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Wednesday 24-Jan-07
Know Your Lanthrax Admins: Generalfeldmarschall Osprey
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Its a little known fact that prior to LANThrax, Osprey was a professional golfer and regularly played against Tiger Woods. lol
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"Grab the bull by the horns". You gotta love that philosophy. I've always tried to stick to it, and in this case, it worked. The first interview will be with none other than Osprey, one of the founders of both GozoLan and LANThrax, the site's main programmer, as well as the site's points leader.
In the interview, Osprey discusses how LANThrax made the jump from a regional site to a national one. How things have changed since the ancient GozoLan times. Also the issue regarding site bugs is raised. What is it that motivates Osprey, and what does he do exactly behind the scenes? Well.. you could always read below and find out...
Q) First of all, thanks for the time. State your name and occupation for the court.. erm.. i mean, interview.
[Osprey] Hi, thanks for the interest. My name Savio Sacco and I’m a web developer with OS3 (Osprey Software Services & Solutions).
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Osprey.. the bird.. lol
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Q) You were among the founding members of GozoLan, LANThrax's predecessor. How did you guys get the idea to start a website?
[Osprey] It all started back in September 2005 when Bejzinator, Rambo, Red Devil, Wakko, Indiana Jones, Gowg, Destroyer and me decided to make our first LAN Party outside of one of the participants’ house (like we used to do before). We thought it would be cool if we could have larger scale parties and there is no better way to keep everyone informed than by using a web site. The web site was not launched before January 2006 and by then we had started taking part in LAN parties by other Gozitan communities.
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Wearing the sponsor colours, always a nice touch.
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Q) Obviously, since the conversion to LANThrax, the community has expanded and grown quite a bit. How did you, personally, have to adapt to the change?
[Osprey] I read most of the comments and forum threads, both for moderation purposes but also to put some input, if necessary. Now I really have to read a lot of comments. Also, more members means more suggestions so much more updates. More updates means more bugs, which is good news for the bug hunters, but less time for games. Luckily I can count on a set of trusted administrators who can independently take care of updating the content of the site and moderating most of the services like the game server, TS server and forums too.
Q) What was your reaction to seeing LANThrax grow at the rate it has?
[Osprey] Once my Assistant Scout Leader (yes I was a boy scout), told me to always aim high because chances are the target would be reached, and if not, the result would still be better than what most people aim for. Nevertheless, the rate of expansion of LANThrax, managed to surprise me anyway.
Q) If you had to choose one part of the site which you think worked out brilliantly, which would that be?
[Osprey] I think that place would go for the news section because it is characterized by innovative and often humourous content. You can tell it is being well received by looking at the comments and the discussions that most of them trigger. If I am allowed to choose a second feature (or spin off), I would say it’s the Bug Hunt. When a new feature is introduced, there are so many bugs that people would think I put them on purpose. Some members have taken it as a personal challenge to find as many bugs as possible. I am sorry that I cannot keep up with the influx of bug finds, so I have to concentrate on the critical ones. This does not mean that I do not appreciate the efforts of all bug hunters, even though sometimes I sound like I am making fun of them. It’s just my way of talking. My apologies if I ever offended anyone.
Q) Besides being the head programmer for LANThrax, what else do you do?
[Osprey] My duties include maintaining the web server and, to some extent, the Game Servers too, although the latter is AlphaZero’s domain. I moderate the content uploaded by members which includes avatars, comments and forum threads. I am also involved in the organization of LAN Parties, although some other administrators (can’t name them all) are more directly involved in this.
Q) What was/is your favourite game of all time? If you could only pick one?
[Osprey] I would pick Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri because that’s the game which I have mostly played over and over again. There are other close contenders but I can only pick one 
Q) If you had to send a PC game to the flames of eternal damnation, which would that be?
[Osprey] I would send all those games that glorify crime
Q) Was there ever a particular moment in a game where you said "Wow, now that's amazing!"?
[Osprey] Yes, there’s a twist in the plot of the game “Knights Of The Old Republic”, that really caught me by surprise. Most game stories are predictable, but this wasn’t. I really suggest this game to anyone, even devout RPG haters 
Q) Devout RPG haters? Me? Never!  Are PC components and systems getting a bit too expensive?
[Osprey] When I bought my first inkjet printer back in 1994, it cost a month and a half of salary as a waiter. Today much better printers can be bought for a mere Lm25. Some other stuff has kept it’s price constant. When I upgraded to an Intel 486DX100 (yes 100 MHz) it cost me Lm100. My last CPU upgrade (a core 2 duo E6300) also cost me Lm101 back when it first came out. Both CPUs were mid level CPUs at the time of buying. So my answer would have to be, no, they are not getting any more expensive. Shipping fees, on the other hand are prohibitive.
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Command and Conquer 3: Will you be up for challenging Osprey to a match?
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Q) 2007 is going to be a tidal wave of amazing games. Which do you plan on getting?
[Osprey] I am eagerly looking forward to C&C3: Tiberian Wars and Supreme Commander.
Q) Do you think you'll have to modify your PC rig in any way in the next 12 months?
[Osprey] I think I will have to upgrade my 1GB RAM to 2GB if I want to embrace Vista and possibly change my AsRock Motherboard unless I find a way to use it to unlock the overclocking potential of my E6300.
Q) What was the funniest moment you've had as a LANThrax admin? Any funny forum threads or comments come to mind?
[Osprey] Recently I had a great laugh looking at the comments of a particular member trying to guess the identity of the guy behind Al-Sakkawi. What was particularly amusing was the misleading comments that other members started posting as to his identity. Most of those members knew were the picture came from
Q) Hmm.. I wonder who that particular member was.. lol.. I know that you're an avid gamer, Osprey. Any intense rivalries with anyone in a particular game?
[Osprey] I still have to beat AlphaZero, Rambo and Delta in Company Of Heroes.
Q) PS3 vs. the Wii - who will emerge victorious?
[Osprey] I don’t know, but I have a soft spot for Wii.
Q)Same here. Final question, how do you see LANThrax developing within the next year?
[Osprey] God willing, we should be having bigger, better LAN Parties, more innovative server based games and a lot of reasons for members to visit our site often.
Thanks for your time Generalfeldmarschal... It's not every day the top member has to be interrogated by an inferior officer :P
[Osprey] Bitte sehr, Herr Colonel! But rumour has it that I’ll be overtaken soon.
Overtaken? Maybe. But by who? I guess only time will tell. Until then, the next admin on the list is none other than our resident Supreme Commander future disciple, General Bejzinator. Check that one out this Saturday. Yes, everyone will eventually get their turn in a good old fashion interrogation.
Until then, I'll leave it to my fellow LANThrax members to pose any more questions to Osprey as well as any comment regarding the interview.
Herr Generalfeldmarschal, you are dismissed.
General Bejzinator, you are next.
S.E.A.L. out.
Colonel S.E.A.L.
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