I’m currently in the process of installing bbPress into a test server (for possible later use on Gnorb.NET). How’s this for a “don’t say we didn’t tell you” warning message?
bbPress is alpha software. That means it will
1. eat all your data,
2. crush your dreams,
3. and stab you in the eyeall after
1. claiming ownership of your firstborn,
2. serving you your own computer… with a delicious sauce flambé,
3. and urinating on your car door handle (just ’cause it can).You’ve been warned.
Yikes!
Edit: The question is, why do I need a forum? The short of it is that I’m planning on starting a second site, one which cates to a specific community. A blog really won’t do when it comes to that, though it is part of the equation. I’ll get more into it later. Maybe.
By the way, I just noticed it’s past midnight. That means this post can be entered into the Subnixus Las Vegas giveaway!
I’m kinda curious about this second site…especially after I just aired out my opinions about DevHardware 🙂 If you’re looking for an opinion, feel free to look me up.
JC still can’t take constructive criticism, and I think I’m done (not banned though) there.
Haven’t checked DevilH since I left the place, so I have no idea about what happened. [Insert pickture of bunny with pancake on its head.] What happened?
As for the second site, I wasn’t planning to make a hardware site, though at one point I did think about the possibility of starting a forum about hardware where better folks than I on the subject could discuss whatever they wanted to their heart’s desire. Figured people would write mini-reviews within the forums which I could edit and stick on some front page. Wouldn’t touch HardOCP or anything, but I’m sure that people who want to practice writing for these places (ie their writing skills) could use that place for practice.
Speaking of which, I remember talking a lot wih DMOS about starting a community site where we could review reviews, writing styles, techniques, and even come up with a set of procedures new sites could follow to ensure quality in their reviews. (ie. “Ok, here’s how you test a montherboard,” or “here’s how you test a case fan”.) The point in the end was that I wasn’t going to do many reviews ’cause they take way too much time and because much better people than I could do much better reviews that could help a lot more people, but half those people can’t write for crap, which is where I’d come in.
Anyway, back to the question, What happened?
WRT DevHardware:
Don’t worry, nothing flame worthy happened/
I stopped writing months ago because of school pressures and I thought I could do a better job of improving my writing on my blog. I gave up moderating because I couldn’t take watching teenagers anymore, and the lack of intelligent discussion was really beginning to get in the way of how much I could enjoy the site. The site hacks are tacky. The attempts to create community suck. The ‘rep’ system (were you around for that?) drives me nuts.
Some OCA members came back and started talking about old times. The thread was eventually moved to the Flame forum where JCaputo said that it had degenerated into a flamewar. I told him that if he thought that the thread was a flamewar, he had low standards. He said ‘tough’. I said that if he wanted a family friendly forum, he should remove the flame forum altogether and forbid swearing. I told him that what I said needed to be said.
That thread disappeared immediately, and in its place, a thread which is titled “So this is what its like to be king”. I decided that DevH was no longer worth my time. Besides, I had been in a few flamewars myself trying to tell people to not be racist/prejudiced/stereotypical.
There are some good people there in the forums, but those people are dwarved by the idiots and the teenagers. The top down leadership from DevShed is just plain annoying.
Rep system? Wasn’t there for that. As for the leadership, I won’t comment, other than to say that I’d never get involved in any dealings — personal or business-wise — with that guy or anyone affiliated with him again.
Hmm.. what about just starting an “old timers forum” on your site? I’d gladly help out. (Hasn’t that been tried before? HardwareWiz and OverclockingAddiction.com? Whatever happened to those two sites?)
Edit:
(In fact, just so there’s no doubt how I feel, I wake up every morning and thank God that I don’t work for that guy. I hated working for him, so much so that I would pray for a car accident every morning, just so I could take some time off from having to stomach that guy: broken bones, hospitalizations, and even death were better than having to deal with that petty little brat. (And I do mean “little”: I heard people describe him as a “little Napoleon”. If the shoe fits…) I ended up screwing up my health because of the stress I went through day in and day out in that place, to the point where I started feeling arythmia, gained almost 40 lbs and had blood pressure as high as 161/100 — purely due to the level of stress at that place. I guess it was my fault for wanting to make sure I always did a good job, and my “I. Don’t. Quit.” mentality, instead of telling him to just shove it at a critical time, which would have been fun, but would not have served my purposes at the time. Would I to have stayed, I probably would’ve had a heart attack in short order: that’s no exageration. It was a constant fear. (It’s been confirmed by a doctor.) I *hated* working for that guy.
Of course, working there did have its good points: I now know what working in Hell is like. I also know that if I ever run into a situation like I did there again I can steer clear from it. (I almost got sucked into a situation like that with Jupiter Media. I recognized that that guy was another parasite.)
Whenever I feel I don’t want to go to work, or whenever I’m having a bad day I just think to myself “I don’t work for JC any more” and that brings THE BIGGEST smile to my face. Heck, I’m smiling now, just thinking about it: I don’t have to even acknowledge that guy exists, let alone having to working for him! My life is SO much better now than it was a year and a half ago, when I was still under that despot’s thumb. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the job; I just abhored working for that pompass little napoleon.)
There’s no way an old-timers forum would survive on my server. It isn’t reliable enough IMO to handle consistent hosting. My blog is one thing, and it doesn’t matter if the server is down for a few hours or days, but a full on site is impractical for me. (I’d also have to find *really* cheap hosting and domains.)
Besides, the magic is gone, replaced only with memory of what once was.
DevHardware is great for newbies, but for me, who needs ‘advanced’ learning, it doesn’t work. That’s the other reason why I have the server – I am using it to learn as much as I possibly can in self-study.
I also can’t discuss the ‘issues’, or be myself (read: profess my religion, beliefs, etc.) the way I can on my blog. At least there I know who is reading it, and they are much more understanding and…civil.
Caputo is the icing on the cake…I tried for years to ‘fix’ the forums to no avail, and I get the impression I wasted my time. So, its better to cut my losses now and move on. I imagine you have made a similar decision.
A long time ago. Before I left, in fact. But I couldn’t sit there and be a mere puppet. I tried to just do what they said, but the price that was set — constant 60+ hour weeks under the same and greater pressure — was just too high.