Proposal: Do you want a Tech Forum?

[Petra Fyde]

Would you like to have a tech forum, and if yes, who would you like to see moderating it?
Criteria for moderator:

• Good Subject Knowledge.
• Willingness to be helpful.
• A cool head and even hand when dealing with problem posters.
• Full understanding that we are a fan site, intended to support UO and its playerbase.

N.B. Stratics admins are not obliged to select a moderator from those nominated.
Nominated persons are not obliged to accept the nomination.
You may nominate yourself, ie volunteer

Please post nominations below.

 

[Devil_Woman]

I would suggest either Harlequin or Enigmamumblemumble (Sorry, Enigma, I can never remember the rest of your posting name without seeing it on screen).

Both of these posters seem to know a good deal and have more than once demonstrated their willingness to help those of us who are not quite so tech savvy, and, as far as I can recall, neither seems to fly off the handle easily. They both seem to maintain their composure reasonably well.

 

[Tina Small]

I'd love to see a Tech forum. For mods, my suggestions include: Old Man of UO, Enigma Maitreya, Harlequin, Der Rock, and/or Fink.

 

[Zodia]

I voted no because I think it would just splinter the UHall even more. It would only be a good idea if there were tons of posts in the UHall, but at least in my opinion, it is a manageable amount.

That said, if there is a tech forum, I nominate Popps or Ivory Norwind for Mod.

 

[kelmo]

That is somewhat of a concern. It is the recent tech posts on UHall that spurred my interest in upgrading and learning more.

With the new client and new tech out in the real world more people will decide it is time to upgrade. It might be nice to have a forum to do this in. That is if the tech heads will use it and offer their knowledge.

 

[NuSair]

I wouldn't mind helping out, there are times I miss post in the main forum during times of high traffic. So, there might be a use for a tech forum.

 

[Old Man of UO]

I think it is a great idea. I know quite a few learn from these threads, but others get annoyed having to even look at the titles. LOL

I would vote for BOTH Harlequin or Enigmamumblemumble (I stole that from Devil Woman!). Both have good knowledge, but honestly EM, I think Harlequin does a better job of explaining in real-people terms that most understand. I have been building computers from scratch since my 1979 senior project, but really know nothing on the network side.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

The UHall has a LOT of crossover material anyway and can be used as a springboard to send people into a more focused area for tech-based questions (also it would be nice to have a forum with a "post your specs" sticky so that we're not reposting our specs every 3 months ).

I see it as a very helpful addition for information such as product recommendations, how to optimize your system and so on.

While I wouldn't "stay" in a Tech forum, it's one I might check out from time to time.

 

[Old Man of UO]

On second thought, do you really need a "new" moderator for this? Maybe the current Mods are so tech savvy, but the real job is often more along the lines of people-patrol. The UHallers have never really been that shy about offering tech help, so perhaps a new Mod isn't really needed. Just a thought.

 

[NuSair]

I see it as a very helpful addition for information such as product recommendations, how to optimize your system and so on.

For system optimizing, the best site I've found is http://www.blackviper.com/ and it's updated with Win7 configurations.

 

[MalagAste]

I voted yes.... as I'm extremely computer illiterate..... I think it's helpful to have somewhere to post to ask technical questions about the technical aspect of gaming.

I mean I know how to turn the stinking thing on... and I know how to protect things and the like but as far as say..... changing the UI.... or say what sort of specs you would want to build a good pc... I'm pretty clueless.

I know my first PC was a HP Pavilion and when the tech support guy said ok open up the side panel and find the hard drive ..... I was like whoa..... dude you lost me right after the open up the side panel part...

I mean when I took a computer programing course in High School we still had the old green screen dot matrix stuff... So basic is as basic was... I never really got any further than that...

The only stuff I've learned since playing UO is about safety and security.

 

[Rykus]

I would be willing to help with this, via posting, and/or moderation. I don't post that much in U Hall, but have a long history of providing help on the Siege forums. I'll not post my full resume here, but I have been in the tech industry for 20+ years professionally, and a hobbyist for 29 years.

Count me in...

 

[kelmo]

I would be willing to help with this, via posting, and/or moderation. I don't post that much in U Hall, but have a long history of providing help on the Siege forums. I'll not post my full resume here, but I have been in the tech industry for 20+ years professionally, and a hobbyist for 29 years.

Count me in...

*smiles* I was hoping you would show up in here. *winks*

 

[Slayvite]

I vote for yes.
Would help us not so computer litterate to optimise our UO experiance without wrecking our systems. Also feel it will be very much in need over the next few months and would be nice to know there was a section to goto instead of filling up U-hall with the same questions.
As for who, i couldnt really say as most probably have more 'tech' knowledge than me but i'd assume you have somebody in mind

 

[TheGrayGhost]

I absolutely would want a tech forum oO. Every MMO forum should have one. Good places to find user side fixes to commen problems, interesting reads on the harware players are using, and so on and so on and so on. I think it would also help some see the need to upgrade there rigs and such.

 

[kelmo]

This is pretty overwhelming.

 

[JoO]

Im not opposed to the forum it just seems a bit overkill as there are so many unused forums as-is. I am however extremely opposed to Enigma Mcmumbles being a mod. I can see even the most simple question being turned into a bleeding eye black hole of the internet.

Newguy: Whats a good video card for UO

Enigma Mcmumbles: The video card you CHOOSE may be chosen solely from the falsehood of your OPINIONS.....Whil your opinion may be that this card displays well the facts may be LOST to you because you are not open to the truth and only want to prove your own preconceived NOTIONS. If I say that a card is GOOD. WHAT is GOOD? Are you GOOD? Or has the habit of letting opinion cloud your judgement and blind you from the truth made you BAD?

 

[TheGrayGhost]

This is pretty overwhelming.

My first thread in the Tech Forum would be "Speed Pads and you!" lol. I can't game without a speed pad nowdays. There just to awsome and can change your game experience a great deal oO. There are all kinds to. I personally use a few different ones depending on the game. My main 2 are..............

My general use Speed Pad is the Wolf King.

The G13 I use more for games I have tons of Macro's and hotbars to go through.

I actually replaced my N52 with the G13.

Edited to Add: lol sorry got a bit over excited about the possibility of a tech forum for UO. So much to share........... :O

 

[kelmo]

Im not opposed to the forum it just seems a bit overkill as there are so many unused forums as-is. I am however extremely opposed to Enigma Mcmumbles being a mod. I can see even the most simple question being turned into a bleeding eye black hole of the internet.

Newguy: Whats a good video card for UO

Enigma Mcmumbles: The video card you CHOOSE may be chosen solely from the falsehood of your OPINIONS.....Whil your opinion may be that this card displays well the facts may be LOST to you because you are not open to the truth and only want to prove your own preconceived NOTIONS. If I say that a card is GOOD. WHAT is GOOD? Are you GOOD? Or has the habit of letting opinion cloud your judgement and blind you from the truth made you BAD?

That is your personal opinion.

 

[JC the Builder]

The problem with a tech forum is most people will only go when they have an issue. Stratics used to have one. It would really only work out if someone from Mythic read and responded regularly. Blizzard has one and they respond a ton.

 

[The Craftsman]

II am however extremely opposed to Enigma Mcmumbles being a mod. I can see even the most simple question being turned into a bleeding eye black hole of the internet.

Agreed. Do not let Enema anywhere near this.

 

[Harlequin]

The problem with a tech forum is most people will only go when they have an issue. Stratics used to have one. It would really only work out if someone from Mythic read and responded regularly. Blizzard has one and they respond a ton.

*ponders how should I say this without getting into trouble...*

While a tech forum is good for consolidating all the info in 1 place and ensuring folk's issues don't get burried on high volume days, I'm afraid JC is right...

I remember when Stractics used to have a tech forum too, and people rarely go there unless they have a problem themselves (I'm guilty of this for one ).

I don't really mind the posts staying in UHall and try to assist whenever I see such requests.

Info that can be stickied can perhaps be added to Players' Corner? (sorry Basara and Fink heh)


*throws smokebomb and "ninja"s away*

 

[hawkeye_pike]

What exactly is a tech forum? Technical in terms of game mechanics? Or game bugs? Or client handling?

 

[Basara]

I'd MUCH rather have the tech forum back than keeping that stuff here or in Player's Corner.

However, perhaps a better model would be for some to have both Tech & U.Hall Mod status, let the main part of the discussion take place in U.Hall, then those Mods would move posts from U.Hall to the Tech Forum, past a certain point in the discussion (event resolved, an answer developed that multiple players can use, etc.)

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

The problem with a tech forum is most people will only go when they have an issue. Stratics used to have one. It would really only work out if someone from Mythic read and responded regularly. Blizzard has one and they respond a ton.

*ponders how should I say this without getting into trouble...*

While a tech forum is good for consolidating all the info in 1 place and ensuring folk's issues don't get burried on high volume days, I'm afraid JC is right...

I remember when Stractics used to have a tech forum too, and people rarely go there unless they have a problem themselves (I'm guilty of this for one ).

I don't really mind the posts staying in UHall and try to assist whenever I see such requests.

Info that can be stickied can perhaps be added to Players' Corner? (sorry Basara and Fink heh)


*throws smokebomb and "ninja"s away*

I might lean the other way, while I voted for the Tech Forum, I have tried to spend time thinking about what a Tech Forum would be.

Quite Honestly, when I first saw it, the first response was far more the stuff going on in the SA Client Beta Forum, were people could get help with how to set up macroes, commands etc.

Help with the Custom UI's that are bound to come out.

Help with the Aspect Ratio etc.

Yeah the rash of Tech help requests that have shown up here should go there as well, but I (in this part may agree) they probably would not draw a lot of attention to the forum on a day in day out basis.

Perhaps if the forum consolidated all the Clients, plus operation problems, plus upgrade suggestions, then it might be a good forum to go to on a regular basis. Least wise one might think one might be able to bring a particular thread to UO's attention for .......

In addition, even if it were not a daily activity, as an archive place it might very well be useful for lurkers and others to go see if their issue(s) have been answered rather than trying to look through all the archived messages in UHall.

I think the moderation issue is one thing but does not need to be linked to being able to help technically.

I could see a Moderator asking (via p-mail) a member of the Stratics Community to stop in and look at a thread to see if they could help. I am sure there are a good number of very competent people to draw from that may not visit the forum on a daily basis.

I suppose it is entirely possible that if such a forum existed, then UO people may stop in and Lurk/Participate more frequently.

 

[Petra Fyde]

On second thought, do you really need a "new" moderator for this? Maybe the current Mods are so tech savvy, but the real job is often more along the lines of people-patrol. The UHallers have never really been that shy about offering tech help, so perhaps a new Mod isn't really needed. Just a thought.

Nope, don't necessarily need a new mod, I'm happy for existing staff to volunteer too, I do need them to volunteer though, I don't do coercion .


I would prefer that the person that takes it on have some technical knowledge, if only to spot potential game exploits among the enquiries. I'm looking to actually appoint 2 mods, I prefer not to dump total responsibility on one person if I can avoid it.

 

[Lady Michelle]

Anyone who knows something about computers can answer someones question not just the mod. What worries me is someone posting something purposely that might screw up someones computer or send them to a non legit site. Im not talking about any of you Im talking about the not so legit ones like hackers etc. Like Malagaste pointed out how much she knows about computers Im in the same boat. So how would any of us know if the answer or website is legit or not ? By the time a mod sees it the damage could be done.
Is there away If someone posts an answer it doesnt show up on the boards til a mod checks it out first, and oks it?

 

[Daga]

Yes, primarily due to the evolution of UO's / (or maybe more politely correct , of...) MMO's.
There are a good amount of participators / players out there that are wanting for some friendly and sound advice in regards to technical help situations; by my thinking.

 

[Daga]

Anyone who knows something about computers can answer someones question not just the mod. What worries me is someone posting something purposely that might screw up someones computer or send them to a non legit site. Im not talking about any of you Im talking about the not so legit ones like hackers etc. Like Malagaste pointed out how much she knows about computers Im in the same boat. So how would any of us know if the answer or website is legit or not ? By the time a mod sees it the damage could be done.
Is there away If someone posts an answer it doesnt show up on the boards til a mod checks it out first, and oks it?

You are certainly right with your worries. That is why I feel user caution and a moderator (or 4+4) would be a great start for such a forum (along with a nice introductory statement as such for said potential forum), at least in my humble opinion.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I think a tech forum is a good idea. I have offered tech advice here a few times, but I would be hesitant to assume any kind of role as a moderator or official. Often, PC tech support work is done on a trial and error basis, and I am not about to get someone all PO'ed at me because what I suggested didn't work.

Anyone that has tech questions, feel free to hit me up, I am a network administrator and an experienced PC builder and tech, but I don't want anyone holding Stratics accountable when I offer advice that goes south.

 

[Petra Fyde]

There seem to be quite a few people who, while they would rather not take on the job of moderating, are happy to be frequent and regular contributors, that makes for a good forum.
It is possible to make it so that every post has to be vetted before it can be posted, but I'm not sure that's a good idea.
However, if anyone were to post harmful advice I think it would not be long before one of these contributors pointed out the error. So the answer would be, don't try anything posted by someone unknown to you until someone who's judgement you trust has confirmed that it's a valid possibility.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Aww...Petra, you are ruining our fun of leading hardware newbs to low level formats and flashing EEPROMS gone awry!!

Just kidding

 

[Petra Fyde]

I'm also a long way from believing the advice 'alt +F4' is the solution to my problem

Be good all, I'm off line for a while, my athlon 1700XP is being upgraded to a pentium 4 2.2gig as an interim measure till the piggy bank is full.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Some tech advice (bad), you should "upgrade" to a Cyrix processor.



Just kidding.

Good luck with the upgrade.

 

[Harlequin]

Cyrix, now that's a cpu manufacturer I have not heard in a long while.

Are they still in business?

I hate cyrix processors, they were really unstable...

In fact, part of my dislike of AMDs can also be attributed to crappy cpus made by competitors like cyrix.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I think you can still get some Cyrix chips in inferior laptops and bargin bin desktops.

But yes, they do in fact suck.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

the old Tech place was a mishmash of computer specs, tweaks to gain performance, tweaks in the 2D client (at least) cfg file to help, etc.

essentially it's where one could go for more hardcore answers than here.

 

[NuSair]

Usually, one of the disclaimers I put on when I give some rather technical advice (like editing the registry) is that if you are not comfortable doing so, find a friend or relative who is to help you follow these steps.

Another thing about tech advice is that you may get 3 different 'opinions' from various techs.... and they can all be right. Part of tech support is pretty cut and dry, most of it comes from personal experience.

But one piece of advice I can offer to everyone is back up your stuff. I just had a friend last month who I thought was pretty tech savy and knew what he was doing..... lost EVERYTHING. And didn't have a single backup.

Needless to say, his wife is less that pleased at the thought of losing their pictures (all digital, no backup). She was even more upset (and that's putting it LIGHTLY) when he said it was possible to attempt to get them back, but was going to have to spend $400 getting it done.

 

[ejpeters]

We used to have a tech forum and I visited it quite often when I had a question about any computer problems dealing with UO.

 

[Black Sun]

I think it is a very good idea. A dedicated place for people to go when they need help would be a huge asset. And if it were 10 years ago I'd volunteer to help out, but sadly, my computer knowledge is a bit dated at this point. Granted I know more than your average day to day computer user, but in the last few years I've found myself scratching my head while reading articles about new tech. But I still think a tech forum is a good idea.

 

[TheGrayGhost]

Usually, one of the disclaimers I put on when I give some rather technical advice (like editing the registry) is that if you are not comfortable doing so, find a friend or relative who is to help you follow these steps.

Another thing about tech advice is that you may get 3 different 'opinions' from various techs.... and they can all be right. Part of tech support is pretty cut and dry, most of it comes from personal experience.

But one piece of advice I can offer to everyone is back up your stuff. I just had a friend last month who I thought was pretty tech savy and knew what he was doing..... lost EVERYTHING. And didn't have a single backup.

Needless to say, his wife is less that pleased at the thought of losing their pictures (all digital, no backup). She was even more upset (and that's putting it LIGHTLY) when he said it was possible to attempt to get them back, but was going to have to spend $400 getting it done.

Yeah, have to agree here. I don't care if you are taking tech advice from the Guru of all that is tech and ever will be. Back up your chit before messing with anything, that goes double for the registry! oO. No two rigs are exactly alike. Everyone has at least one thing different in there system than someone else wether it is some random piece of hardware or some obscure piece of software. Something as simple as fraps can cause some major issues with some programs, so it isn't an exact science there are so many random variables involved that one piece of advice can work for a thousand people yet screw your rig up to hell and back.

So Back up, Back up, Back up! Learn, live it, love it!

 

[NuSair]

Yeah, that's one reason why one of the things I recommend to non-tech savy people are things like the maxtor one touch backup. It's simple and it works.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

*Shrug* As long as we are on Backups, then yeah I have always suggested to people that when there has been sufficient change to their .... what ever then they should back it up.

Just one of several FREE Image Backups. This one when it comes to restore time can restore the Image OR it can mount the Image as a Virtual Drive for individual file/folder copies. The Image Restore can be done from within the Booted OS OR they can create a Bootable CD that can be used to Restore the Image(s).

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

BUT I would also say people should make sure their System Restore function in XP and later are turned on and working. If one is going to make a change that may change the system functionality then one may want to go and manually create a system restore point.

 

[Lynk]

Im not opposed to the forum it just seems a bit overkill as there are so many unused forums as-is. I am however extremely opposed to Enigma Mcmumbles being a mod.

Pretty much nailed it.. I can't have a mod on 'ignore' so I really hope he does not get a title.

 

[Rykus]

Cyrix, now that's a cpu manufacturer I have not heard in a long while.

Are they still in business?

I hate cyrix processors, they were really unstable...

In fact, part of my dislike of AMDs can also be attributed to crappy cpus made by competitors like cyrix.

Cyrix was bought by National Semiconductor, then later the intellectual property was sold to VIA. AMD also used some of this IP to produce the worlds lowest power x86 chip, the Geode, which is used in some embedded systems, and other low power applications. VIA still uses this technology, and has released several low power chips, the C3, C7, and most recently, the VIA Nano, based on the IP they acquired from Cyrix/National Semiconductor.

For what it's worth, Cyrix chips actually did perform very well clock for clock, and beat Intel, and AMD in many areas in the mid, to late 90's. They absolutely did have thermal issues, but you really couldn't beat their price for performance back in the day, as long as you had a good cooling solution. There were a few situations where compatibility was an issue, but I never saw these occur with games. The only time I ever saw this happen was with a few very specific business apps written in assembly, which required an actual Intel CPU.

Say what you will about Cyrix, AMD, Centaur, IBM, or anyone else making non-Intel X86 chips, but in the end it was the consumers who were the winners. Before Intel had this kind of competition, their CPUs were very expensive. I recall buying an AMD 486DX-40 for about $170, when the Intel 486DX/2-66, which wasn't actually that much faster due to the slower 33mhz bus, sold for about $500. All of this competition has forced Intel, and everyone else, to keep costs down, and performance up. I for one am thrilled that these smaller chip manufacturers were around, then, and now.

 

[Shamus Turlough]

Voted yes. Systems Engineer for 13 years, PC support for closer to 20. Would volunteer to mod/whatever.

Shamus Turlough, MCSE, CCSP, Citrix CCA, HP ASE.

 

[Stupid Miner]

What strange timing... my audio stopped working on my computer, PM me if you know something about fixing audio. (this has nothing to do with UO specifically)


*****FIXED*****

 

[TheGrayGhost]

What strange timing... my audio stopped working on my computer, PM me if you know something about fixing audio. (this has nothing to do with UO specifically)

Are you using Vista?

 

[Stupid Miner]

Are you using Vista?

No, and just PM me if you can help, i don't want to drag it out on the boards

 

[kaio]

Great idea, I vote no. I Think its ok that people post in uhall, or somewhere else if they need help (its not like we see millions of tech questions every day)