[guygee]

Originally Posted by freezer

Since I've been a member of this site, I have not been offered anything resembling a trade.

I have had demands made of me and I have been called a hoarder while the shows in question are available (just not from me) and I have supplied other recordings to collectors in order to circulate, but "TRADE"???

What means that word, Kemosabe???

And as far as receiving the same quality as I'd sent out, I found that unless you trade solely within a small circle of tapers, then it's "Caveat Emptor" all the way, baby. ( I've seen on a certain torrent site where the phrase, "sounds good" is considered lineage. and on a 10th gen bootleg of shows that I recorded, no less...)
[...]

Freezer - I think you just perfectly described the whole "Catch-22" of trading in the days before wideband internet. If I am not a taper, what could I possibly offer in a trade that would interest you? All I would have had was some unknown gen cassettes (just a couple marked "first gen", but passed on to me by a tired trader, so not verified). I agree the torrenting community has some big flaws, and half of the stuff out there is probably junk, but my ears don't lie to me, and there are plenty of other ears out there. At least all the music is coming out, even if it is in these many different "versions".

Eventually we will sort this mess out and get down to best sources. Etree has that pretty much down pat, and the Zappa and Dylan communities are getting it together. Same with Phish, Pearl Jam, and probably other bands I may not follow much. That is why I am so obsessed with this "versioning" thing, it is the only way to sort out the mess, and it will take years, but it will get done if we provide reliable people with the right tools to do it, like online show information, with versioning and st5/ffp's, etc.