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Thread: Re: I'd like to introduce myself

  1. #1
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    Re: I'd like to introduce myself

    Please post any replies to my recent announcement in this thread.

    Thanks,

    Housen

  2. #2
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    not to be rude, hehehe. but there use to be alot of messages about double posting
    could please only post in the relavent area please
    "STAND IN A SINGLE FILE LINE (shouted at Blind Kobolds)" -2nd Level Master Samurai

  3. #3
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    Obsolete,

    I wished to make an announcement in every forum, but also have a single place where replies could be posted. I figured this is as good a solution as any.

    Take care,

    Housen

  4. #4
    Junior Member TheUltimateNewb's Avatar
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    Heya Housen! Its me from SharkyForums. I just joined.
    I hope you do a good job running this place unlike SharkyForums. Hehe j/k you rule man. I think my nose is turning brown. Well see ya around.

  5. #5
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    nice to meet ya housen... hopefully u'll keep sysopt an enjoyable place to discuss computer knowledge... and hello to all the other new people.

  6. #6
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    As I recall, Houson first came on SysOpt when it was sold to Internet.com a while back...

    mike

  7. #7
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    That is correct... I popped in, at the time, and then backed off. I tend not to get directly involved in individual sites' forums unless I've been asked to by its editors or by my management. I don't have enough hours in the day to run Sharky's and check in on every online community we have across our network of over 160 web sites. But when asked to get involved at a specific site, I do.

    Take care,

    Housen

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member eagle1's Avatar
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    Nice to meet you Housen!!!
    eagle1 signing off.....


  9. #9
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    Good deal, welcome Housen, I must say I was a little put off by what sounded like an evil corporate takeover.LOL. Ive been visiting Sharkys for a long time now. Hope this works out well for everyone. I hope there arent to many changes instore for us. This is kind of a descent group of people, rather than tech snobs. Rarely have i seen anyone here being talked down to.

    Best wishes from here bro

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member
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    I've just spent some time at Sharky's, HWC, and Virtual DR and noticed a vital thing lacking...
    A sense of COMMUNITY!

    There's no place for members to discuss non-computer topics and get to know one another as real people, with opinions & knowledge on lots of things. And such topics appear to be strongly discouraged.
    At all three, there are comments lamenting what they call the "Off Topic" forum, apparently similar to what we call the community forum.

    Just because folks are drawn together by one interest doesn't mean they don't have others in common. Frankly, it makes little sense to me that members continue to come back to any site w/o such an area, since there are many tech places which provide both.

    And in your introduction, you mentioned "..discuss system optimization and other computing matters.", this appears to imply the same policy will apply here.

    So, a couple of questions:

    > What's wrong with members discussing both computers AND other things - in the same place, with the same group of people??

    > Is this forum going to disappear??


    BTW, I'm not out to "start something", just trying to understand your viewpoint.

    Ed
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.


  11. #11
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    VirtualDr never had an Off Topic Forum. Hardware Central and Sharky's did, but lost them because of constant problems with people posting personal attacks, racial attacks, religious attacks, sexist attacks, political attacks (you name it, they attacked it), flooding, profanity, threats, warez, sexually oriented materials (that one moreso on HWC), etc.

    At HardwareCentral, its closure came after a solid year of my trying to get them to follow the rules they agree to when they register... to no avail. But a core group of members decided to respond to any attempt by my moderators to enforce the rules by acting out even more, telling them/us "you have no right to tell us what to do..." "this is freedom of speech..." "we're in charge, not you..." etc. So while I had tried to make a go of it, creating the moderators team where there was none and building it into a team of 45 volunteer moderators and 6 paid freelancers, its then-new Managing Editor, Eric, decided it was hopeless and closed it this past May. Shortly after HWC's OT closure, I decided that the same pattern had been followed at the Sharky's OT and rants forums 8 or so months of its existence. So in July, I followed Eric's lead and closed them too.

    So to your question of will I close this forum? Not at this point, and not unless I am forced to... and it wouldn't be over one or two people breaking rules. It would be after a long drawn-out pattern of violations by a core group of members who have demonstrated a determined unwillingness to treat other members like human beings. So just keep acting like a community and this forum and those like it at other forums (LinuxNewbie, for example, still has an OT forum, as does Flashkit) will remain.

    Housen

    P.S. I disagree with your assessment of SharkyForums as having no sense of community (I can't speak for the others). It very much has, and is, one... just a computing-oriented one.

  12. #12
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    He speaks! OMG! lol

    I decided to post when I saw Ed_S's post above.

    Welcome Housen. Glad there is a little leadership here to replace us.

    All it takes is one good and dedicated moderator with a firm professional hand to quietly take care of attacks like what you described above. We did it for 6 years. No flame wars or anything...that is until the staff was let go, then there was the backlash against that of course that Sysopt still is reeling from a bit. As long as the moderators can keep with the ideals that Sysopt was based on, there will be no need to delete this forum. Of course, there were occasional problems as new people came from other forums (there's no place like Sysopt...at least until recently), but the mods stepped in immediately and politely told them what the policy was and the members all understood that and abided by it and even helped enforce it.

    Sysopt is nothing like any other site internet.com holds. If you treat it as the others, then it will have very limited success and a very limited future. I am very glad to see that Steve is going to mod here, because I think he can uphold the higher standards that Sysopt has held. The other guys will hopefully learn what it (Sysopt) is all about. It is difficult to see it not changing drastically since the entire admin staff, not including Steve, has 4 posts and 2 weeks of experience here. But hopefully you will surprise me as you begin to spend more time here.

    Anyway, congrats to the new staff. Best of luck. I only really wanted to break my silence to say that.
    Dave
    former Sysopt moderator

  13. #13
    Senior Member rh71's Avatar
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    Hey Housen... I've been on HWC since May 1999... seen you around since the end of last year I believe... I think the closure of HWC OT forum was more because of members starting flame wars or racial threads moreso than sexual content threads... I don't actually recall more than 1 or 2 of the latter... but I guess it was for the good of the board... people were still posting frequently about on-topic stuff afterward... but nowadays on HWC, it's DEAD... for no apparent reason. Boards like Anandtech Forums have a thriving OT forum because they do manage to keep control with no moderation. The members there will post links to "arousing" pictures, but no nudity. I don't even remember seeing any serious 1vs1 flame wars... very cool community there, not to mention nearly 1000 people browsing the forums at the same time, at any given time.

    HWC and Sysopt used to be my top 2 sites, but I must admit since internet.com has made its presence felt (admins stepping in and being seen more), and no offense to you personally, it's been downhill for the community. See, when users say it's community driven, they mean that if they don't like the "stranglehold" being put applied, justified or not, they will rebel. I'm not saying they're right in doing this, but forums really are a community-driven in every sense of the term... they will leave if they don't like it... and then you have no contributing members --> no help --> lack of interest --> loss of a thriving community. I'm sure you already know this, but I just wanted to put it down on "paper"... it somehow makes more sense...

    I didn't mean to turn this into an opinion post... I only meant to say a quick hello...

  14. #14
    Ultimate Member Bob The Great's Avatar
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    Good to have you on board! "Please remember to keeps hands and feet inside the railing, and please no smoking! Have a safe and productive workday!"

  15. #15
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    Don't trust this guy for a second!

    This is a bad man. He single-handedly ruined the forums at Hardware Central and Sharky's. The community is gone.

    Any and all posts that are slightly off-topic are deleted, you can't laugh, have friends, or even congratulate anyone for anything.

    I was a long time member and a mod at HWC when he came around and all I can tell you is whatever happens with SysOpt forums next is going to be BAD!

    I even still have a thread saved from the mods private forum at HWC where the new admins said they din't care about the members because they could alway get new ones.

    I'm warning you now.

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