Extract from Reality Check Network 26: 1st September, 1996
CDA FAQ

r e a l i t y   c h e c k   n e t w o r k

Author  : Rage
Subject : CDA FAQ

What the hell are those .MP3 files?

They are Third layer mpeg compresed audio files. This format alows
CD quality sound to be compresed to a fraction of the size they normaly
take.  The audio is played back at 44khz 16 bit sterio which is the same
as CD audio.

Yeah, but I can record songs off the radio with my SB anyway.

We do NOT produce the .mp3 files by recording them off the radio.
The tracks are DIGITALY copied from the CD first and encoded into the
.mp3 files.  A sound card is not used at all in the entire process so it
is of the same quality you would get from buying an audio CD unlike
radio quality sound which is of poor quality and not as good as what you
would get if you PURCHASED the CD.

Should these releases be clasified as warez?

This is a dificult question.  But I believe the answer is that it
SHOULD.  For the reason that you would normally have to purchase a CD to
get this quality of sound.  Warez are classified as stuff you would
normaly have to pay for.  While you can get shareware for free it is of
lower quality than the comercial product so shareware is NOT clasified
as warez.

That analogy I beleive can be applied to our releases.  While you
can record or listen to the radio which is free, it is of lower quality
and not exactly the same as a CD you would purchase.  Just as you can
get the shareware version of Quake for free from a ftp site it is not
the same as the comercial version and is thus NOT clasified as a ware
unlike the comercial version.

I think this should clear up most of the questions.  If you have any
others questions, you can find us in channel #CDA.