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NM

In order to "keep myself entertained" so to speak, I just keep on learning. I still have an awful lot to learn. As of late, its been the architecture side of computers, and how they affect performance in all cases, including dist.comp projects. While it'll be years before I "master" that, there are others things to do in the meantime. Learn HTML, learn javascript, learn linux, and networking. I have many options open to me. My opinion is that yes, the attitude has changed, and that's a function of "getting big". I stick with it because I can, and do. I mean, someone has to be the one that gets laughed at because he owns a Cyrix 🙂
 
BK,

I've learned more this past year that I ever thought possible. Am I a master at any of it, hehe, I wish. I will have my MCSE, and I hope to start a small web hosting business on the side, none of which would be possible if I hadn't joined this team. I owe a lot to this team, but I have also given a lot. If I walked away, I wouldn't feel I was cheating the team of anything, but I would miss the people I've come to enjoy conversing with (you included, though you are one of the ones I wish had more time to spend on the forums. 😉 ).

Maybe I am just down about Osmo leaving. I can't say I am friends with everyone on this team, but there are about 2 dozen I speak with, or have spoken with, on a regular basis and enjoyed those conversations.

Just the ramblings of a man who doesn't get enough sleep these days.

Jay
 
short answer, yes I think it has gotten stale...

longer answer:

One year ago I was a newbie at DC, I thought it was pretty kickass. Early last spring I found out about the IRC channel and thought that was more kickass. Then things slowly went downhill... If it was not for the 100k race that eventually ended up in teaming with syst3m I would have dropped out before summer. I have attempted to invent ways for me to get more interested but hell I can not even motivate myself to change clients on my mom's computer which is still crunching ogr for viztech's PTE... (granted it is on maybe 3 hrs a day)... Part of the reasons for this downfall are my fault... I let d.net's issues get to me and TA's petty arguments get to me. TA is the most fickle crowd I have ever met. One thing goes wrong and it is over... What happened to the posts of seti server went down so they all switch over to rc5 and then back without any further complaints... or the various mika down times but a year ago those issues did not really matter. Now if something goes wrong, 10 people leave over it. I fully understand that this is a purely optional team... but why do issues NOW piss off more people? Not just this but blaming other TAers on why they are leaving, It used to be that this forum CARED for it's members, but that is not the case anymore. I can not blame this on the new blood TA got but instead I am going to state the old timers and the new comers have innate differences in them. If there is going to be a TA in the future the old timers MUST realize that TA is metamorphing into something ... better? no... new? YES! Further, at one time the newbie posts were welcomed, we answered, but now they are almost attacked saying here is the faq, read it! ... speaking of which... where are the faq's that used to be bumped... just because we have a website does not mean everyone goes to it.
 
I'm rather new to TA, but I've been around the RC5 contest since it's start pretty much, and I've been through this a few times.

People are looking for an excuse to leave when something as silly as a pproxy going down sets them off.

I agree it gets boring after awhile. Just leave the client running in the background, though, and you'll eventually want to check your stats. Then you'll go compare yourself against the others, and so on. Eventually you come back. It always pulls you back in 🙂
 
Unfortunately, you're right Jay, it defintely has been slowing down. However, I really think this has more to do with size than anything else. With as many members as we have, it's not even remotely possible to get to know everyone. There's also the issue of the divided projects. Last year, we had RC5, and the brand new SETI. Now we have those, OGR, and GF. While not a bad thing, it's definately caused some members to move away from others. And of course, there's the issue of involment with everyone. There's been less of about everything lately(races, new crackracks, ect). Unfortunately, it looks like we're definately finding that glass ceiling caused by our size, and making #1. Hopefully though, we can break through the glass(even if it means melting it with BK's Cyrix), and keep on going.🙂

PS Don't even try to leave, you wouldn't be able to even if the wife pulled you kicking and screeming 😉
 
Don't worry Jator, I am still here! 🙂

I still read the forums every day or two (though I skim headers and only read posts that grab my attention, or posts by people that I know). The only reason that you don't see me post a lot is that I don't really have anything much to talk about now that I am not working on the SCCD. 🙁

I know what you meen about loosing interest, it happened to me a while back. It was only temprorary though, and I am once again reverting back into my old crack happy self.

If you decide not to stay, you might find that after a little brake, you will regain your interest. Just remember, you will always be a part of this team, and would always be welcome back if you get that urge to crack sometime in the future. 🙂

I hope that you decide to stick it out. 😀
 
boring? i don't know what..*yawn* you're talking about. The mass of congrats threads and useless info keeps me entertained all the...Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
Jator,

I am not an oldie and never will be. Every day I discover just how new a "newbie" I am. It's guys like you (and Virge and Viz and BK and Kilowatt and "you know who you are&quot😉 that brought me here and keep me here. I "lurked" around AT Forums for years and managed about 20 posts before I came in here. This place changes daily just like every place on the planet.

We were all "up" when we rolled up the Macs. We feel "down" because we might get beaten before the game finishes. Thats football, er .....cracking. 🙂 We live on, our fervour rises and falls as the tide.

You don't have to post everyday to be a part of TA. Look at Netopia. Joe must have been round since the the U was first put in front of BB and Anandtech got a forum. Joe is part of this team and always will be for as long as he wants.

Leaving is just as valid as joining, but I can't ever remember being happy about seeing somebody go. Individuals just find occasionaly that they have over-invested emotionally. To see the "kids squabbling" is a downer. To see good friends divorce is painful. To watch your team squander its chances in the playoffs because the Coach won't ring you and adopt your insightful advice can be just as traumatic. Even if your the games greatest fan, you might find a need to channel-surf in the third quarter if its a dull dull game.

Jator you are a busy "involved" type of person in these forums. Take a week off, assimilate your cousin and then come back and see if you missed it. Repeat dose as necessary.

PS. I really feel for Osmo ("dancing Osmo" a vision from a UT discussion). Osmo has invested in GF and when the game there was threatened, Osmo sent out a call for help. No fault of Osmo...GF got trash talked in the Forum /cheats/argument/stormy words only days later. That must hurt. Well I feel it with you Osmo. It's precisely because of this "empathy" team members share that I believe that this will be a valuable place for me for sometime yet.

Rgds
David
 
I don't know if it is becoming more boring here. No, I really mean that. I used to read the forums and get on IRC every day, but now that ALOT of travel is involved with my job, I really don't get an opportunity to do these things any more. 🙁 I still check my stats every chance I get; all 4 of my d.net stats(2 RC5 and 2 OGR) and my SETI stats(although something very bad happened to my SETI machine and it hasn't been active since October🙁). I still try to recruit as much as I can, though working in a 99% classified environment does make it harder for me, I still try to make an effort. I picked up some "new to you" stuff, for the sole purpose of crunching blocks for TA just last week.🙂 Not really recruiting or asslamination, but it was all I could manage right now.🙂 I know that while I may not participate as much as I would like to here and in our IRC channel, I still try to do what I can.🙂 Those guys with that funny coat have been pretty scarce lately, but I know that they are out there somewhere, and that they are still looking for me.😉 Sometimes I don't know if I should hide under the desk from them, or if I should just defenestrate myself.😛

For those that are new to the Team, you may not understand any of that, and those that have been with me from the start may not either.😛 I guess what I am trying to say, is I have been on an unintentional break since I arrived here on island, and after some reading here, and a session over in IRC, I find that I truly miss this aspect of my life. I am going to make a concerted effort to get in here as much as possible from now on.🙂

SD

edit: I really need to sleep more.. some of that doesn't even make sense to me.😱
 
Interest in particular area waxes and wanes. It's just a fact.

For a while I was really into the stats and building a herd. I setup pproxies at home and work. I got a lot of information from the people around here. The team was moving up in RC5, GF started, OGR started, we beat the Macs and Slashdot. But where does it go from here? There just isn't a lot for me personally to be interested in right now. I leave my herd running, but I'm not very active.

Maybe if there's a fascinating new project I'll take interest again. I tried GF, but the technical difficulties turned me off. I did OGR for a while during OGR24, but some of the mess with that turned me off to that as well. When something more interesting, but as stable and predictable as RC5 comes along, I'll give that a shot.

Between that and things going to hell in Real Life, I just haven't got much to say around here.

Anyway, that's why you don't see me around here too much lately. :frown:
 
i'll add my 2 cents too. i don't want to do a "remember when" type of thread, not do i want to try to lay blame, but it just seems that thigns here have gone stagnant. not much to post about, not much to read. i think i got overzealous at some point trying to beat everyone else that when i did, i found out that crushing an opponent or being crushed isn't as fun as doing it the slow way, kind of like raysun2be vs kingham. [not that these guys were slow to begin with] i still like the team, i still try to help out, but i guess i have kind of gotten draw away by the lure of online gaming and competitive play. [i play in OGL's CCTF ladder] but i think i have a new way to spark some life into my distributed computing efforts in the new year. 🙂
 
Just a few thoughts, things have changed and that is always going to happen. Stats is really all there is and it is one reason why some people come here to join and crack whatever they like. A lot of these people dont have much to crack with so they dont post here which is to bad, I think we need more input from fellow crackers, not necessarly serious stuff but different opinions and without getting somewhat put down. I have been on the team from about day 5 I think and I cannot believe how much I learned not necessarly from this forum but about networking and other things related to the crack habit. I also get bored I just dont look at stats or update for a week or so and it rejuvinates me. Just look at it a a sub hobby and let some of the pressures that come with acquiring the high keyrate go away.You have done a very good Job Jator and I for one do not want to see you go away, take a break and get refreshed and start again.
With much respect to you and yours.
Bleep
 
I know what you mean, Jator. Seems like the forum had quieted down lately. DanC is on vacation, Russ is busy catching Dan's trout... or is that singing to the bunnies? 🙂 Paulson, bless him, has been banned. And maybe the impending Christmas holiday with all of it's preparations and co-incident finals time for those in school are distracting folks from DC for now. Plus, as others have mentioned, the multiplicity of projects divides folks attention/provides multiple diversions.

We've also attained the long sought number one position which used to be a driving force. Heaven knows, though, that we're in IMMINENT danger of losing that spot and nothing but a CALL TO ARMS will allow us to fend off the teeming, seething, horde of Dutch Power Cows, each of which would like nothing better than to see your swollen corpse festering in the basement and to pillage your crack rack!!! <pant> <pant> <pant> Or something like that. 🙂

We need a focus.
 
Keep in mind the time of year. With the holidays that have just passed and the ones that loom ahead many people are very busy and just don't have as much time for the forums as they normally do.🙂

 


<< I agree it gets boring after awhile. Just leave the client running in the background, though, and you'll eventually want to check your stats. Then you'll go compare yourself against the others, and so on. Eventually you come back. It always pulls you back in >>



I agree with Rendus's point. DC is fun especially the stats, but having it as the core of our lives isn't the way to go. That said, i joined RC5 not just for the stats but mainly for the solidarity that exists within our team and the huge plethora of knowledge available here.

Different members of our team have expertise in different areas and it is the diversity of knowledge here, the diversity of the people themselves here that has appeal. We're a team made up of a vast variety of people and together, we crack, joke, enjoy our stats, help each other with problems.

That said, there's no need to be so pumped up about DC. When i find myself getting tired of staring at my proxy and keyrate, i switch to playing an online games or pop into our IRC channel for a while.

Jator, i really hope you'll stay. You're one of the guys who helped me when i had problems with my proxy when first starting out. You've been a great asset to TA too. Don't let Osmo's leaving get you down!
 
i completely agree with Divide-by-Zero. We need a new goal and direction.
The immenent danger of DPC passing us is still there.
I say, let us try and get to a 2M block daily output on average in the RC5-project, before a set time frame, without damaging the output in the other projects. Then we will have a goal to work on.
We are already moving in the right direction, since all our output is slowly rising. We need more new active forum-members and assimilations. (The efforts of Dennilfloss and Adul should be an example for all of us. Also, the assimilation of the call center by GeoffS (100 P3-500) should be a source of inspiration.)

That will do two things:
We have more people we can explain and help.
We have a new common goal, namely keeping the DPC at bay in both the RC5 and OGR project.

The latter shouldn't be too difficult. The first is a major task, but I'm sure we will succeed.

I'm again concentrating fully on RC5, once we have taken the OGR first position. I won't give up on RC5, just because one team is cruising in a starship with a transwarp drive and we are only in a shuttle with an ordinary warp drive.
To loose one battle, does not mean we are going to loose the entire war.

Cmd. PeterN

Please, Jay. Don't let this feeling be a leading one. I've enjoyed the little conversation I had with both you and BGod. Would hate to see you leave.

/edit/ Isn't the neighbourly help in the OGR project from various members a sign that all those things discussed about in the past are settling down. IMO, this shows we are again getting back the feeling of being a team again. /edit/
 
Kilowatt - this is true, however it actually further emphasizes what Divide_by_zero and PeterN have said - need for goals. And this is even more crucial at this particular time because just this past week, the Ars RC5 group has been resurrected by an influx of new and enthusiastic members. Sure they're WAY behind TA, however being #1 Club in SETI, soon to be #1 Team in seti (as soon as they upend Sun), means that at some point, that sleeping giant might shift a significant portion of it's resources to a different challenge.... and the suggestion has been RC5. The goal for them as it has often been stated for TA, is to be #1 in ALL of the distributed projects. Yes it is lofty, but it is at least a goal to go for.

Aside from the fact that this time of year tends to draw people towards family and away from hobby, teams will always go through a cycle of ups and downs... But it all evens out in the end and I believe it will for TA! 🙂
 
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