Its sad that I would have to defend UO Stratics here. Coming here is a choice. There is plenty of information here. I have trouble with searches sometimes, but a PM to Petra gets me the page with the info I need. There are plenty of staff that are helpful and have written helpful stories, guides, etc. If you want to spend hours playing the game to figure out a formula, a new place to hunt, a new method to PK. You can submit your hours of work finding out exactly how something works and if it is worth wile to the community it will find a place on stratics. Many players, mods, staff have put in a lot of hours creating a place where a diverse collection of UO knowledge, history, community and gameplay is presented in a searchable format.
And then there are the forums where anyone can post useless drivel. Or they can post things that help the community, like many of them have done over the years. I hope they are thick skinned enough to continue playing UO with a purpose to continue with their contributions. So, I can play for fun because they have already done the legwork.
I appreciate the work the forum staff, mods, shard reporters, contributors, and posters add to my entertainment in a positive way!