Company:Bilibili
Logo used since 2009 | |
Type of site | Video sharing |
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Available in |
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Traded as | NASDAQ: BILI SEHK: Script error: No such module "Leading zeros".&sc_lang=en Script error: No such module "Leading zeros". |
Founded | June 2009; 14 years ago |
Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | Bilibili Inc. Shanghai Hode Information Technology Co., Ltd. Sony Group Corporation (5.22%) |
Founder(s) | Xu Yi |
Key people | Xu Yi (founder, president, and director) Chen Rui (chairman and CEO) Xin Fan (CFO) |
Website | bilibili.com (Chinese edition) bilibili.tv (global edition) |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional (required for uploading, liking videos, watching videos in full HD and posting comments) |
Launched | 26 June 2009 |
Current status | Active |
Bilibili |
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Bilibili (stylized in all lowercase), nicknamed B Site, is a video-sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view, and add overlaid commentary on videos. Bilibili hosts videos on various themes, including anime, music, dance, science and technology, movies, drama, fashion, and video games, but it is also known for its extensive kuso-style parodies by subcultural content creators. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its original niche market that focused on animation, comics, and games (ACG), and it has become a major Chinese over-the-top streaming platform serving videos on demand such as documentaries, variety shows, and other original programming.[1] Bilibili is known for its scrolling danmu ("bullet curtain," 弹幕) commenting system.[2] Bilibili also provides a live streaming service where the audience can interact with streamers. Bilibili also offers games, mostly ACG-themed mobile games, such as the Chinese version of Fate/Grand Order. In the third quarter of 2022, the number of average monthly active users reached about 332.6 million, including 28.5 million paying users.[3]
History
Founding and early development (2009-2013)
Inspired by similar video sharing websites, Nico Nico Douga and AcFun, Xu Yi (Chinese: 徐逸; pinyin: Xú Yì, known as "⑨bishi" on the internet) founded Bilibili in 2009.[4] At the time, Xu Yi was an AcFun user and wanted to create a better website than AcFun.[5] He spent three days creating a prototype website named Mikufans.cn as a fandom community of Hatsune Miku.[6] As it grew, he reshaped the website to specialise in video sharing and launched it on 14 January 2010 with the name Bilibili, a nickname for the protagonist Mikoto Misaka in the anime A Certain Scientific Railgun.[7] Bilibili also names many of its features after the anime and celebrates Mikoto Misaka's birthday on its homepage every year on 2 May.
Bilibili's domain name bilibili.us was revoked in 2011, because of the domain registrar enforcing .us restrictions. As a result, Bilibili switched to bilibili.tv on 25 June 2011. Later that year, Xu Yi founded the startup, Hangzhou Huandian Technology (Chinese: 幻电; pinyin: huàndiàn; literally: 'fantastic electricity') based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, to develop and operate Bilibili. In April 2012, Bilibili obtained an agreement with Nico Nico Douga to webcast the latest Chinese-subbed episodes of the newly airing anime Fate/Zero starting from 7 April.[8] However, the program was censored after three episodes for being reported as unauthorised operations of Internet audio-video broadcasting services and Hangzhou Huandian Technology was penalised and fined ¥10,000 by the local government.[9] Bilibili started to display logos on its homepage in August 2012 to indicate its affiliation with the state-owned Shanghai Media Group and share the use of various content provider licenses in the hopes of avoiding future legal risks. Meanwhile, anonymous visitors to its website were redirected to a subdomain of Shanghai Media Group Broad Band subsidiary (bilibili.smgbb.cn).
Leadership change, expansion, and acquisitions (2014-2018)
In November 2014 Chen Rui (Chinese: 陈睿) was appointed CEO and chairman of the board of Bilibili.[10][11][12][13] Chen was an early member of Bilibili's community and started watching anime on the platform in 2010, before he met Xu Yi in 2021 when he was convinced to become the company's earliest investor. He was the fifth member of the company.[14]
In October 2016, Bilibili announced that it would become the sponsor of the Shanghai Sharks basketball team, whose name was later changed to Shanghai Bilibili.[15][16] Bilibili chose to sponsor the Shanghai Sharks as both entities originate from Shanghai. In December 2017, Bilibili purchased an e-sports team originally called IM for League of Legends and renamed it to Bilibili Gaming (BLG).[17][18] In January 2018, Bilibili purchased the broadcasting rights to the spring competition season of LPL, League of Legends World Championship, and League of Legends Rift Rivals.[19] In September of the same year, Bilibili purchased Hangzhou Spark, an Overwatch League team, which took part in the 2019 Overwatch League season.[20] In March of that year Bilibili filed for an initial public offering of up to US$0.4 billion on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).[21] The company listed on the NASDAQ on 28 March 2018.[22]
Partnership with Sony, original programming, and second stock listing (2019-2021)
On 23 March 2019, Bilibili announced at AnimeJapan that they had partnered with Sony-owned American anime distributor Funimation to jointly license anime titles for both the U.S. and Chinese markets.[23] On 9 April 2020, Sony Corporation of America announced it would acquire a 4.98% minority stake in Bilibili for US$400 million, valuing Bilibili at US$8 billion.[24] Upon completion of the deal, Sony and Bilibili signed an agreement for the expansion of anime and mobile games within the Chinese market.[25] Later that year, Bilibili Esports, its e-sports arm, signed a partnership deal with Ping An Bank.[26] Bilibili began its foray into original programming by joining the production of a fourth season for Informal Talks.[citation needed] In August 2020, Bilibili produced the show Rap for Youth (zh).[27] In December 2020, it produced a competition programme for voice actors called Voice Monster.
In September 2020, the company launched Bilibili Video Satellite.[28][29] On 3 February 2021, Bilibili announced it had acquired Shanghai Yarun Culture Communications Co., Ltd, the parent company of animation studio Haoliners Animation League and its subsidiaries.[30] On 23 March 2021, it was reported that Bilibili would raise US$2.6 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKEX).[31] This would be the company's secondary listing, as it is already public on the NASDAQ in New York City. On 29 March 2021, Bilibili was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at an opening price of HK$790.[32]
Features
Besides hosting video content, Bilibili's main feature is a real-time captioning system that displays user comments as streams of scrolling subtitles overlaid on the screen, visually resembling a danmaku shooter game. These are called bullet comments, danmu, or danmaku[33]Cite error: Closing </ref>
missing for <ref>
tag[34] Research result states that when the main purpose of watching videos is entertaining, the bullet comments meets the leisure and self-expression needs of users,[35] though the Ministry of Culture of China has criticised the bullet comment system for allowing the spread of hateful messages on videos.[36]
Operations
Bilibili consists of nine team members all versed in Japanese language and culture. Two are web developers, including Xu Yi himself, and the others are website editors and moderators. Bilibili is free to use, with its main revenue coming from webpage advertisement and affiliate marketing.[6][needs update]
Membership
Most content on Bilibili is free for anonymous viewing, while some videos require a membership. Select videos are also only available under the Chengbao system (承包), in which case members must pay to access them. Membership is also required to submit videos or comments. Bilibili limits its memberships to balance the quality of its users and moderation capacity.[citation needed] In March 2013, a limited number of invitation codes was shared with existing users. Registrants using the codes needed to complete 100 questions to become a premium member, with questions mostly related to ACG. On 19 May 2015, Bilibili reduced the number of questions to 50, with 20 questions on internet comment etiquette. On 26 February 2017, Bilibili reinstated the 100-question test, with a passing threshold of 60.[37] Existing users can purchase invitation codes.
Subscription
On 9 October 2016, Bilibili launched a premium membership subscription service on the site, costing around ¥25 per month,[38][citation needed] or approximately US$2 per month on a long-term subscription.[14] Premium members get access to videos in high resolution and can receive early access to certain videos, alongside other benefits such as discounts on Bilibili-owned games.[39][40] From 1 January 2018, Bilibili extended its early access programme to premium members, giving them early access to certain episodes of animated series, with regular members needing to wait a week to watch them.[41]
Account suspension
On 26 February 2017, an account blocking function was launched to regulate the website's content and users. Offensive comment can be deleted by administrators and offenders would be penalised. Accounts could be suspended temporarily or permanently, depending on the severity of the offence.[42] On 15 June 2017, Bilibili launched a "discipline committee", allowing members to arbitrate reports of violations in some communities and decide whether the behaviour is illegal, and vote on the penalty.[43]
Upload and review
Bilibili does not allow duplicate videos, but does allow high-resolution and lower-resolution versions of the same content.[44] Similar to other Chinese video sharing websites, Bilibili is subject to strict censorship. As of 10 February 2017, individual users are prohibited from uploading videos regarding politics, with only certified bodies allowed to upload political content.[45][46]
Bilibili Sports
Bilibili airs a sports programming entitled Bilibili Sports, the sports division of the Bilibili. Bilibili via Bilibili Sports officially obtained broadcasting rights for Meiji Yasuda J1 League for Southeast Asian countries excluding Thailand starts 2024 season. HIGHSPEED Étoile and F1 also aired in the same year.
Community
Bilibili's official mascots are elected by its community, Bili-tans, named "22" and "33".[47]
Bilibili has also established affiliated communities: Corari (Chinese: 协作乡; literally: 'Hometown of Collaboration', currently offline), a collaboration project founding community; DrawYoo, a creative drawing community; The Ninth Channel, a support forum for Bilibili.
Games
The group's companies have published the following games in the Chinese market:
- Bilibili
- MICA Team / Sunborn Network Technology
- (Wuhu) Sharejoy Network Technology Co. Ltd[49]
- Bilibili HK Limited[49]
- 100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams
- Shanghai Hode Information Technology[49]
- Ark Order[51]
Controversies
Cai Xukun
Cai Xukun, a Chinese artist and singer, was chosen as a spokesperson of the NBA in January 2019, sparking controversy. His introduction video from Idol Producer, which involved him playing basketball, went viral. Following this, hundreds of parody videos appeared on Bilibili mocking the original video. Cai issued a lawsuit notice asking for Bilibili to remove the parody videos.[52] Bilibili responded that they believed the videos were not illegal and refused to penalise the users who uploaded the videos. Lyrics from the video, such as "sing, dance, rap, basketball" went on to become viral as well. To prevent potential backlash and spam from users, Bilibili temporary halted the verification of new accounts.[53][54]
Servers in Taiwan
In September 2019, Bilibili was found to be renting servers illegally in Taiwan. The National Communications Commission required provider Chief Telecom to cease the tie-up immediately after the issue was discovered by a Taiwan-based think tank. Video on demand services based in mainland China are forbidden to operate in Taiwan due to national security concerns.[55]
Source code leak
In April 2019, a repository called "Bilibili website backend codes", with a large number of usernames and passwords, was published on GitHub. The repository was taken down by GitHub due to "excessive use of resources". The repository amassed more than 6,000 stars in just a few hours. However, copies could still be found on GitHub and other platforms. Bilibili responded that the leaked code was from an older version of their website and that they had taken "defensive steps to ensure the accident won't compromise user data security".[56]
996 work schedule
On 7 February 2022, an influencer known as Wang Luobei posted on Weibo about the death of a content moderator while at work in Bilibili's Wuhan subsidiary during the Lunar New Year holiday period. The cause of death was suspected to be overwork, sparking controversy amid the prevalence of the 996 work schedule in China's internet industry. Bilibili responded the same day that the employee was feeling unwell since the afternoon of 4 February 2022 and completed a standard nine-hour shift that day, ruling out the possibility of excessive work as the cause of death. The response was refuted by a Weibo user who claimed to be the cousin of the deceased, stating that he did not return home for the festive period and stayed behind in Wuhan for work.[57]
References
- ↑ "Trending - Bilibili" (in en). https://www.bilibili.tv/en/trending.
- ↑ "Language Log » Danmu". https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=40672.
- ↑ "Bilibili: average MAUs 2022" (in en). https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109108/bilibili-average-monthly-active-users/.
- ↑ Wang, Yue. "Chinese Millennials Are Flocking To This Anime And Gaming Site, But Can It Make Money?" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2018/07/09/chinese-millennials-are-flocking-to-this-anime-and-gaming-site-but-can-it-make-money/#1a7d08158263.
- ↑ Fathan, Muhammad Ukasyah. "Tutorial Bilibili, China's biggest anime site, covers the screen in user comments". https://www.tutorialike.com.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lou, Xiaojing (30 April 2012). "哔哩哔哩吐槽动漫". CBN Weekly (Shanghai Media Group) 16. http://cbnweek.com/yuedu/ydpage/?raid=1486.
- ↑ 土八哥 (August 2011). (in zh)Popular Software (Beijing: China Society for Scientific and Technical Information) (375): 19–27. ISBN 9783319209074. ISSN 1007-0060. OCLC 308996806.
- ↑ "Fate/Zero第2季週六晚間繁中字幕同步播出!" [The second season of Fate/Zero will be webcast with traditional Chinese subtitle simultaneously in Saturday evening!] (Press release) (in 中文). Nico Nico Douga Taiwan. 7 April 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
另外,本次為了造福中國地區的粉絲,也確定在中國動畫網站『嗶哩嗶哩動畫』進行《Fate/Zero》第2季簡體中文字幕網路同步播出!
[Besides, for the enjoyment of fans in China at this time, we decided to webcast Fate/Zero the second season with simplified Chinese subtitle on the Chinese anime website "Bilibili Donghua" at the same time!] - ↑ ((Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV, Film, Press and Publication)) (26 April 2012). "行政处罚结果公示". http://220.191.211.173:8090/xzcfjgb.do?cmd=view&id=200019731&tourl=/site/xzcf_remark.jsp.
- ↑ "Management | Bilibili" (in en). https://ir.bilibili.com/corporate-governance/management/.
- ↑ Wang, Yue. "Chinese Millennials Are Flocking To This Anime And Gaming Site, But Can It Make Money?" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2018/07/09/chinese-millennials-are-flocking-to-this-anime-and-gaming-site-but-can-it-make-money/.
- ↑ "Chen Rui" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/profile/chen-rui/.
- ↑ "Officer Profile | Quotes | Reuters.co.in". https://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officer-profile/BILI.OQ/2915310.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Blood, sweat, and tears: Anecdotes and lessons from Chen Rui, Bilibili's CEO on achieving entrepreneurial success - Oasis" (in en). 2021-10-01. https://oasis.kr-asia.com/blood-sweat-and-tears-anecdotes-and-lessons-from-chen-rui-bilibilis-ceo-on-achieving-entrepreneurial-success.
- ↑ "【bilibili】 冠名上海男篮_新闻中心_比特网". http://news.chinabyte.com/258/14080758.shtml.
- ↑ 网易 (13 October 2016). "上海男篮携手新冠名商正式更名为上海哔哩哔哩队_网易体育". http://sports.163.com/16/1013/19/C39GDL4C0005877V.html.
- ↑ Yang, Zeyi (2021-01-27). "Bilibili, China's esports powerhouse, is about to take on Tencent" (in en). https://www.protocol.com/china/bilibili-china-esports-tencent.
- ↑ "B站收购电竞战队成立BLG 征战英雄联盟S8赛季". http://tech.ifeng.com/a/20171219/44810590_0.shtml.
- ↑ "B站获《英雄联盟》春季赛转播权 自家战队正式亮相LPL". http://tech.ifeng.com/a/20180116/44847498_0.shtml.
- ↑ Wolf, Jacob (5 September 2018). "Sources: Overwatch League to add D.C. and Hangzhou, China, teams". http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/24579713/sources-overwatch-league-add-dc-hangzhou-china-teams.
- ↑ "BRIEF-Bilibili Inc Files For U.S. IPO Of Up To $400 Mln – SEC Filing". Reuters. 2018. https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-bilibili-inc-files-for-us-ipo-of-u/brief-bilibili-inc-files-for-u-s-ipo-of-up-to-400-mln-sec-filing-idUSEMN0D3REJ.
- ↑ "Nasdaq Welcomes Bilibili Inc. (Nasdaq: BILI) to The Nasdaq Stock Market". NASDAQ. 28 March 2018. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/nasdaq-welcomes-bilibili-inc-nasdaq-bili-to-the-nasdaq-stock-market-20180328-01054.
- ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (23 March 2019). "Funimation, bilibili Establish Partnership for Joint Anime Licensing". Anime News Network. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-03-23/funimation-bilibili-establish-partnership-for-joint-anime-licensing/.144881.
- ↑ Li, Pei (9 April 2020). "Sony invests $400 million in Chinese video site Bilibili". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bilibili-m-a-sony/sony-invests-400-million-in-chinese-video-site-bilibili-idUSKCN21R202.
- ↑ Frater, Patrick (9 April 2020). "Sony Paying $400 Million for Stake in Bilibili, Chinese Online Platform". Variety. https://variety.com/2020/biz/asia/sony-buys-stake-in-china-bilibili-1234575663/.
- ↑ Chen, Hongyu (6 August 2020). "Bilibili Esports Partners With China Ping An Bank". https://archive.esportsobserver.com/bilibili-esports-ping-an-bank/.
- ↑ Tone, Sixth (24 October 2020). "On China's 'Rap for Youth,' the Medium Is the Message" (in en). http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006319/on-chinas-rap-for-youth%2C-the-medium-is-the-message.
- ↑ "B 站宣布 "哔哩哔哩视频卫星"成功发射 - 哔哩哔哩, B站,卫星 - IT之家". https://www.ithome.com/0/508/822.htm.
- ↑ "Bilibili announces successful launch of its video satellite, first of its kind for a Chinese internet company" (in en-US). 2020-09-15. https://cntechpost.com/2020/09/15/bilibili-announces-successful-launch-of-its-video-satellite-first-of-its-kind-for-a-chinese-internet-company/.
- ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (15 February 2021). "bilibili Acquires Emon Animation Company". Anime News Network. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-02-15/bilibili-acquires-emon-animation-company/.169512.
- ↑ Fioretti, Julia (23 March 2021). "Bilibili Poised to Raise $2.6 Billion in Hong Kong Listing". Bloomberg.com (Bloomberg L.P.). https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-22/bilibili-said-poised-to-raise-2-6-billion-in-hong-kong-listing.
- ↑ "BILIBILI-SW (9626.HK) 股價、新聞、報價和過往記錄 - Yahoo 財經" (in zh-Hant-HK). https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/quote/9626.HK/.
- ↑ Chen, Yue; Gao, Qin; Rau, Pei-Luen Patrick (2015). "Understanding Gratifications of Watching Danmaku Videos – Videos with Overlaid Comments". in Rau, P.L.Patrick (in en). Cross-Cultural Design Methods, Practice and Impact. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 9180. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 153–163. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20907-4_14. ISBN 978-3-319-20907-4.
- ↑ Lin, Claire (2014-12-11). "BiliBili — one of the most interesting websites in China and the problem that they are facing" (in en). https://medium.com/@clairelin/bilibili-one-of-the-most-interesting-websites-in-china-and-the-problem-that-they-are-facing-97df93508b68.
- ↑ Hsieh, Yen-Hao; Zeng, Xin-Ping (2022-07-13). "Sentiment Analysis: An ERNIE-BiLSTM Approach to Bullet Screen Comments" (in en). Sensors 22 (14): 5223. doi:10.3390/s22145223. ISSN 1424-8220. PMID 35890903. Bibcode: 2022Senso..22.5223H.
- ↑ 赵, 丽 (20 August 2016). "官方要求加强对"弹幕"安全评估:评什么 怎样评". http://news.cctv.com/2016/08/20/ARTInKcWcevlBOpB1enOEGyR160820.shtml.
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=
specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in zh-Hans). http://www.bilibili.com/blackroom/#/notice/6. - ↑ "大会员服务协议 - 哔哩哔哩弹幕视频网". https://www.bilibili.com/blackboard/big-protocol.html.
- ↑ "What's the use of Member B? How much is a big member of station B for a month?". http://www.zhicheng.com/n/20161011/97764.html.
- ↑ "哔哩哔哩弹幕视频网 - ( ゜- ゜)つロ 乾杯~ - bilibili". https://big.bilibili.com/site/big.html.
- ↑ "Copyright requirements Bilibili 2018 part of the animation adopts "pay-first-see" mode". 2017-12-23. http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2017-12-23/doc-ifypvuqf3945798.shtml.
- ↑ "The "Account Block" function will be launched on the same day, and 100 questions will be transferred to the normal test.". https://www.bilibili.com/blackroom/#/notice/6.
- ↑ "Commission for Discipline Inspection will be launched on the same day-Bilibili Video Network-(゜-゜) つ ロ Cheers ~-bilibili". https://www.bilibili.com/blackboard/judgementnotice.html.
- ↑ 9bishi (2013-05-14). "9bishi Weibo's instructions on direct transmission". http://weibo.com/2093001685/zwA3m2dtQ?type=comment#_rnd1447341140966.
- ↑ "Announcement on Strengthening Management of Current Video Content". 2017-02-10. https://www.bilibili.com/blackboard/activity-shizhengmanager.html.
- ↑ "Bilibili bans individual users from uploading current affairs politics". 2017-02-10. http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/yf1-02102017120631.html.
- ↑ Bilibili Announcement (27 May 2010). "【BILI娘投票结束】投票结果发表". http://www.bilibili.tv/video/av8219/.
- ↑ 东施 (30 May 2019). "《BanG Dream! 少女乐团派对!》iOS版本正式上线 一同奏响我们的乐章" (in zh). 7k7k. http://news.7k7k.com/doc/1520948.html.
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 "Bilibili Inc.". 16 March 2018. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1723690/000104746918001762/a2234740zf-1a.htm.
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 严查网游禁止内容,文化部公布6起典型案件 (in Chinese), Xinhua News Agency, 24 January 2018
- ↑ "人形競技少女《方舟指令》9月27日正式公測" (in zh). 27 September 2018. https://news.qoo-app.com/post/143013.
- ↑ "BiliBili threatened with lawsuit about videos mocking Chinese idol · TechNode" (in en-US). 2019-04-15. https://technode.com/2019/04/15/bilibili-threatened-with-lawsuit-about-videos-mocking-chinese-idol/.
- ↑ "蔡徐坤出圈记之B站篇:律师函与网友的狂欢". 17 April 2019. https://36kr.com/p/1723522514945.
- ↑ "蔡徐坤律师函错误百出". https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv2453671/.
- ↑ Wang Yi-hung and William Hetherington, Liu Li-jen. "Bilibili found to be renting server space in Taiwan". Taipei Times. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2019/09/05/2003721740.
- ↑ "Bilibili source code containing user names and passwords leaked on GitHub". TechNode. 23 April 2019. https://technode.com/2019/04/23/bilibili-source-code-leaked-on-github-containing-usernames-and-passwords/.
- ↑ "Death of Bilibili staff member renews discussion about overwork in Chinese tech companies" (in en). 2022-02-08. https://kr-asia.com/death-of-bilibili-staff-member-renews-discussion-about-overwork-in-chinese-tech-companies.
External links
- Business data for Bilibili:
Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilibili.
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