International Ebook Rules 2022   by Ebookcouncil

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INTRODUCTiON & NOTES │ │ │ │ 2. TECHNiCAL DETAiLS │ │ │ │ 3. PACKAGiNG │ │ │ │ 4. NFO-FiLE │ │ │ │ 5. DiRNAMiNG │ │ │ │ 6. DUPES/PROPER │ │ │ │ 7. MiSCELLANEOUS │ │ │ │ 8. SiGN │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1. INTRODUCTiON & NOTES │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Behold! We have come to a time where we must set the international ebook standards. This is a unified agreement to ensure high quality ebook releases from now on. These rules will apply to all groups releasing in the ebook section. Enjoy the new(er) era of ebook releases! ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2. TECHNiCAL DETAiLS │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 2.1 SCANS: - Minimum resolution is 96dpi but needs to be readable - No damaged/dirty pages - Crop pages if necessary - The entire magazine/book has to be scanned (advertisements are optional, but you can cut them off if preferred) - The removal of advertisements must be replaced with white or black pages to maintain the order of the numbered pages - Downscaling is allowed (minimum resolution = 1600x*) - Upscaling is not allowed - Photographs in proper quality are allowed as scans - Must be in .PDF format 2.2 RETAiL: - ALL retail releases must include at least one proof url from a retailer: - url(s) must prove the released item is available from at least one retailer as the released format - using any (many) proof url(s) but not your actual source is allowed - Retail files should not be modified unless absolutely necessary (i.e. removing identifying watermarks/metadata). - Merged PDF pages as a single PDF file are allowed as retail if the source provides the pages as separate PDF files 2.3 HYBRiD: - Hybrid covers every other source other than retail or scan including but not limited to virtual printers, screen captures, extracted files from DRM-protected third party proprietary formats, dumped files from network "attacks", etc. 2.4 DRM/Watermark: - DRM/Watermark protected documents are not allowed and must be removed - No group watermarking is allowed 2.5 NFO & DiZ: - Width of the .nfo file should be max 80 characters - Release names can be split if needed to obey the maximum 80 chars width - Proof url can be split too (alternatively, use the main shop url, as long the released item can be found by navigating/searching the shop) - A valid .diz file must be included: - # of disks : DISK: [xx/??] - maximum width : 44 characters - maximum height: 30 lines * NOTE: diz/nfo maximum dimensions are historical guidelines, and remain the current recommendations. However, not respecting these should not be grounds for a nuke 2.6 OTHER: - Allowed file formats: PDF, EPUB, CBZ, Kindle (.azw, .kf8) and MOBIPOCKET (.prc, .mobi) - No free from web allowed (except as internal releases, to preserve the once-free-content even after it's not free/not available anymore) - Conversions are not allowed (e.g. epub converted to pdf is not allowed) - When available, it is encouraged to include any extras (e.g. scientific exercises files, bonus downloadable content...) as an archive file alongside the main ebook file (e.g. book.pdf + bonus.zip, magazine.epub + extras.rar, both packed together) * Be careful, do not include dupes extras (i.e. music already released as MP3/FLAC...) ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3. PACKAGiNG │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 3.0 GLOBAL PACKAGiNG RULES: - Use ZIP+DIZ - .nfo file must be included in all cases - ZIP files must use a unique filename (no dupes within a year) - Use max 8.3 characters for ZIP volume filenames - 8.3 rule does not apply to .nfo - RAR archives inside ZIP volumes - No spaces in filenames (rar/zip/diz/nfo files, also including the main ebook file, extras inside they own archive file are fine) - Maximum dirname length is 243 characters - Maximum ebook/extras archive filename length is 140 characters 3.1 ZiP ARCHiVES: - Archive size: 5.000.000, 10.000.000, 50.000.000, 100.000.000, 150.000.000, 200.000.000 and 250.000.000 bytes are allowed - Compression of RAR archives is allowed and optional - Releases must not exceed 99 files - .nfo and .diz files must be in ZIP archives - No SFV in ZIP archive ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4. NFO-FiLE │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 4.1 CONTENT: - Mandatory information that must be mentioned in .nfo file: Release Date (In ISO format YYYY-MM-DD) Publish Date (In ISO format YYYY-MM-DD or at least YYYY) * dates in .nfo are purely informational and should not be grounds for a nuke if stated incorrectly Language (German/Swedish/French/...) Release Type (RETAiL/SCAN/HYBRiD) Author/Publisher(At least one of them) Issue/Volume (Issue number of Magazine or month edition) Source link (to prove retail availability of a retail release in the released format) If any of the above are within the dirname of the release, you can skip and bypass this mandatory information from the nfo - Optional (but strongly recommended): Disks (Number and size of disks e.g. 20 x 5mb) Size (Overall size of the release in megabytes) ISBN/ISSN (If available ISBN/ISSN for books/magazines) Genre (e.g. Science-Fiction/Music/Sports/Comic/Manga/...) * while not mandatory, proper genres can help sort releases Store date (available date of release in ISO format YYYY-MM-DD) URL/Shop link (Url to website where information is available) * retail availability proof url is still mandatory for retail releases ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 5. DiRNAMiNG │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 5.0 GLOBAL DiRNAMiNG RULES: - Always add your grouptag - If the title of the book/magazine is longer than 243 chars, shorten it the best you can and state the full title in the .nfo - Year tag is mandatory, use your best judgment: copyright/publish/print year, whichever best suits the released material edition - Language tag is needed for non-English releases only - Always tag with source (e.g SCAN/HYBRiD/RETAiL) - It's recommended to tag issue numbers in the following way: No2/No.2/N02/N.02/NR02/NR.02 - Additional tags like READNFO, NFOFiX, DiRFiX, iNTERNAL, PROPER must be between source and format - Tag the release with the author and year depending on the edition - NOTE: Scans are always tagged with the original publishing year and publisher - NOTE: Digital editions must always be tagged with the ebook publishing year and publisher of the ebook, as these editions differ from each other - Example: J.R.R.Tolkien.The.Lord.of.The.Rings.1955.SCAN.eBOOK-GRP J.R.R.Tolkien.The.Lord.of.The.Rings.2010.RETAiL.eBOOK-GRP - If the file is not PDF format, add the correct tag (ePUB, CBZ, KF8, AZW, MOBI, PRC) - Example: Himmel.Over.London.2010.SWEDiSH.RETAiL.ePUB.eBOOK-COOLGROUPTAG | Format -+ 5.1 MAGAZiNES: - Name of the Magazine - Issue and Year (e.g. Cool.Magazine.No.1.2012.Ebook-CoolGRP) - If the issue number is not available, or some other case where using it would not be optimal, feel free to use month/week/timestamp (be smart about it) - Source and Language (e.g. RETAiL/SCAN and SWEDiSH/FRENCH/etc) - MAGAZiNE tag must be in dirname, unless "magazine" (as an exact word) is part of the title. - Newspapers' bonus content (weekend issue/tv/etc) is not required to be tagged as .MAGAZiNE. - Periodical newspapers (no daily release but weekly/monthly/etc) are magazines and therefore need to be tagged as .MAGAZiNE. - Example: PC.Magazine.NR03.2008.FRENCH.RETAiL.MAGAZiNE.eBOOk-GRP | | | | | | Name -+ | | | | | Issue -+ | | | | Year -+ | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.2 COMiCS: - Name of the comic - Volume and Issue - Source and Language (e.g. RETAiL/SCAN and SWEDiSH/FRENCH/etc) - Comic tag must be in dirname - NOTE: If "Comic" is part of the title then COMiC-tag is not required - Example: Batman.Vol.23.No.22.Dec.2007.SWEDiSH.SCAN.COMiC.eBOOk-COOLGRP | | | | | | | Name -+ | | | | | | Volume -+ | | | | | Issue -+ | | | | Date -+ | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.3 MANGA: - The MANGA tag is an alternative to the COMiC tag for comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. It might apply in other situations, so use your best judgment (e.g. foreign mangakas, manhwa, manfra...) - A MANGA release tagged as COMiC should not be nuked - A COMiC release tagged as MANGA should not be nuked * NOTE: DiRFiXes are welcome if it happens though - Name of the manga - Volume and Issue - Source and Language (e.g. RETAiL/SCAN and SWEDiSH/FRENCH/etc) - Manga tag must be in dirname - NOTE: If "Manga" is part of title then MANGA-tag is not required - Example: One.Piece.Vol.23.JAPANESE.SCAN.MANGA.eBOOk-COOLGRP | | | | | Name -+ | | | | Volume -+ | | | | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.4 BOOKS (E.G. FiCTiONAL LiTERATURE): - Mention the author or the publisher - Name of the book - Use the issue number if it exists (e.g. "3rd.Edition") - Year of book release - Source and Language (e.g. RETAiL/SCAN and SWEDiSH/FRENCH/etc) - Example: Ken.Follet.Pillars.6th.Edition.2007.FRENCH.RETAiL.eBOOk-GRP | | | | | | | Author -+ | | | | | | Title -+ | | | | | Issue -+ | | | | Year -+ | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.5 BOOKS (E.G. TECHNiCAL LiTERATURE): - Mention the publisher or the author - Name of the book title - Issue/version/edition and publishing year if available - Year of the book release - Source and Language (e.g. RETAiL/SCAN and GERMAN/FRENCH/etc) - Example: Wileys.Books.Tools.and.Computing.2008.GERMAN.RETAiL.eBOOk-GRP | | | | | | Publisher -+ | | | | | Title -+ | | | | Year -+ | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.6 NEWSPAPERS: - Name of the newspaper - Date of the paper (e.g. 23.December, 23.Dec. 23.12 etc) - Language and Source (e.g. SWEDiSH/FRENCH/etc and SCAN/HYBRiD/RETAiL) - Example: Your.Daily.News.23.December.2012.iTALiAN.RETAiL.eBOOK-GRP | | | | | | Name -+ | | | | | Date -+ | | | | Year -+ | | | Language -+ | | Source -+ | Grouptag -+ 5.7 XXX BOOKS: - Only applies to hardcore XXX books/magazines, not for softcore magazines such as Playboy Magazine - Global dirnaming rules are applied - Just add a XXX tag to the dirname - Example: Nikky.Cuffed.Fuck.Me.2011.RETAiL.XXX.eBOOK-GRP | XXX tag -+ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 6. DUPES/PROPER │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 6.1 DUPES: - Dupe order that is valid: RETAiL > HYBRiD > SCAN ('>' means supersede) - NOTE: When retail is out, no other source is allowed to be released for the same file format without the .iNTERNAL. tag - Better quality releases are always welcome, from any source, just use the .iNTERNAL. tag and provide an explanation within the .nfo file 6.2 PROPER: - A proper is valid if the original release did not meet the requirements of the above stated rules - Packing related propers are not allowed from other groups within the first 24 hours after pre - Always supply a proper reason in .nfo, and proof for technical flaws - If you release a PROPER/REPACK/FIX then the dirname of the problematic release must be listed in your .nfo file. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7. MiSCELLANEOUS │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 7.1 HOMEMADE: - Homemade releases are not allowed 7.2 COVERS: - Separate covers are not allowed ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 8. SiGN │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 8.1 ORGANiZATiONAL STUFF: - Compliance with this ruleset is optional as of 2020-04-02, and mandatory as of 2020-04-19 00:00:00 UTC - By signing them, you agree with all mentioned points above and ensure that your group will follow these rules 8.2 SiGNED BY: - These rules were signed by the following groups: 13 AEROHOLICS BitBook DiSTRiBUTiON DiVER FMR iDiB INKED LiBRiCiDE LORENZ PAPERCLiPS PRiNTER TONER dbOOk ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ International Ebook Council - Remember reading makes you smarter │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘