Soulseek

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Soulseek

Soulseek 156c screenshot on Microsoft Windows
Developed by Nir Arbel
Initial release 2002 (version 139)
Stable release 156c  () [+/−]
Preview release 157 test 12c  () [+/−]
Written in  ?
OS Microsoft Windows
Available in  ?
Genre File sharing
License Proprietary freeware
Website www.slsknet.org

Soulseek is a file-sharing (also called Peer to Peer or 'P2P') application, comprising two networks, used mostly to exchange music, although users are able to share a variety of files. It was created by Nir Arbel, a former Napster programmer [1].

Contents

[edit] Userbase

The original Soulseek user base was composed mostly of members of the IDM Mailing List[2], and most of the music first found on Soulseek was underground electronic music or music created by the users themselves. To this day, Soulseek remains a source for avant-garde and underground independent music. Some artists without a label or who depend on word of mouth for the spread of their music use file sharing programs such as Soulseek to distribute their work.

The user population was believed to have grown rapidly since its beginnings, but there is no published data as to whether that has continued or reversed (there is speculation for example, that in 2004, there might have been one million registered users, but this is not verifiable).

The Soulseek server went through a period of regularly crashing due to CPU overload, however, a new server was set up in mid-2004.

Version 156 (the current production version) first appeared in 2005 [3]. A second 'test' version of the server was set up shortly afterwards (version 157). Version 157 is effectively a separate network, with separate users to version 156. Neither network communicates with each other. Both networks can be run simultaneously on the same computer (searches with version 157 appear to generate maybe a third as many results as a search using 156).

[edit] Non-windows platforms

A Linux client has been developed for SoulSeek. PySoulSeek is a client for Soulseek file sharing system that runs under Linux/FreeBSD/Solaris and other Unixes and sort of runs under Mac OS X. [4] Another such client, named Nicotine, runs on all Unix-based systems and is available from most package distributors on Linux-based systems. [5]

[edit] Content

As a peer to peer (P2P) file sharing program, the accessible content is determined by the users of the Soulseek client, and what files they choose to share. The network has historically had a diverse mix of music, including underground and independent artists and unreleased music such as demos and live tracks[6].

[edit] Soulseek Records

Many of the original Soulseek users are also music producers, and Soulseek Records (also known as SLSK Records) was formed in 2002.

[edit] Key features

[edit] Central server

Soulseek depends on a pair of central servers (one supporting the original client, the other supporting a test/development client) for its operation [7]. While these central servers are key to coordinating searches and hosting chat rooms, they do not actually play a part in the transfer of files between users which takes place directly between the users concerned. (See Single Source Downloads below).

[edit] Searching

Users can search for items; the results returned being a list of files whose names match the search term used [8]. Searches may be explicit or may use wildcards/patterns or terms to be excluded. For example, searching for blue suede -shoes will return a list of files whose names containing the strings blue and suede, but files containing the string shoes in their names will be excluded.

A feature specific to the Soulseek search engine is the inclusion of the folder names and file paths in the search list. This allows user to search by folder name. For example, typing in experimental will return all the files users have in folders of that name giving a very quick access to new bands and albums in a determined musical genre.

The list of search results returned shows various details such as the full name and path of the file, its size, the user who is hosting the file together with that users' average transfer rate and in the case of mp3 files, brief details about the encoded track itself such as bit rate, length etc. The resulting search list may then be sorted in a variety of ways and individual files (or folders) chosen for download.

[edit] Single source (one to one) downloads

Soulseek does not support multi-source downloading or "swarming" like other post-Napster clients [9], and must fetch a requested file from a single source (in contrast, swarming allows a requested file to be sourced from a number of users who have that file, thus pieces of the file may be downloaded concurrently from a number of sources typically giving improved performance).

Soulseek has often been criticised for not offering multi-source downloads. Many users find that multi-source downloads offer more speed and resilience. Such single-source downloads are obviously more subject to the vagaries of the internet where the performance and reliability of a connection between two points can be impacted by any number of factors. However the direct one to one nature of file transfers in Soulseek can be seen as favouring diversity. It favours communication between users, thereby encouraging them to get in contact with downloading users sharing similar tastes by removing the anonymity of the "swarming" system.

[edit] Chat

Soulseek hosts user-created chat rooms, of which most are dedicated to musical styles or geographical regions. Some users find that this gives the system more of a community feel.

Individual 'chat sessions' are also possible directly between two users, and the software features an 'ignore' facility should a user not wish to receive messages from another. The Soulseek client also allows the user to create what is essentially a 'buddy list'. Users on this buddy list can then be given preferential treatment, like being able to jump the queue ahead of 'non-buddies' when requesting files for download.

The client also contains a ban feature whereby selected users may be banned from requesting files. This is in response to users who might be leeching files (i.e. taking files from others without sharing any files themselves) or who might be causing a nuisance for other reasons. Banning can be a contentious subject, and was the subject of much discussion in the user forums particularly in the early days.

Many of the more popular file-sharing clients support personal messaging. However Soulseek resembles WinMX or mirc in having group chat rooms (for a few music genres) giving some users a community feel.

[edit] Album downloads

While Soulseek, like other P2P clients, allows a user to download individual files from another by selecting each one from a list of search results, a Download Containing Folder option simplifies the downloading of entire albums. For example, an artist who wishes to facilitate the distribution of an entire album, may place all tracks relating to the album together in a folder on the host PC and the entire contents of that folder (i.e. all the album's track files) can then be downloaded automatically one after the other using this one command.

[edit] File transfer monitoring

The Soulseek client features two file transfer monitoring windows where the progress of files being uploaded and downloaded can be monitored and controlled.

[edit] User profiles

Users may complete a profile which contains basic free-form text information (e.g. basic information about themselves or their 'file transfer rules') together with a list of things they like, a list of things they dislike and optionally an image file. These items may then be viewed by other users when selecting the username from a list of members in a chat room or a list of files returned by a search.

The list of items a user likes may also be used to obtain global rankings for that item in the Soulseek community or to obtain recommendations from other users who have the same items in their list of things they like.

[edit] Wishlists

The Soulseek client provides a wishlist feature which functions like a stored search. Search terms are input as entries in a wishlist and each wishlist entry is then periodically executed as a search automatically by the client software, returning results as appropriate.

[edit] Privileges

While the Soulseek software is free, a donation scheme exists to support the programming effort and cost of maintaining the servers. In return for donations, users are granted the privilege of being able to jump ahead of non-donating users in a queue when downloading files. Although free, the Soulseek protocol search algorithms are not published, the reason being that the performance of the central servers is sensitive to client searches, and the development of 3rd party clients that do not adhere to certain rules when searching (eg. the number of search results returned) could have a detrimental impact on the Soulseek system. The BitTorrent community experienced just such issues when certain BitTorrent clients were coded to circumvent rules defined within the BitTorrent protocol and thus offer the user certain advantages at the expense of others.

[edit] Versions

The first release was 139, which ran for about 12 months from 2002-03. Following a change in servers, a new version was released to coincide with this event. Whilst the main interface has largely remained unchanged since its inception, additional features such as the chat room 'ticker' were introduced into the 156 version.

There are currently two versions of the Soulseek client. There is the original version, currently on v.156c. There is also a separate 'test' version where new features may be developed and which uses a separate centralised server. The latest version of is v.157 test 12c (see side panel). v.157 test 12c was released in November 2007 but 157 has been around since 2005.

[edit] Ad-free, spyware free

The Soulseek website maintains that the client software is ad-free and spyware free [10]. This is supported by the fact that anti-malware products including, Norton Antivirus, Webroot SpySweeper and Spyware Doctor, do not list either version of the Soulseek client as containing malware. Nor do there appear to be any documented cases of the official software containing malware.

[edit] Support forums and blog

Like numerous other software titles, Soulseek has a set of forums where users may seek help on a variety of topics such as technical aspects of using the software. There are also forums where music including Soulseek Records releases may be discussed.

In the latter part of 2003 a Soulseek blog was created by Nir Arbel whereby users could be informed of various developments with the client software and the status of the Soulseek servers. However the updating of this blog was short-lived with the last entry being added in March 2004 and news about the software and servers reverted to being displayed either in the dedicated Soulseek forums or on the main Soulseek website itself.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interview with Nir Arbel
  2. ^ IDM Mailing List - Hosted by Hyperreal.org
  3. ^ Official website See SLSK
  4. ^ [http://www.sensi.org/~ak/pyslsk/ Other systems
  5. ^ http://nicotine.thegraveyard.org/ Other systems
  6. ^ according to Nir Arbel
  7. ^ [1] for more on the Soulseek Protocol
  8. ^ Official website See slsknet.org
  9. ^ according to Nir Arbel
  10. ^ Official website See slsknet.org

[edit] External links