Aesop - Good evening and welcome to our 24th Ultima Online Celebrity Chat. UOCC is a forum wherein we bring to you celebrity guests from the UO community, ranging from web site administrators, OSI personnel, counselors, seers, and even role-players and PKs from your own shard!
Aesop - They drop by to answer your questions about UO, their experiences in it, and about their own contribution to the community. Our system is similar to the UOHOC chats. All you have to do is /msg a designated question taker with your question or comment.
Aesop - Tonight's Question Takers will be, Gilthas, Kehleyr, and joey, please /query or /msg them with your questions! Do not message myself or Den please!
Aesop - Tonight's guests will be Den, Creator and CEO of Stratics (http://www.stratics.com). While we are waiting for questions let's listen as our guests introduce themselves.

* Aesop prods Den *
DenDragon - :)
DenDragon - Hi everyone! Thanks for coming out
DenDragon - I'll do my best to answer yer questions... without being too sarcastic ;)

Aesop - Go ahead with your question Seph :)
* Aesop pokes Seph *
Sephiroth - sorry
* Aesop grins *
DenDragon - np
Sephiroth - Ok Den, when and why did you start the Stratics corporation?
DenDragon - well, the corporate thing happened at some point along the line... ;) as for the network, it began as a homepage on GeoCities
DenDragon - probably kinda familiar for a lot of you: bored at work, interested in UO, couldn't find stats for the scimitar
DenDragon - so I decided to find out myself :)
Sephiroth - thanks =) That's all from gimpy ole me
DenDragon - what started as "Den's Den: the UO Statistics Site" grew into the UOSS, and then into Stratics
DenDragon - cool, thanks for the question!

Aesop - Go ahead with your question Bronco.
Bronco - Den as I recall you started Stratics as a hobby, it gotten out of hand a bit? Can you tell us about the early days of Stratics and the struggle with the UOVault network?
Bronco - A bit the same as the earlier question, but still ;)
Gilthas - More elaboration. =}
DenDragon - that's a good one... in the beginning it was hard to publicize the UOSS due to the statistical nature of the info on the site
DenDragon - Designer Dragon had voiced his opinion on La Wizard's site (whoah!) that he didn't like the idea of weapon and armor stats getting out
DenDragon - Gasper refused to post any announcements regarding the UOSS, due to that one comment
DenDragon - we didn't get a mention on the UO Vault until DD started publicly supporting us :P
DenDragon - eventually we did ok, tho :)
Aesop - Thx for the question Bronco

Aesop - Go ahead with your question Kumba.
* Aesop prods Kumba *
* Gilthas raises an eyebrow *
Aesop - Okay I'll ask it.
Aesop - *Kumba* Hey, quick question for Den, how hard is it to run a site with such a mass volume and information, and keep it running for this long with almost no flaws?
DenDragon - well, first off, thanks for the compliment :)
Kumba - Oops sorry, was afk =P
* Aesop grins *
DenDragon - to answer your question: it's easy--just boss people around a lot and make them do the work for you! ;)
DenDragon - nah...
DenDragon - well, that *is* kinda true, but the main thing here is dedication and a passion for what your doing
DenDragon - particularly with such a large venture--or what turns into one--you have to have a driving force behind it that's about *what* you're doing, and not an end result (like money)
DenDragon - the end results are a great reward, but in no way replace a true desire for what you're focusing on
DenDragon - I guess that's my best answer :)
DenDragon - thanks for the q
Aesop - Thx Kumba

Aesop - Go ahead dro`xun
Dro`xun - yay
DenDragon - heh
Dro`xun - I would like to know how your geocities page slowly became Stratics?
DenDragon - well, eventually--after the impressions kept building up--I got an offer from Stomped (at that time merely an old and once popular Quake page) to host the UOSS
DenDragon - they offered me my own domain (uoss.stomped.com) and free hosting, which was awesome at the time
DenDragon - that pretty much let me know how popular the page was becoming and fired me up even more
DenDragon - eventually I got a msg from FrostByghte (back in '98) with an offer I couldn't refuse...
DenDragon - my own domain name and unlimited server space to grow the UOSS into a network! woohoo
DenDragon - I tried juggling the UO site (with great help from Xena), as well as the AC and EQ sites
DenDragon - eventually I swindled Xena into taking over the UOSS full time and focused on the rest of the network
DenDragon - it's been a slow process--with a lot of good people helping along the way--but eventually we got to where we are now
Aesop - Thx for the question Dro
* DenDragon pokes XenaDragon *
* XenaDragon snores *
Gilthas - Hum.

Aesop - Go ahead Ninja
* Aesop prods Ninja *
SC_Ninja_Baja - ok , I was wondering how long it took befor you had to get more peeps in on this , and when you realized it was to big for you
Gilthas - Hum..
DenDragon - well, the good peeps came into the equation pretty early on, through the addition of 'subsites' to the UOSS
DenDragon - I was able to convince a few popular independent UO pages--such as Gram's Better Homes & Castles--to join the UOSS
DenDragon - once the site become more and more popular, more and more people would send in stats n data, and I'd combine that with my own research in order to develop the individual sections
DenDragon - eventually people volunteered to become actual staff members on the site--this was around the time of first being hosted by Stomped, so late '97, I guess :)
SC_Ninja_Baja - thank you
Aesop - Thx for the question.
DenDragon - np :)

Aesop - Go ahead Nitr0
Nitr0_640x480 - hey Den ;)
DenDragon - howdy
Nitr0_640x480 - what direction do you see your sight going, beyond the foundation of
Nitr0_640x480 - statistics and information
DenDragon - well...
Nitr0_640x480 - do you see your site becoming more of a tool, than a reference?
Nitr0_640x480 - sorry for the lag ;)
DenDragon - not a prob :)
DenDragon - to answer the first part of your question, I think the map's already there
DenDragon - we're trying to be as complete a resource as possible to the communities surrounding the games we cover, without *replacing* said communities
DenDragon - news, interactive features, forums--as you can tell we care about these just as much as the numbers side of things
DenDragon - in order to do so, we try and cooperate with the sites already out there, instead of trying to 'silence' them into the ground
DenDragon - this is very important, as promoting the community itself is in actuality promoting Stratics, its readers and the people behind our network :)
Aesop - Thx nitr0 :)

* Aesop waves to taraturg *
taraturg - ello!
Aesop - Go ahead with your question.
taraturg - which one? :P
Gilthas - About the ads. =)
taraturg - ok
taraturg - With the current state of the .com industry, how has Stratics been able to avoid much of the turmoil other sites have seen. This includes things like popup banners, and subscription service....especially with the specialized nature of the content on Stratics
taraturg - do you see Stratics adopting any of these policies in the near future?
DenDragon - we planned ahead
Gilthas - Den is psychic..
DenDragon - last year everyone was throwing money around like it was water... we saw a lot of crappy sites and networks spending millions on ad dollars to promote vapor
DenDragon - and saw a lot of gaming-specific ad networks paying out to sites like Stratics and its peers
taraturg - I guess what i also want to know
taraturg - is, with the ad banner revenue gone...
taraturg - will any changes be made...or has your planning allowed you the freedom to continue as normal?
taraturg - :) sorry if i cut you short
DenDragon - we've been fortunate in that we've had good people behaving intelligently...
DenDragon - np :)
DenDragon - so I don't foresee us adding pop-ups or going to subscription or anything like that
DenDragon - I've tried hard to keep our revenue based entirely on methods that are relatively seamless to our readers
DenDragon - I hate pop-ups as much as anyone ;)
* Gilthas claps. *
taraturg - thanks Den! and w000 Atriarch and at.stratics.com!!!
taraturg - :)
DenDragon - so Stratics is as Stratics does... and will continue that way :)
DenDragon - heh
DenDragon - thanks for the q

Aesop - Go ahead with your question poq.
poq - Ah, guess you spotted me, Aesop >=)
* Aesop grins *
poq - Den, looking back on the development of Stratics, are there any things you'd change had you the chance to do it all again?
DenDragon - hmmm
DenDragon - hmmmmmm
poq - Other than having me work for it part of the time, heeh =)
DenDragon - yes: not given the founder of a network who shall remain nameless friendly advice that got abused :)
DenDragon - I'll leave that as being vague
DenDragon - my real answer, however, would be:
DenDragon - no
poq - Excellent. Thanks.
DenDragon - even the mistakes and misfortune that have led up to this point contributed to the end result
DenDragon - np :)

Aesop - Go ahead beans.
* beans waves to Den :) *
beans - Quick question Den... how did UOHoC's come about? Did you just email DD and ask???
DenDragon - ya know... that's kinda the way it happened :)
* XenaDragon adds that with DD beans means Designer Dragon *
beans - the god of all gamers :)
DenDragon - myself and a few other awesome individuals from the UO community got together and formed the idea behind the original UOHoCs
DenDragon - all it took was a bit of pestering
DenDragon - DD and everyone at Origin are pretty cool about that sort of thing
DenDragon - guess that's what sets UO apart

Aesop - Go ahead with your question Sub.
Sub_Zero - k
Sub_Zero - When you first created Stratics....
Sub_Zero - Did you ever imagine that it would be so big, and cover so many areas and so many games?
DenDragon - with the original UOSS, no; with Stratics, I was hopeful, although I never foresaw it becoming anywhere near what it is today
Sub_Zero - thx
DenDragon - not a prob

Aesop - go ahead ang3l :)
ang3l - ahm... Hi
ang3l - I was wondering what was ur experience with Computers before this Stratics things start.....
* ang3l pokes Den. *
DenDragon - ah, didn't know you were done... sorry
DenDragon - I grew up a haxx0r in the jungles of Brazil with only Windows 3.1 and a 14.4...
DenDragon - j/k ;)
Aesop - lol
Gilthas - lol
ang3l - lol
Kan - wow
DenDragon - I actually began life with computers with Ultima VII, to be honest
DenDragon - then I started selling computers, then I became a tech with some company that's national and won't be elaborated upon tonight
DenDragon - no formal training or anything--just an interest in the process of *creating*
Gilthas - Microsoft!
DenDragon - so I taught myself HTML with Notepad
DenDragon - dat be it
ang3l - Cool. Thanx
Aesop - Thx ang3l.
DenDragon - (aside form a little VB and Basic way the heck back in time)
Gilthas - I was right?!
DenDragon - no, not MS ;)
DenDragon - nothing that exciting
Gilthas - Awww..
* DenDragon pats Gilthas' shoulder *
* Gilthas sniffs. *
* DenDragon wipes Gilthas' nose *

Aesop - Go ahead with your question Gimli
Gimli - Did think you would get to me
Gimli - What Type of Education, have you completed, to get to where you are today?
DenDragon - I have 3 units of community college under my belt:
DenDragon - Philosophy of Religion, at American River College in Sacramento :)
DenDragon - technically a Fine Arts, major--go figure
DenDragon - I *do* have a high school diploma, however ;)
Gimli - :)
Aesop - Thx gimli

Aesop - Go ahead nitr0
Nitr0 - What's in the future for the Stratics network, how will new mmogs be dealt with
Nitr0 - 2 parter ;)
DenDragon - ahhh :)
DenDragon - well, we're going to be sticking to MMOG only
DenDragon - I'd like to eventually branch more into the development side of things, allowing players with talent to get noticed by publishers, etc.
Nitr0 - ah, interesting
DenDragon - a repository for game design drafts, world concepts, etc.
Gilthas - Oooo..
Nitr0 - that could open up a whole new avenue of creativity
DenDragon - as well, as continuing our focus on improving ourselves as an information and community resource for all MM games
DenDragon - new MMOG's will be dealt with in near the same manner, but with high-tech nitro boosts :)
DenDragon - we hope so
Nitr0 - Den, your information is the best, and it serve the community well, thank you ;)
DenDragon - now we just gotta figure out how to do it ;)
DenDragon - wow, thanks very much! and yer welcome ;)
Nitr0 - now Aesop ;)
* Aesop grins *
Aesop - Thx Nitr0

Aesop - And now for the question we've all been waiting for.
* Aesop pokes Kan *
Kan - What is your yearly income?
* Gilthas strews the path with flowers *
DenDragon - 1 billion dollars US in unmarked bills, laundered through a Swiss cheese box
DenDragon - err, bank acct ;)
DenDragon - either that or 3 pesos annually--can't remember which
Aesop - lol
Kan - wow, that's a lot of pennies
DenDragon - I know!
* DenDragon does the Scrooge McDuck thang *

Aesop - Go ahead Jaq
Jaq_Draco- - Has there ever been a time when you felt like quitting?
DenDragon - I have felt like taking steps back in the past, and have
DenDragon - thanks to great people like Jhariden and FrostByghte, as well as all the people who put up with their BS--er, help out Stratics, I've been able to step back when needed and take a breather
Gilthas - *Copied and Emailed to Jhar and Frost*
DenDragon - I've taken a more passive role in the day to day operations of the network, which thanks to the talents and dedication of the aforementioned people, has been a good thing
DenDragon - heh :)
Jaq_Draco- - OK number two:
Jaq_Draco- - What's your impressions on what's happened to Lord British (as in the man himself, RG)
DenDragon - well, I can identify somewhat with his position--Ultima being his baby and then being handed off to other talented individuals to take care of--and admire the fact that he still seems interested in the viability of the world and name he created
DenDragon - I feel bad that not everything has gone as hoped, but look forward to both his and Ultima's futures
DenDragon - I wish him the best and have a ton of respect for the guy :)
Aesop - Thx Jaq

Aesop - Go ahead Xuri
Xuri - OOh me!
Xuri - ahem yes.
Xuri - Well my question is as follows:
Xuri - Don't you ever worry that you (Stratics network) might grow TOO big? You know how the phrase go
Xuri - "The bigger they are the harder they fall."
DenDragon - some would argue that happened a year ago ;)
Xuri - =)
DenDragon - I do worry about how Stratics is perceived, because when it comes down to it, we're pretty nice folk with the best of intentions and mucho amore for the MM titles we cover
DenDragon - when you get to a certain level of traffic/success/whatever you want to call it, the naysayers love to focus on you
DenDragon - the bigger they are, the bigger the target, I suppose ;)
DenDragon - regardless, as long as we remain true to what we're doing and why we're doing it, I don't see success as anything but good fortune
Xuri - Alright. Thanks for the answer!
DenDragon - np :)
Aesop - Thx Xuri

Aesop - Go ahead Bronco
Bronco - Thanks Aesop
Bronco - Den, in the beginning of Stratics we found you quite often in IRC, I must say I haven't seen you for the past year myself, but being a European can help with that too. Are you still frequently visiting IRC or are you hidden under another nick or not at all?
Gilthas - (The one about IRC)
DenDragon - yeah, I was pretty much here all of the time, heh
DenDragon - for that year, however, I really needed to take a step back and focus on the stuff that no one really wants to focus on: business matters, hosting, company crap, yada yada
Bronco - I know, in the early days we had many times to chat with you in the channel, but now we need a HoC meeting for it ;P
DenDragon - I'm pretty much back, however
DenDragon - heh
DenDragon - well, I'm available off and on just about every day of the week (esp. weekdays)
Gilthas - That required some bribery.
DenDragon - just look for "Den"
DenDragon - yeah, where do you think those pesos came from? ;)
Bronco - Will do that then Den :)
DenDragon - cool
DenDragon - thx for the q :)
Bronco - Hopefully see you as much as in the old days again ;)
DenDragon - we'll see

DenDragon - ok, last one
Aesop - Go ahead taraturg. *waves again*
taraturg - eheh
taraturg - which?
taraturg - ;) sorry
Aesop - ranting site thing
taraturg - mmm ok...something along these lines... What do you feel about the recent popularity of ranting sites? complaining is nothing new, but it seems to be going mainstream
DenDragon - well, I like moaning like I'm in pain and blowing things out of proportion as much as the next guy...
DenDragon - that's what I had in mind with the Spiels n' Rants forum
DenDragon - ranting is a necessary venting process--and can be fun to boot
DenDragon - the only problem I'd see is when the truth gets distorted and people are hurt when there's no need for it...
DenDragon - otherwise ranting oftentimes help promote change for the better, so I like it ;)
taraturg - thanks!

Aesop - Thank you for attending tonight's UOCC. Remember, UOCC occurs every other Monday night at 7pm CST. The log of tonight's chat will be posted on http://uohoc.stratics.com.
Gilthas - Tonight's UOCC has been brought to you by the letter "C", the number "3" and "Peanut Butter"!
Aesop - Please feel free to join us here in #ultima-online at any time of the week for help in game, the latest UO news, or just to chat. Have a nice evening.
DenDragon - thanks to tarturg and everyone else who submitted questions!
Aesop - Special thanks to Den for taking time out of his busy schedule and joining us tonight!
DenDragon - cya round ;)
DenDragon - 'twas a pleasure
Aesop - Please email [email protected], or [email protected] with suggestions for future guests or topics Thank you all and Good Night =)
DenDragon - g'night