The Death Of Hobbyist Forums

[ripster]

Is it me or does the dramatic decline at both Overclock.net and Geekhack.org signal the end of hobbyist forums?

http://www.overclock.net/t/1273635/rep- ... -the-dumps

http://gtunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/3 ... post600872

[Djuzuh]

yeah. Geekhack is horrible since you're not there anymore ! It had absolutely no content in the last two weaks.

[ripster]

Actually it is the Geekhack noob circle jerk trying to get answers that I find disturbing. Being IP blocked I guess I should just stop watching. It's like slowing down to see car crashes. We Americans call that Rubber Necking.

Anyway, this is not about me. The decline at OCN has been MUCH more dramatic.

Could be simply Summer. Could be the rise of Facebook/Twitter and laziness.

[tinnie]

Deskthority is still here

[ripster]

I especially like the moderators here.

[Djuzuh]

You haven't bored them to death yet, their attitude may change in the future.

[ripster]

Well, THIS is depressing. First I post that it is in the OP, then the SockPuppet account gets deleted with the post, and then the rest of them circle jerk....

http://gtunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/6 ... post621452

http://gtunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/6 ... 2953216936

I guess the problem is not content generation, it's reading skills.

[itlnstln]

Nobody researches anymore. These kids want to ask a question and get an answer and that's it. It's the Google-fication and Wikipedia-fication of obtaining knowledge. If they don't get an answer on the first page of the search results, these lazy bastards won't do anything further to figure it out. This is happening in higher education, too, it's not just hobbyist forums.

That's usually why I'm not a prolific poster in forums. I read first and ask questions if I absolutely can't find the answer. Usually, though, I find what I'm looking for and move on.

[ripster]

I think the smartest people are the lurkers.





But I say to myself, COULD BE WORSE. I could be a Wikipedia Editor.

Yoda.png (120.22 KiB) Viewed 6289 times

Wikipedia's most active 1,000 people — 0.003% of its users — contribute about two-thirds of the site's edits. Wikipedia is thus even more skewed than blogs, with a 99.8-0.2-0.003 rule.

Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participa ... ality.html

[off]

That's usually why I'm not a prolific poster in forums. I read first and ask questions if I absolutely can't find the answer. Usually, though, I find what I'm looking for and move on.

Second part, same here; although my registering here has prompted me to change the first part; especially in light of the countless hours that I've spent searching for something only to find that it was 'common knowledge' to the ones that did post, yet hadn't mentioned it in the threads I'd ran across; now I try to repeat info (not duplicating much, but mostly interlink through either links or using the same (key)words), if only to allow any lurkers/future readers/people who might've missed a certain something to find out more about those things.

re: the rest of your remark, that sounds awfully depressing; please don't think that 'we are the last upstanding generation' or somesuch; there will always be people in lazy phases, or just used to something else.

[Djuzuh]

Not everybody got lazy. Lazy people are now able to use a forum.

It's not the same.

[itlnstln]

re: the rest of your remark, that sounds awfully depressing; please don't think that 'we are the last upstanding generation' or somesuch; there will always be people in lazy phases, or just used to something else.

No, seriously, these kids got lazy. Most of the ones we hire on here don't have the same work-ethic or drive to dig deep into the analyses we work on. Not all of them, to be sure, but a lot of them. What's even more sad is that they are proud of their laziness; their ability to cruise through college on Wikipedia. If they can't just ask a question and get their answer, they're happy enough to fail and move on.

There was an interesting Frontline (US TV show on PBS) episode about this effect in universities in the US. It focused on how much easier it is today to get better grades in college and how both this phenomenon is driven by student laziness and how it continues to drive the students to be more lazy.

Several years ago, one of the NPR news programs did a piece on how kids' over-protective parents (moms, in particular) were playing an increasing role in their children's (college graduates, mind you) professional lives (calling into work, yelling at their bosses, etc.).

I'm not one of these "golden age" kind of people (fuck, I'm only 33); hard work respects hard work. The young lady (25 y/o) I hired is totally kicking ass (way better than some of her peers that were hired around the same time), my GF (26 y/o) is very hard worker putting in a lot of time outside of work and personal resources into her teaching career. It's certainly not everybody, but before I found my last hire, I interviewed about 20 - 25 worthless college grads before I got to her.

[itlnstln]

Just for the record, I don't see any of these "lazy-ass kids" here at DT, it's more a of general observation. For plenty of examples, see GH and probably OCN.

[Djuzuh]

What's your opinion on me itlnstln? :3

[TexasFlood]

Nobody researches anymore. These kids want to ask a question and get an answer and that's it. It's the Google-fication and Wikipedia-fication of obtaining knowledge. If they don't get an answer on the first page of the search results, these lazy bastards won't do anything further to figure it out. This is happening in higher education, too, it's not just hobbyist forums.

That's usually why I'm not a prolific poster in forums. I read first and ask questions if I absolutely can't find the answer. Usually, though, I find what I'm looking for and move on.

What's kind of frustrating is when I find myself googling an answer to someone's question that IS answered on the first page of search results! Guess I'm a fool for doing it, but how lazy are some folks you have to wonder.

[itlnstln]

What's your opinion on me itlnstln? :3

Just don't ruin my post.

[ripster]

I like Reddit/keyboards.

http://www.reddit.com/r/keyboards/comme ... ew_extras/

Reminds me of the Old Geekhack but the Karma system lets me track what content people like to see.

Plus I can goof around with little fear of moderator reprisal, it pretty much is regulated by down voting Trolls like KeyboardLover into Oblivion.

[off]

Just for the record, I don't see any of these "lazy-ass kids" here at DT, it's more a of general observation. For plenty of examples, see GH and probably OCN.

Gotta say though, your previous post does seem to strike quite true. And sadly, I'd say it does apply to me in at least some ways; my postcount coupled with my joindate should tell as much. Not saying I'm being 'lazy' on DT, but more so that I'm lazy BY being on DT.
Also the cruising through anything used to apply to me, and still am hard to be arsed to do quite a few things. Things that interest me, np, but things that don't ......

[Icarium]

I like Reddit/keyboards.

http://www.reddit.com/r/keyboards/comme ... ew_extras/

Reminds me of the Old Geekhack but the Karma system lets me track what content people like to see.

Plus I can goof around with little fear of moderator reprisal, it pretty much is regulated by down voting Trolls like KeyboardLover into Oblivion.

Yeah, and if I could filter out the million keyboard oracle questions and boring pictures of stock keyboards under cheap desk lamps I might even find a useful post or two.
Face it reddit is turning into soup and hence using all serious usefulness.

[Djuzuh]

We need to open a secret society where all the serious talking can go on :ninja:

[captain]

Well, THIS is depressing. First I post that it is in the OP, then the SockPuppet account gets deleted with the post, and then the rest of them circle jerk....

http://gtunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/6 ... post621452

http://gtunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/6 ... 2953216936

I guess the problem is not content generation, it's reading skills.

My reading skills have nothing to do with the fact that gtunnel does not redirect to the real URLs. Can you fix that please?

GeekHack is a little flea market, emphasis on the flea, as far as I'm concerned. iMav has seen to it, and it's his baby, his choice. IMHO, that's cutting off its nose to spite its face, but so be it.

re. researching: I don't think there is even a real encyclopedia published anymore. Wikipedia has killed them off. WTF are we going to do when all of our professionally vetted information sources have been killed off by wikis' dumbocratic process? (i.e. written by by those who have the inclination--typically narcissistic ego driven in my limited experience--to beat down all other info in favor of their own, "right" be damned!) At that point, even those who WANT to seek out information will be cockblocked, and since critical thinking is no longer regarded with merit, much less taught, in "schools" I suspect a further widening of the gap between the plebeians and the rulers, until Monsanto wipes out 99.999% of the population when their juggernaut crops all fail en masse. I don't think we have learned anything from Rome, or any other history. I'm curious what will rise from the ashes of this civilization though. I probably won't be around to see it all to fruition.

[ripster]

Hmmm... Bummer about the gtunnel link but am too lazy to research a fix.

I agree that GH is a great place to buy overpriced slow to receive pieces of plastic called keys or key caps.

Btw I am DebtFreeLannister in some of those overpriced piece of plastic group buys. Might need someone to act as an intermediary to actually complete the transaction.

[captain]

Don't out yourself! The goon squad undoubtedly reads this! ;-P

[ripster]

Nah, I KNOW the moderator team reads this thread.

I have moles and wiki leak informants deeply embedded at Geekhack.



Here is the link to the post I was talking about ....the Scanned Dt225 instructions ARE RIGHT THERE you morons!

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:10403

Scroll to the bottom.

[captain]

Well, tldr, but it looks rather round and frantic: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?3289 ... st-are-you is perhaps the threat to which you directed us?

I see that PiSickle has reached hard-copy phase! I'm not sure if that's a sample or part of the production run though.

I'm still waiting on iMav's Race too. I guess I'd better go over there and steel myself for some reading bad spelling and grammar amid trolling and flaming.

[off]

until Monsanto wipes out 99.999% of the population when their juggernaut crops all fail en masse. I don't think we have learned anything from Rome, or any other history. I'm curious what will rise from the ashes of this civilization though. I probably won't be around to see it all to fruition.

I agree on the refusal to learn from history.. even now, when anyone makes an analogy with for instance the third reich (and some parts of the 'civilised world' being worse than that, just 'below the covers'), people just cry foul and move along.
And I'd say that if it will be Monsanto it won't be from some failed crop!
Let's all stay around to see things come to fruition, would be quite weird to no longer have any boards left over though.

[ripster]

Uh, Read my post Captain.

It helps.

I know I'm raising this thread from the dead. But is there anyway I can get a scan or breakdown of the dip switches on the back of the gen 2 ps2 dt225
Reply With Quote
24 Jun 2012, 09:50 #37
TheProfosist
Eternal Thinker
Join Date
Jul 2011
Location
Wisconsin, USA
Comments
2,333
Originally Posted by dippingriz
I know I'm raising this thread from the dead. But is there anyway I can get a scan or breakdown of the dip switches on the back of the gen 2 ps2 dt225
Ripster had what you looking for in one of his threads.
| WASD V1 Custom | Leopold FC200RE/AW | Unicomp EnduraPro USB | PFU HHKB Professional 2 | Realforce 87UB 45g | Realforce 23UB |



| CST L-TrackX | CH DT225 USB | Logitech G700 |
---> TheProfosist's Sub-Forum Now Open!!! <---
Reply With Quote
25 Jun 2012, 08:38 #38
dippingriz
Member
Join Date
Oct 2011
Location
Texas
Comments
136
Ah, you don't remember which one do you? Trackball wiki maybe?
Reply With Quote
26 Jun 2012, 09:48 #39
TheProfosist
Eternal Thinker
Join Date
Jul 2011
Location
Wisconsin, USA
Comments
2,333
Ripster review of the dt225 or the first mod of it.

[ripster]

until Monsanto wipes out 99.999% of the population when their juggernaut crops all fail en masse. I don't think we have learned anything from Rome, or any other history. I'm curious what will rise from the ashes of this civilization though. I probably won't be around to see it all to fruition.

I agree on the refusal to learn from history.. even now, when anyone makes an analogy with for instance the third reich (and some parts of the 'civilised world' being worse than that, just 'below the covers'), people just cry foul and move along.
And I'd say that if it will be Monsanto it won't be from some failed crop!
Let's all stay around to see things come to fruition, would be quite weird to no longer have any boards left over though.

I thought Geekhack Wikis And Ripster Theorems were the perfect way to prevent the repetition of questions that had been answered 100 times already.

That didn't work out so well.....


http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?3273 ... of-pinging


PING!

[captain]

Ah! Trackballs. I never could love those as some do. I tried, I really tried. Probably too much Centipede.

[captain]

Yes, I saw your edit after I posted, and I went off and read the old trackball thread, and saw the links to the information. Good stuff. It would be nice to have a well organized repository of all such good articles. I certainly learned a lot from reading the myriad links in the original ripster .sig! :-)