question to admins

[buzzdalf]

I have a question.

I'm a little confused about something with the DBS forum sites.
I used to be a member of dbstalk in the old days, at least I think that's what the site was called.
Then if I remember right, something happened (I don't know what), and the site was changed from dbstalk to dbsforums.
Now over there, I've been seeing people post about dbstalk.com, so I type it in and sure enough there's another forum here.

Is this the dbstalk that I remember used to be around? I always wondered what happened to Bab Haller (hehe), and now I see he's here.
Am I confused? Did dbstalk become dbsforums?
When did this dbstalk come about?

You know as I've been typing this, I think the site used to be called dsstalk. Could that be it? Is this the new home of the old dsstalk?

[Scott Greczkowski]

The history was (as far as I remember) there was a site called dbsdish.com something happened and the forums left dbsdish.com and became today what is known as dbsforums.com

DBSTalk.COM was born in June 2001 when DBSTalk founder Chris Blount wanted to start a new DBS Talk site that was more friendly and less moderated then DBSforums was at that time.

Things have bloomed into what we have today, which is a fun place with the best information and the friendliest staff around around. :)

As you get use to DBSTalk you will notice that we have features that no other forum on the Internet has, we have custom built our software based on what our users want. We have such things as the DBSTalk Arcade, (as we know everyone needs a diversion) Your local weather forecasts on our custom homepage (http://www.dbstalk.com/home.php) your own place to store your bookmarks and more!

We also feature some of the best contests around giving our members exciting prizes including new satellite receivers, DVD's DBSTalk merchandise and more!

And best of it all is that the site is free thanks to the generous support of our members who have donated to DBSTalk to keep the bills paid. :)

I didn't mean for this to turn into an ad for us but I was just looking through our source code for our software looking at all we have done so far, and it gives me great pride in the work we have done so far, and I am happy to say we are not done yet. :)

Anyways Welcome buzzdalf :hi: to DBSTalk.COM, and there you have a little history of things. There is another version of our history by Chris Blount which you can find at http://www.dbstalk.com/history_of_dbstalk.htm

Enjoy your stay and tell your friends about us!

[Chris Blount]

Welcome buzzdalf :hi:

Scott pretty much summed everything up quite well. The only thing I can add is that Bob Haller is here because he was banned from DBSForums. The reason was because of a disagreement he had with the admin over there.

I hope you enjoy this site and again, welcome!

[Jacob S]

I remember Bob Haller in DBSDish.com as well as others. I used to be JSSatellite but DBSForums required you to use your name as the ID so I had to have a change of ID so I used the same one here when I signed up for this site. I remember people checking in saying that they came from the old DBSDish.com with their old ID and saying their new ID to get reaquanted like a family or high school reunion.

[Roger]

“Is this the dbstalk that I remember used to be around?”

No sir. The original DBS forum was www.dbsdish.com. This was the great site created by John Hodgson.
What happened (If memory serves me right) was John wanted some cash (or help) so he searched for some advertisers.
He eventually made a deal with a DBS retailer (I forget which one) who took over the site and then John was the moderator not the owner anymore. I guess the site became too controversial or something, so the company locked John out and thus pissing everybody off. So everybody who was hooked on these message forums and was loyal to John was mad as hell and called this company every name in the book and vowed never to buy anything from them again. So the backlash made the company shut down the forums for good.

Then the betrayed John Hodgson moved fast and created www.dbsforums.com. So there was life again for us DBS forum dwellers.
The forum was really weird at first since the new s/w was really advanced to what we were use to. We had to register and what have you. Somewhere and somehow along the line Dan C gained influence and then took it over a few years later. The forums were a lot of fun when John ran them and when Dan took over; they became too serious and not as fun anymore. The site went down (technical problems) a few times and there were other DBS forums that sprang up from time to time that did some “business” (were busy) until dbsforums came back online then died. One promising site was one that Bob Haller was supposed to be a moderator of but he was never around so it died.

Dbsforums went down a few other times and a site boomed for a little while called Everythingdbs. It died like all the others before them when dbsforums came back. However, it had a core of people who were disenfranchised with Dan and his site. So this site was small and on an EZboard and its philosophy was pure free speech because of the heavy moderation at dbsforums. It was fun and it launched what I call a new “breed” of DBS people who were new to DBS along with people who couldn’t stand the heavy moderation by Jeff M and Dan C and others at the other site. So this cool new site changed its name to something else which I forget.

This cool new site changed its name but was still using the EZboard s/w but the admin paid the money to get rid of the ads.
This site was small but fun. I say around 80 registered members and around half of that being active. One thing led to another and the admin of this forum decided to go its own way and pay for their own hosting and s/w. It was still small and had only 40 or less “hardcore” members including myself. DBS was the main topic per se, but this site was the bastion of free speech and you could talk about whatever you wanted. It was everything not dbsforums.

Anyway, this site turned into the beast now known as www.dbstalk.com which has grown beyond anybody’s expectations and wildest dreams. I for one, as well as others never thought any forum could ever compete with dbsforums and now Chris Blount is the head of this gem. Unfortunately, www.dbstalk.com started to grow so much that they started to curtail free speech when they used to be the bastion of it. They started to become too serious (against everything they stood for in the beginning) and wanted to be like dbsforums IMO. However, the admin seemed to cool off so there is still plenty of free speech to go around. I guess I can’t blame the admin for wanting to change directions. I suppose they wanted to be better known as a DBS site rather than a DBS site which was also the bastion of many things off-topic. I was sore at them for awhile since I was there from the beginning. I felt betrayed.

“I always wondered what happened to Bab Haller (hehe), and now I see he's here.”

Bob Haller was banned from dbsforums.com for calling Dan C a liar and rightfully so. Dan would have accepted him back if he would have apologized, but Bob wouldn’t do that without acting like a baby then still attacking (sniping) Dan during his so-called apology, so he’s never welcomed back there.

[Mark Lamutt]

Most of Roger's message there is at least close to what really happened. Just a couple of clarifications - the fourm was never a bastion of pure "free speech". It was a bastion for the "free speaking." There is a difference. From the Terms Of Use (and this item hasn't been changed since Day #1):

(i) This is a free speaking forum but not a free-for-all. Most posts will not get deleted unless they break one of the rules listed above. If everyone respects eachother, there won't be any problems. Remember, this is not a newsgroup!

And, there were significantly more than 40 active users (at least that's my interpretation of "hardcore" members) when we moved from EZboard to VBulliten.

But, all in all, good recollection Roger.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Roger thats the best message I have ever seen you write.

Congrats and thanks. :)

[buzzdalf]

Thanks Roger.
That pretty much closes up all the holes in my memory and then some and answers my questions.

[Jacob S]

This site does differ in the environment from dbsforums. Its like having a choice between DirecTv and Dish. It does not mean one is better than the other but an alternative. There has to be some moderators or it will not be a true DBS site heading in the right direction.

[Mark Holtz]

There is a more relaxed atmosphere, and it's fun being on this board.