PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Questions, comments, suggestions, flames about the magazine? Here's the place.

Do you want to see this forum continue after official PCF closure?

Not really.
1
3%
Yes, if we can keep the existing database.
19
50%
Yes, but I'd prefer to start absolutely fresh.
2
5%
I may check in occasionally, but it really wouldn't be a major priority.
8
21%
I still think that the PCF shut-down is an April Fool's joke.
8
21%
 
Total votes: 38

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Ron2K
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Ron2K »

I've received the following feedback:
G3AR will definitely not be shut, including the forums. Not quite sure if Panorama will allow the forums to be run elsewhere, but that’s is purely up to them.
This does mean that while the forum will continue as it currently is for the time being, the move away is still on the cards.

To respond to some other queries:
hamin_aus wrote:Whatever we call ourselves we must register in the .XXX domain. Bonus points for working shemale into the name.
Notwithstanding your own twisted perversions, I believe something in the org.za namespace would be most appropriate.
hamin_aus wrote:What sort of cost are we looking at for this, and how would an off-the-shelf hosting package like the R79 one at WebAfrica (or something similar) stack up?
I can easily chip in R100 a month towards the forum, that's about the cost of 2 cups of coffee in Perth :?
I'm currently running their R99/pm Starter VPS. It does what I need it to for my own personal purposes, but may need an upgrade on the disk space side of things (the database will take a sizeable chunk of that).

The server (valyria.ron2k.za.net) currently runs httpd, mysqld, bind, ntpd and sendmail. I have a second VPS in New York (westeros.ron2k.za.net) acting as my secondary nameserver, as well as acting as my imap server and providing some additional ntpd sanity.
Stuart wrote:In fact, is sidebar.co.za available?
It is, as is the org.za equivalent. I actually like this idea.
GDI_Lord wrote:But sidebar in my mind is the little list menu-ey thingy on the side of the page, what is it in yours?
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Strangely enough, that's rather appropriate for this place.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Stuart »

GDI_Lord wrote:Where is it from, or did you just make it?
Just threw it together in PS quick, though I've seen elements from it on various other logos before. (The three lines for the E, for example, can be found fairly commonly.)
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Anakha56 »

@Ron I had the same thought for sidebar... :lol:

@GDI Our Production Control Dept decided to send our customer the incorrect format for the way part data needs to be sent to us. Our server received this data and decided to just fall over :/. On top of that the tempdb in SQL decided to out of nowhere start eating 16gb worth of disk space, the more space I freed/gave the more it ate. Once those issues were resolved, I still had to make manual delivery notes and my boss is trying to fix the electronic delivery notes. That all went down yesterday and we are still dealing with some of the ripple effect today...

So should we look at moving the forum off or just wait until they give the kill command?
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Stuart »

Or perhaps we should stick to the classics . . .

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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Stuart »

KatrynKat wrote: Letter from the Editor...
http://g3ar.co.za/2014/04/01/pcformat-c ... ssue-soon/
Error 404 - Not Found
The requested page has not been found.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Ark »

heh I thought this was an elaborate april fools joke
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Stuart »

Ark wrote:heh I thought this was an elaborate april fools joke
Well, the post has been removed from the G3AR FB page and the main site, so the jury may still be out.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by KatrynKat »

Stuart wrote:
Ark wrote:heh I thought this was an elaborate april fools joke
Well, the post has been removed from the G3AR FB page and the main site, so the jury may still be out.
was just going to say cause I saw the post yesterday on the main site...
wasn't quite sure if it was a prank or not but posted it anyway...
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by D3PART3D »

Stop lurking, Killerbyte. Say something.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Ark »

Killerbyte, hahaha yea I forgot about him! I wonder how Ms Jpeg is doing.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by doo_much »

side bar, cocktail bar, sushi bar...

I like them all.

April Fool's joke or no - creating aplace where Tribble's post count doesn't really count might nor be such a bad thing at all.

And having the ham saugage paying for it makes it even better still. Although that is like Schlock actually owning Tagon's Toughs. Bound to end in disaster...
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by ryanrich »

hamin_aus wrote:I also like these forums and would like to see them continue, even if its in another incarnation. True story.
Indeed, even though it's quiet now, so much of memories. Been here yonks now...
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by D3PART3D »

I loved this place as much as the rest of you, but half the people in this thread don't post much at all anymore. What exactly are we trying to save? The cricket thread?
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Stuart »

D3PART3D wrote:What exactly are we trying to save? The cricket thread?
Abso-friggin-lutely!
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by D3PART3D »

I see. Worthy cause.

I am all for sidebar.co.za then!
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by rustypup »

Hman wrote:pixieausshemaleforums.xxx?
it has to be unintentional to work...

like therapistinabox.com or penisland.net...

sidebar might work as well... :D
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by StarPhoenix »

DomeODoom.org.za
CaveCanem.org.za
EvilPictsies.org.za :whistling:
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by GDI_Lord »

What cricket thread D3p? ;-)
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Anakha56 »

Killy is still lurking... :roll: ;)
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by StarBound »

In this day and age of digital everywhere (despite the network running into issues here at the very moment) I do see a magazine to be a bit dated even if I prefer reading paper and watching videos on screen. The fact that EA pulled the biggest willy move in magazine history with front pages covering its release only to have the game not come out shows the flaw in delayed info.

That said I cannot remember the last time I actually spent money on the mag.

So this true? or a joke with a serious real world problem?
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by THE_STIG »

Found out about this a bit late as I stay far away for Facebook and such of late(long story). Haven't bought the mag in a while, kind of lost interest but it is still sad to see it go. Used to really enjoy the magazine, will probably go get the last issue for what its worth......unless this is a joke but sadly probably not.

So there's a chance the forums could live on under a different name?
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by KillerByte »

Hi Guys...

Yes I have been lurking but here is the official press release.


PCFormat magazine discontinued – an end of an era

It is with sadness as well as an excited eye on the future that Panorama Publications announced today (Thursday 3 April 2014) that PCFormat magazine will no longer be published. The May 2014 issue will be the last printed version.
It is always sad to say goodbye to a brand. PCF has been around for 17 years – 206 issues. It has left its mark on the hardware and gaming enthusiasts and has become a collector’s item for most of its readers, but its season has come to an end.
Part of our overall plan is to remain competitive in a challenging industry and for that we have implemented changes to diversify over the past three years, like many other media businesses. We deployed new media platforms for our readers in the online and digital space. We certainly don’t think print is dead and will be forging new products in the ink-on-paper business by launching new titles in the future. We always agreed to be prepared to cut non-profitable brands to make space for new business. The discontinuation of a brand is part of a well-planned restructuring effort to allow us to realise new and exciting products into new markets.
Closely linked to PCF is the G3AR website, and that we are happy to announce is growing stronger by the day and will continue evolving. G3AR will serve as the base platform for some exciting new developments in the coming months. So whether you are a hardware or gaming enthusiast, stay in touch with G3AR.co.za and as an advertiser, make sure your products are seen on G3AR.
Why we are discontinuing PCFormat? Simply put, a printed version is no longer feasible because of the target market’s preference for digital information. The original PCF UK has had a number of licensed products around the globe over many years. All but two PCF printed versions remain – the original UK version and one other. All trends and developments clearly show that specific markets are moving away from paper in totality or certainly show a significant preference for digital and online offerings.
So we say goodbye to a familiar face on our magazine racks, with a promise of better things to come electronically in the future. We would like to thank all of our advertisers for their print support and invite them to explore the digital advertising world though G3AR.



In particular, we thank our readers and subscribers for their loyalty over the years. Their passion for PCFormat is the reason why the magazine was successful for nearly two decades. We will be communicating directly with each subscriber during April.
The final instalment of PCFormat promises to be a memorable one, so make sure you go out and grab your Collector’s issue this May.
Readers who want to reminisce are invited to share their fondest memories of PCFormat on forums.pcformat.co.za.
Your questions regarding the forums are being addressed internally, but I ask for patience.
Would you guys be happy if the forums got moved to forums.g3ar.co.za and just continued to live?

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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by GDI_Lord »

Thanks for the update KB.

I don't mind the URL, it's the people that matter to me. Assuming that KB is actually a person. I know that hammy is.
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by Hman »

GDI_Lord wrote:...is actually a person. I know that hammy is.
You sure about that?
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Re: PC Format’s shutting its South African doors...

Post by StarBound »

I won't mind if the domain name changes/moved but as long as it redirects at first. I never saw this as a gear forum to begin with even when the change came in. I still every now and then but the biggest contributers already moved on (still dont know what happened during that banning incident). This is still a better quality local community than some others (bar hamin).

Is the last issue going to be printed on gold leaf paper? :P
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