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| Atari forums on the net |
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by Simon Sunnyboy/The Coolest Paradise
Introduction
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Without communication via electronic means the scene would die. Communication
is the most important link for the Atari scene and this article will give you
an introduction and review of the various forums available on the net. I will
focus on webforums accessible via http.
Reviews
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There are 4 large and important webbased forums for the 16/32bit Atari scene
and perhaps 1 or 2 smaller ones. I'll focus on the large and international
ones :
DHS Forum
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found at: http://dhs.nu/ Bulletins section
This is the heart forum of the demoscene and probably the one where a newcomer
should watch carefully before posting. For a real and accepted scener it is a
must to show up here from time to time.
Pros : proper threading, main scene forum, works in simplest webbrowsers
Cons : no login - anyone can fake your name here, only 1 well-frequented board
Rating: recommended
LGD Forum
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found at: http://www.atari.st/
On the famous and wellknown LGD website, you will find one of the oldest
webbased forums that is still active and alive. People here are in general more
emulation related and from time to time annoying FAQs arrive. Here you should
expect more people without real Ataris then elsewhere.
In general people are friendly, helpful and generous here. It is a nice and
rewarding community and therefor worth joining. If you don't hate emulation
addicts and their questions, this is a nice place to visit frequently.
Pros : proper threading, login with password
Cons : annoying javascript for menubar, emulation newbie forum
Rating: recommended
Atari.org Forum
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found at: http://www.atari.org/
This is another central meeting places for Atarians. The forum concentrates on
Ataris in general so you will find VCS, 8-Bit, Lynx and Jaguar stuff as well.
Beside that, the 16/32 Bit forum is more oriented for using Ataris as a work
platform. Here you will most likely meet people that still use Ataris for their
everyday work.
Pros : proper threading, works in the simplest webbrowser
Cons : no login
Rating: a must for any Atarian!
Atari Forum
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found at: http://www.atari-forum.com/
This is the slowest and most colorful forum. It is more for emulation addicts
but several bulletins concentrate on real machines. This forum features several
bulletins for demos, games, applications, coding, music, Falcon and a few
special forums like a dedicated STEEM and a D-Bug forum. You can share files
here and adding them to the thread making requests for software and games
easier.
The main problem is the large amount of emulation-only people and the slow
loading of the forum.
Pros : login, large amount of different areas to talk, file sharing
Cons : no proper threading, slow
Rating: quite interesting if you like the design and the content
As a personal opinion, I think Atari Forum is too colorful and people tend to
use too large avatars here. Browsing this forum with a modem is pain in the
butt. But as this is my personal opinion I do not count that.
Conclusion
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There are several nice Atari forums on the net so why don't you just browse them,
if you haven't yet? Hardcore Atarians should join the well known Atari related
groups on Usenet if they haven't done yet.
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