Modification of the 1999 Rule

[E-Day]

I have decided to change to rules concerning magazine eligibility. I proposed a change to the admins two weeks ago; only two out of six replied so far. So I am going to go ahead with the proposed changes. They are as follows:

• Magazines that are still in print are still subject to the 1999 cut off. This includes Nintendo Power, GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, Edge, Tips & Tricks, as well as any others you see on newsstands;
  
• Magazines that started publication after December 1999 are still not eligible for scanning;
  
• Discontinued magazines can go passed December 1999, up to the end of 2004. Examples are (but not limited to): The Official Dreamcast Magazine, Gamer's Republic, EGM2/Expert Gamer/GameNow, and Next Generation.
  

This will give people a chance to get a full collection of magazines that are no longer around. And because the magazines are no longer published, we still won't be stepping on anyone's toes.

[Junaz]

Cool, I think there will be some work to do in the weeks to come.

[KiwiArcader]

Hmmm ... I thought Team Members who had been actively contributing would've also been consulted, given we make this place what it is. Now I guess I know where Mister Zero's comments about my not being a Mod were coming from.

Not to say that I am unhappy with the decision.... I've made similar comments about this in recent times .... but given the contributions made by some of us in time/mags etc it would've been polite to include us in the conversation.

[E-Day]

Good point. I should have put the proposition in the Team Members Hideout now that I think of it. It hadn't even occurred to me at the time. My apologies.

[Mister Zero]

Hmmm ... I thought Team Members who had been actively contributing would've also been consulted, given we make this place what it is. Now I guess I know where Mister Zero's comments about my not being a Mod were coming from.

Even so, I still didn't put two and two together and figure out that you couldn't see that topic. If I had, I would have mentioned something along the lines that some important people couldn't see it. Oh well, things worked out anyways.

[KiwiArcader]

Even so, I still didn't put two and two together and figure out that you couldn't see that topic. If I had, I would have mentioned something along the lines that some important people couldn't see it. Oh well, things worked out anyways.

Well .... it worked out ... but probably not as you expected.

I have decided to cease scanning for this site.

I originally started doing this because I wanted digital copies of my magazines in an effort to reduce the volume of paper sitting in my basement. I found this site and thought this was a great way to motivate myself ... by helping with the preservation cause. Since then I've been banned (twice), harrassed over my opinions/preferences for the PDF format, and generally felt unappreciated to the point where I have decided to go back to my original desire ... that being to do this for myself first and foremost.

To that end, I would recommend that someone motivates themself to downloading all my magazine contributions that are available in PDF format only as these are currently stored on my personal Megaupload account that I purchased to help provide a backup for this site. At some point the files will be taken offline ... I won't be renewing the account more than likely ... and if you don't upload them to E-Day's MU account they'll be gone at that point.

This is not some retaliatory measure at E-Day for leaving me out of the conversation or not being 'worthy enough' to be a mod ... I've made my views on this known several times so he knows them all anyway (and I agree with some of Nirv's comments too) ... but I find I need to take myself away from all of this. The only contributions I will make moving forward are those that align with publisher approval ... Newsfield content over at OoPA etc ...

[E-Day]

Well, I am sorry to see you go. Most of the issues you bring up in the third paragraph revolve around you and Phillyman. I've never banned you, nor said anything about PDFs (as far as I remember). You've been releasing only PDFs lately, and I am unaware of anyone saying anything about it. As far as feeling unappreciated, I think that is something most of us feel. Not many people will say thank you for a scan when they download it; probably less so for you since you submit some pretty arcane stuff. But it's those items that add diversity to what the site offers.

Maybe you made your views on being a mod known before I took over, but I don't recall you bringing it up since July. You or someone else could have said something to me since I obviously didn't think of it myself. Whichever of Nirv's comments you agree with are fine, since I don't remember most of what he said since most of it was just melodramatic illogical nonsense.

Anyhow, you've already made up your mind. You are welcome to stay if you change your mind. If not, best of luck over at OoPA. I'll start downloading your submissions tonight; that will be quite the task.

[hahnchen]

Shame to see you go, I enjoyed the retro PC Gamers. I like the content at oopa, they've recently uploaded NMS #11 which was the first magazine I bought, but is there anything left of Newsfield to scan?

[KiwiArcader]

Re Newsfield content. Well .... while Zzap64's and Games Machines are available already the quality on those are pretty crap really .... simply raw unedited scans. So over time I want to scan the 50 Newsield mags I own to get good quality versions online. OoPA got Newsfield to allow official digital distribution so it seems fair to make them available there.

E-Day. Being a Mod was never something I thought about really. If we were to be realistic about it most of our 'Mods' have never submitted or edited a magazine for the site so their worth in my mind was less than Team Members anyway. After all, a site like this can survive without Mods but its whole worth is based upon the Teamies who provide the content.

Re Nirv - yeah, a total pill in most ways but I did agree with the principle that if a publisher isn't making digital versions of their mags then there is a risk that they will be lost if not preserved. That was what I meant about agreeing with him. That's all though.

But I find myself at a crossroads where I'm approaching 50 and I find I am spending too much time on this stuff. Phillyman said you only need to submit one mag a month but the sheer volume of mags I have has pushed me to doing as many as possible. I've been running to a schedule that tries to get 1500 mags scanned which in hindsight was probablly totally unrealistic. Unfortunately, this has pushed significantly into my free time and my family have commented on it. In light of that and other things I realised that it is having an impact on my personal life. Hence the decision to wind down.

Lastly, for the record OoPA have nothing to do with this. I think Meppi may be a little shocked after I also told him I was stopping scanning. They're not holding their breath either now re the Newsfield content after I told them they'll see stuff as/when I feel like getting back to it. Which may be never .... I just don't know at this stage. All I do know if I am burnt out and need to relax for a while. Time for me to try and locate a working Dreamcast and get back to playing some cool games methinks. Been too long ....

[E-Day]

Lately, being a Mod here hasn't been a big deal since there has not been much to do. The forums have been calm, so there is not much need for moderating. And the 1999 rule bend was the first topic I posted in the Moderator section in five months. So lately it's just been a label. And everyone who is a mod here was one before I took over. If it's any consolation, you are the only non-moderator member, who has moderator powers in the Download Manager.

But yes, eventually you outgrow this kind of hobby. I don't expect everyone to do this kind of thing forever. Free time is valuable, and I know that there are far better things to spend time on than scanning magazines. Once you lose the drive to scan, or once it interferes with real life there is no point in forcing yourself to do it.

[kbf_private_joker]

I agree with Eday. If you run out of free time or lose the desire, then you should stop. I enjoyed scanning magazines for a few years because it allowed me to reread lots of content from my past. However, I became too busy and knew that I would never finish everything I wanted to scan. In addition, everything is becoming digital nowadays (google docs, etc.) and I believe that eventually that most magazines will be released in a digital format. Even if I have to pay $100 for all past issues of GamePro in a digital format, I'd do it in an instant because time is much more valuable.

[KiwiArcader]

I am just burnt out at present.

So I am not saying I won't take up the challenge of trying to wade through my mags again at some point .... just that I REALLY, REALLY need some time out from what is probably the most challenging preservation type of them all. It's just so intensive when you try and do justice to the mags. It's summer here and way too hot to be sweating over the PC etc so I'll enjoy the weather and sit down and work it all through in Autumn next year when it starts getting wet and you wonder what to do with yourself when you can't get outside again.

I agree with you KBF .... if publishers would just get with the fact their old IP still has a following and create digital stuff themselves I'd happily pay to bypass all the time I'd have to spend scanning (assuming they don't butcher it by removing content like they did with the Retro Gamers...bah!!!)

E-Day ... I appreciate the ability to Mod the download forums. I've tried to help out by doing covers where they need them and ensuring you don't need to do anything at all re my submissions. Sorry I haven't been uploading CBR's but our broadband usage limits in NZ are crap so I thought it easier if I uploaded new content rather than halving it by supplying both types. That's also why I've not been uploading PDF versions of other peoples submissions. I don't want to get throttled to dialup speed by going over cap. Pain in the ass really ....

[kbf_private_joker]

Remember that video game magazine is a hobby and not a profession. Take some time to enjoy your summer