I'm guilty of this cause this was always the first site that popped up on google, I've since tried to actively avoid it and link the other mirrors.

I've never paid much attention to it in the beginning but after visiting the site more often I noticed that too.

edit: just went through all my previous posts I found referencing it and changed the links 😀

Yeah, I'm going to agree here. (Though, I have a local copy of TH99 for my own personal purposes anyway...)

^^ thanks guys, I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed by it. Normally I wouldn't care, but that site just has such an aura of sleaze around it there's no reason to keep sending people there, when the exact same stuff can be found elsewhere.

If he were just running ads to pay the bills on hosting the mirror, I'd have no problem with it, but it seems like he's actively using the TH99 content (which he didn't create) to raise his search engine rankings & harvest linkbacks to peddle snake oil - important difference there, IMHO.

I am guilty of posting a stason link today 🙁

I had no idea of this situation until seeing your thread. Stason is always top or near the top of the google searches.

What was this Total Hardware Guide exactly?

kolderman wrote on 2020-05-20, 23:10:

What was this Total Hardware Guide exactly?

See

http://oldcomputer.info/log/index.php?id=2016 … o-who-made-th99
http://web.archive.org/web/20021230204912/htt … otalhardware99/

Interesting bit of history.

xjas wrote on 2020-05-20, 22:45:

The Total Hardware 1999 guide is a (thankfully) very widely mirrored collection of jumper settings, spec sheets, etc. If you're on this board, you've probably used it.
This has been a public service announcement. Yes, I'm grumpy.

🤣 I been grumpy lately too. Ok ! I always try to use MH99 or TH99 when I reference (Micro House was the Total Hardware Guide creator) but may have used a Stason link on occasion, mostly have tried to use http://www.uncreativelabs.de/th99/.
I have the library on my HD, which all of you good Vogons techies should, makes it easy.

LewisRaz wrote on 2020-05-20, 23:08:

I am guilty of posting a stason link today 🙁

I had no idea of this situation until seeing your thread. Stason is always top or near the top of the google searches.

Hey, wasn't trying to make anyone feel "guilty" about posting links to there in the past - we've all done it, including me. It is literally the top result in most search engines after all. Huge apologies if that's how my post came across. Just wanted to make everyone aware of the alternatives.

I'm hoping if enogh people start linking to the alternatives instead, they'll rise up the search ranks at "Stason's" expense - it's a small community, after all.

xjas wrote on 2020-05-21, 00:59:

Hey, wasn't trying to make anyone feel "guilty" about posting links to there in the past - we've all done it, including me. It is literally the top result in most search engines after all. Huge apologies if that's how my post came across. Just wanted to make everyone aware of the alternatives.

I'm hoping if enogh people start linking to the alternatives instead, they'll rise up the search ranks at "Stason's" expense - it's a small community, after all.

Curious if Vogons could host a TH99 website somehow ? I know the files are in the Library (compressed form) but would it violate anything if it was also hosted here so members could direct link within the site. Just a question and think it would be a good idea if it did not cause any issues. If I still had my website up would loaded it there as another alternative....just a thought.

I never herd of Stason.org.I'll have to add Stason.org to my bookmarks
Thanks for the info.

EDIT:
So whats wrong whith the " "self help", "alternative medicine", "healing", among ther things" I took a look at them. Nothing out of the ordinary. Only saw two adds for books, if you don't like the books don't buy them. jees, folks here get upset over the smallest things or something?

darry wrote on 2020-05-20, 23:30:

kolderman wrote on 2020-05-20, 23:10:

What was this Total Hardware Guide exactly?

See
http://oldcomputer.info/log/index.php?id=2016 … o-who-made-th99

The bottom of that page tells the best info, after Microhouse sold it to Earthweb who dropped interest/production, it became sort of not copyrighted
(good bit of info on the history here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-17115.html by modem7 and kishy)

How about somehow integrating the data from TH99 into the vogons wiki ?

That would solve the issue and add an extra mirror of sorts .

EDIT: Somebody suggested that in 2015 already . I also imagine that the DATA is still in a legal grey area, so that doesn't help .

Personally don't give a toss where my info comes from as long as it is correct.

xjas wrote on 2020-05-20, 22:45:

"Stas Bekman", owner of "Stason .org" uses this guide as filler content to feed you adverts for his bullshit books on "self help", "alternative medicine", "healing", among ther things. It's his site & he's welcome to do that, but he's not a doctor or any kind of registered therapist, and has no expertise in the fields he espouses. I think it's safe to say more of that is the last thing we need right now.

And what gives you the right to judge his work and even claim he has no expertise in the fields he espouses? Do you actually know him in order to make such statements?

Why do you even care? He has every right to host as many different projects as he wish. You are not forced to buy his books when accessing his TH99 mirror.

And why please are such topics even allowed on VOGONS? This is a case of libel based on personal dislike.

...and here come the "I identify as a contrarian!!1"s to do their thing. Figures.

austinham wrote on 2020-05-21, 02:16:

I never herd of Stason.org.I'll have to add Stason.org to my bookmarks Thanks for the info. […]
Show full quote

I never herd of Stason.org.I'll have to add Stason.org to my bookmarks
Thanks for the info.

EDIT:
So whats wrong whith the " "self help", "alternative medicine", "healing", among ther things" I took a look at them. Nothing out of the ordinary. Only saw two adds for books, if you don't like the books don't buy them. jees, folks here get upset over the smallest things or something?

Good for you! Nobody's stopping you. I literally offered three alternative sites that host exactly the same stuff completely ad- and flim-flam free (one of them run by a member of this board, IIRC), but if you wanna fly your flag of allegiance to the one using it as search engine optimization tool so he can serve you up ads for junk, go right ahead. I'm always amazed at how many people will willfully stab themselves in the leg to spite the world, but you do you.

derSammler wrote on 2020-05-21, 06:56:

And what gives you the right to judge his work and even claim he has no expertise in the fields he espouses? Do you actually kno […]
Show full quote

xjas wrote on 2020-05-20, 22:45:

"Stas Bekman", owner of "Stason .org" uses this guide as filler content to feed you adverts for his bullshit books on "self help", "alternative medicine", "healing", among ther things. It's his site & he's welcome to do that, but he's not a doctor or any kind of registered therapist, and has no expertise in the fields he espouses. I think it's safe to say more of that is the last thing we need right now.

And what gives you the right to judge his work and even claim he has no expertise in the fields he espouses? Do you actually know him in order to make such statements?

Why do you even care? He has every right to host as many different projects as he wish. You are not forced to buy his books when accessing his TH99 mirror.

And why please are such topics even allowed on VOGONS? This is a case of libel based on personal dislike.

I literally offered three alternative sites that offer up the same content without using it as a vehicle to sell you junk. It's not "his project", and if you really want to "well, actually" me, then no, he doesn't have the "right" to host it because it's not his intellectual property either. I think we can all agree that's a moot argument, and the pages are worthy of being mirrored regardless of legal status. I don't care - he can host it if he wants - but no reason not to link to one of the mirrors that isn't using it to sell you woo-woo.

Think I've said my piece here. Don't feel like getting dragged into a mud-slinging match over something this stupid. Have at it.

Caluser2000 wrote on 2020-05-21, 04:59:

Personally don't give a toss where my info comes from as long as it is correct.

Agreed. The more copies are available of the same content the better. And what is the top link I get when I'm looking for a manual? Stason.
I don't care about internal disputes and shitty ads, I just want the info. Why would I want to go through a website looking for a manual when I can just Google it in 5 seconds? I just Googled a common 486 board and the first link I got is from Stason while the TH99 link is on the SIXTH page!
Bookmarked TH99 though, the layout is much better than the Stason version.

I’ve posted Stason.org links and used it as a reference personally. Here’s the amusing thing after seeing this thread- I had no idea about the site pushing Ads about alternative medicine. Either the Adblock plugins are doing their job or subconsciously I filter them due to a decades of web surfing experience.

https://th99.dosreloaded.de/

we also mirror th99, without any Advertisement or other Shit.