darkNiGHTS

Awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to explain everything to me. If I have good results with the OXM magazine I ordered I will definitely considering contributing more but pretty much anything I contribute I'd be purchasing. Is there any place in particular to point out good eBay auctions for preservation? This OXM lot seems like a good value at $1.73 an issue and isn't missing any issues in between. http://www.ebay.com/itm/132144631940?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT A lot of the guides are still there (with broken images), they're just floating around with no menu links: https://www.retromags.com/guides/debinding https://www.retromags.com/guides/scanning/

Ah, I was looking in the downloads section. Didn't realize that the database would be more than information, but what you can/cannot upload. When you go to "Submit a file" in the downloads section it doesn't have the same magazines as the database (in fact, it only lists 2 magazines) - so how would I go about contributing something? I don't see a button on the database page "I have this issue" or anything like that. (UPDATE: just by chance I happened to click "edit" and I see a place to put download links - is this how you contribute it? And if you add a link there, does it automatically go in the download section? also, rapidshare might not be the best example link ) Do you add scans from other sources or must they scanned and directly contributed by members of this site? If not, is there a way to mark that another source has preserved it? Archive.org has a lot of OXM already preserved. In my opinion, this site could be a bit more newbie contributor friendly - the FAQ does a good job of explaining the mission of the site but there are no links to anything (despite text saying "Check out this page"). Also, where are the guides? I've been linked to one from a forum post but I don't see it anywhere on the menus. I definitely agree with your "Where should Retromags fill holes first?" thread about how this site gives off vibes that it's more closed off than it actually is. "Join our team on the preservation front" - if you join a team does that mean you have obligations now? Is it OK to just scan one issue that you have lying around? I assume it is because I've been interested in preservation and understand the mindset and how easy it is for the "average" person to help out but not everyone does. I've never been the one afraid to ask "dumb questions" like the above but a lot of people are. A "Contribute" page that explains from the total beginner's mindset about the site's layout (aka how to use the database to figure out what needs contributing, where to submit downloads, etc) and what to do if you have an issue marked as missing, etc. That first contribution is always the hardest and in this case, a lot harder than it needs to be.

Seconded! Tips & Tricks was pretty unique, I'd love to see more of these online.

Can we get a section for OXM? I searched and read around a few threads and didn't see anything but apologies if I missed something. First issue was released November 2001. The best part is that the vast majority of missing scans are from the first 15 or so we should be able to get most missing ones by 2018. https://archive.org/details/official_xbox_magazine I will hopefully be contributing Issue 2. I got a fancy autofeed scanner from the thrift store for $10. It's in the basement now but I tested it and it works great. I think it was $600 when new, can't remember the make. I just bought this one eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/332172338720 And I noticed that the "Computer Games" magazines that are included aren't anywhere online. It's defunct. Can we get a section for that added as well? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Games_Magazine