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Release-oriented sharing controls — PowerShare, Release Bonus, and Share Only The Need

Summary

Add an explicit release/distribution policy layer for rare or newly published files.

Beta 0.7.3 Classification

Deferred Beyond 1.0. Product decision: PowerShare and adjacent release-oriented sharing controls are not valuable enough to delay the first release. eMuleBB already has broadband upload-slot control and queue/scoring work for the 1.0 sharing story; this item stays as a later opt-in feature track.

This feature groups several historically popular mod behaviors under one controlled design:

  • PowerShare
  • release bonus / release-priority queue behavior
  • Share Only The Need or similar rarity-aware distribution controls
  • eMuleAI v1.4 style Hide Overshares and default share-permission controls

Why Add It

This is one of the clearest examples of "beyond stock" eMule behavior that users of older mods actively valued. Historical MorphXT/Mephisto/Pawcio feature catalogs consistently put release-focused sharing policy near the center of their differentiation.

For an archival/community-sharing branch, this can be more valuable than another general UI tweak.

Intended Mainline Shape

  • per-file and/or category-level release sharing mode
  • optional PowerShare policy that prioritizes serving a chosen file regardless of normal queue dynamics
  • optional release bonus or focused upload treatment for selected files
  • rarity-aware controls that prefer scarce parts/files over overserved ones
  • optional overshare hiding and default share-permission policy
  • guardrails so these policies cannot silently starve the rest of the upload ecosystem

Scope Constraints

  • integrate with the current broadband upload controller instead of replacing it
  • keep the feature opt-in and explicit
  • favor a smaller modernized control surface over porting every legacy mod knob
  • coordinate with anti-abuse logic so aggressive release settings do not become a leecher fingerprint

eMuleAI Implementation References

Review source: eMuleAI commit 8e34bdec2b7e4fe9e4307df9d80f691804be99ed.

eMuleBB Direction

Keep this deferred. If reopened, implement a narrow per-file release mode with visible queue effects instead of importing a broad mod-style matrix of PowerShare, Share Only The Need, Hide Overshares, and default share-permission rules. The core risk is fairness drift: a release helper should not silently starve ordinary shared files or make eMuleBB look abusive to stock peers.

Acceptance Criteria

  • [ ] a file can be marked for release-oriented sharing policy
  • [ ] upload queue behavior measurably favors the selected release file(s)
  • [ ] scarcity-aware distribution can prefer under-served parts or files
  • [ ] normal uploads remain bounded and not permanently starved
  • [ ] operators can disable the entire feature globally
  • [ ] queue-impact diagnostics show exactly how release policy affected upload selection