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Speed
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Tue Mar 05, 2002 10:38 pm

I'm another Ars defector. Too many people acting like they had dynamite strapped to their chests, over at Ars-Technica.
 
Nikto
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Wed Mar 06, 2002 12:10 am

I used to always go to Operation 3d. Then right after they switched over to 3dnews, I found a post linking to here. I've been coming here ever since. It's sad about 3dnews.net though... :sad:
 
cRock
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Wed Mar 06, 2002 11:30 am

I've been here since day 1 in full zealot gerbil mode!!!
Tyan Tiger MP | 2 x Athlon 1.2 Ghz
512 MB Crucial Reg ECC DDR | Intel Pro 100
80 GB Seagate Baracuda ATA IV | GF4 Ti 4200
Hercules Muse XL | Hauppauge WinTV
Antec 400 watt PS
all in a Coolermaster ATC 200 running Gentoo
 
Captain Ned
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Wed Mar 06, 2002 12:12 pm

From Day 1, courtesy of the link on Ars' page. Still read Ars, though, mainly for the in-depth stuff on processor design.
What we have today is way too much pluribus and not enough unum.
 
Prototyped
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 6:53 pm

Since the split from Ars.

No personal offense (I know some Ars news posters read this site), but Ars has lost its professional touch, save for Hannibal's (still great) articles. The system recommendations last year were mostly lame, and only recently have they gotten anywhere in the vicinity of 'decent'. The only regular columns are Ator's column (no longer advertised, and not that regular any more) and the Game.Ars column which I don't read ('cause I go to Ars for the tech, not for the gaming - Ars is apparently now a gaming site). PeterB had a great article on .NET recently, and John Siracusa's articles are worth reading, but besides that, good articles are still relatively infrequent.

I won't name names, but most of the news is posted by kids from high school and college who put a tad too much opinion in their news posts, given their limited experience. I'll only mention that two of them are forum moderators, and one of those moderators is a moron (and fortunately doesn't post news items that often).

At least TR has regular, respectable reviews. I know that I often post criticisms of Dissonance's and Damage's articles, but that's because they're usually of good enough quality that I care about them.

(So, er, Damage, when are we going to see error margins in your Excel charts? :grin: )

One disturbing trend I've noticed with tech sites (including this one) is that there has been an increasing focus on sociopolitical factors, a la Slashdot. I really don't want to hear uninformed or poorly informed opinions on political and social happenings here and abroad. If I want that, I'll go to someone qualified to give me an educated opinion. So please, lay off the sociopolitical blurbs, will you guys? Just stick to what you're good at — tech.

(And, yes, I include things like 9/11 coverage in what I consider off-topic news for a tech site.)



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Prototyped on 2002-03-08 18:00 ]</font>
 
Speed
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 7:21 pm

On 2002-03-08 17:53, Prototyped wrote:

One disturbing trend I've noticed with tech sites (including this one) is that there has been an increasing focus on sociopolitical factors, a la Slashdot. I really don't want to hear uninformed or poorly informed opinions on political and social happenings here and abroad. If I want that, I'll go to someone qualified to give me an educated opinion. So please, lay off the sociopolitical blurbs, will you guys? Just stick to what you're good at — tech.

(And, yes, I include things like 9/11 coverage in what I consider off-topic news for a tech site.)

Questions:

1. Are you referring specifically to news items, or do you mean the forums too? I don't see anything wrong with the forum topics, which are strictly up to the participants. I do go elsewhere for current events news.

2. Where do you draw the line? Social and political matters are as much a part of technology as technology is a part of society and politics. Should there be no reports on stuff like DeCSS or P2P, because the primary issues aren't the technology itself? Frankly I'd like to see a report on a lot of this technology that totally ignores the political and societal aspects. OTOH I'd like to get more news on government's handling of technology issues, but something more than "those bastards are taking away our inalienable right to warez!"

3. How do you propose getting real news-reporting talent? Highschool and college kids may be immature, but the price is right. To get more mature and seasoned reporting means hiring real reporters. Who's going to pay for that?
You are false data.
 
Prototyped
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 7:55 pm

<ol>
<li>I'm referring to news, and things like animated GIFs of Old Glory on the front page. (What's the direct relation between the flag and tech?) Note: I'm not anti-US or anything, but when I want to see patriotism, I'll seek it out. I don't want it in my face.
<li>Basically, as far as I'm concerned, doing things like cheerleading some US political leader, bashing countries, putting up articles cheerleading e.g. US foreign policy, doing an op-ed on P2P systems, etc. (witness some of the 'Friday Night Topics' - keep 'em in the forums; no need to put them on the front page) is going way beyond the tech aspect.
<li>I wouldn't mind having news posts from kids, except for the fact that kids don't seem to be able to refrain from putting in an inexperienced or immature opinion. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the opinions were better-informed, but they aren't, and almost invariably, these news posts have opinion in them.
</ol>

<em>Prototyped waits for the standard response of "it's Damage's site, and he'll do what he pleases". He's expressing his opinion while Damage allows him to.</em>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Prototyped on 2002-03-08 19:06 ]</font>
 
Speed
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 9:01 pm

Oh, I don't know... He put up the nice *cough* numbering thing, just because somebody asked. So how about some x-rated GIFs for the smilies? :grin:
You are false data.
 
TwoFer
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 11:01 pm

Prototyped, I like a lot of the "non-tech" stuff posted here -- even on the front page. IMHO 3D is much better than 2D...

And I'm far from a kid; in fact, AFAIK there's only one older regular 'round here, but I'm not naming names. :)

P.S.: And where would we be without Mac-bashing? Huh? Huh??
 
Prototyped
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Fri Mar 08, 2002 11:21 pm

On 2002-03-08 22:01, TwoFer wrote:
Prototyped, I like a lot of the "non-tech" stuff posted here -- even on the front page. IMHO 3D is much better than 2D...


*shrug* Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

And I'm far from a kid; in fact, AFAIK there's only one older regular 'round here, but I'm not naming names. :smile:


I was, you might note, talking about some news posters on Ars Technica. I wasn't talking about TR. :smile:

P.S.: And where would we be without Mac-bashing? Huh? Huh??


Keep it to the forums. :razz:
 
TwoFer
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Sat Mar 09, 2002 6:33 pm

...but it is Damage's site -- and he's long expressed the desire to run a political-commentary site. That's no secret.

Here at TR, you get tech and politics all at the same time (not to mention a healthy dose of other stuff)... and Damage gets the best of both worlds!

Seriously though, why are you so bothered by posts you don't have to read or comment on? It's not like the headings are confusing -- it's clear what you're going to see if you proceed. I'm serious, and curious.

(And BTW, the reason I posted the age thing is that your comments seemed to have strayed from just Ars in that post -- reread it and see what I mean.)
 
IntelMole
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Sat Mar 09, 2002 6:51 pm

Where's the political stuff on this site? Oh, you mean the whole blinkin LEDs thing? That was just a bit of fun.

While we are on the subject, I am the first person to congratulate TR for NOT sticking an American flag on the front page on Sept. 11 ... I see stuff like that as an attempt to gain readership rather than patriotism.

Then again, I'm from the UK not USA so it's probably a little less important to me when a building that I've never been to and rarely seen in the news collapses, if you see what I'm saying,
IntelMole

P.S. TwoFer did I see you on Q2 the other night. I heard the mention of twofer (not exactly a common name is it?) somewhere in the conversation and I was totally put-off by it.
I lost the tourny 32-2 or something stupid like that and it's all your fault :grin: I was *dazzle* btw
 
TwoFer
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Sat Mar 09, 2002 7:05 pm

IntelMole, what is Q2? If I guess correctly (from your contextual hints), it has to do with gaming... but I'm not a gamer. At all. If someone was there using my nick, that wasn't me -- just an imposter.

You'll find the real TwoFer on TR, Ars, 2cpu, and StorageReview -- and TR is the only site where I'm anything like a frequent poster.
 
Prototyped
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Sat Mar 09, 2002 9:14 pm

...but it is Damage's site -- and he's long expressed the desire to run a political-commentary site. That's no secret.

Here at TR, you get tech and politics all at the same time (not to mention a healthy dose of other stuff)... and Damage gets the best of both worlds!

Seriously though, why are you so bothered by posts you don't have to read or comment on? It's not like the headings are confusing -- it's clear what you're going to see if you proceed. I'm serious, and curious.


I come here for the tech, not what Damage thinks about current events.

It just annoys me to see another site go the way of Slashdot. I guess I just want tech on a tech site. Especially if someone puts up something particularly arrogant or controversial that isn't tech-related on a tech site, I feel that I've been cheated somehow — that my attention is being unfairly grabbed. :smile:

Fortunately, I haven't seen much in the way of political blurbs lately, and I hope it stays that way.

(And BTW, the reason I posted the age thing is that your comments seemed to have strayed from just Ars in that post -- reread it and see what I mean.)


I was replying to Speed's post, point-by-point. :smile:
 
TwoFer
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Sat Mar 09, 2002 10:16 pm

I feel that I've been cheated somehow — that my attention is being unfairly grabbed.

Wow. No offense, but your attention threshold is way lower than mine. :)
I was replying to Speed's post, point-by-point. :)

Uhhhhh... but Speed's post wasn't Ars-specific; certainly his first two points weren't. And TR doesn't pay reporters... ;)
 
Prototyped
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Sun Mar 10, 2002 6:15 am

Uhhhhh... but Speed's post wasn't Ars-specific; certainly his first two points weren't. And TR doesn't pay reporters... :wink:


My response:

<blockquote>
* I wouldn't mind having news posts from kids, except for the fact that kids don't seem to be able to refrain from putting in an inexperienced or immature opinion. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the opinions were better-informed, but they aren't, and almost invariably, these news posts have opinion in them.
</blockquote>

was to Speed's remark:

<blockquote>
3. How do you propose getting real news-reporting talent? Highschool and college kids may be immature, but the price is right. To get more mature and seasoned reporting means hiring real reporters. Who's going to pay for that?
</blockquote>

which was a response to this part of my initial post:

<blockquote>
No personal offense (I know some Ars news posters read this site), but Ars has lost its professional touch, save for Hannibal's (still great ) articles. The system recommendations last year were mostly lame, and only recently have they gotten anywhere in the vicinity of 'decent'. The only regular columns are Ator's column (no longer advertised, and not that regular any more) and the Game.Ars column which I don't read ('cause I go to Ars for the tech, not for the gaming - Ars is apparently now a gaming site). PeterB had a great article on .NET recently, and John Siracusa's articles are worth reading, but besides that, good articles are still relatively infrequent.

I won't name names, but most of the news is posted by kids from high school and college who put a tad too much opinion in their news posts, given their limited experience. I'll only mention that two of them are forum moderators, and one of those moderators is a moron (and fortunately doesn't post news items that often).
</blockquote>

which, you might note, has to do with Ars Technica and its deterioration, not The Tech Report.
 
Speed
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Sun Mar 10, 2002 5:09 pm

For the record, I did have TR in mind when I made those posts. It looks to me like Damage is pretty receptive to suggestions, so a little constructive dialog could start something. :smile:

Ars was good for news in its heyday. I agree that an immature element hurt them. Ars used to be at the top of the list of news sites to scan, and it's now near the bottom. That's mostly because of less than daily updates, and content that I can find elsewhere. I stopped reading the forums a long time ago; it was too shrill and too standoffish.

The things that draw me to TR are certainly the more than daily updates. I'm also getting to like the forums here, where we can actually discuss hot-button topics without degenerating into flamewars. TR is small enough that people can get to know each other better.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Speed on 2002-03-10 16:11 ]</font>
 
0oALio0

Sat Mar 23, 2002 11:03 am

Started reading December 2001. Started posting at the end of February.
 
pellmell
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Sat Mar 23, 2002 2:11 pm

I've been reading TR since Damage and Dr. Evil left Ars, too.

I've been curious about the internal politics over at Ars ever since they left, but I never bothered to fish the forums for gossip. In fact, I only started posting there a couplea months ago. (To satisfy your oh-so-burning curiosity, I'm <b>karmacop</b> over there. I chose that nick when I was young and Radiohead-enchanted. I like this one much better. :grin:).

I agree with others that the quality of the news posts at Ars has crapified. I actually <a href="http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=174096756&m=9480921104&r=6270996104#6270996104">whined</a> about it over there recently. I did my complaining anonymously, but then felt bad about it and offered a quasi-apology as myself. I'm such a softie. Anyway..

As for the political stuff on the front page here at TR: I think it's kind of fun. Even if you do have to wade through a couple dozen poope //note: "poope" is not in my vocabulary...censorbot? posts to find a gerbil worth arguing with. I mean, as long as TR covers the tech bit solidly, why shouldn't it do the socio-political stuff? Not least of all because, as Speed said, politics and tech intersect in so many places it's impossible to ignore.

I'm starting to like TR's forums better than Ars's, too. It's cool to be able to jump in on an interesting discussion before it's hit 5 pages. :razz:

EDIT: Woah! You can't say <a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/f/j/fjm115/censored.html">this word</a> on these forums? It's barely even profane! Are the TR powers-that-be trying to create an Ashcroft-friendly site or something??

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: pellmell on 2002-03-23 13:27 ]</font>
 
Damage
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Sat Mar 23, 2002 2:30 pm

pellmell:

Sorry about that; the phpBB profanity filter thingy apparently replaces substrings, making it useless. I removed the filter that tripped you up.

And John Ashcroft is a well-regarded politician from the great state of Missouri. Of course we're friendly to him. :smile: Might want to crank the "demonization" slider down a notch.
 
pellmell
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Sat Mar 23, 2002 2:34 pm

Hehe... Point taken. When I'm p.o.'ed I can get kinda hysterical and blame it on The Man and any of his suspected representatives. :wink:

Thanks for removing that filter.

Yeah yeah, Ashcroft's integrity is impeccable...but c'mon, he's definitely a prude. :grin:

EDIT: It seems I can't post anything today without editing it least six or seven times...argh

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: pellmell on 2002-03-23 13:37 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: pellmell on 2002-03-23 13:39 ]</font>
 
pellmell
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Sat Mar 23, 2002 2:55 pm

On that note, would it eat up a whole lot of bandwidth and/or CPU cycles to show a preview of a forum post before it's actually submitted?

Or am I the only one whose thoughts come along to him in a sort of punctuated equillibrium? :grin:

Maybe I should just lay off the caffiene...
 
champs
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Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:32 am

I got here (as a regular) about a year ago, but the exact whens or whys are unknown.

As for the AT complaining, I think we've all done it, it's understood, and it's reflected in their page impressions. TR is not Ars, even if Damage and Dr. Evil came from it.
 
element
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Mon Mar 25, 2002 8:21 am

Me too, I read at Ars that Damage got his own website, so I took a look and since then I'm a regular. I don't comment a lot on the articles and I am not active at the forum (just look at the number of my posts :smile:), but I do read TR daily and usual several times a day.
I'm keeping a low profile :wink:
 
rikki tikki tavi
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Mon Mar 25, 2002 2:30 pm

um, i've been here 5 days now, and posting for 4...

i was looking for info on Smart Media and Compact Flash, got tired of clicking around search engines, so i just typed "techreport.com", expecting a site to exist with said name. bingo!

<grin>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rikki tikki tavi on 2002-03-25 13:41 ]</font>
 
IntelMole
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Mon Mar 25, 2002 5:25 pm

TwoFer, Q2 = Quake 2, it was just that someone mentioned the name "TwoFer" and it really put me off my game... cheers :razz:

Oh, and I'm betting phpBB is an international thing... u know wot that word means in german don't u?

That's right, take of the "e" :grin:,
IntelMole

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