A-EON Technology Acquires Amiga.org

[OlafS3]

@Olafs3

Yes it is a Limited Company, so running costs can be put against tax but the purchase costs are an asset, so different tax rules apply to them.

Ok, must be specific. Here in Germany laws are different

[OlafS3]

@Duce

I would like to upgrade the Amiga.org web hosting in the nearer future, probably bringing it in house.  I have been really busy recently with development of AMIStore and setting up the associated servers, so once AMIStore is out and finished I will turn my attention to Amiga.org.  I just don't have many hours left in the day at the moment

@Olafs3 @duce

There is a place for general discussion and Amiga.org has had a lot of off-topic subjects over the last few years, but it will be nice to encourage more in-depth Amiga specific topics- maybe with tutorials and series of articles around themes of topics throughout the year.

I view Amiga.org as the potential for becoming a modern digital magazine for the Amiga community.

User orientated Tutorials might have a chance, there are many good programs with no informations left. Regarding programming tutorials I fear there are not enough people starting to learn programming. Those who are still left are experienced and do not need such informations. At best they have specific questions, like specific problems with MUI/Zune/Reaction or a problem with certain libraries.

In my own distribution I have f.e. Wildfire, Real3D, Ignition, SoundFX and so on. If you look for user orientated tutorials in the web nothing.

[amigakit]

@Olafs3

We are in the process of talking to all the moderators.

My personal opinion is that on the rare occasion that a moderator has to step in and edit a post, they should reference the section of the Amiga.org Rules to clearly explain publically what part of the post has broken the rules.

Most people want to have fun discussing the computer platform that they have enjoyment from without having to get into conflicts with other users.

We all know that this has not been the case at Amiga.org recently and there are a *very* *small* minority of users who want to push their ideas, promote their "Amiga" platform by making statements not backed up by fact and also they will re-iterate inflamatory statements which are likely to get a reaction from other users, essentially to create friction on the thread (stir up trouble).  A moderator will then need to step in an diffuse the situation and point the thread back on track.  In extreme cases, maybe even close the thread or take other formal actions.

So I see it as consistent but fair moderation.

BTW: in future, if a moderator needs to apply the rules to one of my posts, I will welcome that and apologise for my infringement of the rules.  We are all human and can make mistakes.

[OlafS3]

I do not see the moderation on other sites as always fair and balanced. And if the same people that moderate there also moderate this site they will do it the same way. Or do you think different?

[LiveForIt]

for user feedback you need a user forum. Or you have a specific product forum

For user feedback you need a user forum.

I believe a way to keep users interested is to include users in the development process, make users come with suggestions and feedback. Yes their are things like bug trackers that are better to keep track of issues and improvements, but I think a forum has its own use.

Or you have a specific product forum

Yes that's kind of what was missing on Amigaworld.net and other forums, if you did have problems whit hardware x you where unable to find solutions to the problems by simply looking in categories.

Even if you did find some a topic with the same issue, it was likely it was pages filled with off topic posts and wrong answers. Anyway I believe wiki pages can be better for that kind of thing, if your just looking for answers.

[amigakit]

@OlafS3

if anyone else moderators on other sites, we do not control what they do there.  The only site we control is here, and being fair and balanced is important and consistency is also very important.  Its not an easy task being a moderator, so please bear in mind that these guys are always going to get negative feedback (a thankless task unfortunately).  It is like being a referee at a football match, everyone is against the referee but he has to do a job for the match to be played.

If there are problems, we will have an escalation procedure so users can take it to appeal.

[Niding]

User orientated Tutorials might have a chance, there are many good programs with no informations left. Regarding programming tutorials I fear there are not enough people starting to learn programming. Those who are still left are experienced and do not need such informations. At best they have specific questions, like specific problems with MUI/Zune/Reaction or a problem with certain libraries.

In my own distribution I have f.e. Wildfire, Real3D, Ignition, SoundFX and so on. If you look for user orientated tutorials in the web nothing.

I suspect that a fair share of the new breed of programmers go directly into the "app" aspect of it?

When it comes to detailed tutorials they have been hard to find until very lately.

In my opinion Photons Amiga Hardware Programming series on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p83QUZ1-P10

Is the perfect example about how to do that aspect of tutorials. Is extremely detailed and easy to grasp, plus you can go back and rewatch it over and over. Simply amazing piece of work.
He also got a hopepage; http://coppershade.org/

When it comes to Hardware/Software reviews; Epsilons take on it is as amazing as Photons coding tutorials. Detailed, step by step and basically spoonfeeding "amiga dummies" like me.

http://classicamiga.blogspot.com.au/
http://amigax1000.blogspot.com.au/

Thats the standard Aeon/Amigakit should aim for imho, but obviously it takes an incredible amount of work to pull it off.

[OlafS3]

@Olafs3

We are in the process of talking to all the moderators.

My personal opinion is that on the rare occasion that a moderator has to step in and edit a post, they should reference the section of the Amiga.org Rules to clearly explain publically what part of the post has broken the rules.

Most people want to have fun discussing the computer platform that they have enjoyment from without having to get into conflicts with other users.

We all know that this has not been the case at Amiga.org recently and there are a *very* *small* minority of users who want to push their ideas, promote their "Amiga" platform by making statements not backed up by fact and also they will re-iterate inflamatory statements which are likely to get a reaction from other users, essentially to create friction on the thread (stir up trouble).  A moderator will then need to step in an diffuse the situation and point the thread back on track.  In extreme cases, maybe even close the thread or take other formal actions.

So I see it as consistent but fair moderation.

BTW: in future, if a moderator needs to apply the rules to one of my posts, I will welcome that and apologise for my infringement of the rules.  We are all human and can make mistakes.

"backed up by fact"

If somebody says that certain hardware is not competitive regarding price as a example it is backed by facts. Would that be accepted as a view or censored because not the new majority view? As I wrote moderation here was much more tolerant here than on sites like amigaworld and that has to do with the moderators. If you put in the same people here than there (what is the case obviously) then you get the same results, a kind of amigaworld 2.0. When that is your goal then it is ok, you own it but that is not what most users here wanted otherwise they would have posted on amigaworld and not here. You understand what I mean?

Here was a different group of users with different interests and views

[psxphill]

It's a company asset, no different in how I can write my internet, hosting expenses off on the company I operate.

Your internet bill or hosting expenses is not an asset, it's a normal business expense so it can be offset against your tax bill.
 
Anything with a resale value however is an asset and they fall under different rules (at least in the uk). You can only offset the difference between what you paid and what the item is now worth & you do that over multiple years. If the item increases in value then next year you'll have to pay tax on the increase.
 

I can write down such expenses at tax time and basically come out even on them.

What do you mean come out even? You've still had to pay the money, you just won't be taxed on it (as you don't have the money anymore). With an asset it's different as you still have it, so you're taxed as if you still have the money that you earned. A lot of companies lease instead of buying assets because it can have tax advantages http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/blmmanual/blm00705.htm

[Kesa]

What I do not like on other forums is that moderators are like gods. They ban people how they like and if you say something you can be banned too. No transparency, often it seems like they do what they want, if f.e. two persons are discussing one person is banned and the other not (and both are equal guilty) without any justification. Amiga.org has TOS too but they were much more tolerant than most other sites (expecially those from the NG community). Now here are the same moderators than on those sites, that I have the fear that the moderation here will be the same than there is hopefully understandable.

Simply complaining about the problem doesn't fix the problem. Maybe here is your cue to put your hand up as a new moderator? If you are not prepared to be a part of the solution you shouldn't complain about it  

[OlafS3]

Simply complaining about the problem doesn't fix the problem. Maybe here is your cue to put your hand up as a new moderator? If you are not prepared to be a part of the solution you shouldn't complain about it  

I would be very surprised if I get the offer

Forgotten, I am a "troll", post too often in related threads

[Karlos]

As always, new owners same old melodrama.

Let's give the new guv'nors a chance before we start proclaiming the end of free speech, shall we?

[amigakit]

@Olafs3

That is their personal view and it should be respected.   Value to different people is perceived in many different ways.  

However, when someone re-iterates that point, especially with inflammatory statements and creates an agenda consistently without contributing anything positive to the thread, it may be considered as trying to create controversy and promote their agenda on other people without consideration to other people's views on the matter.  I also notice that sometimes, statements are taken out of context to create negativity.

When I joined this forum 10 years ago, it was very different place.  Lets get back to discussing the "Amiga" - the small minority can spoil this website for the vast majority here.

[amigakit]

@Olafs3

I personally dislike the words "troll" and "trolling": they are abused to describe behavior on forums and become too broad in definition.  If someone infringes the rules, they should be specifically told exactly the rule that has been breached, not labelled as "trolling".  Accountability is very important to make Amiga.org a friendly place to visit.

We will need to discuss this in detail with the moderators and listen to their views.

[OlafS3]

@Olafs3

That is their personal view and it should be respected.   Value to different people is perceived in many different ways.  

However, when someone re-iterates that point, especially with inflammatory statements and creates an agenda consistently without contributing anything positive to the thread, it may be considered as trying to create controversy and promote their agenda on other people without consideration to other people's views on the matter.  I also notice that sometimes, statements are taken out of context to create negativity.

When I joined this forum 10 years ago, it was very different place.  Lets get back to discussing the "Amiga" - the small minority can spoil this website for the vast majority here.

Perception is always subjective. It would be already a big win if there would be transparency, if moderators must justify their actions and even loose the status when misusing it. There will always be different views.

[OlafS3]

@Olafs3

I dislike the words "troll" and "trolling": they are abused to describe behavior on forums and become too broad in definition.  If someone infringes the rules, they should be specifically told exactly the rule that has been breached, not labelled as "trolling".  Accountability is very important to make Amiga.org a friendly place to visit.

I used it because you can often read it and someone used it against me. Transparency regarding any decision would be needed, be it changes of postings or warnings/bannings against users. And the moderators should not hide behind the TOS (like they always do) but justify their view against the users. If it is justified and covered by rules they can do that without problem.