Frequently Asked Questions

General

If you're using Soulseek client version 156, please be aware that the server it connects to is no longer online, as it was almost completely empty when we decided to shut it down. Try SoulseekQt or Soulseek 157 NS 13e available on our download page to connect to the new server.

If you are using SoulseekQt or 157, it's possible your ISP is blocking access to Soulseek, as the Soulseek server is almost never offline.

If you would like us to try and diagnose your connection problem, see this post.

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Soulseek recycles usernames after a full month of the person not logging in to conserve server memory. If you do not have privileges, your username will be cleared when 30 days have passed without you logging on or when your privileges have expired, whichever comes last.

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To browse a user's files, you need to be able to form a network (TCP) connection to that user, and not every two users on Soulseek can connect to each other. The Soulseek client sets up a listening port to accept incoming TCP connections. Under certain fairly common circumstances, the listening port may not be accessible to the outside world. As Soulseek attempts each peer connection in both directions, you should be able to connect to almost any other user if your listening port is accessible.

If you're behind a router, your router might be blocking traffic to your listening port. Both the original client and SoulseekQt use a protocol named UPnP to configure your router to recognize the listening port, but some routers (most notably Apple routers) don't support UPnP. Although not very common, it's also possible that your Internet service provider has your connection set up in such a way that you can't accept incoming TCP connections.

You can also try to manually configure your router to forward Soulseek's listening port. Check this list of guides to see if one is available for your router brand. To find out which port number your Soulseek client is listening on, go to Options->General options in the original Soulseek client, or Options->Login in SoulseekQt.

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Chances are your version of Windows imposes what's called a half-open TCP connection limit. See this comment for a possible fix.

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SoulseekQt

If you're on a Mac, bear in mind that SoulseekQt requires Snow Leopard or newer to run, and will crash if you're using an older operating system. Otherwise, the best thing you can do to help fix the cause of the crash is to post a crash report. See this article for instructions.

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Go to the Options->File Sharing tab and click 'Share Folder' in the top bar.

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This change from Soulseek NS is due to two reasons, one technical, and the other practical. When trying to download the files in a folder, the client has no knowledge of what files exist in the same folder other than the ones that were returned as search results. Soulseek NS gets around this by asking the other client for a list of all the files in the folder and automatically downloads them. If the query fails for some reason, no files can be queued and nothing will happen. Additionally, we've decided to take a what-you-see-is-what-you-get approach with SoulseekQt. This ensures that you always know exactly what it is that you're downloading. To manually download everything in the folder, use the 'Browse Folder' context menu option. This will browse the user's files and automatically take you to the selected folder in the user's share. If you still want to download the entire contents of the folder, you can do so from the browsed share window.

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Not currently, sorry. The two clients handle their data very differently, and so far I have not had the time to write a proper import tool.

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Website

There are a few key reasons a post might not be approved for public display:

  • Your post was not made in the right place. Common examples include posting a general question in the Feature Requests section, or posting a comment to a thread that does not relate to the thread topic.
  • Your post duplicates an existing request or topic. Please use the search engine to verify that your request or question isn't already covered.
  • Your post doesn't relate to the SoulseekQt client. Aside from the General category in the FAQ, this site is dedicated entirely to the development of the SoulseekQt client. See the original forum for all other discussion.
  • Although much more rare, a rude and/or unconstructive post will usually not be approved.
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Misc.

Everyone can use the “ignore” feature, which blocks anything the offending user has to say. Sometimes people will change their username if they know they are being ignored. Most people that exhibit this kind of behavior do it for attention, so it is important that everyone in the room to not respond when harassed. The less you “feed the troll”, the more likely they will be to move on. You can also create a private room and invite anyone you want to it...this is excellent protection from annoying users. If you have worn out all of your options, feel free to contact us on Soulseek, and we will try to mediate...however, often there is not much we can do to remove the user, except for an IP ban. Make sure and keep good logs of everything that is said, because we do take accusations seriously. However, we know that many complaints can be hearsay, and we may give the other party an opportunity to tell their side of the story.

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Yes! This is called “gifting”. There are two ways to go about doing this. The easiest way is to donate through the client so that you receive privileges. (In the Soulseek Qt client, you will only be given this option if you already have privileges). Once you receive the privileges, go to your userlist and right click on the username that you wish to give privileges to. There will be a “gift privileges” option. You can then choose the number of days you wish to give them, and they will receive an announcement in a private message from you telling them that they have received “x” amount days of privileges from you.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can go to the Paypal website and donate to Soulseek. DO NOT donate through the client, or the privileges will go directly to you. Once you have the Paypal donation page up, put the other person’s username in the appropriate field. They will then receive an announcement from OrtaliGoddessOfPrivileges that they have received privileges, but they will not know who the privileges came from.

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There are a good number of reasons why people do not share files. First and foremost being that they do not realize that many people are upset by “non-sharers”. We realize that Soulseek has a reputation for mean, pedantic users that have a great list of “dos and don’ts” in their userinfo. We would like to think that our userbase is flexible, but know that this may be an impossibility. There is a very eloquent announcement regarding this on our Soulseek QT feature request forum here: http://www.soulseekqt.net/news/node/523

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When you create a private room, you can control who is added or removed. You can also add people as operators who control the room, and are allowed to add or remove users.
Soulseek Qt has a feature for private room owners that helps you to monitor who is added and/or removed from your room. Since room owners cannot always monitor what the room's operators are doing, this is an excellent way to keep track of activity in your private room. It can also help to keep operators "honest" in your absence.

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