ope is that others can derive some fun
from what I have begun to create.

Paul.

=====================================

*************************************
INTERVIEW WITH MELON64 SYSADMIN
By Commodore Free
*************************************

Some people were worried Lemon64 would be no more after attempting for days
to access the forum and with no success, then suddenly another forum formed
up called Melon64. Soon enough though the Lemon64 forum was back, but does this mean we have to choose our forum or can both live in harmony? WE
asked Melons sysadmin to shed some light on the new forum. Although I did obtain an interview the MELON Admin at this time wished to remain
anonymous, or as they say in business speak "remain under the radar" so blindfolded and lead into a small shed, I sat down to speak to the admin
and see if any information could be obtained, although the results are classified I printed them anyway!

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Can you tell us something of your background and retro love?

I've always enjoyed anything retro, but the Commodore 64 has always been my passion.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. So Melon64. Was this just a fun prank because Lemons forum was down,
or had you fully intended starting a separate forum, and with lemons system down again decided now was the right time?

I had absolutely no notion of starting a forum. I've lurked on Lemon for a
few years and when it recently went down I considered putting a temporary
forum up, bearing in mind this was the third time in as many months it had completely disappeared. There wasn't much information around regarding why
it was down, when it would be back, if it would be back. As time went on,
into the 2nd week of downtime I decided I would take the plunge and put a
forum online. Melon64 was born!

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Where did the name Melon come from? And yes, I can see it looks very
like Lemon 64.

The Melon64 name did, obviously come from a play on Lemon64.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. How many admins monitor the forum?

At the moment there is only myself administrating the forum. The forum is nowhere near large enough to justify taking up anyone else's time. When
the Melon64's user base gets to the size where I can't take care of any
issues, then moderators will be sought.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Some of the users on Lemon are quite, let's say aggressive! Was this
an incentive to create a less hostile environment for users?

Most forums have their share of overly passionate users. Aggression
however won't be accepted on Melon64 and fortunately there have been no incidents to date. I'm sure in the future someone may need their wrists slapped.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. What sort of take up have you had on the forum, how many users and for
how long has it now been running

A, Melon64 hasn't been around for three months yet. We've a small user
base, just over 160 users at present. I'm enjoying watching the user base grow, albeit slowly but the users that are taking the time to register do
seem to be contributing. We have quite a few users that are very knowledgeable, and are more than willing to share that knowledge.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Do you fully intend the forum to continue?

The forum will continue for as long as users feel it's a useful resource.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. You must have had some backlash from the Lemon users. Would you like
to comment on this?

I honestly think that most Lemon users aren't aware of Melon64. There are
some familiar users though, everyone's welcome!

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. So you were expecting Lemon not to come back, it's had issues before, I think this time they say they moved servers. How confident are you that
your forum can survive with Lemon's resurrection?

Three months in and we're still growing. There definitely needs to be more than one source for our retro chit chat.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. With a new forum you don't have the baggage of the old system. How did
you start the forum? I noticed some place holder texts in there to keep
things neat and tidy.

Everything is maintained by myself. Users are providing constructive
feedback on a regular basis which I've taken on board and have resulted in various changes to the forum.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Was the initial skeletal format easy to set up? Was it
custom-programmed or is it "out of a box"?

Melon64 is ran on PHPBB which is generic open-source forum software,
running on Linux. I've added quite a lot of modules that modify how the
forum operates; hopefully these don't detract from the user experience.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. What's still to implement? Can you give our readers any exclusive
gossip?

Well, I'd really like to implement a game database, which users will be
capable of modifying. I'd also like to put together a decent Wiki or
Knowledge Base.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Can anyone join Melon64? If so, how do you join the forum?

Everyone is welcome to join Melon64. Head on over to www.melon64.com, register, and confirm your account via the email you'll receive. That's
it! Once registered, you'll be able to contribute to the discussions.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Is the forum exclusively Commodore 64, or can other machine users join
in the debates, or do you intend to start forums for other machines,
Commodore and non-Commodore systems?

Currently Melon64 provided forums for various other Commodore computers.
There is a dedicated Amiga forum. I'm more than willing to add other Commodore-related forums upon request.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. What are the main forum rules and how do you treat bad behaviours?
Also, if you ban someone - how can you stop them coming back with another username ?

This is something I haven't set in stone just yet. At the moment everyone
is well-behaved! The rules will be the usual generic rules you'd expect to agree to on any forum out there. The only rules in place at the moment are
the obvious ones. No baiting, trolling, racism etc.

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Are you a Commodore Free reader?

YES I am a Commodore Free reader, of course! I actually print it out and
read it! The magazine is excellent, keep up the good work!

- - - - - - - - - -

Q. Finally, do you have another comments, and do you have a closing
comment to the commodore community?

If you haven't already registered, please do! The forum is there for
everyone who has an interest in the Commodore 64 and other Commodore
computers. Thanks for giving me this opportunity Nigel, I appreciate it.

Cheers, Melon

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hmm... I was going to say something about leaving your melons out but I
don't think I will now.

Anyway, with the interview over I was escorted out into the open space.
The blindfold was removed and I was alone, although thankfully - I found
myself fully-clothed. I only had my melon in my hand, and after examining
it, I set off home, 3 days later tired, and melon-less, I arrived, and
wrote down my memories. This information remains classified.

=====================================

*************************************
REVIEW: SD2IEC DRIVE
From "The Future Was 8 Bit"
*************************************

Now, in the modern Commodore age you have a few options to load
applications and games, one being to try and find an original 1541 Disc
drive. This will probably come from Ebay; after the seller has fleeced you
for around £100, and the post man has put his back out delivering it. You
may find it works for a while, but where will you buy the disks from? Who
will repair it once it breaks? Hence, the need for a more suitable storage option. SD cards are widely available, and it makes sense to use this
option as a storage medium. They are hard-wearing, easy to buy, and
available from everywhere.

While the concept Of using an SD card isn't new, we have had SD2IEC devices
for a number of years i

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