Tyler
11-16-2005, 08:18 PM
I would like to introduce Micheal Cottingham. Micheal is the Support Team Leader for phpBB. As the Support Team Leader he guides and helps the Support Team. He has full admin privliges and can perform needed administrative tasks.
FU: Can you give us some background information about yourself?
Micheal: I'm a young, single college student majoring in Computer Science and Criminal Justice for a chance at a career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cyber crime unit.
FU: What do you like to do, when not working or at school?
Micheal: When I'm not working, going to school, I'm either working on phpBB as the Support Team Leader or I'm playing Enemy Territory with friends on the Internet. When I get time, I also read, work on model rockets, and play some backyard soccer.
FU: What online communities do you like to visit?
Micheal: Not much really. phpBB.com (http://www.phpbb.com) is a given, area51.phpbb.com (http://area51.phpbb.com) is a given. I visit FU (http://www.forumuniversity.com), http://forum.dshield.org, and www.tek-tips.com (http://www.tek-tips.com)
FU: How did you first get involved with phpBB?
Micheal: Oooh. I tried various bulletin boards before phpBB. I became intrigued with PHP in phpBB 1.4 stages, before I even knew phpBB existed. Of course, none of the bulletin boards I tried did what I wanted. Some came close though. Then by chance I found www.phpbb.com (http://www.phpbb.com).
I tried it out, made some then-called hacks, and got involved with phpbbhacks.com. I helped write, validate, and release hacks there. Around this time, phpBB 2 was going RC and so I gave it a spin. I immediately fell in love.
Eventually, a call went out for applications for support team. I sent it in. Soon after, I was a team member.
FU: Why do you believe phpBB is superior to its competitors - say vB?
Micheal: Yes and no. Now, before someone reads too much in to this, let me explain. phpBB has been around for quite some time, has survived many rather large storms, and continues fighting. Many of the original staff are still here, myself one of them.
However, phpBB is not in the same market as say vB. phpBB strives to meet the needs of the little guy and also serves the needs of some very large websites. All the while, phpBB is a lean, mean, fighting machine if you'll excuse the cliche. We do one thing, and we do it well.
FU: Have you ever tried anything else - say vB? And what were your first thoughts? Would you consider using it now or for future projects?
Micheal: Before I found phpBB, yes.vB was for support on a webhost I was using at the time, spaceports.com. Oh the memories. It was quite nice. But ever since I found phpBB, I have never looked back and have never regretted it. phpBB is quite flexible, and I know it quite well. Using anything else would be like using buttermilk ranch all your life and then all of a sudden using bleu cheese on your salads.
FU: In today's world, there are a lot of forums almost about anything. Do you feel this makes starting a forum harder? What do you believe is needed to start a community?
Micheal: In a way yes, there is always someone smarter than yourself, someone who has already thought of something you were going to do. But, the key to a community is homosapiens (humans for the science-lacking). Nobody is quite like you. You decide how to run your community, your visitors decide what they want. Interaction is what it is all about.
One person may interact with someone one way, and then someone else will interact completely different with that same person. No matter what software you choose (obviously I'm biased ;)), your visitors and you make or break the community. While someone may have thought of something, who is to say you can't think of something new yourself.
FU: Thank you for talking with us today.
Micheal: Thank you for having me.
FU: Can you give us some background information about yourself?
Micheal: I'm a young, single college student majoring in Computer Science and Criminal Justice for a chance at a career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cyber crime unit.
FU: What do you like to do, when not working or at school?
Micheal: When I'm not working, going to school, I'm either working on phpBB as the Support Team Leader or I'm playing Enemy Territory with friends on the Internet. When I get time, I also read, work on model rockets, and play some backyard soccer.
FU: What online communities do you like to visit?
Micheal: Not much really. phpBB.com (http://www.phpbb.com) is a given, area51.phpbb.com (http://area51.phpbb.com) is a given. I visit FU (http://www.forumuniversity.com), http://forum.dshield.org, and www.tek-tips.com (http://www.tek-tips.com)
FU: How did you first get involved with phpBB?
Micheal: Oooh. I tried various bulletin boards before phpBB. I became intrigued with PHP in phpBB 1.4 stages, before I even knew phpBB existed. Of course, none of the bulletin boards I tried did what I wanted. Some came close though. Then by chance I found www.phpbb.com (http://www.phpbb.com).
I tried it out, made some then-called hacks, and got involved with phpbbhacks.com. I helped write, validate, and release hacks there. Around this time, phpBB 2 was going RC and so I gave it a spin. I immediately fell in love.
Eventually, a call went out for applications for support team. I sent it in. Soon after, I was a team member.
FU: Why do you believe phpBB is superior to its competitors - say vB?
Micheal: Yes and no. Now, before someone reads too much in to this, let me explain. phpBB has been around for quite some time, has survived many rather large storms, and continues fighting. Many of the original staff are still here, myself one of them.
However, phpBB is not in the same market as say vB. phpBB strives to meet the needs of the little guy and also serves the needs of some very large websites. All the while, phpBB is a lean, mean, fighting machine if you'll excuse the cliche. We do one thing, and we do it well.
FU: Have you ever tried anything else - say vB? And what were your first thoughts? Would you consider using it now or for future projects?
Micheal: Before I found phpBB, yes.vB was for support on a webhost I was using at the time, spaceports.com. Oh the memories. It was quite nice. But ever since I found phpBB, I have never looked back and have never regretted it. phpBB is quite flexible, and I know it quite well. Using anything else would be like using buttermilk ranch all your life and then all of a sudden using bleu cheese on your salads.
FU: In today's world, there are a lot of forums almost about anything. Do you feel this makes starting a forum harder? What do you believe is needed to start a community?
Micheal: In a way yes, there is always someone smarter than yourself, someone who has already thought of something you were going to do. But, the key to a community is homosapiens (humans for the science-lacking). Nobody is quite like you. You decide how to run your community, your visitors decide what they want. Interaction is what it is all about.
One person may interact with someone one way, and then someone else will interact completely different with that same person. No matter what software you choose (obviously I'm biased ;)), your visitors and you make or break the community. While someone may have thought of something, who is to say you can't think of something new yourself.
FU: Thank you for talking with us today.
Micheal: Thank you for having me.