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Welcome home, Dubhead!

  • Hello, this is Ralf Whimsical aka Dub Flash.
     

  • Back in 1998, I had the vision of a “Dub Information Portal", a place where you could find all kinds of information about the best music genre in this galaxy (and beyond): DUB.
     

  • Only few might remember, but my website had a chat function before ICQ, a video function before YouTube, a photo gallery before Flickr, a discography function before Discogs, an encyclopedia function before Wikipedia and visions of a “social media” without knowing what that means. I even offered MP3 downloads before mp3.com kicked off.
     

  • Unfortunately, I was ahead of my time. The things I had in mind were complicated back then. I was coding everything manually, all alone. Webspace with something like databases was very expensive. Own domains… almost impossible. Later, by the time I came close to get things running, others had started proper businesses like Discogs or YouTube.
     

  • In 2011, I gave up the idea of my “Dub Information Portal”. It became obsolete as my ideas were overtaken by others. My website was nonetheless the first website in the history of the internet to promote DUB music. I helped pave the way. Who remembers the draught in the DUB scene in the late 90s might also remember that Dub Flash played a role in keeping the scene alive and helping to connect the worldwide DUB scene and bringing the genre to the new millenium. Today, DUB is thriving. 
     

  • So, why the “Dubbook”? It's not needed anymore. It's outdated. Maybe so. But it's an alternative. You can choose: multibillion-dollar companies ruling the net, tracking you, forcing ads on you, deciding what you get to see and what you like, or a place which only wants to be an archive for the best music in the world: DUB! It's up to you. I simply provide an option.
     

  • The “Dubbook” is a combination between the original internet 1.0 from 1998 and the technology of web 2.0 in 2025. It is the “Dub Information Portal” I envisioned back then. Except compared to back in the days, you now have the chance to be part of it yourself. Whether you want to be active by posting here, or just lurking around passively, reading my posts, or maybe not caring at all, for me, the “Dubbook” completes a circle.
     

  • The “Dubbook” is ad- and tracking-free. I don't care about your data. If you prefer companies like Meta dictate your life, feel free to stay over there. But if you seek an alternative, and DUB is your music, welcome home!
     

  • You don't need to be registered to see (most of) the content, but you won't be able to post anything yourself or connect with others. So sign up!
     

  • Dubby greetings, Ralf Whimsical aka Dub Flash

     

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Latest activities on The Dubbook:

    • Dubbook Admin
      Dubbook Admin commented on It looks like no one is...
      Thank you for your feedback. I just reply the 3 following things: 1. There is literally a mobile phone app version of the Dubbook available, thus it's not just a website. You can get the Google-approved Dubbook app from the official Google app...Read more
      • erwinStepp.
        erwinStepp. commented on It looks like no one is...
        unfortunately, it s very hard to join the social media market, even though the idea behind this project to have a close community with the same interest it s very very nice. I know you worked a lot for this project, but all of us are already very...Read more
        • Dubbook Admin
          Dubbook Admin posted to Dub news
          It looks like no one is using the Dubbook anymore. Pity. I will nonetheless continue posting here.
            • erwinStepp.
              By erwinStepp.

              unfortunately, it s very hard to join the social media market, even though the idea behind this project to have a close community with the same interest it s very very nice. I know you worked a lot for this project, but all of us are already very used with what instagram, facebook or other social media platforms looks like. It s quite impossible to rich and maintain traffic on this platform because the look is not catchy, is very oldish - also, most of us are using social media on phones - this is only an website. Another aspect is that the platform needs to be promoted by big names in order to get the "large" public of this community - perhaps i did not hear any big artist to even know about this site. All in all, I think that your idea is very nice, but it needs some improvements in its look and a looot of promoting. This is a very honest opinion and feedback about this platform, trying to be as constructive as possible, no hate!

              • Dubbook Admin
                By Dubbook AdminComment by owner

                Thank you for your feedback. I just reply the 3 following things: 1. There is literally a mobile phone app version of the Dubbook available, thus it's not just a website. You can get the Google-approved Dubbook app from the official Google app store. If you want an iPhone version, I need to crowdfund 99 USD per year to pay for the annual Apple shop fee. I'm not willing to pay that myself. So far I got 0€ funding. 2. I have done everything alone here, without any money, in my spare time, after I came home from work. If you compare my site to a multi-billion dollar company with thousands of full time employed coders, I don't know what to reply. I feel like you blame me for not being a billionaire. You want a nicer design? Help me make it nicer. I'm just a guy who tried to offer an alternative. 3. Why would anyone in this (allegedly) underground music scene where fame and money isn't what people (allegedly) seek, and where people (allegedly) claim to live in line with Jah's vision of creation and fight against the corrupt Babylon Shitstem, rather sell their soul to the company than building their own dub social media platform, away from Babylon, big corporations and billion-dollar companies? Don't answer. This was rhetorical. Again, thank you for your reply. My words were not directed to you personally, erwinStepp, but meant generally. And as I wrote: I will keep on using this platform and fill it with life, no matter what.

                • erwinStepp.
                  on erwinStepp. (): unfortunately, it s very hard to join the social media market, even though the...
                  • Dubbook Admin
                    on Dubbook Admin (): Thank you for your feedback. I just reply the 3 following things: 1. There is...
                  • Dubbook Admin
                    Dubbook Admin posted to Dub news
                    Another thing I showcased today are “notifications”. It is possible to receive notifications by e-mail directly, or as a daily (or weekly) summary. On top of that, you can subscribe to users, which means every time that user posts something, you get a notification. You can change your settings for all content and users by clicking on your user profile icon in the top navigation, then choose “Settings” and there “Notification settings”. ("Site" on the settings means you get a yellow notification in the top bar (where the bell is). Have fun adjusting your settings to your liking. I myself chose “daily delayed e-mail" for everything.
                    • Dubbook Admin
                      Dubbook Admin posted to Dub news
                      Today, I showcased for you how to add your radio show / podcast archive to the Dubbook. As an example, go to Dubbypedia → Radio show & podcasts → Dub Mash. There you get an overview page about the show and “under” this entry, I added the episodes. You can find those in the right side navigation (note: I am still working on making that navigation better; it's work in progress), in the entry for “Dub Mash” as a link list and you can also find them via the tag “dub mash”. You can do the same with your show. Let me know if you need help with it. I'll gladly assist you.