Strato
Bravely going where no TF Newsie has gone before... Poking at the gray matter of the community is definately not a thing for the light hearted!
— The PF Staff
Chris is one of the unsung heros that are the backbone of the Team Fortress community. He is rare in that he doesn't seek the spot light and is content in the knowledge that he is of service to others. When he first came onto the TF scene, he identified a need. The need was genuine, and still is, for that matter - people need a place to go so they can get the files and maps they need. Tf Newbies quickly filled that void and became a part of the TF vocabulary. Need a map? Go to Newbies. Need to locate the files you need? Go to Newbies. Want a message board where you can to ask for help? Go to Newbies. TF Newbies is the most visited site in TF history. Now let's learn a little about the man who's behind this TF phenomenon. This interview took place on IRC so it may be a little disjointed. Oh, and Phat Dragon spell checked it for us.
Bundy
Scene One Act One. Fade in. Camera finds Bundy, TheHal, SpacemanSpiff, Sgt.CoolGuy, and Strato sitting around a poker table sipping tall cool glasses of milk.
Bundy: Strato, are you ready to be grilled by a bunch of Geezers?
Strato: is this going to be edited?
Bundy: Sure. We'll do our best to embarass you after the fact if we can :)
Strato correct my misspellings then =)
TheHal: Yes we are verie god speelers
Bundy: We normally use Phat Dragon to spell check our stuff for us.
Strato: I'll send y'all a 50% off coupon for Geritol if y'all be nice =)
TheHal We can ahndl it
Strato: hehe
Bundy: I think everyone in the TF community has been to TF Newbies a hundred or two times. Before we start talking about that stuff, would you like to tell us anything about yourself?
Strato: hmmm..
Strato: I'm 26..male...Texan..former active duty Marine...recent college grad...
Bundy: Put a couple of xx or something when you're done so I don't interrupt you please. I'm not very good with this stuff.
Strato: xx
Strato: =)
Sgt-CoolGuy: heh
Bundy: :)
TheHal: Thats how I sign my name
Strato: lol..xx
Bundy: Ok, back to Newbies. I remember when you first came online. As I recall, I emailed you and commented that you had the second non-black background TF site that I'd seen. You have a talent for web page design. Where did you learn it?
Bundy: xx
Strato: Wow. I remember that. That was ages ago.
Strato: Thats extremely simple to answer..I stole most everything I ever did
TheHal: hahahaha!!!!
Bundy: Me too! From Spif and Hal!
SpacemanSpif: recycled HTML... the only way to fly
Strato: The absolute best way to learn how to do HTML is to look at other people's sites and alter it
Strato: and that way you learn how to do it.
Strato: My first background was an ugly tan color..then I went to a grey/blue scheme...then I submitted to the black with the fire/ice thing..thinking about going off white for TFNewbies2
Strato: xx
TheHal: I have one
Strato: Me too. =)
Bundy: Well, Newbies is without a doubt the most visited site in TF history. Where did you get the idea for it?
Bundy: xx
Strato: Oh....back to last question...The graphics are all mine...I always did my own graphics....that's not saying much but they are all mine.
Strato: Idea for it:
Strato: when I first started playing TF the maps were extremely hard to find. The news sites didn't keep their map pages up to date (shame on y'all) =)
Strato: Since there wasn't a Map site out there I decided to start my own
Strato: First it was on my college's site but all the links to maps were not local links...and I hated that...I wanted the maps to be local so people would have a choice of sites to download but my college only gave 5 megs...so I eventually moved to Warzone where I've been for...oh...1.75 years
Strato: At Warzone I had unlimited space and bandwidth and I took major advantage of that.
Strato: xx
Bundy: You've done other web-related stuff haven't you?
Bundy: xx
Strato: Yea..Mr.Potato-Head asked me to work with him on The Sycamore Tree and I had alot of fun there. The SpudMan's humor is great and went well with mine. I hate doing the "news-thing" but I had a blast at the Tree. Potato-Head's one of the nicest people I've met since I joined the community. (The fact that he snuck me in CE's back door doesn't hurt my view of him either.) =)
Strato: Then Trixter at Warzone asked me to run another hosting/news site called Gamesnet.com
Strato: and I had no earthly idea what to do. =) It was definately a big move. There's alot more stuff involved in running a big site like that then alot of people would realize. I know I didn't.
Strato: It was going slow at first but I had gathered some very nice sites under the Gamesnet.com flag and the site was starting to gather some steam but then Games.net came along and we were forced to sell the site because
Strato: we were "confusing their visitors" or something like that. Oh well..thats life...it was a learning experience and alot of fun.
Strato: xx
Bundy: Well, it's served you well. Ok, pop question... How do you see your role in the TF community?
*** SpacemanSpif changes topic to 'Secrit interview... be back open in a bit'
Bundy: xx
Strato: my role or TFNewbies role? I see MY role as very small. I've always been way back in the background
Strato: which has always been fine with me.
Strato: I'll play on a server and see people talk about where to find a particular map and someone will say "Oh go to TFNewbies"
Strato: and no one will know that I'm playing there on the server with them. That always makes me smile. The fact that someone would actually stop playing and mention my site is a great honor and it lets me know that I'm actually helping at least one person out there.
Bundy: :)
TheHal: I'll shoot one off here as soon as your ready
*Strato ducks
Strato: TFNewbies has always been THE name..not Strato. Speaking of names: I've rarely used the name Strato when it came to something about TFNewbies
Strato: I've always referred to myself with my given name of Chris
Strato: I went to DyerMaker's Virtual Snark Adoption Agency the other day to see if she had posted my Snark up..it was and in the adoption box it said Adopted by Chris@TFNewbies
Strato: That made me smile too. If she had just put Strato no one would have known who that was.
Strato: Side Note: Dyer I'll get Sport up as soon as TFN2 is up. Promise. =)
Strato: Now TFNewbies' role in the community is something entirely different
*** Bundy has quit IRC (Ping timeout: 180 seconds)
Strato: hehe I talked Bundy to death =)
TheHal: Bahahahaha
SpacemanSpif: hehehe
Sgt-CoolGuy: heh
TheHal: He is old and leaning that way anyway
Strato: lol
Sgt-CoolGuy: his power musta gone
Strato: I'm guessing that most old men have problems with their power
Sgt-CoolGuy: heh
TheHal: I can attest to that as well
Strato: =)
SpacemanSpif: he should be back in a few
SpacemanSpif: he just ICQ'd me
TheHal: So TFNewbies role in the community?
Sgt-CoolGuy: yeah, go ahead and finish your answer :)
Strato: oh =)
TheHal: 8>)
SpacemanSpif: shoot... I locked Bundy out!
Strato: I'll toot my own horn a little. =) I think that TFNewbies really helped out in making TF more "newbie" friendly. I had almost given up on TF myself when I couldn't find most of the maps. No telling how many others out there downloaded TF to check it out and kept playing it because finding maps where pretty easy.
TheHal: hehe
*** Bundy has joined #planetfortress
Strato: wb =)
Bundy: WHAT IS THAT!@#!@!!@
Bundy: Sorry guys
Bundy: Hello? Is this thing on? *tap tap*
TheHal: yes buns!
Sgt-CoolGuy: yeah we're alive
Bundy: Whew! Scared me.
Strato: I think TFNewbies helped news sites think more about maps...map pages were being updated more
Strato: But I also think that TFNewbies role in the community is getting smaller...which is fine by me. TFNewbies has pretty much done what I wanted it to do. There are a couple of other good maps sites that have stepped up and have done a good job.
TheHal: Anything to do with maps is pretty much a full time job!
Strato: Not telling me anything new Hal =)
Strato: I haven't really updated TFNewbies since last July
Sgt-CoolGuy: I've noticed :)
Bundy: Well, I LIKE the birthday cake :)
Strato: I needed a break. =) After doing running the site for over a year almost by myself I was pretty run down plus I need to concentrate on finishing my degree.
Sgt-CoolGuy: I know what ya mean, man
TheHal: We all need a break one in a while
Strato: Cerberus helped some when I was working on Gamesnet.com and --Rot-- really helped me by doing all the links
Strato: I hated doing the links page...THATS alot of work
Strato: News and Links are two things I hate doing
SpacemanSpif: oh yah, defintele something I don''t miss doing is links
TheHal: ditto
Sgt-CoolGuy: Heh I don't think there is even one working link on my links page
Strato: Which is why I had resisted from doing News at TFNewbies
TheHal: I saw your refrence to TFNewbies2, I was wondering about your plans for TF2. Is that what TFNewbies2 is all about?
Strato: I learned alot the first time around. I found out things that worked and things that don't work.
Strato: TFNewbies2 will be strictly about TF2. Covering both will stretch me too thin.
Strato: I don't think I'll even make much of a reference to TF1
Strato: I'll let other sites deal with TF1. I'll let them celebrate the past. TFN2 will celebrate the future.
Strato: right now I don't even want any HL stuff on there either
TheHal: SO then will TF Newbies as we see it today ceace to exist?
Strato: TFNewbies as you see it today is dead. RIP. I don't even visit the site anymore
SpacemanSpif: cnt... 404 error
Strato: Exactly. Links don't work after Warzone's FTP crashed. Way too many links to correct and I lost some maps that were hard to replace. Couple that with the decline in TF1 (We were all prepared for TF2 at that time) and it just all added up that I shouldn't continue updating the site.
Strato: The message board quit work after Warzone changed some cgi settings on their servers and they never got that fixed.
Strato: I told --Rot-- not to worry about changing/adding Links
Strato: Lets shoot it and let it get the rest that it deserves. Its done its job.
Bundy: I'd like to say that Newbies has probably done more to help people than any other TF site. It isn't just for Newbies, it's for everyone.
TheHal: So true
<
Bundy: Guys, I'm so lagged out I can hardly follow what's going on. Sorry :/
Bundy: Does this mean I can cheat if I'm lagged? :p
TheHal: hehe..... tic tic.... life passes the old guy by
TheHal: If you pay the $90 bucks??
Bundy: You gotta deal!@#!!!
Bundy: Hal, you could start a site called TF Newsies...
Bundy: HAHAHA!@!!
Strato: hehe
TheHal: hehehe
TheHal: In your TFNewbies history, it makes refrence to your DM days, you still do a lot of DM?
Strato: nope (http://tfnewbies.warzone.com/about.html) =)
TheHal: How active are you in CE?
Strato: I was in Clan Lagitus for 11 months
Strato: They, at one time, was the largest Quake clan in the world. We had around 200 members
Sgt-CoolGuy: What ever happened to the xx's?
TheHal: They went by way of the o's
Strato: Unfortunately,I'm not too active in CE at the moment, CLAN ERINYES http://www.erinyes.com , as far as playing. I'm pretty active in the clan's mailing list though. =)
Strato: I don't have Quake on my computer anymore thus I can't play Q1 or TF1 thus I can't play in CE matches. =)
Bundy: It was the cows. Stupid cows again, Sarge.
Sgt-CoolGuy: What is your current role in the TF community?
Strato: I never really had a role in TF. Ask people on a server who Strato is and 99.9% of the people will say "Who?"
Strato: which was basically the way I planned it
TheHal: I think you are cutting yourself short
Strato: naa...not really. TFNewbies is the site. I don't want to ride on TFNewbies successful coattails
Strato: I like being the man behind the curtain buahaha!
TheHal: It is gratifying to see someone shun the spotlight! It amazes me...
Strato: Don't get me wrong. I like getting recognized as much as the next man but it just wasn't the reason I started TFNewbies.
Bundy: Without you, Newbies would not be here though. xx
Strato: yea true...but TFNewbies took on a life of its own after awhile
Strato: xx
TheHal: Who's Who did that and it became unmanagable
Strato: I just beat TFNewbies with a switch taken off an oak tree in the yard when it acts up. It keeps the site in line.
Bundy: At the risk of being redundant (since I got disconnected) do you see Newbies 2 having the same role of facilitating like Newbies1?..
Bundy: xx
Bundy: No need to answer if you've already gone into it
Bundy: ..
Bundy: I mean xx
Bundy: duh
TheHal: hehe
Strato: Bundy: Prolly not
Strato: TFNewbies filled a huge hole in the community. The community has other map sites now and you got to remember that TF1 was just a small part in the whole Quake community. TF2 will be on its own now which will mean that we will now have our own community.
Strato: TF2 being on its own will mean more people coming into our little community which should mean more web pages out there devoted to maps
Strato: Then again I could be totally wrong
Strato: I usually am
Strato: You know, TFNewbies was getting between 1000-1200 visitors a day in its hey-day and maybe TFN2 will do the same. If it does thats great. If it don't thats fine too. Its just fun doing it.
Bundy: We want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us, and especially want to thank you for the service you've provided us all. Is there anything you'd like to say before we finish?
TheHal: Bundy xx
TheHal: hehe
Bundy: thanks Hal
Strato: I want to thank TFS for making a great MOD and wish them the best of luck in TF2 and
Strato: Hal, Spiffy and The Cool Sarge for keeping all of us regular joes informed and you Bundy for fighting the good fight.
Strato: And I also want to thank all the map makers out there. There are alot of awesome maps out there and if TF2's custom maps are anything like our current custom maps then TF2 is just going to plain rock.
TheHal: Don't suppose you will give us your guess on who Phd is?
Strato: I'll guess Moriarty
Bundy: I think it is pronounced moo-aw-ee-aty
Bundy: HAHHA!!!
TheHal: hehehehe
TheHal: Thanks for the time Strato!
SpacemanSpif: Thanks man!
Strato: But then again I get the whole PhD thing just like I get this current Cows thing.
TheHal: I hear that!
SpacemanSpif: disguised Cows?
Bundy: Yes, thank you very much for everything.
Strato: no thank y'all =)
Bundy: Cows? Where?
Bundy: loads Betsy and goes looking for the cows...
Strato: I have a whole herd of them next door if you want some Bundy
Bundy: Sounds good to me!
Bundy: I guess the owner wouldn't be very big on it though, huh?
Strato: prolly not =)
Bundy: Good point.
Bundy: It was our pleasure, Strato. Thank you again, and we'll have Phat Dragon spell check this for us.
Strato: No don't do that Bundy. I want to be able to read it
Bundy: Hal is working with PhD on his spelling though :)
Strato: I can't read most of that l33t stuff anyways...guess I'm too old
Bundy: I never did figure that stuff out. Don't even want to, either.
Bundy: Well, I'll see all of you later. Thanks again, Chris. You da man!
TheHal: Ok Bundy
Strato: later
[End Scene One Act One. Curtain closes]
*** Bundy has left #planetfortress
Strato: so who's all in CPF?
TheHal: Goodness
TheHal: Most of the pf staff
TheHal: Billings and Guido from CFTF
SpacemanSpif: quite a few people... do we have a list up at the page Hal?
TheHal: SG Cool Guy
Strato: SG who? =)
Sgt-CoolGuy: I'm now officially Spice Girl Cool Guy
TheHal: All the guys at Cisco's place
TheHal: No Kami was in
TheHal: King nothing
TheHal: A few new guys, Ghoulardi and mascot
TheHal: Shock who is helping Rocket at Quake Junction
Sgt-CoolGuy: heh
Strato: y'all play much? I don't play tf anymore so I don't know who's who
TheHal: We havent played a lot of matches but we joined STA league
Strato: cool
TheHal: We got thromped by UKFN
Sgt-CoolGuy: But yu wait and see Strato! We shall conquer all ;)
Strato: can't conquer CE!!!
TheHal: hehehe
TheHal: Nope
Sgt-CoolGuy: Not if they just keep throwing bodies out there. Whatta they have 8000 members? ;)
Strato: I think we're down to 7999 now if you don't count our closet DMers.
Sgt-CoolGuy: ouch
Sgt-CoolGuy: heh
TheHal: Well I'm out! Thanks
TheHal: see ya guys
Strato: later Hal
Sgt-CoolGuy: cya
*** Disconnected
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