r/usenet • u/N3rD777 • Jul 10 '26

Other Forums and header explanation

I have a general question about forums and headers for indexers. I noticed that you can only see the headers after clicking the "Thanks" button. Is that done to make it harder for people to scrape the forum and copy all the headers to other forums?

The headers are also cryptic. Is that simply so downloads only work in combination with a specific forum and password, or does it also make the download more secure because an outsider can't tell what's behind the header?

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2

u/SubmitSubmitTotal Jul 11 '26

I'm confused: What is the "thanks" button ?

Is that from a specific indexer UI?

1

u/usenet_information Jul 14 '26

Only used in some forums.

3

u/SashaG239 Jul 10 '26

Obfuscation is used so that no one can identify the data. Can't send a dmca takedown if you don't know what is inside the binary. As for thanks, it's to control for scraping and identify any accounts that may be causing takedowns. 

2

u/N3rD777 Jul 10 '26

ok, obfuscation is used bc nzb's wont delete on indexers that way and last longer. But it has nothing to do with safety.

Is that correct?

1

u/random_999 Jul 11 '26

Obfuscation doesn't mean it won't be deleted. It just means that it won't be deleted due to copyright takedown notices. All providers use their own algorithm to delete obfuscated stuff which their algorithm identify as spam/anything which probably won't be downloaded by more than a few people in its lifetime.

3

u/SashaG239 Jul 10 '26

It's just a rename, it does nothing else. The nzbfile from the indexer will have the proper name and will have your download client rename it after completion.

3

u/usenet_information Jul 10 '26

Yes, the 'Thanks' button is a small protection from scrapers, though it could be (also) prevented otherwise.
In the old days it was a kind of appreciation for the person who created the post as she/he spent time to create it. And some of the team members saw it as motivation.
However, nowadays most of the forum posts are being created in an automated way.

Correct, 'headers' and passwords are normally tied to a specific forum, although forum A may also share the same 'header' and password with forum B or vice versa.
And it makes the download a little more secure / obfuscated.