Pre-Blackout Old-Timers

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  • Reply 61 of 163
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    What a difference a year makes.



    I first joined pre Y2K...



    I remember joining just before the switch from black and green pages, and more than one black-out. That's a long time ago now, and I really only catch a snippet of what goes on here, and post more out of habit when I get the odd chance to scan these pages from the office.



    These days it's more often than not that I can't tell my ass from a hole in the ground untill my 2nd cup of coffee (often already downed by 7:00am.) So, time for postage and retarded online hijinks has been curtailed. It's weird, you get home, and your limited time seems better spent with friends, their wine collections, and what might be nostalgia if the dissapearing horizon of my youth weren't just a little further removed.



    I've been lurking during my holiday break, kinda like looking over old clutter and then instead of tossing it like you should, you stuff it back in the drawer. Toying with the idea of signing off these boards permanently, but that's an altogether silly thing to consider. I always found it funny when people feel the need to post faretheewells and other assorted goodbyes, followed by self important rationale over this e-life choice. However, these people are not any dumber than most other people, they just aren't as good at hiding it. Just making that a conscious thought process is disfunctional enough.



    So long as certain constants persist:



    Amorph's (much underatted) ability to write well and simply.



    The raft of neurotic technophiles, macintosh, eman, a bunch of others from this board and MacNN (blackout refuge)



    Cyber vixens and the tripods who torment them in web fora



    Murbot's All Canadian appetite for beer, hockey, and ... (besides being a generally all around cool character, like Pscates)



    All the manichistic debates about; God; creation; science; the-end-of-all-things; the-beginnning-of-all-things; the military; empire, orienatism; occidentalism; Bush/Gore; Bush/Kerry; gays; lesbians; the right, the wrong, donuts and the essential uselessness of it all...



    The procedural bickering about whether one particular arrangement of fora has a better chance of bringing order to this mess...



    ... well I guess then, I'll come poking around when time permits.



    I hope that Belle just resisted the urge to ascribe too much "community" to this place, simply decided it was all too stupid, and went about her way.
  • Reply 62 of 163
    Does the AI community page still exist?
  • Reply 63 of 163
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Frank777

    I didn't see the thread in question, but have heard about it over the years. Do you still have the screenshot? I know many others have asked about this since.



    I might have it on some really, really old backup. I'll take a look, but it might be a while or I might not have it at all.
  • Reply 64 of 163
    jrcjrc Posts: 817member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Frank777

    I didn't see the thread in question, but have heard about it over the years. Do you still have the screenshot? I know many others have asked about this since.





    I was around pre-blackout, but mainly lurked. I believe I registered back then, and then forgot what name I'd registered under. Lurked at OrangeInsider during the end-of-life-as-we-know-it was going on, and registered when the board came back up.






    Oh, I remember that night when the arabic postings began. It was freaky.
  • Reply 65 of 163
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    I signed on in the fall of 1999, as I recall. After all these years, I still want to throttle the crooks who ran off with the machine they were using to host the forums, and with all the backups. They came as close as anyone has to shattering this community. (In case anyone was still wondering, that was the actual cause of the Great Blackout: A crooked service provider who didn't pay for bandwidth, then absconded with the machinery.)



    Mark still drops by the Moderators forum once in a while, and I occasionally catch a glimpse of robo in the users list. Goatie dropped away, Belle just... vanished , Kate went to MacNN, Solishu and a few others went to Ars Technica. The creation of the Mac Ach took away a few of our regulars. We lost a few more to AppleNova. In the grand scheme of things, this is fine: I'd rather have people be where they're happier. But it has meant that AI has evolved considerably. Also, it's a much larger forum than it used to be, and that invariably changes the tone and the nature of the board.



    Also, I think, the food for discussion changed. Back when there was a bigger presence of PC skeptics, we were still running Mac OS 9, and looking nervously at Yet Another Next Generation OS effort from Apple, which was already morphing rapidly and being delayed and renamed and everything else that didn't look good. And let's face it: The technological landscape then made for more interesting arguments, not least because Apple was still proving itself, but also because OS 9's flaws were as great as its advantages, which made arguing for it rather interesting (and I'm not using that word sarcastically). Speculation used to be fueled by the still-open question of whether Apple would survive at all, and whether Jobs had learned from his old mistakes. The recent Perfect Storm of Windows exploits, combined with the abrupt end of the GHz race, the transition to 64-bit, and the sudden acceleration of Apple's fortunes, has changed the nature of things rather quickly: Speculation is really a search for solutions to problems, and the more bulletproof your platform becomes, the harder speculation becomes. Think about it: We used to hope for an OS that didn't crash all the time, where the whole interface didn't freeze if we lingered on a menu. Now, some of us want an increase in OpenGL performance, or a better word processor. Steve's leak-plugging efforts have taken their toll as well. The whole Mac-vs.-PC argument has changed drastically since PeterB was a regular here, as well.



    And I remember when pscates threw in the towel as a mockup illustrator, reasoning that Jon Ives had gotten so good that there wasn't much point in trying. That was a blow. I love mockups.



    Anyway, I've rambled enough to deprive Matsu's flattering description of my efforts of any credibility whatsoever, so I'll stop now. But I've enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
  • Reply 66 of 163
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JRC

    Oh, I remember that night when the arabic postings began. It was freaky.



    Yes it definitely was freaky.
  • Reply 67 of 163
    jonathanjonathan Posts: 312member
    What <i>was</i> the ( in "Mercury Rising (" ?



    Anyone remember the AppleInsider Total Experience®...



    'YOU PIG FUCKERS!!!!'



    etc.





    Oh, hi.
  • Reply 68 of 163
    hhoganhhogan Posts: 117member
    Two words: Silicon Alley



    I remember when it was finally leaked on the board about its location, people were going nuts, and then the board shut down
  • Reply 69 of 163
    Quote:

    Originally posted by HHogan

    Two words: Silicon Alley



    I remember when it was finally leaked on the board about its location, people were going nuts, and then the board shut down




    Slow learners is the phrase that springs to mind.



    Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I did some research into theblackhat during this thread's first incarnation. I think he's always been the same person and probably someone from the AI Dreamtime. BillGates maybe? I don't know. You tell me, Oh Bearers of Ancient Wisdom.



    The last thread he posted in is worth a read. Start at the beginning and read to the end of his post. If that's not somebody having a laugh then I guess he really is just some dumb Texan.
  • Reply 70 of 163
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    Quote:

    And I remember when pscates threw in the towel as a mockup illustrator, reasoning that Jon Ives had gotten so good that there wasn't much point in trying. That was a blow. I love mockups.



    actually, the headless iMac had him dusting off his mock-up skills, and can still be found if you know where to look.
  • Reply 71 of 163
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by HHogan

    Two words: Silicon Alley



    I remember when it was finally leaked on the board about its location, people were going nuts, and then the board shut down




    I think Silicon Alley being closed was one of the best AI-related things to happen to me. I inflated my post count WAAAAAAAAAAY too much there (as did others also).
  • Reply 72 of 163
    Mercury Rising was my thread, and it was about the Powerbook G4
  • Reply 73 of 163
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    I'll just be flat-out honest and say that I've been around for a while, but not been one of those who ever really gets mentioned. I've just never infused myself into things enough where people say, "Yeah, that CosmoNut, he's always..." Enh, so be it.



    But I have enjoyed looking through this thread and reminiscing about how I originally found AI, the infamous members here, some of the more famous threads, and most recently the rift that was partially the result of Dr. Anders' Tension Relief Clinic.



    To answer one question posed earlier:



    Workerbee was an Apple employee who posted overly-accurate "rumors" here about unreleased products. Naturally, he was right on. Apple caught wind, promptly fired him, and he went bye bye from AI.



    So now I finally decided to post again here for a little while during Macworld, and then I'll probably go back on hiatus. I've thoroughly enjoyed my experiences with AppleInsider, but I've also greatly appreciated the extra time I've had by completely expunging these forums from my day. I have a lot more time on my hands!



    Keep it real, ya'll. And remember: Just because you love Apple and their products doesn't mean you have to make a crappy QT video about it and post it to your .Mac site...Messiatosh.
  • Reply 74 of 163
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CosmoNut

    I'll just be flat-out honest and say that I've been around for a while, but not been one of those who ever really gets mentioned. I've just never infused myself into things...



    Don't sell yourself short. I think you'd be surprised.



    You were very ra ra ra about the revolution (I remember you having a go at me in Viva La Revolucion) and then the next thing you announced your departure. I thought it was very sad but also very impressive. (IIRC there was a girl involved - I hope it worked out).



    As Amorph's post so clearly explains, the glory days are over. You can't recreate the past. Hell, in the time I've been posting, I've noted the shift from an air of quiet excitement about what the future holds to the board seemingly awash with switchers. Defensiveness gave way to trolling PC boards as hope sprang eternal and was in turn replaced by cockiness. We've got the iPod na na nana na.



    As far as last year's events go, my views haven't changed. Both sites are poorer for it. I think the vast majority on both sides know it but just can't admit it. And quite a few good people simply disappeared. Stupid. From that perspective, this



    Quote:

    So now I finally decided to post again here for a little while during Macworld, and then I'll probably go back on hiatus.



    probably isn't such a bad idea. But I think it's nice to see you stop by.



    And fortunately, Messiahtosh posts all his crappy QT videos at AN these days. Sucko Alcimedes!
  • Reply 75 of 163
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by crazychester

    You were very ra ra ra about the revolution (I remember you having a go at me in Viva La Revolucion) and then the next thing you announced your departure. I thought it was very sad but also very impressive. (IIRC there was a girl involved - I hope it worked out).



    I'm probably most disappointed with my involvement in "La Revolucion." Had I known the massive split would happen I would NEVER have gotten involved.



    Enh, water under the bridge, I guess. My disappointment with how things came to pass was only part of my reasoning for leaving. I did realize that I was spending way too much time here and felt quitting cold turkey would be best.



    The girl thing didn't work out -- but a new lady has surfaced as recently as this last weekend. We'll see what happens there. What's nearly certain is that I will once again leave after all the Macworld madness is over. I've still got a lot I'm doing in my "real life" and need to focus on that.
  • Reply 76 of 163
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by crazychester

    As far as last year's events go, my views haven't changed. Both sites are poorer for it. I think the vast majority on both sides know it but just can't admit it.



    I would agree with that. I'm sure no one else over there agrees with me, but I think (and always thought) that the whole thing was stupid. I don't have enough time to actively participate on multiple boards, which adds to the suckitude of it for me, anyway. I quit as a moderator within a few weeks of that and people might think that I did it to move over there, but I really just didn't have the time any more. It's amazing how work, a new house, 2 kids, and a wife can just SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF YOU.



    Hell, I locked a thread over there the other day, and it actually might have been the first moderating I've ever done there.



    You're right, you can't recreate the past, and there were some really cool times here.



    Oh well, that's life I guess. What can ya do. When it makes me sad, I just sell a computer on eBay and buy something new. It soothes me.
  • Reply 77 of 163
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    I mostly lurked pre blackout. This is bringing back so many memories



    It seems I no longer am motivated to post the user interaction manifestos that I used to. Perhaps it's because it grows tiring repeatedly explaining things like the motivation (whether right or wrong) for a one button mouse. Without a steady community, the forums seem more overrun with less profound, wise, or experienced postings. Elders, even in a forum context, do tend to foster more interesting debates.



    Aw... who am I fooling. We were never profound.



    I think I'm currently lusting for a forum with more thought out posts. Am I getting old? Occasionally, arstechnica fits the bill and my registration there dates to last millennium.



    The dilemma is, how to gather a vibrant community without luring in the web's more annoying elements... being tied to a news site has interesting effects.



    The great split?

    Its analogous to your parents getting a divorce...
  • Reply 78 of 163
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ZO

    I was thinking about The Instaler just the other day...



    So that's why my ears were ringing, ZO. Have been busy with other things, but will be looking in a bit more from now on.



    Hello Powerdoc



    Will you be changing your name to Inteldoc then?
  • Reply 79 of 163
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    No, it would be PentiumDoc if keeping the same nomenclature.
  • Reply 80 of 163
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dfiler

    No, it would be PentiumDoc if keeping the same nomenclature.



    You are, of course, right. And either name would be all right with me



    - T. I.
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