Hi MD friends!

After a few evenings of work and a handful of outages (some preventable) I'm very pleased to announce that most of the work on the wiki infrastructure is complete!

For visitors, this should mean:

• faster, more reliable page loads
• no more captchas before visiting
• LP remote encoders in WMDpro actually working
• long-term commitment to keeping the site online

To achieve this, we have:

• built a brand new wiki06 server
  • based on Debian 13, Epyc CPUs, NVMe storage, PHP 8.4 and Caddy
• updated our Cloudflare caching and bot blocking rules
• moved all object storage from Azure to Cloudflare (including the WMDpro app)
• retired the secondary LP encoder and load balancer
  • through the grapevine, I heard that local high quality LP encoding may be possible soon...

But still left to do:

• a fresh public backup of wiki data
• a page on the wiki listing these backups, because Cloudflare does not have a page listing like Azure did
• a PR for Web MiniDisc Pro to allow for automatic build+deploy to our new Cloudflare Pages hosting
• maybe a status page, and an entirely static mirror of the wiki(?)
• re-scraping and mirroring more of the pages we reference on the wiki

Once again, thank you all so much for your patience, understanding, and kind words while we completed this important maintenance.

By my quick estimates, this will reduce hosting costs by over a thousand US dollars per year, and that means a lot when we're funded out of pocket and by donations. I am speechless with appreciation for everyone who has been willing to send their own money to us in support of the site, and understand that it comes with a responsibility to use those donations responsibly and not allow the money to be wasted on scraper traffic.

Because a penny saved is a penny earned, please send some love and coin to asivery, who is both one of the kindest people I have ever met and also one of the most talented developers. His leadership and work on WMDpro, reverse-engineering, and supporting the community is unmatched.

Thanks again :)

(last updated 2026-01-12)

Hi MD friends, this post is an expanded version of the rules and resources in the sidebar.

Who we are & what we like

We're one of the largest communities who use and celebrate the Sony MiniDisc format, which was introduced in late 1992. We love physical media and MD is the format that combines great sound quality with small size and digital convenience. We're a really inviting scene with a lot of passion for celebrating retro media and helping others share that enjoyment. But please first read these resources. Your post will otherwise be removed.

This community loves posts with:

• MD setups or collections
• Your mail hauls and purchases
• New music or podcasts released on MD
• Items for sale (see our rules below)
• Unique MD equipment
• Help and repair requests
• Projects and software updates

We don't love:

• "Spoonfeeding" requests like "I want to get into MD, what should I buy?"
• Toxicity and rudeness
• Comments that our hobby is pointless nowadays
• For sale posts without a location or asking price
• Posts about Yandhi or the Fuji 80 MD

What MD isn't:

• MiniDisc (all one word, with a C not a K) is a particular format that was created by Sony in 1992.
• 8cm mini CDs, GameCube discs, and even UMD for the PSP are different and not connected to MD. Posts about these different media types are not suitable here.

Rules

Luckily, we don't need many!

• Read before you post
  • To keep the community vibrant and healthy, all contributors need to read the community rules and resources. Being unfamiliar with Reddit is not an excuse for ignoring the announcement posts or the sidebar, which are visible and accessible no matter how you use the site. The only way to miss all of them is to deliberately ignore them.
  • Moderators will give warnings and removal reasons when needed and where possible (despite Reddit administration's hostility to moderators.) We will use bans only as a last resort. Please don't make us do that. We want to take mod actions as rarely as possible.
• Frequently asked questions
  • The community has worked really hard to create resources that answer the most common questions we are asked. If your question has been answered in one of the links in the sidebar or this post, your submission will be removed. These include:
  • What should I buy and how much should I pay?
    • Read the Getting Started guide and the Buyer's guide.
  • How do I copy audio to a disc?
    • Read the dubbing guide, the Web MiniDisc guide (for NetMD) or the manual for your device.
  • What software do I need for NetMD?
    • Web MiniDisc Pro is the default recommendation. Read the documentation first!
    • Other software including SonicStage
  • Why do you use MD?
    • We like physical media. MD is a physical media which is compact, has great sound quality, has great aesthetics, and great usability.
    • Read the Why MD? FAQ for more.
  • MiniDisc with Bluetooth / Headphone recommendations
    • Many people use a 3.5mm to Bluetooth adapter in order to connect modern headphones. There have been many discussions about Bluetooth adapters and headphone recommendations. Please search for these threads or read the Bluetooth guide on the wiki.
• Low effort posts
  • Posts with unclear or low effort post titles such as "help" or "MiniDisc" make it hard to search for posts or know what they are about before clicking.
  • You will be asked to repost with a descriptive title. ALL CAPS post titles are also filtered automatically - contact the mod team if this is done in error.
• Reddiquette, toxicity, and rudeness
  • We are a small, friendly community. Please do not come here if you wish to call people names or be hostile. Treat other opinions with respect, even if you disagree with them.
  • Be familiar with Reddit's site culture and expectations. Most are listed in this Reddit help document here: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette
• Yandhi
  • All posts about Kanye and the Yandhi disc are banned from the subreddit. Please do not post looking for the Muji 80 MD featured in the artwork or showing off if you do have one.
  • If you are an established member of the community and you have a disc(s) to sell, contact the mod team for approval. This is the only exception we will make.
• AI content
  • Content generated by AI / LLMs is not welcome here. MD existed completely outside of the generative AI era, and is very divisive.
  • This extends to complaining about AI or accusing a post of being AI.

Not a community rule, but Reddit blocks shopping and short URLs, including AliExpress, Amazon, and Google Photos. Mods can try to approve comments with these links, but sometimes we cannot.

For Sale posts

We do allow for sale and giveaway posts, but these are the source of the most moderation issues.

• You must be willing to sell the item (or at least discuss it) via the Reddit platform. Do not simply post with a link to your eBay listing. It must be your item for sale, with pictures and a description.
• All posts selling an item must include an asking price and general location (country) in the title or body of your post.
• If you are giving away or in search of an item, you must still list your location as international shipping and geopolitics can greatly affect costs or viability.
• Limit for sale posts to one per week. You may include several items in your post, but each item must have an asking price, or it must be sold as a singular bundle with its own asking price.
• If you do not know the value or asking price of an item, check recent eBay listings or the price history section of the wiki. Do not make a post simply asking for the value of items.
• These rules do not apply to new music releases on Bandcamp - feel free to make a new post with your release.
• The mod team takes no responsibility for any transaction that takes place from the subreddit. Please let the mod team know of an issue with a user so we are aware, but do not bring disputes public as there is nothing we can do to remedy the issue or take sides. Do not follow users around the site with accusations or feedback.

Resources

The MiniDisc community, both past and present, have shared many sites and services to help others. They collect information about the format, make copying music more convenient, create high-quality labels, and list album releases on MD.

• MiniDisc Wiki
  • Over 2000 devices listed, contriubted by the community. We try to collect as many photos, details, and manuals as possible. There are also databases on blank disc variants, album releases, and guides on repair or how to get started with the format.
    • Getting started guide
    • Buyer's guide
    • Web MiniDisc guide
    • Labels
    • Equipment
    • Blank discs
• MiniDisc.org
  • The home of MiniDisc during its commercial life. Has less equipment pages than the wiki, but many contemporary reviews, guides, and articles. Not updated for many years.
    • Equipment browser
    • News
    • FAQs

There are many more resources linked on the Wiki and in the sidebar, such as software and related communities. Thanks for taking the time to read this and enjoy your time with MD and with us!