Hi all,
since a few people voiced interest in this, I set up a Discord server
for the Tek and HPAK lists. Before joining please read the below.
Discord is a free program (with a paid tier as well which you don't
need) that allows you to chat in real time using text chat, images and
file attachments, as well as voice chat and real-time screen-sharing
video streams. It works on computers as well as on mobile phones
(computers). Each community has its own server (you can also say each
community has "a discord" or "a guild"). Each server contains several
separate text channels which contain logs of past conversations. The
channels are usually dedicated to one topic each.
There's a few things to mention.
1. This does not replace either list. It's not "official" in any way.
Moderators of the Tek and HPAK lists are not moderators on the Discord
(as of now).
2. There are channels for HPAK and Tek as well as other topical
channels and an off-topic "general" channel. There's a channel for
"other testing equipment" as well as a general electronics channel.
Other channels can be added by me if there's ever a need, it's not
really limited. If you see a need let me know.
3. This is meant for real-time chat as well as general chat, getting
to know each other more on a personal level, checking in on each other
if anyone is in bad health, talking in real time when trying to work
out technical issues, do presentations, video streams, etc. You can
put Discord on your smart phone and beam out its camera to other users
in real time to show them around your collection or a circuit, and
that's very useful.
4. The rules are described when you first join the server and you have
to accept them to be able to take part. Some channels have extra rules
in the topic. I will make up other rules as I go. I will likely
arbitrate things that are not described in the rules and might decide
in contradiction to the rules. I will probably bring in others to help
at some point. Anyone who doesn't like the rules can leave. The rules
will be different than on the mailing lists. Anyone who acts badly
will be made to kneel on vintage NOS tunnel diodes for 6 hours right
after being flogged with 900mm triax cables. This is not an invitation
to act badly (you know who you are). I would love to say that everyone
is welcome but obviously some people will find ways to make themselves
unwelcome, don't be that guy.
5. Please use the same name / user ID as on the mailing lists, so we
know who's who - it'll make things much easier. Please use general
sense and always prefer to keep a friendly (not just civil, but
explicitly friendly) conversation rather than a "technically anally
correct" or "i am logically more in the right" conversation. Point 4
applies. Don't spam, don't flood, try not to use enter as punctuation,
don't post walls of text.
You can join the server using the following link, which will expire in
7 days. This is to prevent spam bots from joining. If you want to join
past those 7 days, email me off list and I'll send you a new link.
It's best of you first install the Discord desktop application on your
computer or phone, and then enter the link there by copy-pasting or
typing it in. You can also use Discord from the browser, but that's
less optimal, because you won't be able to know if someone's talking
to you when you don't have the Discord tab open, and Discord is
primarily about immediate contact, which is then lost.
Enjoy
