The Mod Archive is a web site dedicated to the indexing and archival of playable music module files

Module file

Module files are a family of music file formats originating from the MOD file format on Amiga systems used in late 1980s...

. It allows anyone to upload modules in the MOD

MOD (file format)

MOD is a computer file format used primarily to represent music, and was the first module file format. MOD files use the “.MOD” file extension, except on the Amiga where the original trackers instead use a “mod.” prefix scheme, e.g. “mod.echoing”...

, IT, XM

XM (file format)

XM, standing for "extended module", is an audio file type introduced by Triton's Fast Tracker 2. XM introduced multisampling-capable instruments with volume and panning envelopes, and basic pattern compression...

, AHX, MED

OctaMED

OctaMED is a popular sound tracker for the Commodore Amiga, written by Teijo Kinnunen. The first version, 1.12, was released in 1989 under the name MED, which stands for Music EDitor. In April 1990, version 2.00 was released with MIDI support as the main improvement...

, MTM, S3M, MO3

MO3

MO3 is a music file format developed by Ian Luck. MO3 files are tracker modules that contain samples encoded in the MP3 or Ogg Vorbis file formats, rather than straight PCM samples . This results in a greatly reduced file size for the module, while maintaining almost identical audio quality...

, 669, HVL

HVL

HVL may refer to:* In Computer Science, a Hardware verification language* In Sonography, a Half-Value Layer...

and STM

Scream Tracker

Scream Tracker is a tracker . It was created by Psi of Finland's Future Crew It was coded in C and assembly language. The first popular version of Scream Tracker, version 2.2, was published in 1990...

 file formats, and provides charts, reviews and ratings of music files based on a community effort.

History

The Mod Archive was established in 1996 as a place for tracker artists to upload their work. Since then, the site has emerged into being a community for artists and module enthusiasts.

In an effort to make the web site more dynamic

Dynamic web page

A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh information , for each individual viewing. It is not static because it changes with the time , the user , the user interaction , the context A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh...

, the community part of the site was added around 2000, in the form of message boards and an indexed search engine

Search engine

A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...

. Having lacked proper maintenance since around 2004, however, the site went through a complete reimplementation, beginning in November 2005 and leaving private beta in August 2006. In 2007, the site moved onto dedicated hardware to cope with a sudden increase in popularity following these improvements.

Since 2006, the site has also provided a method of doing bulk downloads of archive files via BitTorrent.

Operations and quality control

Having moved from a sponsored, shared platform in 2007, the web site currently resides on a dedicated server. As a result of the increased costs related to running on dedicated hardware, the site seeks the help of the community in covering the running costs.

Since anyone can upload files to the web site, all uploaded files have to go through a manual screening process where they are checked for integrity and quality by site staff.

Mentions in publications

ModArchive was mentioned in the PC music freeware roundup in Sound on Sound

ModArchive (v3.1) was featured as Site of the Month in Computer Music magazine

External links

• The Mod Archive
• The Mod Archive BitTorrent tracker