How we source

We link, we never host

We do not copy anyone's files or their write-ups. Each item names its creator, shows their support links when they have them, and its main button takes you to the creator's own post to get it.

The short summary on each item is in our own words, two sentences at most. We never copy the creator's text.

What we never list

We do not list, host or link to any of these:

• Game files, ROMs or ISOs
• BIOS or firmware files
• Pre-patched game images
• Packs that bundle game files
• Console exploit payloads

When a post links to or offers any of them, we block the item and never show it.

How items are found

• We read the new posts on a few emulation forums once a day.
• We search GitHub for texture pack, patch and translation projects updated in the last year.
• We run a few web searches a day for popular games that have no texture pack listed yet.
• PCSX2 and DuckStation ship patches inside the emulator. We read each project's patch list once a day and list those patches as built in, with the setting that turns them on. They need no download.
• Anyone can send us a link with the submit form. Submissions join the same queue within 15 minutes.

How items are checked

A language model reads the creator's post. It picks the game, the releases, the type of item and the creator, choosing only from a list of games and releases that our code builds from our catalogue.

Our code then checks the answer against the post. Every quote the model gives and every link it names must appear in the post's text. An item that fails a check is flagged for a closer look.

Nothing is listed until we approve it. We look at each item found on the web or sent by a visitor one at a time. Built-in patches are approved in batches, as each emulator project publishes them.

How links are checked

We check every link about once a week. The checks are spaced out host by host, so no site gets a burst of requests from us. Each item shows what the last check found and when:

Working at the last check

The page answered. We check it again in a week.

Not checked yet

The link is new and has not had its first check.

Could not be checked

The check could not tell, for example because the site turns away automated checks or did not answer in time. We try again the next day. A link we cannot verify is never marked broken.

Moved

The link now leads to a different page or site. We look at where it goes and fix the item if it needs it.

Broken: the page was not found

The site answered, but the post is gone, usually because the creator took it down. We look at the item. We never offer an archived copy of a post its creator removed.

Broken: the site that hosted it is gone

The whole site has not answered for seven days. We look for a copy on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine and link to it when there is one.

Reported by a visitor: we are checking it

A visitor reported the link and our check found a problem. It stays marked until we decide what to do.

A broken link stays on its item, marked, so you can see what happened to it.

Corrections and removal

If a link is broken or an item is wrong, the Report a problem button on the item is the quickest way to tell us. It tells us which link you mean.

For anything else, write to us on the contact page. That includes corrections, takedown requests, and creators who want their work listed differently or taken down.