Public Library FAQ FAQ

Public Library Torrents
http://publiclibrary.metamute.org:6969/

Public Library Reviews
http://www.metamute.org/taxonomy/term/181

Public Library BitTorrent

The Public Library is a structured repository of annotated media files, both contemporary and historical, whose content is relevant to Mute's editorial. You can share files small or large, video, audio, code or text based, and annotate them for other users' reference. Over time, your comments and reviews will help develop the framework through which Mute analyses the culture and politics of a networked world.

The Public Library BitTorrent has grown out of the 'Collaborative Review Library' project*, a web resource Metamute had scheduled for the collective critique of books relating to new media art. By encouraging users to submit their own cultural milestones, Mute hoped the CRL would challenge the canonical histories being constructed for new media art and culture. In the CRL, you would also be able to group and associate your contribution through a sophisticated indexing and evaluation system.

While this project centred initially on print material, it soon became clear that reviews must relate to a broader spectrum of material. The site's ambitions became duly inclusive and any parameters of cultural material or form as questionable as the canon. When the possibility of uploading original files together with reviews relating to them became part of the equation, the Public Library 'BitTorrent' was born.

PL does not condone piracy of the public domain by corporate agencies; abuse of this free to share environment through the proprietory form of copyright will not be tolerated. Please see Mute's Legal Info section for further information on copyright policies, as well as our Terms and Conditions for general information on use of this site.

*The Collaborative Review Library is part of an organisational development project funded by Arts Council England under Grants for the Arts. Saul Albert did important early consultancy work on the project (his advisory documents can be viewed here (http://3d.openmute.org/modules/wakka/CollaborativeReviewLibrary), and the OpenMute team performed technical wizardry to integrate the Torrent into Metamute.

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The practical bit...

To upload a small media file (under 2MB), go to Post Review/Media. To post larger files (up to 10GB), go to Post Torrent and use the Public Library tracker.

NB When uploading your Torrent URL back on Metamute.org's Public Library section for review, we politely request you shorten it using one of many URL shorteners available (e.g. Metamute's own Linkme2.net). Sadly, the present site cannot accommodate very long URLs without causing problems further on in your post (foremost of which is the dead link created out of your whole annotation, which eventually leads nowhere more thrilling than a default Microsoft page...) These problems are being kept under review.

To get help using Bittorrent to download or upload media files read our how to

Browse files below and contribute your comments/reviews

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