Fragapalooza Thread

[Mr. Analog]

 Fragapalooza will soon once again be upon us, according to the last news post (Mar 11), registration will begin late April.

I know last year was a bit of a bust, but I'll probably still go, even if it's at the Mayfield...

[Shayne]

 ...i wanted to attend last year, but other things arose, but this year i really want to attend, and i will book time off.

What was so crappy last year that you think it was a bust?

[Mr. Analog]

 The mind-bending HEAT... there were a lot of great things as usual but an early air-conditioner failure and the restriction on coolers in the venue caused network downtime (overheating switches as I recall) and grumpy, smelly nerds.

[Shayne]

 Well, i hope a bunch of RW members will be attending.

Speakign of which, make this thread a poll, and ask that question..."Do you intended to attend Frag 2005?"  I'd really like to know.

Oh, Curtis (TheDruid) is getting married the weekend before

[Mr. Analog]

Well, i hope a bunch of RW members will be attending.

Speakign of which, make this thread a poll, and ask that question..."Do you intended to attend Frag 2005?"  I'd really like to know.

Oh, Curtis (TheDruid) is getting married the weekend before

Done and done. Wow, I completely forgot that TheDruid was getting hitched this July (sorry dude!).

[Lazybones]

 Not sure if I will be able to take the days.. As I am starting my new job on the 4th and its not usually good to try and book off time in the first 6 months.

If I can't take the days off I don't think I will attend. I have been really disappointed with the network stability at these events.. for the 4 days the up time is probably only 60 to 70% at best.. I know they get the network switches donated at the last minute but man they really need to engineer a drop in solution to block random DHCP servers from taking out the network, and put some QOS on the Internet connection.

[Melbosa]

Not sure if I will be able to take the days.. As I am starting my new job on the 4th and its not usually good to try and book off time in the first 6 months.

If I can't take the days off I don't think I will attend. I have been really disappointed with the network stability at these events.. for the 4 days the up time is probably only 60 to 70% at best.. I know they get the network switches donated at the last minute but man they really need to engineer a drop in solution to block random DHCP servers from taking out the network, and put some QOS on the Internet connection.

Last year was mostly based on DoS due to Virus Distribution.  I know cause I spent at least 12 hours cleaning peeps computers of viruses.  Unfortuantely, last year we didn't have the cisco managed switches like we had in previous, so we were unable to block such traffic at the switch level.  Hopefully this year we will be able to do something about that (man I hope were back to the cisco stuff).

If only there was a cheap way to make sure everyone's computer was virus clean before they plugged in...

/steps back... hoping the think-tanks start up without his need to start them

[Lazybones]

 

Not sure if I will be able to take the days.. As I am starting my new job on the 4th and its not usually good to try and book off time in the first 6 months.

If I can't take the days off I don't think I will attend. I have been really disappointed with the network stability at these events.. for the 4 days the up time is probably only 60 to 70% at best.. I know they get the network switches donated at the last minute but man they really need to engineer a drop in solution to block random DHCP servers from taking out the network, and put some QOS on the Internet connection.

Last year was mostly based on DoS due to Virus Distribution.  I know cause I spent at least 12 hours cleaning peeps computers of viruses.  Unfortuantely, last year we didn't have the cisco managed switches like we had in previous, so we were unable to block such traffic at the switch level.  Hopefully this year we will be able to do something about that (man I hope were back to the cisco stuff).

If only there was a cheap way to make sure everyone's computer was virus clean before they plugged in...

/steps back... hoping the think-tanks start up without his need to start them

Simple.. Hand out a free AV CD to every person who registers.. make it part of the registration process to activate your account on the network.. if you don't scan your system you can't register on the page..

Maybe you would copy and past your scan log when you sign in to prove you scanned your system.

[Lazybones]

 Sick a high end server with lots of ram and I large network connection running http://www.clarkconnect.org/ between the network and the internet connection. Get some QOS going, mark all P2P traffic as bulk.

http://www.clamav.net/ can be used as a free command line scanner to hand out and run on everyones system..

If they can get cisco equipment again, maybe set some earlier date to get it by? and block DHCP ?

[Melbosa]

Not sure if I will be able to take the days.. As I am starting my new job on the 4th and its not usually good to try and book off time in the first 6 months.

If I can't take the days off I don't think I will attend. I have been really disappointed with the network stability at these events.. for the 4 days the up time is probably only 60 to 70% at best.. I know they get the network switches donated at the last minute but man they really need to engineer a drop in solution to block random DHCP servers from taking out the network, and put some QOS on the Internet connection.

Last year was mostly based on DoS due to Virus Distribution.  I know cause I spent at least 12 hours cleaning peeps computers of viruses.  Unfortuantely, last year we didn't have the cisco managed switches like we had in previous, so we were unable to block such traffic at the switch level.  Hopefully this year we will be able to do something about that (man I hope were back to the cisco stuff).

If only there was a cheap way to make sure everyone's computer was virus clean before they plugged in...

/steps back... hoping the think-tanks start up without his need to start them

Simple.. Hand out a free AV CD to every person who registers.. make it part of the registration process to activate your account on the network.. if you don't scan your system you can't register on the page..

Maybe you would copy and past your scan log when you sign in to prove you scanned your system.

K two things:

1. Mandatory virus scan would be cool, but how are you going to authorize the network account?  You want us to reserve everyone's MAC address on the network after proof of their Virus Scan?  If so, are you volunteering for the process (we tried this with our labs at work and gave up after the 300th or so computer)?  Just asking as it sounds simple but not so easy to execute.

2. Should post these thoughts on the Frag forums, as I have little to no control on how the event is setup.  I can only react to the problems, vs be proactive as you are suggesting.

[Lazybones]

Not sure if I will be able to take the days.. As I am starting my new job on the 4th and its not usually good to try and book off time in the first 6 months.

If I can't take the days off I don't think I will attend. I have been really disappointed with the network stability at these events.. for the 4 days the up time is probably only 60 to 70% at best.. I know they get the network switches donated at the last minute but man they really need to engineer a drop in solution to block random DHCP servers from taking out the network, and put some QOS on the Internet connection.

Last year was mostly based on DoS due to Virus Distribution.  I know cause I spent at least 12 hours cleaning peeps computers of viruses.  Unfortuantely, last year we didn't have the cisco managed switches like we had in previous, so we were unable to block such traffic at the switch level.  Hopefully this year we will be able to do something about that (man I hope were back to the cisco stuff).

If only there was a cheap way to make sure everyone's computer was virus clean before they plugged in...

/steps back... hoping the think-tanks start up without his need to start them

Simple.. Hand out a free AV CD to every person who registers.. make it part of the registration process to activate your account on the network.. if you don't scan your system you can't register on the page..

Maybe you would copy and past your scan log when you sign in to prove you scanned your system.

K two things:

1. Mandatory virus scan would be cool, but how are you going to authorize the network account?  You want us to reserve everyone's MAC address on the network after proof of their Virus Scan?  If so, are you volunteering for the process (we tried this with our labs at work and gave up after the 300th or so computer)?  Just asking as it sounds simple but not so easy to execute.

2. Should post these thoughts on the Frag forums, as I have little to no control on how the event is setup.  I can only react to the problems, vs be proactive as you are suggesting.

1. It would be a loose rule, but remember when you register at the event you are always given your local password. You need to use that to access the internal event page, my idea is to simply require pasting your scan log in on first login.

Some people might not do it, but maybe if this is the only way to register for prizes everyone would do it.

2. I everything in the frag forums seems to fall on deaf ears. Its always about the hardware not arriving or not enough time to setup.. This isn't a casual event anymore.. I don't know what their problem is.

[Fedora Gal]

 Last year I was out of the country and could not attend, this year I'm all geared up and will be taking a weeks worth of vacation so I can attend the event.
I'll be there, and hopefully with my case mod done too!

[Bryan]

 or everyone should buy new computers and open them infront of the officials at frag...










done.

[Mr. Analog]

 This just in fellow Fraggers!

Also, get on that forum and try to shut down any Counterstrike Tournaments and support other games, really gotta start splitting that vote, even if it seems futile.

Greetings,

Fragapalooza 2005!

        The Fragapalooza staff would like to update all of you about this year?s event that will once again be at the Mayfield Trade Center from July 21st to 24th with the doors opening at 9 am. Check out the "About" section of the web page for location details and links to maps on how to get there as well as other info on what you need to bring. You will be allowed outside food and drink this year; however you will not be allowed to bring in coolers. We fought hard to get the ?no outside food and beverage? rule abolished so keeping your coolers in your cars or hotel rooms is a small price to pay to keep the food police away.

        Registration for Fragapalooza 2005 will open this Wed April 27th. Seating reservations will be a feature again this year to those who have completed the registration process and should be live soon after registration opens. The seat reservation map will show the areas where sponsors and other booths and attractions will be so you will be able to sit in an area most comfortable to your gaming needs.

        Official Tournaments will be chosen by polls. Depending on the game and type of tournaments, we will run up to three PC tourneys with a possibility of a 4th console tournament depending on Microsoft Xbox?s involvement. Once again, this year we encourage unofficial tourneys organized by participants and we will do our best to accommodate them in the tourney section of the web page.

        We have some great fun things planned for giveaways, door prizes, the infamous ?Wacky tasks? and fun tourneys.

        We are looking for volunteers to help with the event again this year. We have seen some great work from our younger volunteers so we lowered the age limit to participate. If you are 18 years of age or older and would like to be apart of the team please send an email to msmith@fragapalooza.ca. All volunteers will get a volunteer t-shirt and be entered into special volunteer prize draws after the end of the event.

        Lastly, we will no longer be unable to process direct credit card payments through our secure website. We apologize for this inconvenience however you will still be able to pay through PayPal using a credit card. You do not need to have a PayPal account to do this. As a bonus for those who register early every year, we will draw for an Nvidia video card for the first 200 who complete registration and a draw for an Intel CPU for the first 400 completed registrants. You must have your event fees submitted to fully complete registration and answer a skill testing question correctly in order to qualify. So if you are in the first 200 you get two chances as some lewtz!

Good Luck!

Cheerz!

[Mr. Analog]

 Well, I know Melbosa and I are registered, I'm sitting at:

Seat ID: 3481
Section: East Side
X: 8
Y: 2

Until further notice (Mel, are we getting a table area to ourselves again?)