Help! I'm getting an error message ....

There's only three things your server can say to ours: ADD, TOUCH, and REMOVE. Due to the number of settings and source clients out there, things can often go wrong that prevent your station from being listed. We cover each step here, along with the possible error messages you may see and what to do if you see a particular error message.

Step 1: ADD - ADD is your server's first "Hello" to our server, it ADDS your server to our listings. Thus, your server ADDs only once.

This is where most people will encounter problems, because an ADD will only succeed if your server gives us all the details we are expecting - server name, server type, listener URL, genre, etc.

Errors you may see when ADD ing ...

Your ADD request lacked an SN variable.

This means: Your server didn't provide us with an SN (server name) variable. You should check your Icecast configuration (and whatever source client you are using) to make sure that you have provided a server name.

This means: Your server didn't tell us with type of server it is - mp3, ogg, FLAC, etc. You should check your Icecast configuration (and whatever source client you are using) to make sure that you have provided a server type.

This means: Your server didn't tell us with genre it is. This is configured in whatever source client you are using - Oddcast, etc. Make sure you have specified some sort of genre description for your server so we can list what kind of music you are playing.

This means: Your server didn't tell us the LISTEN URL of your station - i.e. the URL someone should use if they want to hear your stream. This is configured in whatever source client you are using - Oddcast, etc.

This means: Your server, even though it works and is probably streaming music, has localhost in its <hostname>localhost</hostname> setting inside the icecast.xml configuration file.

To fix this, open up your icecast.xml file. Locate where it says

<!-- This is the hostname other people will use to connect to your server. It affects mainly the urls generated by Icecast for playlists and yp listings. --> <hostname>localhost</hostname>

Change that localhost to whatever your server name or ip address is, like this:

<hostname>server420.hostingco.com</hostname>

...or...

<hostname>208.48.253.85</hostname>

This means: Your server sent an ADD request when it's already in our listings, and we were expecting a TOUCH request. In this case, just wait - the problem should work itself out, you shouldn't have to do anything.

This means: One of the most popular source clients is the excellent Oddsock plug in. This plugin has a set of default settings () that should be changed to reflect your station's info before you list with openradiodirectory.org.
To fix this, open up your Oddcast plugin. Right click on your encoder and click "configure" - a new "Configuration" window will appear. At the top, click "YP Settings" and change all the default lines to reflect your station's information.

This means: If you see this error, we are having some sort of catastrophic problem on our end. In this case, the problem should work itself out, you shouldn't have to do anything but wait.

This means: If you see this error, we are having some sort of catastrophic problem on our end. In this case, the problem should work itself out, you shouldn't have to do anything but wait.

Step 2: TOUCH

When your server performs a successful ADD, our server sends back a "Successfully Added" message and what's known as a SERVER ID, or SID, and a time interval that says "Check back in X minutes...". After that, it sends TOUCH requests, which update its listing.

This SID is your server's 'password' that it uses to identify itself to us in all of its TOUCH requests, so we can differentiate between servers, and the "Check back in ..." is known as the TOUCH interval. Ours is currently set to 5 minutes.

Errors you may see when TOUCH ing ...

What this means: Your server tried to send us a TOUCH, but did not include the SID we gave it when it ADDED. This is no good, because it means your TOUCH request is not succeeding.

What this means: Your server tried to send us a TOUCH, but the SID it sent us to identify itself does not match any SID we have on file. This is no good, because it means your TOUCH request is not succeeding, because we don't know who your server is.

What this means: Your TOUCH request, which is supposed to include how many listeners you have at the moment, either sent us a blank number of listeners, or the number of listeners wasn't a number - it was something else, like letters, characters etc.

What this means: Your TOUCH request, which is supposed to include how many maximum listeners your station can handle at once, either sent us a blank 'maximum number of listeners', or the 'maximum number of listeners' wasn't a number - it was something else, like letters, characters etc. Make sure your icecast.xml has a <max-listeners> set for the server and/or mountpoint.

Step 3: REMOVE

The last thing your server can do is to send us a message that says "Remove me from your listings". This usually only happens when your server shuts down, or your source client disconnects, or some other similar "turning off" event - i.e. when either your streaming source or server disconnects.

Errors you may see when REMOVE ing ...

This means: Your server asked to be REMOVED, but didn't identify itself with an SID, so it has not been REMOVED. No action is needed on your part, because we purge any servers that don't show up for half an hour anyway.

This means: Your server asked to be REMOVED, but the SID it gave us is not on file. Again, it doesn't matter, because we purge any servers that don't show up and make any TOUCH updates for half an hour.

This means: We are having some sort of catastrophic problem on our end. Again, it doesn't matter, because we purge any servers that don't show up and make any TOUCH updates for half an hour.

Still having problems? Drop me a line.