xREL.v3

Official.FLAC.Standard.Rules v2.0

| INTRODUCTION
| After half a year and with ruleset wording misinterpretations, it is time to  |
| revise and add some rules.

| NOTE: The definitions of these keywords are to be interpreted as follows:
MUST=obligatory (release not allowed if rule not followed)
SHOULD=suggested (release allowed if not followed)
CAN+MAY=optional (release allowed if not followed)

Unless clearly stated in a specific rule or note, capitalization in this|
ruleset is considered as informative.

| GENERAL
|  1.1 A release MUST contain an SFV, NFO, and JPG proof.
.1 A release MAY contain other relevant JPG files.
.2 A release MAY contain CUE and LOG files if it is from a CD source.
.3 Valid filetypes are: .cue, .flac, .jpg, .log, .m3u, .nfo and .sfv.
|  1.2 Valid media sources are: BLURAY, CD, DVD, HDDVD and VINYL.
.1 A release MUST not mix sources.
|  1.3 Trackfixes are not allowed, bad quality rips require a complete repack
and MUST include ADDITIONAL type tag: -REPACK- or -RERIP- (rule 4.6).
|  1.4 The following are reasons for a bad quality rip:
.1 One or more tracks from the release are incomplete or contain skips.  |
.2 The tracks are distorted and constantly clipping (eg. vinyl rips).
.3 The tracks contain a constant hiss which was avoidable (eg. vinyl
rips).
.4 Low sound, mono rips (from stereo sources) and other factors easily
heard by the human ear.
|  1.5 The maximum directory and filename length is 128 characters. Directories |
and filenames must only contain valid characters: a-z A-Z 0-9
|  1.6 All CD releases (including mixed CD's / e.g. DJ-Mixes) MUST be ripped
as separated tracks according to the TOC (Table Of Contents) on the CD.  |
The only occasion where a CD is released as one single track is when
there is only one track on the CD.
|  NOTE: Lossless data compression excludes the possibility of the introduction |
of padding, all lossless audio file formats are inherently gapless.

| DUPES
|  2.1 A release MUST include all audio tracks. Releasing just the bonus tracks |
or some other subset of tracks is not allowed. Similarly, a BONUS DISC
cannot be released by itself, but must be released as a complete release.|
|  2.2 A release MUST not be identical to a previous release, except
ADVANCE/PROMO releases (Rule 7.2).
|  2.3 A release is not identical to a previous release if:
.1 The previous version has a different mastering.
.2 The previous version has a different tracklist.
.3 The previous version has a different version of a track.
|  2.4 A release MUST not be a collection of discs that have already all been
individually released. For example, releasing a 2CD that combines a
CD and EP after they have both been indivually released is not allowed.  |
Likewise, a boxset of albums cannot be released if each album has
already been indivually released.
|  2.5 A release MUST not have all its tracks included in one previous release. |
Examples: a CDS cannot be released after a CDM that includes all the
tracks on the CDS. An album cannot be released after a boxset that
includes all the tracks from that same album. A CDM or EP cannot be
released after a release has been reissued with all tracks.
|  2.6 All sources MUST follow the above dupe rules as well as the following
source specific rules:
.1 BLURAY can dupe any other source, except HDDVD.
.2 HDDVD can dupe any other source, except BLURAY.
.3 CD can dupe any other source, except BLURAY and HDDVD.
.4 DVD cannot dupe any other source.
.5 VINYL cannot dupe any other source.

| ENCODING
|  3.1 A release MUST be encoded using FLAC 1.2.1 (no alphas and betas allowed) |
.1 A release MUST be encoded using --compression-level-8 option.
.2 A release SHOULD be encoded using --verify option.
.3 A release MUST NOT be encoded using --replay-gain or any kind of
option that changes the audio source quality.
|  3.2 Encoding quality must be:
44.100 Hz / 16 bit LPCM (2.0) for CD.
96.000 Hz / 24 bit LPCM (2.0) for VINYL sources.
|  3.3 DVD encoding quality:
.1 Only LPCM uncompressed audio source is allowed.
.2 Channels, Bits per Sample and Sample Frequency, must be kept.
.3 A DVD release must contain all music tracks. Additional tracks (clips,|
interviews etc.) are optional. If those extra tracks are not included |
then a proper (with ALL tracks) or an additional release (extra tracks|
only) is not allowed.
.4 The nfo file MUST contain the following source information:
Codec (LPCM)
Bitrate (640kbps, 768kbps, 1536kbps...)
Number of channels (Stereo, 5.1,
|  3.4 HDDVD/BLURAY encoding:
.1 Highest audio source must be used.
.2 Channels, Bits per Sample and Sample Frequency, must be kept.
.3 Audio source choice priority from highest bitrate is:
DTS-HD Master Audio
Dolby TrueHD
LPCM
.4 HDDVD/BLURAY video clip releases should be ripped as multiple tracks, |
(eg: like any regular Compilation CD release).
.5 HDDVD/BLURAY releases with multiple files, but all belonging to the
same playlist index, must be encoded together in the same order the
playlist index file indicates.
.6 HDDVD/BLURAY releases must contain all music tracks. Additional tracks|
(clips, interviews etc.) are optional. If those extra tracks are not  |
included then a proper (with ALL tracks) or an additional release
(extra tracks only) is not allowed.
.7 The nfo file MUST contain the following source information:
Codec (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, LPCM)
Bitrate (640kbps, 768kbps, 1536kbps...)
Number of channels (Stereo, 5.1, 7.1)

| RELEASE NAME
|  4.1 The tag -FLAC- MUST be in uppercase in the release name and always
before -YEAR- and -GROUP tags.
|  4.2 Release name MUST contain at least: Artist, Title, Source, Year, Group.  |
.1 ARTIST tag means performer, band, musician. Must be a unique name.
(ie. no OST in place of artist).
If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" can be used.
Compilations (eg: Soundtracks, Samplers) with various artists must use|
the word "VA" at ARTIST field. Various Artists is considered 4 or more|
different artists with single songs.
.2 TITLE tag means the title of album. Must be a unique name.
(ie. no Self-titled). If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" |
can be used. (Self name artist title MUST not be considered an unknown|
title).
|  4.3 Using CATALOGUE number in a release name is optional but recommended.
|  4.4 Valid SOURCE tags: (Uppercase letters MUST be used)
.1 BLURAY (eg. 2BLURAY, 3BLURAY, etc.)
.2 HDDVD (eg. 2HDDVD, 3HDDVD, etc.)
.3 CD, CDS, CDM, CDEP, MCD, CDR, CDRS, CDREP
(eg. 2CD, 3CDS, 4CDREP, 84x3INCH_CDS etc.)
.4 DVD (eg. 2DVD, 3DVD, etc.)
.5 VINYL, VLS, LP, MLP, EP, INCH_VINYL
(eg. 2VINYL, 3LP, 4INCH_VINYL, 3X5INCH_VINYL, 10x12INCH_VINYL etc.)
|  4.5 TYPE describes the difference in tracks, tracklist or year of this
release compared to another version. Difference in tracks usually is:
length, mixing, mastering, recording, number of channels. Difference in  |
tracklist usually occurs with specific presses, at different countries,  |
with different artists or different/more tracks for the same release
title. Different year reports to reissue releases (refer to rule 4.10).  |
Some releases need to be identified from the normal ones due to their
source nature. (eg: soundtrack compilation, magazine bonus CD, etc).
Therefore valid allowed TYPE tags are:
Advance, Promo, Retail, Bonus
Mag, Magazine, Split, OST, Flexi, Audiobook
Bootleg, Demo, Sampler, Whitelabel
Reissue, Remastered, Unmastered
<country> (eg: JP_Retail, US_Reissue)
Ltd, Limited, Limited_Edition, Ltd_Edition
Deluxe_Edition, Special_Edition, Digipak, Digipak_Edition
Clean, Explicit
.1 TYPE can be a combination of the keywords featured in rule 4.5 using  |
the _ (underscore) space replacement. (eg. -Reissue_Limited_Edition-). |
|  4.6 Valid ADDITIONAL tags: (Uppercase MUST be used)
DIRFIX, NFOFIX, PROPER, READNFO, REPACK, RERIP, REAL and CUEFIX.
.1 If an ADDITIONAL tag is used, the nfo MUST mention the release name
that it is replacing or updating.
.2 DIRFIX and NFOFIX are exempt from Rule 1.1.
|  4.7 LANGUAGE (LANG) must follow the ccTLD identifiers (2-chars):
(Capitalized letters MUST be used)
http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/
|  4.8 Mandatory release name formats:
Artist-Title-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Title-LANG-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Title-LANG-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-ADDITIONAL-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-ADDITIONAL-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP
|  4.8.1 Any spaces in ARTIST and TITLE should be replaced with _ (underscore). |
If ARTIST or TITLE has . (dots) or - (dash), it is encouraged to be
kept as close as they appear on the cover/booklet/physical medium,
but they do not have to be nuked if not.
|  4.9 .1 Internal releases must be tagged GRP_iNT or GRP_INT.
.2 Internal releases must follow FLAC ruleset.
.3 Internal releases must not dupe an existing one that is 732 days old  |
or newer.
| 4.10 YEAR tag must be the year when the record company/artist published it.
For non original presses, the additional TYPE tagging MUST be applied.
(example: release originally released in 1990, but rip is from 2000
reissue, correct year would be 2000, with additional TYPE tagging).
| 4.11 LANGUAGE tag is MANDATORY for non english releases.
If the vocals are non-english and the majority of them are best described|
using one TLD country code abbreviation, then the most appropriate
TLD SHOULD be chosen and MUST be used as a tag in the release name.
| 4.12 Typos in releases where the TITLE and/or ARTIST name are in English ARE  |
NOT TOLERATED. The ADDITIONAL tag, DIRFIX must be used to fix a release  |
name typo (ref to rule 4.6).
.1 ARTIST and/or TITLE must not be translated to English from their
native language. English alphabet characters must be used to reflect  |
artist and/or title names (ref to rule 1.5).

| NOTE:
CATALOGUE and TYPE are optional tags (except for Rule 4.10). When they are |
used, they must be placed in the correct order.

| FILENAME
|  5.1 Filename must at least contain: Track number, Track artist, Track title. |
|  5.2 All filenames (including SFV, NFO, JPG) MUST be lowercase.
|  5.3 Track titles must be exactly the same as written on the backcover
tracklist containing all additional infos like featured artists or
remixers, if they are present, as long it does not exceed the maximum
filename length (see rule 1.5).
If additional information is shown at lyrics titles, inlay or cd
listing, it is encouraged to write them aswell.
NOTE: Typos are tolerated as long as they do not compromise the
readability of file names. If tracklist has changes, due to press  |
errors for example, it is encouraged to explain them in the .nfo
|  5.4 Recommended filename formats:
nr-artist-title.flac
nr-artist-title_(remixer_or_featured_artist).flac
a1-artist-title.flac
b2-artist-title.flac
|  5.5 Including -groupname in the filenames is allowed but not recommended.
|  5.6 Repacked or reripped releases MUST include a -repack or -rerip suffix on |
each .flac file.
|  5.7 In VA releases actual artist name MUST be before song title. VA (Various |
Artists) is not a valid artist (01-va-song_title is unacceptable).

| VORBIS TAGS
|  6.1 FLAC files MUST only contain Vorbis comments and Vorbis comment field
names must be unique. For example, a FLAC file MUST not have two ARTIST  |
field names even though the specification supports this.
|  6.2 All FLAC files MUST have the following Vorbis comment field names and
corresponding field contents: TRACKNUMBER, ARTIST, TITLE, ALBUM, GENRE,  |
and DATE (format: YYYY).
.1 All FLAC files SHOULD also have the following Vorbis comment field
names and corresponding field contents: TOTALTRACKS, DISCNUMBER and
TOTALDISCS.
.2 The "vendor_string" field of the VORBIS_COMMENT metadata block MUST
be present indicating the correct lib FLAC version. Be aware that some|
software removes this field by default.
.3 For VA releases the ARTIST field contents MUST have the corresponding |
artist name not "VA".
|  6.3 The FLAC picture block (METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE) must be empty. Any cover |
or booklet scans MUST follow Rule 9.5
|  6.4 Vorbis comment field contents use UTF-8 character encoding to allow easy |
representation of any language. It is recommended to use UTF-8 in field  |
contents to ensure accurate tagging. Filenames MUST follow Rule 1.5.
|  6.5 The GENRE field content MUST be the same for all the files in a release  |
and it MUST be one of the genres listed in the id3 specification list:
http://www.id3.org/id3v2.3.0#line-1089 and the additional nullsoft
genres index number 125 onwards. namely:
Goa, Drum & Bass, Club House, Hardcore, Terror, Indie, BritPop,
Negerpunk, Polsk Punk, Beat, Christian Gangsta Rap, Heavy Metal,
Black Metal, Crossover, Contemporary Christian, Christian Rock,
Merengue, Salsa, Thrash Metal, Anime, JPop, Synthpop, Unknown.
NOTE: The genre "Psychadelic" was originally misspelled in the list and  |
therefore using the correct spelling of "Psychedelic" is not a
valid nuke reason. This typo was later fixed in the Nullsoft list. |

| ADVANCE/PROMO
|  7.1 An ADVANCE or PROMO is not available at retail and is usually labeled
with some variation of the words Advance and/or Promotional. Having a
release before its retail date does not automatically make it an ADVANCE.|
|  7.2 ADVANCE and PROMO releases can always be duped by any retail release even|
if the tracks on both releases are identical.
|  7.3 ADVANCE and PROMO releases with voice overs, silence, or cuts on tracks  |
are not allowed.

| BOOTLEG
|  8.1 A bootleg is a release or recording that was not officially released by  |
the artist or record company (unofficial / unlicensed recordings).
|  8.2 Conditions for bootleg releases are:
There are no signs that the record company really released it.
The artist or record company did not confirm the release as valid.
The record company has no connection to the artist on the release.
The record company does not exist and the release not self-released.
The release is not available at at least three retail stores.
|  8.3 Currently valid retail stores (alphabetic order):
www.amazon.com
www.boomkat.com
www.bestbuy.com
www.cduniverse.com
www.decks.de
www.deejay.de
www.hmv.com
www.juno.co.uk
www.sonymusicstore.com
www.virgin.com
www.ukdancerecords.com
www.walmart.com
|  NOTE: The shop itself must sell the record, no private sellers.
|  8.4 Due to their unofficial nature, bootlegs might carry audio defects
(ei. skips, glitches, etc). If these audio defects are identified at nfo |
then a release cannot be considered invalid until there is a valid one
(ei. proper release clean of audio defects).

| PROOF
|  9.1 Releases must always contain a proof CAMERA picture in JPG format.
|  9.2 Proof camera pictures must contain both, medium and cover together.
If cover isnt possible, a booklet or promo sheet or anything valid
proving ripper has release. If the medium/cover/booklet contain anything |
that may expose your identity, then that part of image can be blurred or |
blackened.
|  9.3 The proof picture MUST include small piece of paper over medium and/or
cover with GRP name.
Artist, title and any other relevant info that proves release, must not  |
be hidden behind the piece of paper.
|  9.4 GROUP tag must be photographed in the proof picture, software-edited
tags are considered invalid proof. Camera picture proof must not be
changed except to hide anything that might expose ripper (read Rule 9.2).|
|  9.5 Additional scans may be added but DO NOT count for proof.
|  9.6 Proof camera pictures resolution must be at least 640 width and 480
height in JPEG format.
Artist and/or album/single title must be clearly readable.
|  9.7 Proof fixes are not allowed, missing proof picture or bad resolution
requires a complete repack.
| NOTE: EXIF metadata should be removed from JPEG files! Uniquely identifying
information such as the camera serial number and GPS coordinates can
pose a security threat if not removed, so this is very ESSENTIAL!

|  CHANGELOG:

|  2011-10-03 first version (v1.0)
|  2011-10-10 rule 1.10 with NOTE added to forbid single file+cue unless
source is single track with index.
|  2011-10-10 rule 3.5.1 added (explanation for TYPE tag).
|  2011-10-10 rule 3.8.1 added (explanation for ARTIST and TITLE tags).
|  2011-10-10 rule 5.1 adjusted
|  2011-10-10 rule 5.5 adjusted
|  2011-10-10 rule 5.5.1 added
|  2012-05-15 GENERAL section 1.0 splited.
|  2012-05-15 rule 1.3 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 1.4 adjusted and NOTES removed.
|  2012-05-15 DUPES section created 2.0
|  2012-05-15 rule 3.1 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 3.2 encoding setting changed.
|  2012-05-15 rule 3.3 DVD encoding audio settings.
|  2012-05-15 rule 3.4 HDDVD/BLURAY encoding audio settings.
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.1 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.2 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.4 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.5 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.6 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.7 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.10 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 4.12 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 5.3 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 5.4 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 5.6 created
|  2012-05-15 rule 5.7 created
|  2012-05-15 rule 6.1 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 6.2 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 6.4 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 rule 6.5 adjusted
|  2012-05-15 PROMO/BOOTLEG section splited.
|  2012-05-15 rule 8.4 created
|  2012-05-15 ADVANCE/PROMO created.

|  Rules signed by:

|  2Eleven BCC BriBerY CHS DECRyPTED DeVOiD dL EMG EMP FrB FiH FWYH GRAVEWISH
LITF LoKET k4 JLM MANDY PERFECT PsyCZ SCORN SPL TiLLMYDEATH WRE UQ

|  Rules not signed by:

|  flachedelic WeTBaCk

|  FLAC rules V2.0 apply from 2012-05-15 00:00:00 CET (Central European Time).  |