Guide to Scan & Photoshots Collecting

Introduction

Have you ever asked yourself where all these scans you see on the internet come from? Is it the webmasters who make them? In most cases the answer to this question is "No".
Many of these scans are actually taken from two sources:
- Usenet (newsgroups)
- IRC (internet relay chat)

If you haven't discovered these wonderful resources yet, you're missing something and you should change that as soon as possible. This guide is supposed to help you.

Collecting scans by visiting webpages is very simple. However it has some disadvantages compared to the method that I'm going to describe here. Firstly, the web is full of cheaters, people with misleading/blind links on their webpages, who are just trying to make money. This sometimes makes it very hard and time consuming to find what you're really looking for. Secondly, the number of different scans you can collect by visiting webpages is comparatively small. Additionally, the scans that are available on the www are often resized (smaller) and poor quality (highly compressed). There are exceptions from these rules, so called scan pages, that offer the original (unchanged) scans. Links to some of these pages can be found here.
You also might want to try out collecting via newsgroups. A good newsgroup for scan collectors is e.g. alt.mag.playboy. If your provider does not offer this or other newsgroups you are interested in, you can always use one of the free newsservers (try e.g. Remarq). It is not that difficult to understand how newsgroups work, so I won't explain it here in detail.
The most professional way to collect scans is Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a must for any serious collector. I will describe this method in the following. Understanding IRC requires some patience and persistence, but I guarantee you won't regret it! Before we actually start, I have to explain some basic terms, that will help you to understand how to get what you want!

What is a CSV?

Generally, CSV (comma-separated values) is a simple file format for storing tables. Each line of the CSV file represents a row of the table. The lines are further divided into several proportions by commas, representing the cells/columns that are contained within each line.
The CSV format is widely used for different applications, but for our purposes, that is, scan collecting, CSVs are standardized lists containing data about scans. Each line contains information on one scan, all lines together describe the whole collection of scans (scan series). For each scan, the CSV file provides 4 entries, e.g.

HIS2_001_Tess_Eggen_NB0998_01.JPG,153082, 61765019,---

File name of the scan, with or without extension. Scans are usually JPEGs (*.JPG), because this file format provides good image quality at reasonable file sizes (compression). Due to increased modem and server speeds (increased bandwidth) and improvements in scanner technology, there is a tendency to apply lower compression ratios and to use larger image dimensions (1024x768 and more), resulting in more brilliant scans but also in increased file sizes.
Rarely you will find CSVs that list GIFs or MPEGs.

Tip: Due to the sometimes huge scan dimensions it is highly recommended to use a screen resolution of at least 1024x768. If your graphics card and/or monitor is not capable of displaying this resolution you definitely need a new computer...

File size in bytes.
CRC32 (32 bit cyclic redundancy check) is a hexadecimal value generated from image data by a special algorithm, a kind of "checksum" that is unique for every unique file. Whereas name or size of two different files incidentially may be the same, their CRC32 values are always different. Only files that are 100% identical, have identical CRC32 values. CRC32 is a common way to check files for errors that may have occured during transmission, e.g. over the internet. However, this is not the main purpose of CRC32 for scan collectors. Scan collectors use CRC32 to verify the scans 'identity' and origin, e.g. to differentiate between the original scan and a recompressed copy or to identify scans that have been renamed. The CRC32 value is the scan's serial number, so to speak.
Description/Comment: The content of this entry varies. Sometimes it contains the model's name and/or where the scan was taken from (magazine, issue), or, like in the example above, just "---".
To view a CSV sample, click here.

CSVs aren't scans and they don't contain scans. CSVs merely provide information about scans that can be helpful to obtain scans via IRC or a newsgroup (see below for details).

What are CSVs used for?

As mentioned, a CSV file is a "database", that provides precise information on all scans that are contained in a scan series. CSVs can be used
- to check what scans are contained in the series
- to check a scan's identity/origin (CRC32 value)
- to get additional info on particular scans (description)

There are several programs available that help you to organize/sort/verify your collection by utilizing CSV files.

Where can you get CSVs?

There are several ways to get CSVs:
- CSV archives, e.g. Hitman's page
- on the IRC channels
- on newsgroups

What is a scan series?

A scan series is made up by number of scans that was scanned by a particular person (e.g. TechScan, Garfield, Bluebird...), who releases these scans via IRC (internet relay chat, see below), newsgroups or a webpage. The number of scans that is contained in a collection varies between only a few and several thousand scans.

Scan Collecting via IRC

Basic facts about IRC

The first thing you need is an IRC (internet relay chat) client. What Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer is for the HTML based web, the program mIRC is for IRC. Basic facts about IRC you should know:

• IRC servers all over the world are connected over the internet and form different networks (e.g. DALNET)

• Within each network there are hundreds or even thousands of channels. A channel is a "chatroom" where people with similar interests meet to talk to each other, exchange files, have fun etc.

• To access a particular chatroom you need to know its name and on what network it is located. However, it does not matter, via what server you connect to the channel, as long as the server belongs to the particular network where the channel is located.

Download
IRC Client

If you still have no clue what the hell I'm talking about, don't worry! In the meanwhile, just download the IRC client mIRC here.
There is a help file included you can refer to if you still have questions left.

Download
Image Viewer

You also need a good image viewer. A program that I can recommend is ACDSee, a very useful and fast Shareware program. To my knowledge currently there is no better image viewer! It pretty much resembles the Explorer included in Windows, so working with this program shouldn't be too difficult for you. Simply download it here.

Download
FTP client

A common way to transfer files is to download/upload them from/to a FTP server. Data that are necessary to access a FTP server (server address, login, password, port) are exchanged on the channels. Since you can send/receive files using your IRC client, too, a FTP client is not a necessity. But in case you want to download files that are made available by others via FTP, you will need one.
You can download a FTP client here.

Getting it started

Now we're ready to start. Using mIRC, simply connect to a server and join the channel you're interested in. We're interested in scan collecting, right? So try these channels on DALNET:

• #IGS

• #SCP

• #ScanWorld

• #SDC

• #SnF

• #SWA

As a start, I recommend you just sit back and watch the conversation for a while.

How to download files on a channel

The following paragraphs contain details about how to download files (scans) on a channel.  It may be easier for you to visit the channels first to get an idea what I'm talking about in the following. If you are still confused after having read all this, don't worry, you can still learn it on your own by visiting the channels...
On IRC channels there are two ways to download files:

• via the "/ctcp" command using your IRC client

• via a FTP client

/ctcp

The /ctcp (client-to-client-protocol) command is used to transfer files between people on the channel using your IRC client. It has to be used like this:

/ctcp NickName !Trigger

"NickName" has to be replaced by the nickname of the one you want to request something from. "Trigger" has to be replaced by the particular trigger, that is, a keyword that tells the recipient what you want from him, and that automatically initiates the desired response (without actually involving the addressed one). It's comparable to a remote control.

While you are on a channel, watch out for so called "ads", that is, messages from other people that may look similar to this

* Weizen offers up the Bart98 collection. /ctcp Weizen !Bart98-CSV- for the CSV  - /ctcp Weizen !Bart98 <filename> for the scans.

In this particular example, a message from "Weizen" offers both the CSV file ("/ctcp Weizen !Bart98-CSV") for the Bartscan98 collection and also any scans from that collection ("/ctcp Weizen !Bart98 <filename>").

After you have downloaded the CSV ("/ctcp Weizen !Bart98-CSV") you can view it with a text editor (e.g. WordPad), or Microsoft Excel - there are the file names you need to request the "Bart98" scans from "Weizen"! Now just type e.g.

/ctcp Weizen !Bart98 BART98_009@Morena Corwin_01

(or using any other file name listed in the CSV) and you will receive the scan!

Maybe a message also looks like this:

* |az_ASAP| offers Angel Extra #10-11- type /ctcp |az_ASAP| !AngEx_11 and thank AngelScanner :-)

In this particular example, a message from "|az_ASAP|" offers scans from the series "Angel Extra", numbers "10" and "11", that can be downloaded by typing in "/ctcp |az_ASAP| !AngEx_11". In this case you do not need to know the real file names. The files usually arrive in zip format as a bundle together with the CSV file.
There are programs available that utilize CSV files to check your collection status, e.g. they create listings of the scans that you've already collected or that are still missing, which can be very helpful.

Sometimes you will also see an ad like this one here:

* MiniMute has a few completed and on-going collections, Type /ctcp MiniMute !MINITRIGGER for the list.

Get the list (in this example: "/ctcp MiniMute !MINITRIGGER") to find out what triggers (keywords that are used to access a particular series/collection) are available. These triggers can only be used to request files from the guy you have the trigger list from. You still need to know the file name to request a file, either you have to get the CSV somewhere else or there is an explanation included in the list how to request the CSV for a particular series. To view a trigger list sample click here.

After any of these file transfers is finished you will see a private message (i.e. the only one to see it is you) that may look like this (say, your name is "KermitTheFrog"):

-|az_ASAP|- Here is BART98_009@Morena Corwin_01.jpg, enjoy KermitTheFrog ;o)

These are automated replies, so don't thank the people every time you receive a message like that. It's ok if you do it once, e.g. when you leave the channel, or if you're done getting files from that person.

With a /ctcp command you can also trigger a chat session with someone. Actually you're not chatting with someone, you just enter his file server. A message offering such a file server chat session may look like this:

-DuffMeister:#SDC- DuffMeister is offering a Scanners Pix A-G Fserver. Type /ctcp DuffMeister !Scanners_A-G

Navigating within a file server works pretty much like DOS. The commands you need to know are:

• dir: lists the directory, that is, the folders of the file server or the contents of these folders, respectively

• cd: changes the current directory
  
  Example: "cd alohacaps" makes "alohacaps" the current directory (provided it exists)
  
  To leave the current directory just type in "cd..".

• get: initiates the download of a specified file
  
  Example: "get ac_preyes-01_pbc90.jpg" triggers the transfer of the file "ac_preyes-01_pbc90.jpg", provided you are currently in the directory this file is in

FTP

A convenient way to download/upload files independently of your IRC client is to use a FTP client.

Look for messages like this:

* Robotz has an FTP with the #SDC collections @ 215.423.25.3 port:1999 login:SDC pass: Use your nick. plz help me to keep it up-2-date
or
* KiwiDavy has a mirror of Kaboom's Recent Scans FTP up at kiwiman.dyn.ml.org (Port 1222) ---> Login: Recent --> Pwd: nicescans (60 Min time limit)

These ads contain all you need to access a particular FTP server. Note that FTP servers may be online or offline. Do not try the examples above, the data have been changed to prevent the particular FTP from being flooded by testers and to protect the privacy of the people offering these FTP servers. When you see the ads on the channel, the FTP the ad is for is online and you can try to access it. If you fail to access a server, allthough you have entered all its data correctly, the server may be "full", that is, currently the maximum number of people is using the server. You will have to try again later.

"Series centric"
"Model centric"

There are two different ways how you can collect scans. Either you browse through the CSVs and filter out scans of models that you are interested in and collect only these scans. Or, and this is by far the more common way, you collect series. I've compiled a table showing advantages and disadvantages of each method. Note that people often start "Model centric" and then swap to "Series centric" collecting after some time...

What you should not do on the channels

Don't ask things like "Can someone send me scans of XYZ". It is unlikely someone will fulfil your request if you don't provide the scan's exact file name (which is one of the reasons why you need CSVs).

Rather than continuously asking other people for scans, preferably get them via FTP or /ctcp. It is allright to ask for a scan or two if you can't find them otherwise, but don't be too annoying, ok?

Don't insult other people. Especially avoid being unfriendly to people whose nick starts with an "@". They are so-called operators and can kick you off the channel...

Channel slang

Since the people have to use their keyboards to 'talk' to each other on the channels, they often use abbreviations to speed up the conversation. For all who are not familiar with this 'slang', I have made a list you can refer to if you need help.

Concluding remarks

The rest you will have to find out by yourself (learning by doing). On the channels: Be friendly to the people and the people are friendly to you (most of the time). In case they are not answering your questions, then either they're in a bad mood or they did not realize that you are a newbie who needs help (or they are busy and currently do not pay attention to the channel). Be patient, it takes a while until you really know what's going on on the channels.
Everyone once started as a newbie. Don't forget that when a someone asks you for help next time!

Further information on scan collecting and IRC can be found at the ScanAddict Collector's Homepage.

And now...

Enjoy!