Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

[dieselgeek]

Normally, I am not a complainer and I usually defend the Hot Rod forum even when it was turned into a junk, custom-forum crapware application loaded down with marketing BS.


But all day I've been trying to answer private messages over there (I get a huge number of megasquirt, tuning, EFI questions there for some reason)... the friggin thing is driving me nuts. They have all this animated crap loading that is literally, 100-200 megs of junk - it is taking minutes to load single pages for me (try going into the pit stop subforum lately? sheesh). I think I finally reached the end of my nerve over there.


Note to any HRM forum admins or magazine guys who can INFLUENCE forum administrators: put a little more focus on functionality!! Do like they did here, use simple, common and popular applications for your forum software! Christ almighty, LOSE the "gigabytes" of marketing crap, I really don't care to see Jeff Gordon's face in high resolution sliding across the top of my screen, when 99% of the reason I am there is to simply load some text, read it, and reply to it... and let this be a lesson to any non-I/T guys shopping for any kind of I/T, when a software/hardware salesman tells you "this is the best new technology and no one will have it but you" that is code speak for "RUN LIKE HELL FROM ME RIGHT NOW" (I have been an I/T dork my entire life, I know this stuff)


with that I'd like to extend kudos to Chad, David, and their bosses for selecting the RIGHT guy to do their forum work here. We should probably extend a little thanks to Mike Buehler, the guy behind the quick setup and maintenance of this forum. He's a former employee of mine, one of my better friends, and one of the best all-around Information Technology guys you'll ever find. He's done just about everything including website setup; writing graphics and operating system code for Cell Phones at Sprint; crazy, custom call center application software; electronics and circuit board design; he's even written code to improve fuel injection computers; he's tuned Silver State Challenge cars... He knows when to use basic tech, and he knows when to let the high tech stuff loose!

So anyways, here's a big TWO THUMBS UP to Mike Buehler!! good job Mike, I miss working with you already man!


-scott

[1FastMopar]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

I couldn't tell you what goes on on the HR forum, have not been there in ages, its a cluster#### of a mess... I hope the marketing/advertising guys have fun with it. :

[squirrel]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Use firefox for a browser, add the noscript and flashblock extensions, it helps a lot!

also make sure to always right click on ads and "block images from this server", it doest not take long to get the browser to "learn" the urls of the ad servers that everyone uses.

[dieselgeek]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Use firefox for a browser, add the noscript and flashblock extensions, it helps a lot!

also make sure to always right click on ads and "block images from this server", it doest not take long to get the browser to "learn" the urls of the ad servers that everyone uses.

good suggestions Jim, I've got Firefox at home but this work computer came with I.E.

kinda funny that the users on that forum have to go through hoops just to block the crap that the whole forum is designed to deliver to us though!

[BigBlockMopar]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Amen. I agree.
Kudo's to Firefox and the Adblock-extension.

The moment a flashing or moving advertisement starts to annoy me when I'm reading some text on a website, I block it. I've got my computer(s) pretty much clean from these ads. \
Sometimes, when I look over the shoulder of a college or a friend, I'm amazed at all the stuff flying across the screen and I wonder how they can stand that.

I have no problem with regular ad-banners which change slightly once in two seconds orso, but anyquicker than that and it's most likely to end up on my blocklist.

[squirrel]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Stationary ads bug me, so I block them all. And ads in the magazine (in print) don't bother me at all. Must be something wrong with my brain.

I have firefox set to never play animated .gifs either, they also bug me.

[squirrel]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

good suggestions Jim, I've got Firefox at home but this work computer came with I.E.

every windows computer comes with IE, but if you have any kind of a broadband internet connection you can have firefox on it and running in less than 5 minutes. Unless you work for a screwy company like my wife does...and they don't let you have admin privileges on your own computer....

[dieselgeek]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

good suggestions Jim, I've got Firefox at home but this work computer came with I.E.

every windows computer comes with IE, but if you have any kind of a broadband internet connection you can have firefox on it and running in less than 5 minutes. Unless you work for a screwy company like my wife does...and they don't let you have admin privileges on your own computer....

I'm an I/T Director here, and I am one of few that have admin rights on my own laptop, most of my guys are running Linux on their desktops/laptops and figured I'd be converting here soon enough. So I haven't messed with it yet.

[Freiburger]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

All I can do with the Hot Rod site at this point is heave a sigh and hope that everyone realizes it's not my fault.

But, yep, we feel very lucky to have Mikeloaf in action.

[DanStokes]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Other than having it run as slow as molasses, I don't have much trouble at the HR forun. I'm also functionally illiterate on a 'puter, but I have a Mac - is that why I'm not having so much trouble. I love my Mac. I'll give it up when you pry my cold, dead fingers off my one-button mouse.

Dan

[min301]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

All I can do with the Hot Rod site at this point is heave a sigh and hope that everyone realizes it's not my fault.

But, yep, we feel very lucky to have Mikeloaf in action.

I've made it a point constantly to explain the editors, and staff of the mags have no control over it, it's all upper management.
To clarify, DF, Chris, Glen and us mods have complained till blue in the face, with no answers. Chris has promised to take on upper management to get it fixed, I doubt it will do any better than DF did.

It sucks, but I'll stick it out, something has to happen.

[Freiburger]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Chris has promised to take on upper management to get it fixed, I doubt it will do any better than DF did.

It sucks, but I'll stick it out, something has to happen.

There's zero chance that he has the horsepower.

[min301]

Re: Rant. The "other" forum. Rave: CJ chose good IT help.

Chris has promised to take on upper management to get it fixed, I doubt it will do any better than DF did.

It sucks, but I'll stick it out, something has to happen.

There's zero chance that he has the horsepower.

Agreed, but I'm being optimistic. :D