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| Stratics Community news - UOForums Owner Interviewed
Source - http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/u...e=0&view=&sb=5
Not a bad interview, although i'll admit, I was abit tipsy from beer when answering the questions Quote: 
You are the owner of UOForums. Give us a brief journey as to how this happened.
Surprisingly, I'm not the original owner of UOForums, the original owner was Xalious. I took over ownership roughly 3 months after it first opened and have been owner since then, (some 3+ years).
We've been through some good times and some bad ones, but thankfully, my staff and I have shared more good times than bad, some might disagree with that, but we have staff members on our forums who were there when the forums were originally opened...
You started your time in the realm first on the Baja Shard then the Legends Shard. Why did you move from Baja to Legends?
My cousin first introduced me to UO, some 5 years or so ago, at that time, we didn't really know what a "shard" was, in terms of geographical location, so we both started on Baja
Unfortunatly, these were the days of dial up for nearly everyone and having a 300ms ping to Baja, made playing the game rather...erm....tough, heh
I stuck with Baja as I'd developed some advanced characters there and couldn't stand to abandon them by moving to a shard closer to home, until of course, character transfer came out, then I moved all my characters to Legends.
The reason I chose Legends was because it was an east coast shard, which (On DSL) reduced the ping time from 220ms, to a nice 85ms (I could gallop on my nightmare flat out, without lag, for the first time in 3 years!..omg! hehe)
But the main reason was friends, I'd made some good friends on UOForums, who happened to play on Legends (Kam, Barne Rubble & Siobhan to name but a few...)
It was also nice because the populace of that shard was relatively low compared to most shards, so finding a spot for a house, was much easier.
When we spoke a few weeks ago you informed me that you never play UO anymore. Why is that and why do you still have the interest in UOForums when you no longer play?
Yes, this is actually quite sad for me, because I used to spend so much time in UO, everyday (way to much  ) and right now, I find zero enjoyment in it
I think the main reason is the vast majority of my friends quit, or moved to free shards, since that happened I just lost interest in UO.
Most of the main guilds I used to hang out with and hunt with, kinda dissapeared after AOS
The AOS expansion changed UO in a big way, to big for my tastes, but like people say, "if you don't like it, adapt, or quit"...so I quit... *grins*
As for UOForums, there have been a few times where I'd considered selling it, or giving it away to someone, but I'm a very picky person, and the people who I would've considered selling it to, refused to take it off my hands, insisting I stay on.
It's also not easy just giving away, or selling, the last 4 years of your online life, something you've worked hard on and something that's the reason for you meeting some amazing people and some equally amazing friends.
To be honest though, alot of people have come to call UOforums their home on the net, quite a few have it set as their home page and would miss it terribly if it were to close, so it'll be around till at least 2009, regardless of whether UO itself stays alive for that long.
Do you play any computer games at this time and if so which ones?
Yes, I play a few games, my tastes change over time
At the moment, I'm into space simulation games, in paticular Freespace 2...somewhat dated now , but still a great game..
What was the very first computer game you played?
Ah gawd, that was a while ago...*thinks*
I think the first computer game I played was on an Amstrad CPC 464...I believe it was either "Dizzy" or "The apprentice"?
Which is your favorite season and why?
Winter, for sure!
I can't stand the heat, so winter it is 
What is your favorite color?
I'd have to say black, allways loved dark colors.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Hmm...hard to say, alot of people say I try to hard to appease others, in paticular, with UOForums, I'm always looking for ways to make it easier to use, or squeeze every bit of speed out of it...hehe.
But yea, running UOforums is probably my greatest extravagance, I've done it for so long, it's a big part of my life.
What is your current state of mind?
Well, I've just had a tasty BBQ lunch, had a few beers, so I'm happy, if not abit.."buzzed" 
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
Only one? *grins*
I think one thing I'd like to change about myself, would be to not judge people before I've gotten to know them first.
What is your most treasured possession?
My best friend Chris (Dra'ki areese on uoforums) , for sure, as well as Queen Mum, they're both amazing, positive influences on my life.
Item wise? It'd be my computer, purely because it allows me to keep in contact with the people mentioned above, my other friends and my family in Sweden.
Who is your favorite hero in fiction?
Hmm...been thinking about this question for abit...I don't really have one, at least...I can't think of one right now.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing my best friend, for sure.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Indeed", seriously I use that word so often, it's scary!
What is your motto?
Not my motto, but something that's stuck with me when I heard it in a Baz Luhrmann song (Everyboy's free (to wear sunscreen))
One line of that song goes as follows ----- "Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on."
Thank you so much for taking time to be a guest on this series. Recently I lost my best ingame friend and I can understand your dismay at possibly losing your best friend.~ |  |