Participants: Fallen Angel, Mackieman Description: Mackieman Interview Created On: May, 2002 Q: How, why, and when did you get involved with Subspace? Mackieman: I got involved with SubSpace in early 1998. I had a friend, who went by the name of Silent A$$a$$in who showed myself and another friend of ours, Bone_Enterprise, the game. Silent was a sysop in Coyoteland, for those who remember that far back, and he also has an extensive history in Paintball. I got a computer and a modem and just went buck wild for a few years. It was a free game that you played with real people from all over the world. At the time, that was the coolest thing I had ever heard of. Fallen Angel: Bone_Enterprise? Mackieman: Yeah, he's my best friend in Real Life... and a good levi bomber in SubSpace. Q: Do you fly any zones currently? Mackieman: I bounce around all over the place from time to time just saying hey to people I know, but I play in SSCX Star Warzone usually. Q: What are your favorite type settings? Are you a flagger? Mackieman: I am a hardcore flagger. I feel that it is somewhat of a lost art in some zones, SWZ included. Warzone currently has one of the best flag games in all of SubSpace, in my opinion. However, when there is a good flag game in SWZ, none can beat the experience. Fallen Angel: I'll have to check that out. I'm of the "other" sector of the Subspace/Continuum population. The part that just likes to just swarm and spread death. Mackieman: That has its place in the game; I will do that from time to time in EG. Q: What initially inspired you to start doing work for the Subspace community? Mackieman: Well, Bone_Enterprise was reading subspace.ds98.com (now SubSpaceHQ.Com) and saw a news post from Minbari Warship about needing some graphics help with some websites. Bone is a truly gifted Photoshop guru and began helping out DS98 as well as doing a little news posting for ss.ds98.com. After a bit, he told me that Minbari was looking for some help in the news department (this was shortly after hydro left). I had been playing for about 6 months at the time, and it sounded like something cool to do. So I sent an e-mail to Minbari inquiring about it, and he mailed me back with his usual warm response and set me up with a news posting account. It mushroomed from there. Fallen Angel: Awesome I've heard Minbari is great to deal with. =) Mackieman: I have yet to meet someone like him, he rocks. Fallen Angel: So I've heard. =) Q: What positions do you hold in Subspace/Continuum? Mackieman: I am an executive assistant administrator with DS98, which encompasses my work with SubSpaceHQ.Com. In addition, I have had various staff positions around the game, first being a mod spot in the old SSCE Paintball, then in SWZ I moved up to smod. Due to a misunderstanding that I shant delve into =), I was forced to leave the staff, but I am back now in a mod capacity. I am a former Star Warzone League sysop, as well as a sysop in SCF West. I will be returning to the league after this season as the op. I am also a member of the SubSpace Council, representing SSHQ and various other interests. Fallen Angel: Well it sounds like your plate is full. lol Mackieman: Perhaps this is why I am single? Go figure. Fallen Angel: Perhaps this is why most of us are single? LOL Mackieman: It's a perplexing quandary. Fallen Angel: Best bet is to marry another addicted to Subspace/Continuum. $ Mackieman: I have a feeling when I meet, "her", she will be as geeky as I am. Fallen Angel: =) Well you know what to look for then. =P Q: I understand the DS98 Online Network has been down some lately taking many some Subspace sites with it. Is that fixed now? Mackieman: It is an ongoing battle. We have several web servers on 2 coasts in the US, and part of what makes DS98 unique is that our web servers are just that, ours. We do not lease rack servers or anything of that nature. The only thing we lease is our Internet connections. This means that as a network, we too have ISP's. As anyone knows, sometimes your ISP has problems and you can't connect. Fallen Angel: Yes. =/ Mackieman: We run into the same problems from time to time. In addition, since we have dedicated leased lines, we run into phone company issues every now and again. Most of the time, when a part of the network is not working, it is due to an ISP outage or a bad router somewhere along the line. Then, of course, there are the times when the servers themselves have technical problems. An example of this is the recent outage of ForumHQ, due to some faulty hardware. From time to time stuff just breaks. Also, most, if not all, of the sites on the DS98 network run CGI/SSI, ASP, PHP, or some other language other than plain HTML. All of these require processing before they can be sent out. Because of the amount of scripts and things of that nature that are processed, when one has a problem, it can create an infinite loop that can fill up hard drives and RAM and cause server failure. Like I said, it's an ongoing battle, and we run NT4 with IIS, which doesn't like to process tons of CGI, which is exactly what we throw at it every day. =) Q: Is SSHQ the only site you administrate on the network? Mackieman: SSHQ is the only site that I consider, "mine". I do have access to almost every site on the network through FTP and other controls. In reality, everything belongs to Minbari, he is just gracious enough to trust it to me. =) Q: What's your favorite part of SSHQ? Mackieman: I love all of SSHQ. It's kind of like my kid, in a sense. I am dedicated to that site and to the network it is hosted on. I should note here that Sheyala is such a wonderful help to me, I could do it without her, but my life would be cut so much shorter. You rock Shey. :D Q: How do you think SSHQ helps out the Subspace community? Mackieman: The site has, and will continue to, serve as one of the central sites for the game. In addition to being a place for news about the game, we host many, many websites for squads and other groups affiliated with the game. We also host some of the most used forums for the game through ForumHQ. Finally, we serve as a chief download house. Most sites in the game link to us for downloads in some form or other. Fallen Angel: I know a lot of people were upset when the boards were down so much. Mackieman: There is only so much I can do, I live 2000 miles from either coast, and on site administration can't just drop everything and tend to one problem. DS98 is a subsidiary of Paragon Computer Systems, which is a real viable business. It's interests must be served first. I like to remind people who complain to me a lot that what they are getting, they are getting for free. When there is a problem with the forums, please remember that I am one person, and Minbari is one REALLY busy person, and there are over 5000 of you registered to use our services. We fix problems as soon as we possibly can, sometimes it just takes time. We aren't getting paid for this deal, we do it because we love this game and this community, and so a little long-suffering is requested. Q: That has to be an interesting aspect of SSHQ.. the Forums. =) I have to ask... who are your favorite personalities on the main SSHQ's forums and which topics were the funniest? Mackieman: There have been some really notable persons hanging around the forums, but not nearly as many as I would like to see. i88gerbils, though I don't always agree with him, is a good friend and he loves the game as much as I do. Sheyala rocks my world on the forums, which goes without saying. She keeps things straight and in order. I must say, however, that the majority of the SSHQ Main Forum users need to do a bit of growing up. We as administrators shouldn't have to check the forums several times a day to see what tardhat has posted something that we're going to have to close, move, or complete delete. Fallen Angel: Yes it is quite the "little theater" of our community. Mackieman: People, for some reason, get a kick out of being a complete idiots on the forums and just trying to make people mad, also known as flaming. It is really stupid and pointless, but a lot of that comes with the age of the users, I think. Then again, we have some middle aged users who are just as bad as the 14 year olds. Go figure. Fallen Angel: LOLOLOL Well Go Shey. She's the board Dominatrix for sure. =D Mackieman: Well I wouldn't go that far, but she does uphold the rules and regulations that I have set forth with extreme impunity. =) Q: What are your thoughts regarding the new clients, 0.37 & 0.38? Mackieman: .37 came with some wonderful improvements, one of the most noteworthy is the new graphics capabilities and the ability to click on a link and your browser will open. Improvements are wonderful, and an even greater thing is that the basic gameplay has not been altered. I've got to prepare for the mass onslaught of downloads that takes place when a new Continuum version comes out, hehe. Q: What is the toughest job for you regarding your role in Subspace and what is your most rewarding accomplishment? Mackieman: I think that the toughest thing I have to do is deal with smart people who insist on trying to ruin everything for the rest of us. It would be all right if they were dumb people, they can be easily overcome. It's the smart ones who come up with creative ideas on how to mess with things. It's a shame, these are talented people, they just need some direction. Due to the nature of the Internet, that direction involves trust, of which these people lost and cannot earn again, at least in my mind. Fallen Angel: Well not every group that contributes in Subspace is willing to work with others due to time, training, and/or management of people. Mackieman: This is true, it's one of the downfalls of Internet Communities I think. Q: What is the most important thing you've learned by working within the Subspace/Continuum community? Mackieman: My most rewarding experience is one of simply seeing the game still alive and thriving after all these years. When SubSpace is featured on TechTV and the like, they always mention the fact that they can't believe it's still around. Something else of notable mention is the people involved in the game. By and large, no matter what the age, most of the people I have come into contact with are really cool people. I have made some lifelong friends in this game, as well as gained experience in all areas of being a geek that I would not of had otherwise. The most important thing I have learned while working for and with the people in the game, is delegation. Delegate the responsibility and work to other people who are even more talented than you are and make a better final product. An example of this is the current SSHQ design done by Kill9mm. He did a wonderful, and speedy job on it. I've also learned a good bit about how to deal with people, especially pissed off people from halfway around the world. =) Q: Where do you see the Subspace/Continuum community and SSHQ in the future? Mackieman: I see the game staying its course. People come and go, but everyone likes to have fun, and that is why you play a game, to have fun. SSHQ will be right along side the game, I don't plan on going anywhere, neither does the site. Fallen Angel: Was a great interview Mackie thank you so much. =)) Mackieman: Thank you. =)