file numbering format

[sevengates]

Would it be possible for the format for the naming of all the files posted to DCM to be coordinated, with DCM setting a single standard that everyone could follow? 

Many of the issues posted do not have their full titles and sometimes have only a few letters and no number or they lead with the publisher or a code number.  All of this makes it difficult to find and sort files downloaded from DCM. 

I think a good format could be something like -- full title of the series -- followed by issue number -- followed by any variant descriptive information, such as the year or number of pages.  Also there should be a single standard for spaces, such as the underline symbol "_".

So an example would be: Horrors_At_Midnight_004_1952_36pp.cbr 

If all posters followed such a simple standard format, think of what a pleasure that would be when sorting your downloaded files!

DCM is a superb site, and I love it the way it is, of course.  However, I think this one little change could elevate its functionality up a couple of notches. 

Thanks for listening to my opinion.  Looking forward to your thoughts on this matter.

[JonTheScanner]

Would it be possible, sure. Is it likely to happen, no I doubt it.

More importantly, I'd hate to see any animosity develop about the "right" way to name files. I wouldn't think it would, but then back when several of us were getting GCD started, I never could have imagined how much rancor would develop over things like whether the genre is "funny animal" or "anthropomorphic" either. This is a wonderfully pleasant group, and I'd really hate to see anything happen to it.

[John C]

I feel like we already make people's contributions feel unwelcome (even though they're very welcome) with what few rules we keep to.

More importantly, there is no standard that makes more than a small minority happy.  I want spaces in filenames, just the title and number, the number zero-padded to the length of the series, and (if needed) pages missing.  Some people want everything about the comic, like the publisher, year, scanner name, how it was edited, and so forth.  Yours is different than both extremes.

The net result is that (almost) everybody is going to need to rename the files they save anyway.

I have a possible solution brewing, but I need the time to work out the details and get it running.  I'll mention it when I have something to show.

[sevengates]

Your replies are very appreciated.  Thanks for your insights into the etiquette of posting to this site.  As you say, nothing is more important than the contribution of the files to the site with all other considerations being secondary.

That being said, your answers made two ideas come to mind.  Perhaps a simple suggestion (and not a rule), something like "please try to put the complete title first when naming your files" might be accepted by the majority of uploaders?.

Also, is it possible for the administrators of DCM to rename new files?  The uploads are processed to some degree when you put them up on your site, so why not rename each file at that time? 

Hope you don't mind the further discussion of this subject, as I feel it would make a difference to the site. 

Your site is wonderful and my ideas are submitted with all due respect.  Thank you for your kind attention.

[sevengates]

Upon re-reading the above comments, I realized I should clarify my original comment.  My intent was not to suggest a required uniform format of my design or any design, nor was it to eliminate the need to re-name files once down-loaded.

My point, which perhaps I did not make clearly, was that once downloaded, some files are hard to even identify or find.  Afterall, there are quite a few files at DCM with names like "erwt23ter(sfe).cbr" or "3553___et___wrt.cbr" or even "00.cbr". 

So the only point I wanted to make was that it would be helpful to place the series title at the beginning of any given file name.  I agree uploaders should not be required to follow a lot of rules, but perhaps making a gentle suggestion might help more uploaders to realize the usefulness of having at least the series title at the beginning of a file name.

Thanks for listening to my idea.  Love your wonderful site.

[movielover]

I might be wrong, but I believe the files would have to downloaded, have the name changed, then re-uploaded to the site.

The best bet is just rename the file when you download it. Sounds simple, but is the least time consuming option. Trust me, downloading, fixing/renaming and re-uploading is a time consuming process.

[builderboy]

This is interesting from the perspective that 1) I do rename all of the files once downloaded, and 2) I was one of the members who helped rebuild the old GAC site (post Yoc) when it experienced an catastrophic melt-down.  One of the massive hassles of that effort included a heap of files (thousands, all in one directory) with unidentifyable names.  You had to open each one, ID it, rename it, then re-upload it into the appropriate directory.  I don't know enough about DCM to know that there is any risk of that, but, what a mess GAC had!!

I do echo the comments about the difficulties of trying to establish a standard, and the efforts that it would take to rename the files to conform once you had it.

But, just for grins, what are some of your personal naming formats?  I always look for my books to naturally sort to the order in which they were published, so use the following format:

YYYY-MM_TITLE (v#) iss# [page count] Poster.cbz

With the page count, it will either be [c2c 36p] or [56 of 68p].  This way, I will know if upgrades come out.  If it is a fiche scan, the issue # will be followed by an "F".  I haven't worked out a good method of handling mixed paper/fiche files.

I would be interested in hearing other takes.  I know some folks put the publisher in there as well.

[John C]

My point, which perhaps I did not make clearly, was that once downloaded, some files are hard to even identify or find.  Afterall, there are quite a few files at DCM with names like "erwt23ter(sfe).cbr" or "3553___et___wrt.cbr" or even "00.cbr". 

Ah...I forgot about those.  Sorry about that.

Nobody does that on purpose, and no scanner or uploader selected those names.  Some part of the system crashed, a long while ago, and the database lost the upload names.

Unfortunately, as Movielover points out, the "solution" is to download it, rename it, and upload it again.  We occasionally try to run a dragnet through them, though, so please keep track of the ones you find, since we can't see them without downloading, and we don't want to download the books automatically to check them, since that costs us in bandwidth.

[Yoc]

ML is correct.  The file names (the name of the actual file as it appears when it's finally downloaded to your hard drive) is not set by DCM but by the original uploaders.  To change them would be a Massive undertaking.
I too have some ideas about future uploads but for now the only solution is for users to rename downloaded files for their own future use.

I sure wish there was a fast easy solution.  But if there were the arguments about what the name rules should be could be nasty too.

-Yoc

[sevengates]

But, just for grins, what are some of your personal naming formats?  I always look for my books to naturally sort to the order in which they were published, so use the following format:
YYYY-MM_TITLE (v#) iss# [page count] Poster.cbz
With the page count, it will either be [c2c 36p] or [56 of 68p].  This way, I will know if upgrades come out.  If it is a fiche scan, the issue # will be followed by an "F".  I haven't worked out a good method of handling mixed paper/fiche files.

My take on a good comic book file name:

Definitely series title first, complete and with proper spacing between words

Next, issue number, and with volume number if applicable

Next, an indication of completeness, such as c2c or 36p, but just the number of pages in the file usually tells the tale

For the rest, publisher and date are nice

So an example of the simplest file name format would be:  The_World's_Biggest_Comics_009_36p_c2c.cbr

A little fancier version with extra info that is not essential:  The_World's_Biggest_Comics_017_28p_inc_Charlton_1954.cbr

My only goal is to be able to sort by name, not by publisher or date.  For me, that seems the best way to control huge numbers of comic book files.

Anybody got any other approaches that are interesting?

[cimmerian32]

My standardized filenaming system is

Name of title 0003 [date-xx.publisher](c2c.scanner)

[Mark Warner]

This is an interesting idea! My initial thoughts are:

1) The file name is actually held in the database, so an admin page that allowed you to change the name would mean that you would not need to delete and reupload

2) I wonder if in fact no "work" needs to be done apart from writing a bit of a script when a user clicks on download to then automatically generate the name. Hmmmm.....

3) On CB+ I am altering .zip to .cbz and .rar to .cbr. Which is cool, BUT the downside to this is that I am creating new file names and am increasing the chances of duplicates. If you were to change all DCM file names then it could potentially lead to some confusion.

4) I think putting the GCD reference number in would be rather nice and also very useful from a programming point of view

5) Maybe scanners may not like the file names being messed with. Plus what about all the files that people already have on their harddrives (relates to point 3).

Just pondering ... not sure if it is a good or bad idea. But summat I think we might look at on CB+

[sevengates]

BUT the downside to this is that I am creating new file names and am increasing the chances of duplicates. If you were to change all DCM file names then it could potentially lead to some confusion.

On the contrary, I think renaming all files with the single formating standard of putting the series title first would help eliminate confusion and duplicates -- that is because there is so much variation of file name formats currently at DCM that files can't be properly sorted or identified, and in many cases dupes exist already -- certainly in the personal files of downloaders.  I know they do in my files, and it is very time-consuming to sort them out because of weird file name variations, some of them even in code, such as "trtr454__ere.zip". 

If DCM automatically renamed every file with series title first, it would allow all files to be sorted precisely, easily identified, and all dupes to be eliminated.  Then in your personal files, after you download a file, when you rename it for your own storage all dupes will show up and can be eliminated.

In short, without getting fancy, please just ask everyone politely to: "Please Put The Series Title First" on every file uploaded.  Thank you for your kind attention.

[John C]

In short, without getting fancy, please just ask everyone politely to:

Excuse me.  I tried to be polite about this, and so have others, but apparently you didn't want to hear it.  Excuse me for being a little more blunt.

• Nobody ever typed the names you're talking about.  That was a software glitch.  You're trying to convince imaginary people.
• If you don't like the names, change them when you download.  No two people have the same desired format, so catering to you alienates everybody else.  On the other hand, it's trivial for you to know what each name should look like on your machine.

I don't want to suggest a "when you're paying the server bills every month, you get to make the rules" kind of situation, but as I said, everybody's a volunteer here.  Nobody is going to take direction from someone whose sole contribution to the community, to date, is to declare what they should do.

You've said your piece.  If there really are scanners hand-typing names that aren't useful to you, they've seen your complaint and it's up to them.

[Yoc]

It's hard to get consensus on many matters among those in our hobby.  If there were a way to easily (yes, I know, nothing is easy with code writing) automate the upload process to rename the zip/cbz files as they were uploaded.  I've even suggested a format to our head code writer but in the grand scheme of running the site it's not near the top of his list.  There are several other features that we would rather he work on to improve the site before trying to tackle this one.
I appreciate your thoughts on the matter Seven but for now we are just happy to have members wanting to share their scans.  We aren't going to criticize them for their file name formatting.
-Yoc