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Help
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LISTENING TO SONG SAMPLES
To listen to song samples it is suggested you get WinAMP (www.winamp.com) which is a free player that will stream the samples. The system sends
a playlist file (.M3U) which is handled locally by your PC. If song samples do not
play then look for a player that can play .M3U files outside your browser. NOTE:
By default most systems use the Windows Media Player embedded in a browser window.
This is not the best solution as you cannot listen and browse the site at the same
time.
You can also listen using our new online MP3 player. At the bottom
of each playlist is a link that switches between the WinAMP-type local player and
our online Flash-based player (Flash is required for the online player). The site
remembers which one you used last (if you are logged-in) and will use that as your
preference. By default the site shows our online player.
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LISTENING TO SHOWS
All shows on this site are streamable free of charge. See the section above (Listening
ot Song Samples) for help if you cannot seem to stream a show. Not all songs found
in the archive can be heard in their entirety. Only songs played on the shows are
available for free streaming. These are designated on the "song details" pages by
a musical note icon beside the show(s) they are heard on. Singles and albums can
be purchased at 192k in our MP3 store and available songs are marked on the lists
with a red "Music store" icon after the title. Selected titles are also available
as CDs.
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YOUR MadSpace PAGE
You can access your MadSpace using the link below the toolbar on the
far right or you can access other members' MadSpace pages by clicking nicknames
where they appear in blue on the site. You can also click on nicknames under facts,
reviews or lyrics on the song, album or artist pages.
Your page contains basic information about you which you can add to
in the 'interests' section. You can send e-mail or instant messages to other members,
personalize your page further with photos and avatars or write in your blog. You
can also share files using the new My Files feature.
You can also invite others to be your friend by accessing their MadSpace
page and clicking the 'Add to Friends' icon next to the smiley. The invited member
will receive an instant message and an e-mail announcing the invite and be instructed
to go to the 'Manage My Friends' section of their MadSpace where they can accept
or decline the invitation. When they've decided, you will receive a message and
mail with their decision. It's not necessary to send another friend request in return.
This will only result in multiple avatars on the MadSpace pages.
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CENSORSHIP
One of the things we've always struggled with was the debate between
freedom of speech and the desire to offend as few as possible. To find a good
middle ground we have installed an "automatic censor" which will hide offensive
words by putting * characters in place of offensive words. This is managed
by an option on your My Account page - If you set is to "Censor Offensive Material"
it will * the words. If you turn this "Nanny Switch" off, then the words will appear
as the author intended them to be - in all their graphic detail. Of course, if you
are not logged in, all words are censored "to protect the little children" <grin>.
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USER LEVELS
Members are given different levels and different colors on the Friends
page and the Who's Online page. The different levels are based on the length of
time they have been a member and the amount of participation they have with the
website. Generally...
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New Today (Green)
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These are members who have created their account within the last 24
hours.
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New in Past 30 Days (Purple)
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These are members who have created their account within the last 30
days, but more than 24 hours ago.
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Established Members (Black)
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These members have been signed-up for more than 30 days but have not
yet achieved "Old-Timer" or "Participant' levels.
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Participant (Gold)
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These are members who take an active role in the website - they post
frequently in the forums, they fill-in artist, song and album details & facts
- their participation is noticed as 'above and beyond' most members. There is no
formula for this - it is up to Captain Wayne and Tim Ryan (Moderator) who gets to
be a member of this group.
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Old-Timers (Red)
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These are the 25 oldest active members. Typically they have been members
since the very beginning and are the ones you should direct questions to (other
than Captain Wayne) and whose answers and guidance you can trust.
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ADDING SONG DETAILS
The song details pages now have new categories to fill. This is being done to provide
more detailed song information and to credit as many of those involved as possible.
Some explanations of the terms:
Release Date- For a FuMP song, it can mean the day of its release, but for
an older song, the year will do also. Just be as accurate as possible.
Lyrics/Music By- These are separate now. If you know the info for both, fine,
but if not, put the same author in both. For a comedy bit rather than a song, there's
no music, so "N/A" goes under "Music By:".
Released By/Published By- This is something that needs a bit of explanation.
"Released By" means the greedy corporation that wants $20 for the CD of the album.
Sony, Warner Music, Virgin...etc. "Published By" means the music publishing company
that published the song or bit itself. Often, the artists create their own companies
for this purpose to save cash. There was a bit of a mix up on the page with this
originally and I asked Wayne to clarify it. Adding this detail also helps keep the
lawyers away. And I don't have to put it in HTML on the bottom of the lyrics box
anymore.
Licensing- Refers to the affiliation of the song- not the artist. This could
be to ASCAP, BMI or SESAC and affiliations and their code number can be found at
their respective websites..sometimes. Songs can also be released under Creative
Commons and there's an option on the page to add that if it is. Always try to find
out for sure first.
Keywords- Are generic, descriptive terms used to describe what the song or
comedy bit is about and the sorts of things it contains. This is what it should
be like- and in general, how a well filled out page can look:
Yuleman vs. the Anti-Claus by The Bobs
Reviews- Write your own song review for the song. In addition to reviews,
opinions and comments should go here and not under "facts".
Facts- Trivia, facts (naturally), lyrical explanations and other details
about the song should go here. Facts about the artist or album rather than the song
itself should be put on their artist or album pages.
Web Pages About This Song- When adding URLs to this, after saving, check
the page to ensure a link has been added automatically. If it hasn't, then choose
'edit', go back in and add one manually in the box indicated on the 'edit' screen.
It would also be helpful to erase any inoperative links you find that you've added
in the past.
Where To Buy- Self explanatory. Add a purchase link other than Amazon.
Song Lyrics- When adding lyrics, avoid using all capitals or no capitals.
If 'cut & paste' is used, credit where it came from under 'facts' and check it for
accuracy.
Add A Video For This Song- To add a video, just hit the link, then follow
the instructions on the left of the edit box. Videos added should be of the song
itself, preferably by the original artist and not a parody. On this site, a parody
would have its own song page.
Rate This Song- Mouse over the rating bar and click to give it your rating.
Above the rating bar box, you can click to vote for a song to be on the Mad Music
Show or the Dementia Top 20.
Song Images- Self explanatory. Images about the artist should always be added
to the artist page images box.
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ADDING ARTIST DETAILS
The artist details pages now have new categories to fill. This is being done to
provide more detailed song information and to credit as many of those involved as
possible. Some explanations of the terms:
Contact- Add an E-mail address for the artist.
Date Born/Group Began- Add a solo artist's birth date or the date the group
began.
Date Died/Group Ended- Add the date the solo artist died or the date the
group ended.
Also Known As- Add real name of the artist or any or all of the stage names
the artist used.
Members- Add the name used by the artist. This can be rather important since
adding the same name to multiple artist pages will link them and will appear as
"See Also" in a box directly below this one. "See Also" cannot be added to if it
appears. It's simply a list of links the page connects to that's determined by what
was added to the "Members" box. On the editing screen, add the full artist name,
their instrument if any and the dates their careers began and ended. It's all right
if the dates aren't known. Leaving them blank won't impair the function when hitting
'save changes'.
Tell Us About This Artist- This is meant to be a general overview of the
artist's life and career. Reviews should go in the spot directly below this one.
Reviews- Add a review of the artist's work.
Facts- Facts about the artist or group themselves and not their individual
works. There are 'facts' categories on song and album details pages and facts about
the artist's works should go there.
Web Pages About This Artist- Add web pages about the artist. If no page
title info appears automatically after adding and saving the page, press the edit
link and manually add a title for the link on the edit screen.
Artist Images- Category is found on the bottom of the page's right column.
Add a picture related to the artist.
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ADDING ALBUM DETAILS
It should be noted first that an album details page can be attributed to many kinds
of media and not necessarily a CD or LP. An album page can also be used for a TV
show, an MP3 download album, a home video, a 78 rpm or Edison cylinder release and
other such things.
Add The Album's Tagline- Add a line or lines that best symbolizes the album.
What's added here should put forward the 'feel' or attitudes expressed in the album.
This is nearly always a definitive line from the album, but can also be a line or
two from the liner notes.
Tell Us About This Album- Like the similar category on artist pages, this
is meant to be an overview of the work rather than a review. Opinions about the
work should go under 'reviews' and trivia about it under 'facts'.
Releases- Hit the 'add a new release' link and, on the edit screen that comes
up, add a year of release. Then use the drop down menu arrow and choose a format
under 'type'. Under 'label, add the record label that released the album. There
usually is one, but not always. The 'catalog' number is the one the aforementioned
label (company) uses to categorize the album.
Reviews- Add an album review. All opinion about the album goes here.
Facts- Trivia, factoids, liner note musings and other snippets of album related
things should be entered here.
Web Pages About This Artist- Add web pages about the artist. If no page
title info appears automatically after adding and saving the page, press the edit
link and manually add a title for the link on the edit screen.
Where To Buy- Add a purchase link for the album.
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We'll be adding more to this page shortly - but if you want
to suggest specific topics, please e-mail me! (wayne@madmusic.com)
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