VRS FAQ and Access Problems

Track Downloads asking for a Plug-in

Administrator — Thu, 7 Feb 2008 18:59:41

Q: I am trying to download some tracks in a VRS Project, and my browser is telling me that I need a Plug-in.  Which Plug-in should I download?

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A: We have seen this on IE5 under MAC OS9 - But it could happen under other browsers.

The problem is that your browser thinks that mime type application/force-download requires a browser Plug-in, when it is actually supposed to be a file download.

The instructions will be slightly different depending on your computer and your browser.  But here are the instructions for IE5 under MAC OS9:

Go into IE, then select:

Edit>Preferences>File Helpers>Receiving Files.

And see if there are any entries for application/force-download.

If there are, write down their settings - so that you can go back if anything horrible happens - then change the Handled By "Application" to "Save To File" or whatever the equivalent is on your version of IE.  Also - make sure you select Binary and Incoming only (not Outgoing).

If there are no entries for application/force-download, add one for both MP3 and WAV file types (Extension) to "Save To File".  Then restart your browser, and your Tracks and Mixes should now download without asking for a Plug-in.

Why do you limit only VRS users to view projects?

TheNetStudio — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:30:09

Q: I want my project(s) to be indexed by .  Why do you limit viewing projects to just people that signup for VRS?

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A: We know that some of the other music collaboration sites allow a greater amount of access to non-members, and they do it well!  We are VERY impressed and excited by the levels of music collaboration that exist today.  When we started the VRS project there was nothing like it, and no-one we talked to even thought it was a decent idea.  Indeed, we took some heat from people that thought it was a terrible idea.

But we wanted to create a system that allowed people to meet, and work on music projects together.  And to keep the process of creating that music private, until they were ready to release it.  This is why PRIVATE projects, which can only be seen by their participating members can still make their "Final Mixes" public, and available to anyone on the Internet.

VRS does allow PUBLIC projects that all other VRS users can see, and participate in.   But you are correct: We have limited the participation to only people that have signed up for VRS UserIds.

We do hope to eventually partner with other web sites to allow VRS users to automatically upload finished songs to web sites that are better at music distribution than we can be.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, we would like to participate in a network of web sites that can work together to allow music collaborators to meet, collaborate on new music, mix and master their music, connect with their fans, distribute their music, and advertise their live performances.  We are not there yet, but it is a future goal that we hope to accomplish, with other web sites that focus on the different parts of the music production landscape.

Session Expired Error

TheNetStudio — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:07:26

Q: Every once in a while VRS will tell me my session has expired, that I am not logged in, or will just redirect me back to the login screen.

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A: In order to protect our users from someone using their VRS UserId while they have stepped away from their computer, we logoff any user that has not had any activity for 1 hour.

It can be an annoyance to have to login again, but this is a common and effective method to prevent someone from using your VRS UserId when you are away from your computer for an extended amount of time.

IP Address has changed message

TheNetStudio — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:03:12

Q: I get a message that my IP Address has changed, and VRS Logs me off.

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A: VRS is designed with what we call "CrossChecks".

These are little checks in the system that try to determine if VRS is being used in a way that might be harmful to other VRS users.

For instance, one type of harmful activity would be for someone to steal your UserId/Password and have access to your private projects. Another would be for someone to use an anonymizing service to illegally share copyrighted music with other people.

To help combat this, we look for consistency in your IP address.  Unfortunately some ISPs, for instance AOL, use a "proxy" that mimics this type of activity by constantly changing the computer IP Address of the AOL user.

If you are an AOL broadband user experiencing this problem, you can try using FireFox instead of the AOL browser.  Just make sure that FireFox is NOT configured to use the AOL proxy.

If you are an AOL dial-up user, we do not have an answer for you yet, but we are looking at the problem.

We are also considering the option to bypass this crosscheck.  It is a difficult decision for us, because a core value of VRS is to try to protect your music and your projects.

If you are experiencing this problem, please let us know.

Can't Post On The Forums

TheNetStudio — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:57:25

Q: I am checking out your forums, but I can't post or reply.  When I try to sign-up it tells me that I need to get a VRS UserId.

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A: In order to cut down on SPAM we require any poster to go through the VRS signup process.

Our forums are actually divided into publicly accessible forums, and Members Only forums.  Public forums can be read by anyone and thus will be indexed by the various search engines.  Anyone can read the public forums, but to post, you must be a valid VRS user.

Once you get your VRS UserID (it is FREE), you will be able to post to the public forums, and read and post to the Members Only forums.  We provide Members Only forums to allow VRS users to communicate within the VRS community.  Currently this avoids search engines such as Google from indexing the private forums.  There is no technical obstacle for Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or Ask.com to simply signup for VRS and then index all the Members Only forums, but currently they do not do this, and we hope that they will continue to honor the idea of private forums.

If you want to ensure your communications will remain private, you can start a PRIVATE VRS project and use the "Remarks" section for conversation that will be viewable only by others that have been given access to that project.

This is one of our technical goals: To allow you to determine whether you want your music to be publicly accessible or only available to a small group of collaborators.