more of a question

JoeMonkey

New member
This is more of a question than a suggestion. What is happening with the site lately? Is the emulation scene this dead? or is there a lack of staff? I'm just asking this because Zophar's seems to be falling of the face off the earth.
<P ID="signature"></P>
 
<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

This is more of a question than a suggestion. What is happening with the site lately? Is the emulation scene this dead? or is there a lack of staff? I'm just asking this because Zophar's seems to be falling of the face of the earth.

<hr></blockquote>
If you're talking about the front page, I wouldn't expect that to be updated ever again. Right now, this board is all that is holding up the site. The site itself is just collecting dust, true to the name "archive" as Swamp gave it.

While there is staff and there is activity, it's been focused mainly on this board. Personally, I don't expect it to change, and I anticipate this site's ultimate death within the next 5 years because of the general apathy.

<center><img src=smilies/cry.gif></center>
<P ID="signature"><center><img src=http://leno.hypher.net/images/slick.png border=0 title="How Slick are you?">
Slickness factor of 10.</center></P>
 
> In reply to:
>I anticipate this site's ultimate death
> within the next 5 years because of the general apathy.
>

Well I certainly do hope this site isn't going to die. Zophar's Domain has been my main source of emulation news for a long time. As a matter of fact, If not for this site I would have never even known about emulation.
<P ID="signature"></P>
 
> Zophar's Domain has been my main source of emulation news for a long time.

No wonder you think the emulation scene is dead...
While I don't share the gloomy predictions of some others, ZD simply isn't the place to come for *news*.
<P ID="signature"></P>
 
http://www.emulation64.com is where I go for *news* now. I've fought and argued to have ZD's front page updated, but it looks like that's just not the focus anymore.

According to SwampGas, ZD is now a "emulation archive"... and I can confirm that the newest emulators were the Nintendo DS-based emulators I uploaded, and that was a month or so ago. I never got around to updating all of the others, before I was caught and had my access revoked.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
> According to SwampGas, ZD is now a "emulation archive"...
> and I can confirm that the newest emulators were the
> Nintendo DS-based emulators I uploaded, and that was a month
> or so ago. I never got around to updating all of the others,
> before I was caught and had my access revoked.

Woah, before you were 'caught' uploading emulators?

<P ID="signature">http://www.badjawa.com
signature.jpg
</a></img></P>
 
I don't want to get into all the nitty-gritty in public, but I think I'm safe saying this much: I'm not a ZD staffer. I don't have SFTP access to the site, and Sam's made it abundantly clear I will never again have access to the site in that way... despite being capable and willing of making updates to the site. ;)

I'm the one that got signatures 'working' again on tthe forums, re-fixed the rss feed (which is what killed the site that day - the rss feed linked to a broken script that I didn't write, and had to remove -- and is what pissed Sam off so badly), and built a NDS emulator page.

But if I'm not a staffer, and was doing all of this work on the site... that meant I was doing in an improper manner. And I was caught at it (because of the rss feed issue). My method of access was taken away from me -- and it was quite right to do it, because I wasn't going through proper channels. Of course, those 'proper channels' were cut off to me in the first place...

Hmm, this explanation was a lot longer than I wanted it to be. The big thing is, I was getting access to the site illegally, and I was caught and the access was taken away.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
It was taken away from me because I was doing it illegally - that much is clear, understandable, and I can't blame "them" for removing it and being angry with me for it.

I just wish my constant pushing, requests for access, and offers of help weren't rebuffed so completely. I've had Sam say it was okay, said I was on staff, and then ignored my request for SFTP access... only to publically call me a nutcase and tell me I'd never have access.

I was willing to do the work, capable of doing the work, and I could catch the site up in a lot of ways. Look at what I was able to do with the NDS page...

http://www.zophar.net/consoles/consoles.phtml
http://www.zophar.net/consoles/nds.phtml

Maybe it's not the prettiest, but it's easy to read, and it works.

I guess that's the biggest problem - No one is updating the site. Peep has told me privately about people 'working on things' - and when I'd confront them, they'd tell me they weren't working on the things Peep said... so that means *someone* is mistaken, or lying.

I've talked about updating the news page, and was told the staff wasn't looking for news updates - they're looking toward a site revamp. But where's the proof of that? Why is is so secretive? If we believe what we're told, this revamp has been, what, five years in the making? With nothing to show for it other than some pages I linked to a while back, and a crappy "newZD" theme for the forum.

This forum is so old and broken, that the idea of replacing it came up - and was smacked down like some ungreatful bitch because it would mean, you know, asking people to re-register. Imagine that...

For an "emulation archive", the archives are quickly falling out of date... and no one cares. Supposedly a PHP-based download/link manager is in the works. ...Where's that? Why aren't we testing that yet?

It's a lot of fluff. I've been on the SFTP and prodded around. The server side of things is a mess, and has been for years. The SERVER side of things needs a major revamp... and frankly, what's the purpose of archiving past emulators if we're STILL not able to select and download those files?

In short, ZD as we knew it is broken, sputtering, and dead. ZD isn't an emulation site anymore - it's an outdated, broken, sputtering set of forums where people who used to know what emulation was sit around and bitch, whine, and moan.

But nothing ever comes of it. I've said, and shown, that if I had access, I could get the site updated and spit-polished. I could bring in new people, and I could get the front page updating again. I could get a new forum in place, a new download system, rss feeds... maybe even interviews and articles again.

It takes leadership - something this site lacks. Sam holds onto the site with a death grip, but does nothing beyond host it. He doesn't care about emulation and never has. He doesn't care about the site, beyond being able to have his groupies, who he can whine to when it comes to DJing or trying to get a girlfriend.

We have moderators on a forum who bitch about having to lock topics once in a great while. ...What's the point in being a mod if you're not DOING anything? Simple - it's status. They have a little "A" or a "M" next to their name, and that means they're BETTER THAN THE REST OF US.

I've sat on #zophar before, and no one talks. If you start talking about the site here, on the forum, you're told to shut up, put in your place, harassed, possibly even banned for it. The staffers know the site is dead and like to put forward this great wall of disinformation to say things are being worked on in the background, where people whisper in shadows and meet in secret.

And the worst of it is, I've given up. I have the desire, means, ability, to lead this site back to its former glory - and to make ZD something more than a joke. ...And no one gives a damn. I've called people out and asked them to openly disclose new features, jpeg examples of the new site, something. And there's never any proof.

ZD is dead.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
> And the worst of it is, I've given up. I have the desire,
> means, ability, to lead this site back to its former glory -
> and to make ZD something more than a joke. ...And no one
> gives a damn. I've called people out and asked them to
> openly disclose new features, jpeg examples of the new site,
> something. And there's never any proof.
-----
> ZD is dead.
>

Well, I support your willingness and desire to make Zophar come back to it's former glory, because this place has sigs thanks to you, and I love sigs!<img src=smilies/thumb.gif>
You have done much for us here, and I appreciate it and everything you have tried to do. Continue to kick ass until the end!!!!
<P ID="signature">I am the law. ~ Warden of Marshwood Hill.
</P>
 
> I don't want to get into all the nitty-gritty in public, but
> I think I'm safe saying this much: I'm not a ZD staffer. I
> don't have SFTP access to the site, and Sam's made it
> abundantly clear I will never again have access to the site
> in that way... despite being capable and willing of making
> updates to the site. ;)

I never removed access to anyone.

But once again...you mouth off and the 5 people who come to zmd run up behind you with pitch forks and torches blaming me for something I wasn't a part of.

You are a jerk. Just like the rest of the whining crybabies who loooove to cause trouble and create drama. This is expressly the reason why I walked away so many years ago.

Life is amazing. I'm surrounded by great friends, I just bought two houses, and I was just brought higher up in the company. I can't begin to say how happy I am. Why?

Because I don't deal with you, some of the people here, and all of your bullshit kiddie negativity.

Now stop taking out your frustrations on me. When you present me with a COMPLETE, working system for zd...then I'll take the time to put it up. I'll say the same thing I've been saying for YEARS: someone just DO IT. You're using me as a scapegoat for the failures of everyone who has tried.
<P ID="signature"><marquee direction=right scrollamount=10>
hsrun.gif
</marquee></P>
 
<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Because I don't deal with you, some of the people here, and all of your bullshit kiddie negativity.

<hr></blockquote>
And yet, you still post here. <img src=smilies/upeyes.gif>

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Now stop taking out your frustrations on me. When you present me with a COMPLETE, working system for zd...then I'll take the time to put it up. I'll say the same thing I've been saying for YEARS: someone just DO IT. You're using me as a scapegoat for the failures of everyone who has tried.

<hr></blockquote>
"You can do all the work you want. I have no problem with that, just remember it'll be my name on it in the end. So go ahead, knock yourselves out."

I'm not even going to try and argue with you anymore, Swamp. Your ego is gonna be the death of this place, and you don't seem to care. Well that's fine, I have what I need from this place as it is. Not like I can get anything anyway, this "archive" is greatly outdated. There's only been 30 new pieces of news on the main page going back to April 3 of 2005. 7 done by Gavin, who was effectively kicked off (and I'll take Gavin's word for it 10 out of 7 days a week), 8 done by hcs, and 10 by Fla Flash.

And what has been done with the site that isn't on the front page you got pissy about. So, here's to the death of a great site, and to the birth of a museum.

I seem to remember JadussD warning me because I was so forward and outspoken. Well, I am outspoken, always have been. If there is something clearly wrong with a situation, I will be speaking about it, that's for damn sure. If that warrants a ban, so be it. *salutes ZD*
<P ID="signature"><center><img src=http://leno.hypher.net/images/slick.png border=0 title="How Slick are you?">
Slickness factor of 10.</center></P>
 
> I never removed access to anyone.

I haven't named names because it's not my place to do so, but needless to say, I HAD access and was able to make changes - and that access is no longer granted to me.

> Now stop taking out your frustrations on me. When you
> present me with a COMPLETE, working system for zd...then
> I'll take the time to put it up. I'll say the same thing
> I've been saying for YEARS: someone just DO IT. You're
> using me as a scapegoat for the failures of everyone who has
> tried.

In other words, design a new site from scratch with no access to the server and hand it to you on a platter - and you'll take time off your busy schedule to take the credit for it.

I'm not taking any frustrations out on you, Sam. I'm posting on a public forum in regards to the site the forum is on. I'm not PMing you, not emailing you, not calling you. I said you were right to take away my access because it wasn't "through proper channels" - and you know full well that's exactly what you did.

I don't have express permission to put the full story out in the open, so I haven't. But that doesn't mean you get to pretend like you're completely innocent in this entire manner. You're two-faced, a liar, a flim-flam man. You're killing ZD. Let me try to explain why.

You own ZD. You've appointed "managers" and "admins" that don't have full access to anything - and up until recently, if the situation in fact changed at all, you were the only person able to make SFTP accounts to grant access to the server to even begin to upload things.

I remember when I was on staff, and even then you tried your hardest to make people afraid of you. You berate people for making simple mistakes - myself included. You never gave a pat on the back for a good job. You whined about how slow updates were... and made it known just how easily replaced anyone was.

I can only speak for myself on this, but you PMed me a while back and told me I was on staff again. You said I didn't have access to the staff forum because of a "bug" that you didn't have time to search out and fix. I asked about SFTP access, and you rebuffed me by not responding to the PMs - and when I caught you in #zophar on IRC, you told me to "dance" or some such nonsense. And when I complained about it on the forum, you called me crazy and said I was too "unstable" to give access to.

I don't even know why you host ZD, I really don't. Is it for the forum? You're never around anymore to begin with... which makes you a sort of absentee server admin. People on staff have been, and possibly still are, SCARED of you, and have said in the past that they had to -get your permission- on things.

But your grand, sweeping answer is, "Design everything from scratch, do it on your own server, do all of the work - which is impossible to do - and hand it over to me, gift-wrapped, and I'll look over it, and IF I like it, I'll use it."

How can I clean up the emulator files on the server without SFTP access? How can I write a new download script without access to the cleaned up directories? If I plopped years worth of emulators on a server, wrote up a php script and used a MySQL database on it to get the page fully designed, scripted, and filled out - what would I do with it? I couldn't just hand over a MySQL statement.

Beyond which, I seem to recall a few times in the years past, when page designs were brought up - and you called them ugly, and said they wouldn't be used on YOUR site. I recall it as recently as the Mambo install, which YOU told me about in lieu of SFTP access, and I switched over to a theme that was already in place -- and you said it was too ugly to use. Then again you didn't have permissions set up on the server to customize the CSS file at all, or to upload new graphics through the Mambo backend... and I didn't have SFTP access to make any changes.

You're oh-so-easy to get in touch with to begin with... if I had a little page and emailed it to you, and said "put this on the server, I want to see the output", I'm sure you'd get RIGHT on that. That leaves me to the 'suggestion' you gave me once, which was to ask a staffer WITH SFTP access to upload files for me.

I'll say this much: One staffer was kind enough to just give me his username and password, because he's busy with other things, and that's what I used to do the minor updates I made to ZD to begin with. And when I set about fixing the RSS feed, and it ran a script that -someone else- wrote, and somehow crashed the MySQL server, I woke up the next day to people stressed the hell out because you were on the rampage. The staffer that had given me access was scared he was going to be banned for his actions... but it ended fairly well, where he had to change his SFTP password and was warned that if he ever did it again, he WOULD be banned -- and that effectively, say it with me, REMOVED MY ACCESS.

So I'm a Jerk -- because I can call you on your bullshit. That's fine. You walked away? Then why the fuck are you still in charge of everything? Why do people still deferr to you? You should be the "silent partner" - the guy who runs the server and makes sure everything is in working order.

You point out that everyone else has failed. Fine - I've proved myself capable of making change. Why the hell are you so against giving access to people who still want to try? Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have a COMPLETE, working system designed to just hand over. Like you said, you'd "take the time to put it up." Meaning, even if I HAD a complete replacement for ZD, zipped it up, and emailed it to you, I STILL wouldn't have access to the server - it would STILL have to go through someone else.

I stand by my statement. ZD is dead, and you're the cause.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
> I'm not even going to try and argue with you anymore, Swamp.
> Your ego is gonna be the death of this place, and you don't
> seem to care. Well that's fine, I have what I need from this

WHAT EGO? I keep repeating the same thing over and over: you want zd to succeed so much, but everytime I say "show me the goods" all I get are bullshit stories about ego and more lame ass excuses that involve ME.

Just go do it or shut up about it. Yeesh <img src=smilies/upeyes.gif>
<P ID="signature"><marquee direction=right scrollamount=10>
hsrun.gif
</marquee></P>
 
> I stand by my statement. ZD is dead, and you're the cause.

So I'll pull the plug. Is that what your goal is? Because it seems like everyone is taunting me to do it. You and everyone else.

Of course even though I'm giving people what they want by constantly asking me to "just let it die" or since "zd is dead" it wouldn't matter....I'd still be the bad guy if zd were to just not be there tomorrow morning.

Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit.
<P ID="signature"><marquee direction=right scrollamount=10>
hsrun.gif
</marquee></P>
 
> So I'll pull the plug. Is that what your goal is?

Call it a hunch -- but I think his goal is (or at least was) to gain SFTP access and other needed permissions to work on the site.

But he only mentioned that 6 times -- so that couldn't be it. /wwwthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif
<P ID="signature"></P>
 
> Call it a hunch -- but I think his goal is (or at least
> was) to gain SFTP access and other needed permissions to
> work on the site.

<img src=smilies/thumb.gif> Good hunch. It's easy to bitch about no one fixing the site when no one is getting access to work on it. I guess I ought to devote weeks of work to putting together a new emulation site on my own server, and then just hand it all over to Sam.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
I don't see why it'd be an issue either. I mean you've already had back-door permissions and proven you wouldn't exploit them to damage the site. And it's not like it would conflict with any other work going on (since there doesn't appear to be any).
<P ID="signature"></P>
 
Shh! I'm an unstable jerk. Beware - I may break in and update the site for you! What a devious, underhanded thing for anyone to do.

Obviously I'm calling for Sam to take the remains of ZD offline, rather than to, say, let me fix everything.
<P ID="signature">http://www.sloganizer.net/en/
style5,Packard.png
</a></P>
 
Back
Top Bottom