I'm a forum admin/moderator/news/dev staff, ask me a question

[Steven P. 15,043]

I do know that, but I don't see a few of them around anymore :(

Do you mean moderators? Or other staff?

As I explained before, staff moderation here is for the most part voluntary. Some of the popular moderators like keldyn were here for about 4 years on and off but ultimately he decided to leave for personal reasons, and that is usually the case around here. I mean in all seriousness the (active) members come here to enjoy themselves in the community, and staff at most levels have to deal with the bad members on a daily basis, that gets to some, who then decide either to step down and become a veteran (no longer involved in staff ops) or leave for good because some people just .. move .. on!

Some moderators left never to come back because they were tired of being singled out by a minority of the active members, theres no short story for why staff come and go, there are many reasons, some good and some bad.

kinetix63 (Paul, my mate) for example left his Supervisor position because his work no longer afforded him the time it took to be considered active, as staff or member. He drops in from time to time, but a lot less than most of our active members who are not on staff.

[bdsams 365]

Being a moderator is a thankless job, I know if your on the receiving end it all seems unfair but it really isnt as easy as you think. I stick to my news side as much as humanly possible as its not a 'fun' job per se...it has its benefits but you have to develope a thick skin to be able to deal with that kind of crap day in and day out.

Much like the commenters or, as I like to call them, the sharks...writting on the front page is not as bad as moderating but commenters are an unforgiving bunch! One little slip in spelling and you get flamed for "zomg this made teh front page" or "GAWD the qaulity is going down the tubes"...you'd be surprised how much flak one gets for a small slip up!

[+Anarkii 2,255]

The members from 2001 that are still active will tell you that we were down every few months (sometimes for up to 3 weeks) but we always managed to bounce back :p

I think it was ieXbeta too that was a site like betanews, but it actually hosted the files that were leaked, or at least allowed in their forums to link directly to Messenger betas, Internet Explorer 4? (correct me if im wrong, I think it was 4 that was out back in 01?) and Windows XP builds.

Also yes, at one stage Neowin suffered a pretty severe outage, I think it was back in 03. I cant remember the details but yeah there was no Neowin for like 3-4 weeks. After the site came back thou it was like brand new, and that was when word spread of the site for some reason, coz I remember it grew exponentially when the site returned.

[jamesclarke555 41]

^

Internet Explorer 4 was released around 1997/98, Internet Explorer 6 was released in 2001 ;)

[The_Decryptor 1,105]

I think it was ieXbeta too that was a site like betanews, but it actually hosted the files that were leaked, or at least allowed in their forums to link directly to Messenger betas, Internet Explorer 4? (correct me if im wrong, I think it was 4 that was out back in 01?) and Windows XP builds.

....

IE6, IE4 came out in like 98 (2k came with 5 or so)

Who remembers the personal bar and the media player?

[+Anarkii 2,255]

IE6, IE4 came out in like 98 (2k came with 5 or so)

Who remembers the personal bar and the media player?

HAHAHA unfortunitly I do :)

So mr Bond, will we members who have been here for 10 years get a special badge or anything?

[Steven P. 15,043]

I think it was ieXbeta too that was a site like betanews, but it actually hosted the files that were leaked, or at least allowed in their forums to link directly to Messenger betas, Internet Explorer 4? (correct me if im wrong, I think it was 4 that was out back in 01?) and Windows XP builds.

Also yes, at one stage Neowin suffered a pretty severe outage, I think it was back in 03. I cant remember the details but yeah there was no Neowin for like 3-4 weeks. After the site came back thou it was like brand new, and that was when word spread of the site for some reason, coz I remember it grew exponentially when the site returned.

Yeah the outage from 2003 was due to Microsoft putting a cease and desist order on our webhost, who instead of switching off our servers and contacting us, deleted everything! We lost about 3 months of forum/news data then. Microsoft actually offered to help us back online and host us, but we decided we didn't want that control over us, moved to a new host and came back with a new look :)

Heres the article from then: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1025-991624.html

HAHAHA unfortunitly I do :)

So mr Bond, will we members who have been here for 10 years get a special badge or anything?

Yeah that will be in 2011, I think we'll have to do something for the active members, so stay tuned ;)

[+jamesyfx 362]

Has there ever been a ridiculous site suggestion made by a member of the team? >.>

I've had some incredible suggestions in the past, impossible things.. :laugh:

[Hum 6,933]

Has there ever been a ridiculous site suggestion made by a member of the team? >.>

I've had some incredible suggestions in the past, impossible things.. :laugh:

How about a free Hawaiian vacation for all members -- World Neowin Conference. :laugh:

[Nagisan 248]

Whats the most ridiculous feature request by a member that was actually implemented into the site?

[gigapixels 99]

Whats the most ridiculous feature request by a member that was actually implemented into the site?

Definitely not the pink theme :shifty:

[Colin-uk 135]

Whats the most ridiculous feature request by a member that was actually implemented into the site?

The Pink Theme.

:p

[+Frank B. 7,151]

Definitely the pink theme.

/me glares at swuzzlebum and gigapixels

[Grunt 107]

the pink theme is good!

[+jamesyfx 362]

Nooo it isn't. It's too bright It's like Neon Pink! :(

Neopink!

[Growled 3,881]

I also agree on The Pink Theme. :p

[Denis W. 732]

Whats the most ridiculous feature request by a member that was actually implemented into the site?

Pink theme. Though some shiny new theme all of giggle's themes grape comes a close second. :p

[gigapixels 99]

Pink theme. Though some shiny new theme all of giggle's themes grape comes a close second. :p

Rude :p

I guess I just won't release the one I'm currently working on :whistle:

[Rudy 457]

Yeah that will be in 2011, I think we'll have to do something for the active members, so stay tuned ;)

Really cool :) Can't wait

[Rob2687 72]

Really cool :) Can't wait

Neowin Old Timer titles.

[Tzvi Friedman 11]

Do you look at the comments on your articles and think, "They [the commentators] make good points, they've changed my mind"?

When this happens, and it does happen, I'll typically discuss it in the comments section. That being said, the news we write is supposed to be facts and not opinion. If a commenter points out a factual flaw in the article, then it either gets changed immediately, or the article goes into hiding until it gets fixed. We're usually pretty quick and ruthless about our fact-checking.

Of course, the approval process is supposed to mitigate the problem in the first place, but pobody's nerfect.

[Ferret 6]

Thanks for the graphic Stephen - Interesting to see the other stats too :)

[TAZMINATOR 12,416]

Yeah, Neobond, I got a question for you:

Where is the restroom?

:shifty:

[Owen W 53]

Yeah, Neobond, I got a question for you:

Where is the restroom?

:shifty:

Tom's front lawn, I believe. ;)

[OrangesOfCourse 12]

Yeah that will be in 2011, I think we'll have to do something for the active members, so stay tuned ;)

Hmm... only been registered for 8 years 5 months... I can remember being here longer... didn't we lose the members database someone near the beginning?