We use some javascript code that deals with hashing for passwords to match them up with SMF format since we linked the download script to our forum software while ago for "easy" login and instead of having to use two accounts. Ever since we have had issues and we think this javascript hashing script is the cause.

You might try logging in from another computer or using another browser. If this fails or is unavailable to you the next possible solution is find a trustworthy friend to attempt to log-in for you using their PC but only trust your "real" friends as you will have to give them your username/password. We strongly suggest you reset your password once you manage to log-in. A final option and perhaps the safest is to PM your username and password with error message to one of the DCM staff. Ask the staff member kindly if they can try and log into your account for you.
After a staff member logs in and out of your account it usually works perfectly fine with no password issues. Again we suggest changing your PW once you've regained your use of the DCM site.  Sadly this is a random bug so wish us luck in trying to track down what's causing this problem.   


Question 3 - "Why are there banner ads on your site?"

Answer - Simple answer - hate the ads, make a donation.
Since we first started in 2010 we've never charged for access to the scans.  We've always depended on member donations and got by.  But our costs have gone up, especially when we doubled our storage capacity last year.  We're ready for the future growth we all hope to see.  To meet our overhead we had to start using banner ads on the site.  So far we've managed to survive.  But if you love the site and want to keep us here for the long haul I hope members here will click the 'Donate' button below the banner.  Every penny goes towards our server bill, currently $169.99 US/month.  Donors become VIP members and will no longer see the banner ads after that.  VIP-Scanners and VIP-Doners will also NEVER have any bandwidth limits on them as long as we have a site.

Question 4 - "I love DCM, anything I can do to help?  How do I become a VIP member?"
Answer - Glad you enjoy our site!  VIP members are people who scan and upload at least one of their own PD books or make a cash donation to help pay the site bills.  You can read about making a donation here!

NOTE - we currently can only accept PAY-PAL donations, sorry.

Question 5 - "I found a link/was sent a link to a scan.  I hit download but I get the following message:

Error: Your session ID does not match the session ID for this download link. If you are following this link from our site, please report it to the admin.. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin

Answer - If you see this message you've either following a link from an external site or you forgotten to log in.  Only REGISTERED members can download from DCM but no fear, it's FREE!

Question 6 - "I clicked a link and got a 'No referring URL was found error.'  What's up?"
Answer - If you see the following message:

Error: No referring URL was found. The admin has chosen not to allow downloads from users with no referring urls. This is often because you are using a firewall that blocks this URL. Disabling or closing your firewall will often solve this problem and allow you to download files..

Please check your firewall settings on your computer to check if referral URL's have been blocked. To test this try disabling your firewall/privacy program ie: Norton and then checking website to see if you can download. DCM requires all users show what page referred them to the downloads, if for any reason this referral is empty or another websites URL you will be unable to download the file and show this message.


Question 7 - Can I safely use Anything on DCM in my own business? Do I need your permission?
Answer - This is a very important question that deserves special attention.  Please read the following link for a detailed answer.  The short answer is 'maybe' but do your own due diligence before you start.
Read here for the full answer - http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/forum/index.php/topic,2759.0.html


Question 8 - "These scans SUCK!  They are fiche or incomplete, or not what I'm looking for, etc. etc."
Answer - Gee, sorry you didn't enjoy your downloads.  If you happen to have a paper copy or a more complete book PLEASE feel free to scan it and share it on the site.  We depend on scan donations so whatever you see is what was uploaded by our members.  If you have something we don't to scan let us know.  Not all books are eligible for the site for legla reasons.  And NOTHING after 1959 is allowed.  See below.


Question 9 - "I have some great books from Marvel/DC/Archie/Street & Smith/United Features to share.  Can I upload them?"
Answer - No thanks.  We can't use any scans from these publishers as they are Not in the public domain.
BUT... We are always looking for new PUBLIC DOMAIN books to share here.
 

Click HERE for a list of acceptable publishers please look at this link.
Click HERE for a list of 'Comics Not Allowed'

Question 10 - "How do I get my own avatar on the forum?"
Answer - So you want to have your own cool avatar eh?  There's two ways to do it:
Click on your "PROFILE" link and go to "Forum Profile Information."  You can select from the existing 'Actors' or 'Musicians' folders or upload youf own.  The size limit is 125  x 125 and OBSCENE avatars will be deleted.

Or you can upload it to a secondary online host.  First I uploaded a 125x125 (the size limit on DCM) scan to Imageshack.com.  Then I go to DCM and hit 'Profile' at the top of the page.  In Profile on the left I hit 'Forum Profile Information'.  It's in there you can add the 'direct display' link provided by Imjr.  Just past the URL in the 'I have my own pic:' entry.  If you did it right the uploaded picture should appear at the top of the page within seconds.

There is also the option of using one of the custom DCM avatars debuted on our first anniversary shown below.  Any new member can use the 'Member' one by following the above instructions and looking inside of the 'DCM generic avatars' folder.  Over time more will be added as they are created.  For VIP members you can contact Yoc or GEO via Private Message and have either of the special avatars added to your account.

https://digitalcomicmuseum.com//forum/avatars/DCM_generic_avatars/Member-DCM SQUARE-125.jpg

https://digitalcomicmuseum.com//forum/avatars/DCM_generic_avatars/Supporter-DCM SQUARE-125.jpg

MORE BELOW

[Yoc]

Continued from above -

Question 11a - "Can I scan a book already on DCM?"
Answer - Yes!  Some ask if it was OK to scan a book twice.  We say sure, why not? 
If someone wants to spend their time and money doing it we wont stop them.  The only firm rule we impose is making sure it's in the public domain (PD).  We'll remove a book when it's non-PD, fiche replaced by paper or when someone adds missing pages to an existing scan we will remove the incomplete older one.  Duplicate books we just mark (diff ver) so members know there's more than one version out there.  We especially encourage a rescan (or add fills) if the existing one is made from a book in poor condition, has a small scan (20mb or less), or incomplete.  This isn't a slight on the first scanner .  When there is more than one version we are letting the viewer decide which they want to keep.  If you have a book already on DCM that you felt was in better condition or you think you can make a better version of it please feel free. 


Question 11b - "Can I just scan the missing pages and add them to an incomplete scan on DCM?"
Answer - Absolutely.  Just check the existing scan file names and make sure whatever pages you add are in the proper order and to give the original scanner full credit for their work in the description area.  Please DO NOT resize or manipulate the original scans you are merging with unless given permission by the original scanner.  Thanks.


Question 11 - "How do I upload my public domain comic scans?"
Answer - Hey, thanks for wanting to share with the gang here! 

First be sure you've read the Rules for the download site. - specifically rule 2 - file types.
Also be sure to check the link on what is and isn't allowed above in Question 9!

Done?  Cool.  Remember, no PDF files.  After you've compressed your file into a Zip or Rar file (use Winzip or Winrar).  You can rename the *.zip to *.CBZ  and the *.rar to *.CBR if you like.  We can handle any of these four file types: rar/zip/cbr/cbz.  No other file types will upload to DCM. You can get 7Zip for free here.  You can use 7Zip to create a generic ZIP file.  NOTE- DCM cannot share 7zip native 7z files.

DO NOT NEST FILE TYPES WITHIN EACH OTHER PLEASE. A cbr within a zip file can lead to problems.  Same for a cbz within a rar file.  Pick one and use that.  Thanks.

DCM uses an Automatic Cover Thumbnail feature we would really appreciate that any new books uploaded have the COVER SCAN as the first file in the book.  The first file is automatically pulled out and a thumbnail added for display on the site.  To be sure your files appear in proper order we STRONGLY suggest you number them at the start when naming your jpg files.  ie 00.jpg, 01.jpg, 02.jpg, etc.

ATTENTION MAC USERS - The Mac OS installed ZIP utility application that comes standard on mac machines adds some odd files that screws with PC users as well as our Preview feature.  Please use one of the following FREE archiving apps to create your Zip or CBZ files for uploading:

[for mac]
YemuZip

YemuZip ver. 2.3 for early Mac OSX (pre. 10.5) use this version here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dgcc44be4y4k99n
For Mac OSX 10.5 up go here for YemuZip for the latest version: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/12350/yemuzip
or here: http://www.yellowmug.com/yemuzip/
or go to the Apple App store and buy it for $4.99 here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yemuzip/id418423076?mt=12

Here's a site that reviews other Mac options for making Zip files - CLICK HERE.

Also be sure to avoid special characters in your file names.  ie: don't use any of the following in a file name:
` ~ ! @ $ % ^ & * < > ? ; : '

Finally a shorter file name (absolutely no longer than 44 total characters incl file type) is better than a very long one.

You can follow along in a visual tutorial we created on the subject CLICK HERE!

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There are TWO ways you can upload a set of scans to the site.
If you become a VIP member (send a PM to Yoc asking for the ftp details) you can upload one or multiple books to the sites private FTP. 

If you are a newbie you can only use the Upload File link on the site which is explained here -
You can upload a single scan directly to the site using the [ Upload File ] link above the site's banner.

THIS METHOD IS WORKING.  PLEASE GIVE IT A TRY.

Points to remember if you do use this method -
1. Remember to follow the file name standards already started for the title. These should be used in the 'Download Name' field at the top of the page that opens when you hit the Upload File link I mentioned above.

2. You can fill in anything you like in the 'Download Description' area. I like to include the scanners name and if the book is missing any pages or any noted artists.

3. If you want to include a thumbnail of the cover (always nice) be SURE to enter 1 in the "Number of Thumbnails" box and then hit 'Update Form' BEFORE doing ANYTHING else.  Once updated you will see 'Thumbnail image:' has been added.  You need to Browse to where you have the cover saved.

4. Click in the browse box for the 'Download:' field and find your file (CBZ,CBR,RAR or ZIP) you've made of your file.  Again I strongly suggest only using CBZ files.  Rar and CBR files still fail for me.

5. Next you need to select the publisher/title of your book under 'Publications' in the 'Category:' section.  Left click on any name in the list - then type the first letter of the name of the publisher.  The list should jump to that name.  ie to find 'Ace' hit 'A'.  Left click on that publisher if it's there.  Next see if the title of your book has it's own sub-category and left click it if there is one. 
If there IS NOT A LISTING FOR YOUR PUBLISHER USE THE UNSORTED FILES SECTION just bellow Hillman Publications.  Sorry, the publishers are Not in alphabetical order.  DO NOT USE THE 'UPLOAD NEW COMICS HERE' OPTION.  Thanks!

6. Now hit 'PREVIEW' to initiate the upload.  Depending on your Internet connection the upload can take some time.  Patience is a virtue here if you are on dial-up.

7. This can be tricky.  Read carefully!
When the upload is done a page will appear that looks exactly like the site's normal download page EXCEPT there will be a 'CONFIRM' link at the bottom of the page. You might have to scroll the page down to see it.  Hit that Confirm button to activate the download link for the entire site.

http://digitalcomicmuseum.com//images/forum message pictures/Upload Confirm screen.jpg

8. You should see a message with a green 'information' icon like this:

http://digitalcomicmuseum.com//images/forum message pictures/Upload Continue screen.jpg

Click the "Continue" button to add file to database.
Followed by this:

Thank you for adding this new file to our database.. The admin has required that files are approved before they are added to the database. Your file will appear in our database if the admin approves your file.

That means one of the admins or moderators will have to do the final activation of your upload.  But your work is done.  If all went well the book should appear on the site in the next little while.  If you want to be sure it gets noticed mention the upload in the Message Board Uploads area to get a moderator's attention or send one a PM directly.

If you see this red Error icon and the following message then the upload did NOT work:

http://digitalcomicmuseum.com//skins/skin2/images/error.gif

Error: No file uploads of this type are allowed. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin

Try using a different file type and check the file name doesn't have any of the above special character in the name.

And if you get the following error message:

"Error: You can not put downloads in the base category. Please select a different category...

That means you didn't select a Publisher/title folder.  Best to always check if there are any other issues of the title on the site using the Search link.  If there are click on one to learn what publisher/title category they belong in and use the same for yours.  Finally copy the file name standard found on the site for your upload.  This helps the site to display issues in numerical order.

And that's it for manually uploading single issues to the site.
For uploading multiple books using the FTP is the easier method.

If you get this when uploading via the site: "Error: No file uploads of this type are allowed. If you believe this to be in error, please quote the above error and report this to the admin"
Please try logging in on DCM with a different Browser app.  We have seen this error message once in a while with both FireFox and Chrome.  But the error is pretty rare.


Question 12 - "Can I request a specific comic be scanned?"
Answer - We only host comics scanned by others so we have no control over what gets scanned or when.
Click here for the full answer.


Question 13 - "How do I check if a book is in the public domain?"
Answer - There are some online resources for checking the PD status of your comic.
Click here for the full answer.

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If you Still have questions not covered in the above PLEASE use the CONTACT US link on the download homepage or [CLICK HERE] and fill out our support form.  Once you've sent your message someone on staff will try to assist you.

Thanks,
-Yoc
DCM Admin

[Yoc]

And if you are enjoying DCM please consider making a cash donation towards our monthly server bill.
Any amount would be welcomed and donators are given VIP status on receipt.
Click here to read more.