You violated my forum rules, abused my network (bots), authored reported posts too many times (Report to Moderator), or just plain were disruptive/rude in the normal course of discussions. I hold all rights as to whom I allow access to my internal network. I therefore reserve the right to ban anybody for any reason at any time without warning or explanation and regardless of donation/forum membership status. If you feel this is in error, you may contact me http://www.blackviper.com/contact-bv/.
Because I do not have the desire to write a novel length E-Mail back to everyone when “one word” or link says it all.
Some other reasons include:
- I know exactly where everything is on my site, but I do not expect everyone to have the ability or the time to get there. However, I also do not have the time to be a personal internet guide.
- Usually, the answer to the question is either on the Frequently Asked Questions page, of which I send the URL to the answer, or it is just a “yes or no” question.
- My web site tends to lean toward the “short, sweet and to the point” style with a side order of “bluntness.” My E-Mail’s are no different.
Jan 212004
At one time, I did offer News Group access on my network. I even posted a guide to help people configure their computer to access it.
Some of the reasons I no longer offer forums include:
- It took about three times as much effort to offer that resource than anything else because it actually “increased” the amount of “stuff” I had to deal with daily.
- I “had” to check it often because of the amount of “bad” people out there.
- Flame wars and advertising started happening. I pulled the plug because it was much easier than spending the time deleting/reporting abuse and being ignored by the offenders ISP.
- I realized that people tend to check the news groups/forum every 5 minutes, even though only a few messages would be posted per day. My bandwidth/connections on my network skyrocketed.
- People would post questions to the board and send me a copy of the question via E-Mail. Since they never included the “default subject line,” it doubled the amount of time it took to read and sift through E-Mail… not reduce it.
Due to those reasons, I have little desire to provide an open forum.
Note: in late 2007, I started “Black Viper’s BBS” and have been secretly questioning my decision since. On February 13, 2011, I asked my community if it is a viable resource to continue. The jury is still out.
Jan 062004
Unfortunately, the day has finally arrived when my information has become so popular that it has stretched my resources to the limit.
Each time I add something to the domain, more E-Mail is directed to my inbox. Some is positive feedback, but most are random technical support questions that I no longer have the time to answer.
I enjoy providing this domain to the Internet community, but my time has completely been overtaken by my desire to help as many people with their own personal computer issues. This desire to help has, thus far, outweighed my common sense when responding to technical questions.
At the onset a few years ago, it was a welcome event. I helped those that I could and the people that had questions that was beyond the capability to troubleshoot by E-Mail, I would point them in the right direction to help them resolve the issue on their own.
Then it became apparent that taking the time to point people in the right direction took too much time. Either I was "talking over their head" and spent lots of time trying to draft an E-Mail that everyone can understand about a complicated issue, or I was "talking under them" by automatically assuming this stranger that E-Mailed me does not know the first thing about computers. I began to ignore these more complex problems, sometimes after the sender has spent much time writing very extensive information about their particular issue, because I do not have as much time as the sender does to devote to a problem.
On March 25, 2003, I drafted the following: The Rant: Impossible Questions to Answer by E-Mail. This was in response to the large volume of E-Mail I get daily involving technical issues beyond what is humanly possible to solve remotely.
It hurts me to ignore people, as I have said many times before, if you have taken the time to send kind words about the domain my way, I will happily take the time to reply and thank you for them.
Feedback and encouragement has always fueled this domain. No banner ads are (or ever will) adorn this site. I provide the information because I enjoy my geekie hobby and encourage other people not to think of their own computer system as a toaster that "just works." However, saying "Thanks for the information on your web site" and my reply of "No problem, glad I can help" takes tons less time than to read a massive E-Mail about a technical issue that, in reality, is difficult if not impossible to solve from a remote location.
As such, I have to draw the line somewhere. I have dreaded this day from coming because, in part, I feel my domain has became popular because of my personal style of presentation and my responses to as many people as I can. The lack of obnoxious advertising bombarding the reader also plays a role. This word of mouth has came down to "don’t bother me, ask Black Viper! He will tell you the answer."
One person tells two friends, then those people tell other friends… before I knew it, I have 182 E-Mails waiting to be opened.
I have my own issues. Even though, on December 30, 2003, it took me relatively little time to "swap" the domain to a different computer and get it running, I spent several hours monitoring and testing to ensure everything was working.
I then got, once again, behind. I "just caught up" only the day before by spending several hours replying to E-Mail.
One day leads to more and again, I am behind. So, not only do I have to ignore and possibly make people mad by not responding or helping with their particular problem, but those that I finally get to their problem, I get a reply to my solution saying "I have already figured it out" or "you took too long." As such, I have spent time in replying for no greater good other than "seemingly wasting my already limited time."
Thus, I am going to further limit the amount of technical issues that get my personal response. I have tons of information that many people have utilized. I write it once, it is view by, not only hundreds, but thousands. A personal reply from one person, goes to that one person and is not an efficient use of my limited time.
Several times, as with the most recent Virus and Worm epidemic, I would post a page directing people on how to solve the problem. If I responded individually to each person that page helped, it would have taken more hours than what is in a day.
In closing, I thank all of my readers for visiting and utilizing what variety of information I offer to the internet community. I will still respond to those people with kind words or "specific issues" relating to my information. In the short term, that will not change. In the long run, that line may also need to be drawn.
This change of view does not mean that updates to content and additional articles will never happen. In fact, quite the opposite. Limiting the amount of one-on-one communication will free up some time to do just that. It also should not be thought of as a way for me to "leave my readers hanging." That, by far, is not the desire.
Feel free to use my forums for questions.
Dec 022003
I have used the “Black Viper” name as an “alias” for many years.
It came about when I was pre-teen and just starting to get into the computer scene, even though I was (and still could be) an Atari 2600 gamer. At the time, “everyone” (which was a very small circle of shunned geek’s, because computers were not cool at the time) had a name by which they used for gaming and “cracking.”
I wanted to come up with something that was, essentially, the exact opposite of who I really was:
- Very white (or pale would be a better term) mainly because I did not leave my parents house much.
- Quiet, shy and rather short and skinny for my age (later on, I was voted “Most Bashful” in my Senior year of high school).
I needed a name that sounded “dark, semi-comical and with punch.”
Some people ask if it had anything to do with the Dodge Viper, if I owned a “Black Dodge Viper” or even wanted to get one.
That answer would be no. I like Corvette’s. Even though the Dodge Viper is quite a nice car, now I would consider it “not appropriate” even if I had $70,000 to $80,000 laying around to buy one.
In reality, the Dodge Viper was a prototype in 1989 and was available sometime in 1992. However, I “created” the “Black Viper” name for myself in 1983. I crafted the name based upon the “snake,” not the car, while thumbing through my parents National Geographic collection.
My initial name I picked for myself was “The Red Knight.” Even though “Tee-Are-Kay” just sounded cool at the time (and, I still think it does), “The Red Knight” just did not have the ring to it that I was looking for. Dropping “The” and going with just “Red Knight” seemed like it was missing something.
Even after many, many years, I still feel “Black Viper” has a “cool” sound to it and still stick with it.
Nov 302003
I have used Virtual PC 5.0 by Connectix (check my review and sample screen shots). However, they were purchased by Microsoft. Microsoft released “Virtual PC 2007” in February 2007.
I have used VMWare Workstation since 2005 or so.
It is because I block all clients from accessing my images without proper “referer” (sic) information being transmitted to the server. This “referer” (sic) information is logged to find out “where you came from.” It helps figure out the bad links people are sending my way. It helps to discover what people are “searching for” when they click on in, and it identifies theft of bandwidth.
Why do I do this? It is to avoid other sites stealing my images and my bandwidth by “inlining” images on their domains. Of course, for every security measure, there is always a casualty to the actions.
- Search engines are denied access to the images while viewing “cached” content. I may reconsider this in the future.
- If your browser or “anti-spy/trojan/ad” software is not sending that information to the server, you will not be allowed to view my image content, even if you are surfing my domain. However, browsers that do not send “anything” work just fine.
Outpost Firewall:
An example of this is “Outpost” by http://www.agnitum.com/. The user of this software has the ability to “block” the outgoing “referer” (sic) information. Why anyone would want to do this is beyond me as it helps every web master maintain the server and fight back against abuse. The funny thing is, even though “Outpost” will block the “referer” (sic) information, the clients IP address is still sent. An example log entry follows:
[Sun Mar 16 15:35:54 2003] [error] [client xyz.xyz.xyz.xyz] client denied by server configuration: !BVEDIT!/services2_small.JPG, referer: Field blocked by Outpost (http://www.agnitum.com)
Even though I “xyz’ed” the IP address, your privacy is “not” secure. Please reconsider what information you send out and legit webmasters around the world will thank you.
This is how to fix the problem, directly from Agnitum Outpost FAQ:
Why do I see ‘Field blocked by Outpost’ in my web server logs?
If you see ‘Field blocked by Outpost’ in your site statistics, it means those visitors have Outpost Firewall installed on their own computers. They have set Outpost to block ‘referrers’ to protect their privacy and not disclose the site they visited prior to yours. Please note that these users still will be able to browse your web site. You can ask your visitors to enable Referrers in their Active Content plug-in to see how they arrived at your site.
You may also be able to access all of my content by placing this domain in the “Trusted Zone” in your browser options.
I am currently unaware of any more instances of this happening. Please contact me if you are unable to view my content “legitimately” and I will attempt to fix it as soon as possible.
Is that a question?
Note: As of February 5, 2011, I have converted the domain over to a white color layout. That is not to say that black will not return in the future, but that is how it is right now.
I have lost plenty of sleep and spent many hours to get the site accessible to everyone that wishes to visit. I have no code, that I am aware of, that forces you to view the domain as I intended.
I feel it is best to offer the viewer to choose how a domain looks, not the webmaster.
I also understand that a “Black” color scheme really jerks some peoples chains. That is fine… but be aware of this: you can change it.
You can take the following steps to adjust your viewing pleasure:
Change the color and look of the domain
Without cookies and JavaScript:
If you are using IE8, you can choose Page –> Style and select what ever color you desire.
If you are using IE, you can choose Tools –> General Tab –> Accessibility button or Tools -> Internet Options -> General Tab -> Accessibility button and check:
- Ignore colors specified on Web pages
You can even go so far as to do the following, however, some content may be obscured due to positioning of the elements and all three of these options (color, font and style) are global, meaning all web sites will be restricted to your settings.
- Ignore font styles specified on Web pages
- Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages
Unfortunately, Google Chrome 2.0 does not have a page viewing option for color information (it does only for fonts). However, you can still use the “Cookies and JavaScript” option outlined above with no issues.
Change the size of the text
You can also adjust the size of the text for you resolution and monitor size by selecting View –> Text Size, View –> Text Zoom, or View –> Zoom depending on your browser and increase / decrease as necessary.
Adjust the font style, links, colors, etc
The font style (Arial / sans-serif) was also chosen by selecting one that “looked exactly the same” in each of the following: IE, Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera. You may be able to change the “default” font to what ever you wish in your browser’s options, as well as whether or not hyperlinks are a particular color or even always underlined.
When I was in school, I spent more time banging on keyboards, playing games, tearing apart old electronics and watching “Mtv” (when they actually played video’s) than I did studying English.
As my defense, I try to also write as I talk, which is not very correct grammar. As a result, I get my point across, but with mistakes. I sometimes over use the CAPS key to make a point. That is usually considered a no-no.
I tend to “incorrectly” use and over use quotation marks (as I just did). I also tend to place commas in sentences, often. Usually, they, are, very, incorrect. However, I try to place them “where I feel a pause is needed.” When I need a “longer, dramatic pause” inserted, I chose to throw in “dot dot dot,” meaning: “…” or “ellipses.” Whether or not I actually am using them as I should, I have no clue and to be perfectly honest, I do not care.
As many people have pointed out, I also tend to interchange “their” and “there.” By all means, please Contact BV and point out the particular instance of this error or any other spelling mistake you find.
I am the only editor, writer, proof-reader, and tester that I can count on. That can only mean one thing: I miss plenty.
Do not let the errors sway you. As I find them, I try to correct them. If I am made aware of mistakes because of my kind readers sending me information about them, I correct them immediately. I am really not attempting to come across as a moron, it just “looks” that way.
As a side note: From the looks of my inbox as to what most people consider “acceptable” language and formatting of E-Mails, I doubt that the population as a whole would even notice errors that could be absolutely repulsive to a English Professor. One person wrote to me correcting my grammar. However, they are also the same person, in that E-Mail, that failed to use the “shift” key located on the keyboard, at all.
As another side note: Every time someone starts an E-Mail with “…sorry for my English, it is not my native language…” usually, it is formatted much better than the majority of my correspondence.
Sep 242002
It is not to be egotistical or self centered in any way.
The main reason is: To illustrate that a person really “is” on the other side of the internet receiving your E-Mail and posting information on the domain.