Be wary of Digital River and Minitool Partition Wizard software 14 Jan 8:16 AM (2 months ago)

Not sure I am in the right section with this topic but here is my issue:

On 1-3-2024, I purchased Minitool Partition Wizard which is affiliated with Digital River GBH to perform data migration. I had used their freeware version previously with good results and decided to go ahead and buy the annual subscription to this software using PayPal for $52.06. I later learned that this software version was autorenewing and since I only needed it once, I cancelled the subscription. I received confirmation of this cancellation on 1-3-2025. However, Digital River/Minitool PW charged my PayPal account for renewal on 1-2-2025 without my authorization. I requested the company refund the amount charged to my PayPal and was denied. Since then, I have received various communications from Digital River/Minitool PW from different employees all seeking to justfiy not refunding the unwanted 1-2-2025 purchase amount. My last communication with them was this morning and I expressed my opinion that refusing me a refund is tantamount to theft.

If anyone has any suggestions on resolving this matter, I am all ears. However, I have researched Digital River GBH with results suggesting they are a company in financial stress. There may be no satisfactory resolution for me, as in refund, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up. As the title to this thread says: Be wary of Digital River and Minitool Partition Wizard software.

Introducing v3.0 of the Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct! 13 Jan 5:25 AM (2 months ago)

We have once again improved our Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct, based upon feedback we've received from the community and a few hard learned lessons.

Our primary goal is still to embody the inclusive values of the Icrontic community, and to empower everyone to establish and communicate healthy boundaries. What we missed in the last version is making any distinction between safety and comfort. We also realized that the language we used in the Code in previous versions came across as pretty dry and "corporate" sounding.

As a result, we revised the Code to include more of an authentic Icrontic voice, and to reinforce the idea that although we want everyone to be comfortable, the true purpose of the Code of Conduct is to help people feel safe in all Club settings.

Introducing version 3.0 of the Icrontic Code of Conduct.

Highlights include such gems as "goofy and sexy nerds" and "Do Do This Shit" - it really is worth reading!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z9qYna1hbyxABfxsMTFxD2BH2V50khKHQYR8bBbmYZI/edit?usp=sharing

Alien Romulus and the future of AI assisted CG performances 20 Aug 2024 3:50 AM (7 months ago)

For those who have not yet seen Alien Romulus - This will offer a very light duty spoiler and nothing outside of that. Nothing that should fundamentally ruin the film but if you want to preserve every moment, stop here.... Still reading??

By some technical mixture of computer graphics and artificial intelligence these movie magic makers convincingly bring Ian Holm back from the dead, plaster his 1979 mug on a new science officer and it is the first time I've seen this done where it is not "Uncanny Valley" - assuming someone goes in to see this and they have never seen the original 1979 Alien they might be clueless that the performance is not actually given by an actor. It's that convincing looking, and.... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it?

When we saw them bring Peter Cushing back from the dead to have moments with Tarkin in Rogue One, I think it was pretty clear to everyone in the audience that something about that was technical, not quite human - Alien Romulus has finally gotten the technology to a point where it's one of the most impressive things you have ever seen in cinema. It's mind blowing, but also kind of alarming how fast that tech has advanced.

There are so many ethical questions, I barely know where to begin. Not that anyone will ever want to bring me back from the dead, but let's assume it's an option, I do a thing that is popular, humanity wants to preserve that, how do I claim agency over the things that happen to my likeness after my passing? Will this rob actors of potential opportunities? In the case of this film, obviously some folks in the effects and sound labs got paid, but could you just have easily cast an actor to play a different android that mirrored the directive? Now that this can be done so convincingly, will Disney go back and start "fixing" things that we all love as they are?

Did anyone else see it and have the same moment that I did, go, wait, that's like Ian Holm and it totally doesn't look like CG right now?? How?? Holy Shit that is cool, but.... wait a minute, maybe it's a little too good?

Icrontic's Board of Trustees, Minutes & Club Documents 17 Aug 2024 9:11 AM (7 months ago)

The Club's trustees are me (Secretary 👋), @primesuspect (Historian), @Sazbean (President), @Massalinie, and @GHoosdum (Treasurer). Feel free to reach out to any of us at any time to ask questions and give feedback.

Documents

• Icrontic's Bylaws, signed & enacted 20 March 2024.
• Icrontic's Code of Conduct
• Icrontic Club Membership

Minutes

• 25 Aug
• 28 July
• 8 July
• 19 June
• 8 June
• 5 May

Historical

• Full Board formation announcement
• Initial Board formation announcement
• Transition team & Club formation kickoff announcement

Committees Kickoff 1 Aug! — Icrontic Board Meeting highlights 28 Jul 2024 2:31 PM (8 months ago)

Icrontic's Board of Trustees met on 28 July and the minutes are available: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13WNJDdt3t7qWYbF8lJ7xx4GvG_gCSLjUx4FFAmn0wDY/edit

Highlights:

1. We finished defining Committees: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DQpcm-F-_drjSVZMoJ1gGsfEWdd4nAxyHa99rth915Y/edit
2. We assigned folks to Committees (but you can still volunteer! https://forms.gle/k4Rp8i1otKZbyvju8 )
3. We made minor revisions to the Code of Conduct based on community feedback: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z9qYna1hbyxABfxsMTFxD2BH2V50khKHQYR8bBbmYZI/edit
4. At no time did Rob leave his son out in the rain.

We chose a controversial selection strategy: If you volunteered for a committee — tag, you're it. 😂

Committee assignments start 1 August, and your first act should be to choose a Chair, read & understand your committee definition (and ask for clarifications if needed), figure out how you'll work, and recruit anyone else you think is required for success. Each Committee will have its own private Discord channel to facilitate communication. It would be great to read the other committee definitions as well so you understand the overlap!

The Board is here to help if you have questions or challenges!

Here are the current committees:

• Membership: @primesuspect, @CB, @FridayUnited, @DontCallMeKelso, @Massalinie, @GnomeQueen
• Moderation: @BobbyDigi, @CB, @cola, @DontCallMeKelso, @Linc, sparkles, @Sazbean
• Expo: @Linc, @CB, @BobbyDigi, @GnomeQueen, sparkles, @FridayUnited, @SailorDoom, @GHoosdum
• Events: @Annes, @Linc
• Platform: @Linc, @Strikes
• Archives: @GnomeQueen, @Linc, @primesuspect

Thanks to all our past and upcoming volunteers!

We would especially like to request WOMEN to volunteer for the MODERATION committee!

Volunteer here: https://forms.gle/k4Rp8i1otKZbyvju8

[2024] Version of Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct [deprecated] 10 Jul 2024 4:16 PM (9 months ago)

UPDATED 7/28/24 to version 2.1

We have improved our Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct with a new version to make sure that our community is welcoming and safe for everyone. We want to empower people to feel comfortable establishing their own boundaries and communicating them. We want those boundaries, with specific and explicit consent, to be the foundation of our relationships and interactions. We want our community members to feel safe establishing a boundary, withdrawing consent, and reporting violations without fear of retaliation.

After reflection, we felt the first version of the Code fell short of these goals in a few ways. We believe our new version (version 2) of the Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct reflects these community values and empowers each of you to feel comfortable and safe in this community.

We value and we support each of you.

Sarah, Linc, Brian, Rob & Emily

Icrontic Social Club Code of Conduct version 2.1

Link to Document

All Icrontic Social Club members, event attendees, event-runners, sponsors and volunteers are required to agree with the following code of conduct. Icrontic's Board of Trustees and their designees will enforce this code. Full cooperation from all persons is mandatory to help ensure a safe environment for everybody. We expect everyone to follow this code in all contexts.

Summary

Our Club is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, level of ability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), theological perspective, technology choices, or relationship status. People violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from events, Club digital platforms, the Club itself, and any Club venues without a refund at the discretion of the Board.

Consent and Conduct

Our Club seeks to empower people to feel comfortable establishing boundaries. Consent should be built into your behavior and actions at Club events. If you intend to engage with someone in a manner that could be perceived as intimate or personal, never presume consent. Always seek explicit permission beforehand. We also emphasize the importance of respecting individuals’ autonomy and avoiding any form of peer pressure when seeking consent.

Our Club does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation,non-consensual behavior in any form, or any behavior that undermines the well-being and dignity of others.

Unacceptable behavior includes:

• Harassment which includes (but is not limited to) unwelcome and offensive conduct based on (but not limited to) gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, level of ability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), theological perspective, technology choices, relationship status.
• Social or peer pressure, deliberate intimidation, bullying and/or stalking, and any other behavior which is likely to cause alarm or distress to a reasonable person.
• Photography or recording that can reasonably be interpreted as harassment.
• Targeting and/or intentional misgendering or deadnaming individuals, including in a passive-voice or sarcastic tone and/or structure. Accidental misgendering is not a violation of policy and is encouraged to be addressed in a respectful, gentle manner by all parties involved.
• Sustained disruption of talks, event flow, or individual events (including through intoxication by any substance).
• Inappropriate or unwanted physical conduct. This includes touching, hugging and kissing. Please respect people’s “personal bubble” without explicit consent. Consent can always be withdrawn.
• Unwelcome sexual or other personal attention. Be aware of and respect the personal boundaries of other attendees, which may differ from your own.
• Theft or extortion, including by deception.
• Mocking or sarcastic patterning/behavior towards rules and regulations in a group, team or event setting.
• Retaliation against any individual who reports an incident or concern, including but not limited to issues of consent.
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior, or any behavior that is against the law.

Incidents

If you are being subject to unacceptable behavior, notice that someone else is being subject to unacceptable behavior, please first consider informing the person or persons responsible that you would like them to stop. Often the offending behavior is unintentional and those involved will resolve the incident amicably.

If you believe that bringing up the incident with the person or persons involved may have negative consequences for you or others, or could lead to further breaches, or if you are uncomfortable with the confrontation, please report it.

If you reach an amicable outcome without reporting, we encourage you to still report for awareness. You can specify your report is for informational purposes only and requires no action.

If you are unsure whether to begin the reporting process, we strongly recommend you privately document your experience to preserve details while your memory is strongest.

Concerns

If you encounter behavior that makes you uncomfortable, we encourage you to let us know -- not to get anyone in trouble, but so we can learn how to be better to each other and support everyone's growth.

Reporting

We value and appreciate all efforts to provide a safe and friendly community for all. Violations of this code reduce the value of the community for everyone. If unacceptable behavior persists - even after the person involved has been asked to stop - or if you feel uncomfortable with confrontation, the behavior should be reported to any Board member or a Board designee.

When reporting an incident or concern, you will be consulted on what level of anonymity you need to feel safe and what outcomes you hope to see. We default to believing victim statements.

The Board member’s contact information (and/or that of their designee) will be posted in an official Club digital platform (such as Discord), and for each event. No one else is authorized to act on their behalf without explicit permission on a case-by-case basis.

Enforcement

Persons asked to stop any unacceptable behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a person engages in unacceptable behavior, the Board will take any action they deem appropriate. Possible actions may include:
Warning the person officially to discontinue the unacceptable behavior
Suspension of some or all of membership benefits (either temporarily or permanently)
Expulsion from the Club

The Board members or their designees will be happy to help participants contact local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe.

We value you, and we support you.

Icrontic Official Announcements 9 Jun 2024 8:22 AM (10 months ago)

The Icrontic board has created this area on the forums as one of our "official" channels of communication from the leadership team. All community-relevant information will be posted in here as well as in our other official communication channels that all members of Icrontic should have access to: Discord, Website (Icrontic.com), and Email.

It is important to note that no one channel takes precedence over the other: We have only opened multiple channels of communication so as to meet community members' personal preference or communication needs and as a way to be as accessible as possible we have chosen these three methods of communication.

Icrontic Board Meeting: 8 June 2024 9 Jun 2024 8:17 AM (10 months ago)

Hello Icrontic!

On 8 June 2024 we had the second Board of Trustees meeting for the Icrontic Social Club. This was our first time meeting as a "complete" board! I was joined by @primesuspect, @sazbean, @ghoosdum, and @massalinie. We're excited to make a few announcements from our very productive 3.5-hour session.

First, we officially added @ghoosdum & @massalinie to the Board and selected board officers. For the term ending 1 Aug 2025, our President will be @sazbean, our Treasurer will be @ghoosdum, and I'll be our Secretary.

Second, we established an official system for club membership, Code of Conduct, and official communication channels. Those were announced separately.

Third, we approved the mission & scope for our first two committees. They will be the Membership Committee and the Moderation Committee. We'll explain them in greater detail and solicit volunteers in a separate announcement.

There's still lots to do! Our next Board meeting will be the first day of Expo, 19 June.

Announcing the full Board of Trustees for 2024 14 May 2024 4:05 PM (11 months ago)

We had a truly outstanding group of folks nominated to be on the Icrontic Board of Trustees. Thank you to everyone who nominated themselves and others!

The initial board (Sarah, Brian, and myself) sat down to consider them all on Sunday, 5 May and talked about how we hope to see things organized. After a thorough discussion of all the candidates, we realized we could move forward much quicker than planned.

We want the Board to strictly be an oversight body. They set the guardrails on governance, interpret the Charter, and provide a backstop for accountability. And… that’s about it. We don’t want the Board to get directly involved in things like organizing events, moderating Discord, or managing where we keep files & photos.

These areas and many others are (or will soon be) places for leadership in our community. We hope EVERY single person nominated volunteers for prominent roles in the committees that will soon be forming, because we need their support.

As an oversight body, everyone has to live with the results if the Board decides something. Who would everyone trust to make sober, considered but also emotionally intelligent choices when it really mattered? Empathy & curiosity were at the top of our list for priorities.

After thoroughly reviewing all the candidates, we had enthusiastically unanimous agreement on exactly two. We also decided it was best to start conservatively with a 5-person Board, leaving open the possibility of a bigger Board in the future if it’s warranted. Therefore, we chose to SKIP the planned interview process and move forward immediately with those two appointments.

We’re excited and pleased to announce that Emily McRae (@Massalinie) and Rob Updegrove (@GHoosdum) will be rounding out the first full term for the Icrontic Board of Trustees.

Please join us in congratulating our new trustees!

Force browser to use a network adaptor 29 Apr 2024 8:18 AM (11 months ago)

I have 2 networks I'm working with. On my PC I have an ethernet and a Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi is connected to my work network, and has internet. The ethernet in connected to a different router. That router just connects my PC to a Linux board (like a raspberry PI) so I can ssh into it. My work network does not allow ssh (hence setting up a different network). So, now what is happening it the ethernet is taking over and I can't use the internet. Can I force the OS to use the Wi-Fi when I use a browser. The OS is windows 10.

Hark! Icrontic's first Board of Trustees 21 Mar 2024 5:20 AM (last year)

As part of ongoing preparations for the Helium Wars, we've taken steps to ensure the continuity of our command structure. Please stand by for—

ahem. What I meant to say—

We've been working on a transition plan for moving the community from a private-ownership structure to a board-led structure. It's not about making big changes to the community, it's about creating a more predictable power structure & accountability that doesn't rest on one person's shoulders. We were all set to nominate our Board when I realized we had a chicken-and-egg problem. If we're trying to move to a less owner-centric model, isn't a bit weird to hand-pick the entire board without more input? On the other hand, we haven't even defined "membership" yet, and auditable elections would be an administrative nightmare on top of that.

Our solution? Form a minimum "first" Board to select the rest of the Board.

I am pleased to announce that as of last night (20 Mar 2024) around 8PM ET that Icrontic is no longer a privately-owned endeavor and, in fact, has a Board of Trustees. The inaugural members are myself (Lincoln Russell), @primesuspect (Brian Ambrozy), and @Sazbean (Sarah Worsham). We'll be choosing at least 2 additional Board members to be officially seated at the start of the annual term (per the bylaws), 1 August.

We met at La Palma in Detroit and signed the official paperwork. A bonus unimpressed @Pink is also included.

To do this bit of legal gymnastics, we added an Article 8 to the charter, establishing how we made the transition.

As there's still no legal club entity this is all symbolic, but I think it's an important one. Icrontic no longer has co-owners, it has a Board of Trustees. May it provide another 25 years of fun and shenanigans. Cheers!

Nominations for the Icrontic Board of Trustees are now open 21 Mar 2024 5:00 AM (last year)

Hello friends, I'm happy to announce the wait is over! You can nominate yourself or another Icrontic member to the new Board of Trustees using this form: https://forms.gle/JrxuiBqJfWsjyZcS6

Please make your nominations by the end of April!

Not sure what this means? Read the background: The path to the Icrontic Board of Trustees — especially read the charter attached to my last comment there!

We will be selecting no fewer than two additional Board members. Our process for selecting additional trustees will be for the current Board (myself, Brian, and Sarah) to select a pool of finalists from the applications received and conduct one interview per candidate at a time that's convenient for all 4 of us. We'll then make our final selections.

Joining the Board is an act of volunteerism for the community. It does not involve directly moderating members nor technically running our systems. It is the oversight body for all Icrontic business that appoints the leadership for those areas. Experience working as part of a committee is valuable but not required.

Feel free to post your questions here or in the Discord #meta channel.

Dune - What am I missing? 4 Mar 2024 8:11 AM (last year)

So the hype train for the second Dune film is in full effect and many are saying it's the greatest achievement in science fiction storytelling ever. When I was 19 or so I read the first novel, and it didn't connect with me. Sometimes with age I'll go back to something, see if it changes for me. I hate the David Lynch adaptation and I'm a massive David Lynch fan, it's his only bad film. Here is the thing, Denis Villeneuve is a masterful filmmaker. I have loved everything I've seen of his. I decided on a recommendation that I watch the first of his Dune adaptation, so I did last night and.... it's a beautifully made film, I imagine it would have been better in the theater, but still a total bore where I just don't care if the imperial colonizers who are supposed to be the hero's just all get eaten but the giant sand worms. I feel zero connection, I don't feel sorry for the privileged kid, I don't like the mother, I find the fat floating guy to be a really cliche and boring villain... I just don't get Dune and it makes me feel as if I have to be missing something, like how can so many people be wrong? Someone here surely idolizes Frank Herbert. Tell me, what am I missing here?

Massalinie's multiple billion milestone 6 Feb 2024 2:26 PM (last year)

@Massalinie has nailed 3 billion to the board

NES Tetris scene 6 Jan 2024 7:53 PM (last year)

Saw this documentary earlier and could not take my eyes off it. -

Jokke is knocking on the sky 6 Jan 2024 1:18 PM (last year)

Finally getting to where the air is thinnest @Jokke makes 4 billion and is 30 days from the number 1 slot!

Anyone still having fun with overclocking? 6 Dec 2023 8:47 AM (last year)

New tech, well, not new, but developing tech, more heat, more cores, higher resolution and all that. Anyone still going for raw power? I know i am, and i can't stop. Ever.
That extra 1000 points in R23, or that lower latency from the ram. Always nice with a W.

BAM 24 Oct 2023 6:42 PM (last year)

First to 4 billion, while also running scared of Jokke

Offline Calendar App 23 Jun 2023 4:07 AM (last year)

Hi All,

I haven’t been on the site for a long time, but here I am, back with an IT question. I am maintaining a scientific instrument (NMR spectrometer), at a university. This instrument transfers all data it collects to a shared drive provided by the university. Everyone who is logged into the university network can access the drive, read and write.

I would love to have a calendar that I can put on that drive so that everyone can access it, read and write. People would use it to book instrument time, for example block out 28 June from 8am to 11am, so they can run their experiments undisturbed.

We have previously used Google Drive. The spectrometer had its own Google account, everyone had the user name and password, and could access the calendar of that account. That doesn’t work anymore, because Google doesn’t like 30 people with different devices sharing one account. Authenticating the users has become a nightmare.

What can I use as replacement?

Many thanks, Frank

Ubisoft connect not working 16 May 2023 8:06 AM (last year)

I have not been able to get Ubisoft Connect to connect to play games. It returns an error, "a ubisoft service is not available". This has been going on for several days now and I have not found a fix. Online troubleshooting suggests downloading and reinstalling Ubisoft Connect which i have done but at install, I get a prompt that the version I am trying to install is older than the current version and the installation is aborted. Is anyone else having problems with Ubisoft Connect not working? Do you know of a fix? Thanks.

A path to an Icrontic Board of Trustees 16 Jan 2023 5:12 PM (2 years ago)

Hey folks, today I'm announcing a change that will feel big when you first read it, but I think will be small when you experience it. The community as Brian and I helped reorganize it, initially in the form of Short-Media, is approaching its 20th anniversary at the start of June, which is also the month I turn 40. I've spent half my life focused on keeping our community together, and I want to start putting in place some things to make sure it outlasts us.

There's also a lot of room for improvement about how we communicate with the rest of the leadership team and how we make important decisions. After a few months of research and reflection, I decided the best way to accomplish all those goals was to form a Board of Trustees for the community. We can start that process now and hopefully put it in place sometime near Expo.

I've made an FAQ about what this means for folks who want all the details. The key takeaways are that we're going to do even more work this year to be intentional about how we manage this community and give more folks an opportunity to participate in making it the best it can be and ensuring it lasts.

If you're not interested in how the sausage gets made at Icrontic, you can safely ignore all this. This isn't about an edict to change the community, just in how it's managed (currently in private). If we do everything here successfully, you won't notice anything but small, positive changes over time.

What's the big idea?

Forming a Board of Trustees for Icrontic.

A board of trustees is a "governing body" for an organization. Basically, they're a small group that meets periodically to discuss high-level policy and vote on it. This is different from running the forum, Discord, or events directly.

Why form a Board?

The 20-year longevity of our community has hinged in no small part on my partnership with Brian. Brian has lately stepped back from day-to-day management and I'm uncomfortable with the position that leaves me in. There's a very big difference between a partnership and one person having a "benevolent dictator for life" role. I think it's a step backward, and it places more pressure on me.

Privately inviting others to be “co-owners” feels empty, too. All you "own" is a wild amount of responsibility and the ability to accidentally break things with alarming speed. You have to love it to do it, and it's OK to not want to commit to doing it forever. Reframing it as a “community trustee” makes it an honor and a limited-time commitment, not something you feel obligated to do.

Ultimately, a Board is a more sustainable model for community governance if we want Icrontic to be around in another 20 years.

Are you trying to quit community leadership?

No. Perversely, doing this is a lot more work for me than the status quo.

I think the system as it currently stands has a visibility & communication problem. I do a lot of work for Icrontic silently behind the scenes that gets reported to few or no one, because I've always just done it and there’s rarely reason to talk about it. I'm currently head moderator, head event planner, event host, treasurer, secretary, head of procurement, and head engineer — that’s just off the top of my head.

I think about the community in terms of 5 or 10 years into the future and there’s not a clear audience for me to discuss it with. Creating more structure will put us on a path to more clearly communicating goals and formalizing roles so that it's possible for other folks to fill them if they desire. I think it's highly likely I continue in many of those roles in the immediate future, but I'd like an orderly way to hand off some of them over time so the community isn't forever reliant on my bandwidth and I don't feel obligated to volunteer for things for which my enthusiasm has waned.

Wasn’t this a team effort all along?

We couldn’t have managed this long without the outstanding help of our moderator team and our event planning team. I think the challenge is that what we’ve most successfully delegated thus far is tasks more so than leadership. I anticipate more top-level structure will have positive knock-on effects to our entire process.

What would a board do for Icrontic?

When the Board first meets, it will do so with a charter (created by the transition team). Just like the US Constitution defines some basics of how Congress works, that’s what a charter does for a Board. It’s just broad strokes for “how does this even work.”

The charter will lay out a values statement and purpose, but that’s about it. My hope is the first Board will mostly help codify what we already have: A large committee for moderators, a large committee for Expo planning, and a small committee for managing our web server. They would do this by appointing co-chairs, giving them missions, and formally asking folks to volunteer for them each year, so we’re sure everyone is invested in the mission. I don’t actually have the energy to do this right now, so this is already a huge improvement if we get that far.

I plan to re-volunteer for most things I currently do. We’re still using ICHQ for events. This is just making space for other folks to volunteer in new ways too. For me, it’s making my opt-in explicit instead of assumed. For everyone else, it’s a structured way to decline something or offer alternatives.

Eventually, the board would presumably control community assets (domains, data, software, and logo). Note the board is NOT directly responsible for moderating the community or running Expo themselves. It’s for high-level direction and continuity, not day-to-day management.

How would we initiate this?

My proposal is forming a 7-person (probably) board from a pool of nominations made by the community. Brian and I will (probably) select the initial board with the help of a transition team, and we'll likely be members of it. They’ll meet a few times a year to check in on how everything’s going and make changes as needed.

How will the transition team work?

Use the Google Form for self-nominations below. We’ll select a few folks to help us, with the goal of wrapping up by Expo. I anticipate a few meetings over 4 months (March-June), probably mostly over Discord text chat. I’ll probably do most of the document drafting unless others are inclined. I’d like to make this a “low lift” for volunteers, not a major time commitment. The role of the transition team is consultative, not final arbiter, but our goal will be consensus. I hope to have the team in place by the end of February.

What work will the transition team do?

Drafting a value & purpose statement for Icrontic is the primary goal. That will be embedded into the charter for the board, which will need to be considered for further changes, additions, deletions. Soliciting nominations for the Board would also be helpful. The transition team will, I hope, brainstorm on what qualities we're looking for in our Board composition and what individuals would be a great fit. Most of this work will be asynchronous, but we'll meet synchronously a few times as well, as folks schedules allow.

A successful transition team will produce a polished charter (with value statement) and 10+ nominations for the Board.

How do I volunteer for the Board?

The transition team will determine how to conduct nominations to the Board and frame how we solicit them. I hope to begin that process no later than May. It should include enough details for you to gauge your interest in the required amount and type of work that will be involved.

What if no one wants to do this?

If we receive less than 10 volunteers to serve on the Board, or have other clear indications this plan isn’t going well between now and Expo, we may choose to abort the plan. We can’t force folks to be interested and engaged in self-governance, and it’s not the end of the world to keep the status quo. (Nothing about this answer should be interpreted as us being less than wholly dedicated and motivated to seeing this through, we’re just accounting for all possibilities.)

So a Board owns Icrontic now?

No. Well, maybe? It’s complicated. First, a transition team will help Brian and I draft a values statement and initial charter for the board. We’ll consider a roadmap for future governance. Key questions include whether to always have a standing board, how to select boards, what powers are initially transferred to the board, and what internal rules govern those powers. Once the board is in place, they will have the powers enumerated in the charter and may grant themselves additional powers over time with the cooperation of Brian and I. If the Board pursues legal recognition as a Social Club, we could transfer legal ownership of assets to it in the future.

Next steps...

What other questions do y’all have?

Self-nomination form for transition team: https://forms.gle/E3WeMRqhsLHt9K4Y7

I’ll close nominations on 16 February with a goal of forming a team by 1 March.

Logitech MX Master 3S vs MX Vertical vs Lift for graphic design 6 Dec 2022 9:56 PM (2 years ago)

I'm tired of my old mouse for Lightroom, Ps, editing and drawing. I came to the conclusion that I like the concept of the MX Master 3S as it has enough of what I need without going overboard. However I have wrist and elbow issues that flare up from time to time and like the MX Vertical and Lift for that reason. But the later 2 don't really have enough other features. Is the Master enough to help? Are the verticals really lacking too much for serious work? As I write this I feel like I am starting to lean toward the Master and its full features more. I tried the master and MX Vertical in the store but I wouldn't really know till i had some time to get acquainted.
MTIA

Importing a car from Japan 11 Mar 2021 7:10 AM (4 years ago)

Last year I finally took the plunge to import a 25 year old vehicle from Japan. It's not hard if you're willing to be patient, and doing it yourself will be cheaper than buying from a stateside JDM import dealership. There are several paths to getting a legal car in the US, but here's the path I recommend based on convenience and buying from a Japanese auction.

ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM

You want to find n vehicle exporter in Japan to handle the purchase overseas. Japan has a complicated title/ownership system and all vehicles must go through a de-registration process before they can leave the country. Your exporter will handle all that along with booking the ocean freight to ship your car, various Japanese inspections, and making sure the car gets to port. There are several companies that do this and their fees vary as either a flat rate per car you buy, or a percentage of the purchase price, or some combination of the two. I used JapanCarDirect.com and have been very pleased with their service.

In my case, I paid a $500 deposit to JCD which gave me access to their web platform so I could look at cars at all the Japanese auctions, view historical sales data on the cars, etc. The deposit can be used toward the purchase price of my car should I decide to bid, or it can be kept on retainer if I want to keep using them as a vendor. It is fully refundable and therefore not included in any of the cost estimates in this document.

Once you send over a deposit, you're good to start playing the game of finding a good car to import.

You also want to find a freight forwarder to handle the import of the car one it hits the US port. This will add cost but also makes life super easy because they'll handle filing all the paperwork with the port, US Customs, the EPA, the DOT, etc. Be aware that finding a company willing to import a car for your personal use can be a challenge. Many companies only focus on commercial accounts and don't want to get burned by people trying to import illegal cars. Shop around because fees vary wildly.

THE COST

As soon as you get into the auction system, it's tempting to see the sales price of cars and think OMG SO CHEAP. The price you pay is only part of the larger picture. Here's pricing for my small kei van. Bigger cars mean higher prices for inland transportation, ocean freight, and delivery to your door. Your Japanese counterparts can help estimate freight costs based on the vehicle prior to bidding so be sure to ask what the Landed Cost estimate is for your vehicle type.

Cost Group 1 - $3,700 Paid once you win a car within a couple days via wire transfer.

• Purchase Price of the Vehicle - My van was $1,680.
• Fee to the Exporter - Figure $1k for most cars for their services. This is how they make their $$.
• Inland Transportation to the Port and Inspections - $300
• Ocean Freight & Marine Insurance - $1,000
• Wire Transfer fee from your bank - $40

Cost Group 2 - $1,700 Paid when your car delivers to port 4-6 weeks after your make your initial purchase. OMG So Many Fees!!! These are the prices I paid through a company down in TX.

• ISF Filing - $52
• Unloading- $172 goes to the port operator who got your car off the ship
• Duty - $334 (Figure 25% of the vehicle price for trucks and cargo vans, 3% for cars)
• US Customs Clearance- $145
• Single entry bond - $95
• Express Courier - $30
• Documentation - $85
• DOT - $53
• EPA - $65
• Transit - $650 to deliver the car to my driveway. This varies wildly based on your distance from the port and the size of your vehicle. In COVID times, budget $1,000 or more to deliver to a location 8 hrs away from the port.
• Wire transfer fee to the freight forwarder - $40

So my $1,600 van cost $5,500 by the time I got it plated and insured in my home state. Budget accordingly. I'll break down and explain some of these fees later

Satisfactory. 18 Aug 2020 8:33 AM (4 years ago)

Satisfactory is a game much like Factorio, except in 3D. You start with meager resources, then automate up to a bonkers scale base that can make thousands of things at the same time. You collect resources, fight aliens who stand in your way to making their ugly planet beautiful and organized, and you can drink coffee!

This is a corner of our second large base, where we've tried organizing things. This corner makes iron and steel into some medium level finished goods like heavy steel frames.

Eventually, we ran out of iron, so we made a remote base that mines, and smelts down the iron into something more usuable, and then sends it back on 6 fully loaded conveyor belts. Its a lot of iron, and we probably should have build a monorail to handle this. The scale of this iron production is by far the biggest we've done before.

Here is the back side showing 1 of the 6 mines that powers the remote iron base. Each mine needs 8 smelters to process all the iron at 30 iron ingots per minute. We organized each into a floor... its huge.

Here you see us converting the ugly alien world into something more aesthetically pleasing and organized.

In general, for early release game, its pretty well thought out. There are some bugs (like the hyper tubes for transport being sort of buggy) but overall, I've been enjoying throwing time at this monster of a game.

Twenty Years 8 Aug 2020 2:16 PM (4 years ago)

It was 20 years ago today that @Mortin cobbled together a server in his closet with @celcho and apushardware.com went live with its first article. A year later that became Icrontic.com (and then 3 years after that Short-Media.com and then Icrontic.com again even tho there was also another Icrontic... it gets complicated).

Of the thousands of communities built before and since that time, most are long gone. Thanks to all the old-timers for sticking around for so bloody long; your reward is being old. And thanks to all the newer folks for finding common cause with us and keeping things fresh.

A "community" isn't a thing that forms once and exists forever. Change is inevitable and constant. Folks who arrived last week are just as important as folks who have been around all 20 years, because you have one critical thing in common: you kept coming back.

Cheers, all.

IC Minecraft is BACK! 28 Jun 2019 12:24 PM (5 years ago)

That's right! If you don't frequent the Icrontic Discord you may not have known that we have started hosting a community Minecraft server. We are currently playing Java 1.13.2 which is the latest stable build. The server IP is currently 216.54.107.142:25565.

Current admins are @BobbyDigi, @RyanFodder, @ecast and myself. Please PM us here or on the IC discord with issues.

Enjoy!

Ketogenic Diet - Over 50 pounds in 81 Days 9 Jan 2019 6:57 AM (6 years ago)

I did a full ketogenic program last Feb to May.

I lost 51.3 pounds during that time frame.!

After that, I kept to it on and off.

I gained about 14 pounds since then. I've jumped back on a full keto program again since Jan 2, and have already lost 5 pounds.

My next goal is 200 to 210 by my birthday in June.

HOLY SHIT SYSTEM SHOCK 2 IS ON STEAM 11 May 2013 9:18 AM (11 years ago)

BUY IT! EVERYONE! NOW! 30% OFF TOO!

_K's krazy krash kourse of KATastrophe 16 Jan 2013 8:33 AM (12 years ago)

Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Section 8: Prejudice I Am Alive Demolition, Inc. LIMBO SpaceChem Unstoppable Gorg 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby) 12 labours of Hercules 12 Labours of Hercules II: The Cretan Bull 12 Labours of Hercules III: Girl Power 12 Labours of Hercules IV: Mother Nature 12 Labours of Hercules V: Kids of Hellas A Plague Tale: Requiem A Story About My Uncle AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome Absolute Drift Alice: Madness Returns Alien Swarm Alpaca Staka Amnesia: The Dark Descent Among the Sleep Anomaly Warzone Earth Antenna Antichamber Arcade Paradise Art of Rally Assassin's Creed Assetto Corsa Shutoko Project Revival Atari: 80 Classic Games in One! 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Rochard Rock of Ages Rocket League Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball Rollers of the Realm RUSH Ryse: Son of Rome S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Saints Row: The Third Sanctum Sanctum 2 Satisfactory Shank 2 Shatter Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad Ski Sniper Snapshot Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 Sniper Elite v2 Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 SOL: Exodus Solar 2 South Park™: The Stick of Truth™ Space Engineers Space Pirates and Zombies Space Run Space Trader: Merchant Marine Sparkle 2 Evo Spec Ops: The Line Spiral Knights Spirits Star Ruler Star Trek Star Wars Battlefront Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic STARWHAL Stolen Realm Stray Strike Suit Zero Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Super Meat Boy Swords and Soldiers HD System Protocol One Tales from the Borderlands Tank Universal Teddy Floppy Ear - Mountain Adventure Teddy Floppy Ear - Kayaking Teddy Floppy Ear - The Race Terraria The Banner Saga The Banner Saga 2 The Banner Saga 3 The Banner Saga 3 The Binding of Isaac The Deer The Division The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion The Fall The Legend of Korra The Past Within The Plan The Polynomial The Stanley Parable The Swapper The Typing of the Dead/The House of the Dead The Ultimate DOOM The Walking Dead Season 1 The Walking Dead: Season Two The Walking Dead: Michonne The Walking Dead: A New Frontier The Walking Dead: The Final Season The Wonderful End of the World Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers Titan Quest Toki Tori Tomb Raider Shadow of the Tomb Raider Torchlight Torchlight 2 Total War: SHOGUN 2 Toy Soldiers Train Simulator 2013 Transistor Transmissions: Element 120 Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power Twin Sector Universe at War: Earth Assault Universe Sandbox Unreal Gold Unreal II: The Awakening Unreal Tournament 3: Black Edition Uplink Valheim Vessel Vigil: Blood Bitterness Viking: Battle of Asgard Viscera Cleanup Detail VVVVVV Warframe Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Waveform Wings of Prey Wizorb Wolfenstein 3D Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny Wolfenstein: The New Order Wolfenstein: The Old Blood World of Goo X-Tension X2: The Threat X3: Albion Prelude X3: Reunion X3: Terran Conflict X: Beyond the Frontier Xpand Rally Xtreme Zeno Clash 2