Here are just a few simple questions that I have attempted to answer in the simplest way possible.

How come I am getting this "You dirty leecher!" page coming up when I try to download a file?

There could be several reasons for this page coming up when you try to download a file.

1) You have been banned, for trying to download more than 1 file at a time. Using download boosters such as Download Accelerator tend to also trigger this ban due to the way that it operates. Solution? Disable it while you use Flashback, otherwise you will be temporarily banned.

2) The link that you clicked on to download, was from somebody elses site who was stealing links.

Why can't I download more than 1 file at a time?
Our bandwidth is limited, and although we have over 5 Mbit/s dedicated for the downloads, there are lots of people constantly downloading files which when calculated doesn't come up with the fastest speeds. If you have everyone getting two or three transfers at a time, this lowers that speed even more. You ask any avid game collector out there and they will tell you patience is they key; their collection didn't just grow overnight. If you can take this under your wing, and live by the same principle too then it'll all make for a happy camp.

What triggers the ban and when is it removed?
Every minute, a monitor program checks how many file transfers have been made from the same IP address. If there is more than 1 going, all of them will be terminated and the IP address will be blocked out from downloading, however you will still be able to browse the site.

If you do download more than 1 file at a time, and get banned all of your downloads that are in progress will time out and will be left unfinished. It isn't just the large files either, even downloading a very small file can trigger the ban which includes manuals, and other related files.

All bans are removed automatically depending on the offense committed.

How long do the bans last?
There are three kinds of bans:

1) Up to 3 hours for downloading 2 files,
2) Up to 24 hours for downloading 3-5 files,
3) Up to a week for downloading 6+ files.

The intention of these bans is to make people realise that bandwidth isn't unlimited, and patience is the key to a great collection. It also comes as a great way to punish you, if you are being greedy and don't know how to share.

How can I not get banned?
Only download one file at a time. You may use download managers such as Go!Zilla and Getright, and these are recommended as you can resume your downloads. However, make sure that they are not working in an accelerated mode (ie. splitting one file up into smaller segments, and transferring simultaneously).

Will I get banned leeching from Flashback Abandonware and Home of the Underdogs at the same time?
No, you won't as they are situated on different servers.

I'm getting this "You dirty leecher you!" page, and I haven't been downloading more than 1 file!?
Sometimes you may have gotten some really small files, and not realised and that would have triggered the ban, in which case the best thing to do is simply wait for the ban to expire, and then try again. However, sometimes the page just comes up for no reason, before you've even downloaded one file. There is not a lot we can do about this, but if that happens simply click back, and try the link again 2 or 3 times. If you still have no luck, the best thing to do is come back later on and try as the server may be really overloaded.

Sometimes ISPs don't give their customers a real IP address, and therefore it looks like all their customers are browsing from the same connection. Therefore if 2 people are on, and downloading - you may be banned. There is nothing we can do about this unfortunately and the people to complain to about it would be your ISP ;)

Where can I find out more about the banning?
If you find that this hasn't answered all your questions, then hop over to HOTU and browse the "Download" section of their FAQ. This can be found at http://www.theunderdogs.org/faq.php.