- 28,307
- Brooklyn, NY
- KR_Viper
- I Renown I
The recognition of new faces will continue, but this month we're going to put a little spin on the whole concept, but alas all good things come to an end and this is the final week of the Staff Edition August special for this month, which means for this final final week instead of 2 or 3 interviews a week, you'll be getting 7 - that's right an interview for each day of the week!
There are only a select number of individuals capable of upholding this new concept; those that don't cower in the face of fame, those that don't regress when presented with the opportunity to shout from a rooftop "I'm better than you... on the internet!".
Those who live, breathe, and exhale the very essence of what makes GTPlanet the place that it has become and will continue to be - these are the approved traits of the archetype known only as The GTPlanet Illuminati, er, I mean the GTPlanet Moderation Staff and incidentally, the GTPlanet Member of the Week.
Two birds with one stone? Say it isn't so!
No matter where we go, people will either ignore or want to confront us, which is where our personal bodyguards come in. No matter what we say, everyone will interrupt and/or attempt to correct us. No matter what we're wearing, it will be made fun of for the next 10 years. So let us welcome the newest member to the League of Extraordinary GTPeople, and the eleventh in the long line of staff interviews, Scaff!
decade later.
those around the staff will always have a job.
the birth of computer and console gaming, so driving based games were a natural fit, as I had a Playstation GT was a day one purchase for me.
MS dropped the ball with the Xbone however and as a result I've not got FM5 as a result.
and logged into GTP, only to find all these new sub-forums; it actually took a few minutes to realise what had happened. Needless to say I was totally made up and have done all I can to live up to the badge since.
forward, its kind of put me in a limbo like position as GT was always a day one purchase for me in the past and that didn't happen with GT6. I'm hopeful that GT7 will turn things around, but will certainly be quite wary.
site about Gran Turismo, but that might be as a result of the Opinion and Current Events sub-forum.
bread, run (needed to stop me getting fat from all the food and drink), and so on. I do sit down to listen to music, watch films (hi-fi and home cinema also feature highly for me as well), play on my PS4 (the latest Tomb Raider has me right now
- its actually much better than I had expected) and watch the ludicrous amount of motorsport that gets Tivo'd.
would get to play him however.
been a case that the person in question attempting to defend another member who has a massive track record of AUP violations and they are defending the undefensiable. It's the natural byproduct of the need for private moderation.
appreciation it deserved.
of my personal and family information and made it public, I have to confess that someone would go to those lengths to try and prove a point deeply disturbed me and its the only time I have considered handing it all in. The rest of the staff were
however incrediably supportive and while it wasn't easy I'm certainly glad I stayed.
with a host of electrical gremlins (it changed the date to 2097 on Monday - no idea why it just did) and bits that fall off. Alfa's are great cars to run when someone else pasy the bills, but the next company car (which has been ordered) is an
Audi A3 Saloon, which I know is going to be screwed together a lot better.
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...rd-letter-to-evo-magazine.91424/#post-2565777
Its a thread I actually started back in 2007, its about a letter sent into Evo magazine from what can only be described as a truly deranged individual.What no-one expected was that individual would then join GTP and get even more insane, you
should give it a read I promise it will be head-scrathing (and more).
but only if you are very patient), a big old stack of HI-Fi seperates, my home cinema set-up (these can be seen in threads right here at GTP), five electric guitars, two amps, Nikon DSLR and a load of other stuff I'm forgetting. As far as whats
next electronic wise, well I do need a Telecaster (or two).
Turismo, drove even more cars, saw a lot of bands, went to Glastonbury a lot, drove some more cars. Repeat. I liked the '90s a lot (can we have them back please).
There are only a select number of individuals capable of upholding this new concept; those that don't cower in the face of fame, those that don't regress when presented with the opportunity to shout from a rooftop "I'm better than you... on the internet!".
Those who live, breathe, and exhale the very essence of what makes GTPlanet the place that it has become and will continue to be - these are the approved traits of the archetype known only as The GTPlanet Illuminati, er, I mean the GTPlanet Moderation Staff and incidentally, the GTPlanet Member of the Week.
Two birds with one stone? Say it isn't so!
No matter where we go, people will either ignore or want to confront us, which is where our personal bodyguards come in. No matter what we say, everyone will interrupt and/or attempt to correct us. No matter what we're wearing, it will be made fun of for the next 10 years. So let us welcome the newest member to the League of Extraordinary GTPeople, and the eleventh in the long line of staff interviews, Scaff!
Slightly worried, despite what may be thought I've never been one for the limelight, to quote the Fun Lovin' Criminals "I'd rather have money than fame"1. First and foremost, this is a most special month for all of us involved in the workings of GTPlanet and I thought it was time for us to bare it all, allowing the community at large an opportunity to see us for who we all really are
- which of course means you're officially GTPlanet's Member of the Week! Are you excited? Explosions!
Unsurprisingly GT brought me here, I had been posting at another general games site about GT, but the discussions were both limited and poorly considered. Google brought me to GTP and the quality of the site is why I am still here over a2. What brought you to GTPlanet and was there ever a time before you took on the badge where you thought to yourself "I'd like to do that" only to then immediately regret said thought ever coming to mind?
decade later.
The opinions and current events sub-forum is probably the place I am most active as a contributor, but the moderation role takes me to a lot of different places including the Drag and Drift sub-forums, both of which can be 'entertaining'. With3. There's a lot to do around the forums so I have to ask: what sub-forums/threads do you frequent most often and why?
those around the staff will always have a job.
A love of cars and motorsport, its as simple as that. My earliest memories are of going to watch rally events and drag racing with my dad and both cars and motorsport have been a permenent feature in my life ever since, I also grew up during4. What was it that sparked your interest in Gran Turismo?
the birth of computer and console gaming, so driving based games were a natural fit, as I had a Playstation GT was a day one purchase for me.
It came from working for my dad while at college, he runs a scaffolding firm, and a scaffolder is a 'Scaff'. Oddly is not something I've actualy done now for over twenty years.5. How did you come up with the name "Scaff"?
To be honest right now its neither. I loved GT from the orginal right up to 4, with the series getting better and better each time. GT5 however was a disapointment for me and moved my focus to Forza (4 - the ones prior I didn't rate that highly).6. There's no controversy here so what's your flavor: Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, neither, both, or something else altogether?
MS dropped the ball with the Xbone however and as a result I've not got FM5 as a result.
That was an interesting one, I got a mail from the boss asking if I would be interested a few months prior to taking up the badge and it had kind of slipped my mind. I'd been on holiday and got back home, unpacked and had a few (lot) drinks7. What was your initial reaction when the badge was presented to you?
and logged into GTP, only to find all these new sub-forums; it actually took a few minutes to realise what had happened. Needless to say I was totally made up and have done all I can to live up to the badge since.
I love it, not only does it make finding your way around a lot easier, but it also makes the job a lot more straightforward.One of the best things about the site is that it is always looking for ways to improve and keep moving in the right direction.8. GTP 12 is up and about, what are your thoughts?
To be totally and utterly honest the single word to sum it up for me would be dissapointed. While GT6 does move things on from GT5 and addresses a lot of the issues I had with GT5 it still feels to me like its a half step rather than a full step9. Gran Turismo 6 is finally here, what are you thoughts so far?
forward, its kind of put me in a limbo like position as GT was always a day one purchase for me in the past and that didn't happen with GT6. I'm hopeful that GT7 will turn things around, but will certainly be quite wary.
What do I bring to GTP? Well long posts and a lot of links (I quite like my sources), as far as improvement goes, for me that's just a natural result of participating here, its quite amazing what you can learn about the universe we live in from a10. Talk a little about what you think you bring to GTPlanet and how you think you can continue to improve.
site about Gran Turismo, but that might be as a result of the Opinion and Current Events sub-forum.
For me the main one I'm looking forward to is P-Cars, I'm hoping that its going to fill the void that GT and Forza have left me with.11. A lot of fantastic-looking games are due out soon, what are you most looking forward to when it's all said and done at 11:59 on December 31st?
I don't. Much to the annoyance of my family I don't really stop, I sleep around 5 hours a night and the rest of the time I'm active. So aside from work and posting here I also play guitar, cook all the families meals from scratch, bake all our12. What do you most like to do when it's time to just sit back and relax?
bread, run (needed to stop me getting fat from all the food and drink), and so on. I do sit down to listen to music, watch films (hi-fi and home cinema also feature highly for me as well), play on my PS4 (the latest Tomb Raider has me right now
- its actually much better than I had expected) and watch the ludicrous amount of motorsport that gets Tivo'd.
Its name derives from 'Pigs on the Hill'in Anglo-Saxon and would be nothing with the railway history of Britain, its also the place every Mini body-panel is made.13. Tell us something interesting about your hometown.
Nothing. I wouldn't dare.14. If given the opportunity, if even for a moment, what would you do with GTPlanet?
Do you have a spare million or so I could borrow? Pay you back, honest!15. Do you have a question for me?
A dramatisation of the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel), in my opinion one of the greatest engineers ever and the reason my home town is not still a pig farming village. No real idea who I16. You are producing a 12-episode drama series for the BBC. The show can be anything you want and you can cast any living actors you want. What would it be and who would you cast?
would get to play him however.
None specifically that spring to mind, I've always tried to be fair and evenhanded, however those on the receiving end of moderation don't always see it that way.17. During your time on the staff have you ever wished you would have handled something differently, and, assuming you went through this phase, how long was the grace period from you questioning your initial actions whether
they be issued warnings, points, or bans from being too harsh to second nature when the need arises?
I've never felt the position to be lucrative so I don't eally think I can adress that one. However the 'tough guy' one is one I am familiar with, normally followed by an incident of Godwins law. In every case I have come across to date its always18. Some would say our position is a lucrative one, others would say it's an excuse for us to be internet "tough guys" - what would your response be to both of these assumptions?
been a case that the person in question attempting to defend another member who has a massive track record of AUP violations and they are defending the undefensiable. It's the natural byproduct of the need for private moderation.
With a quick polish and a nice leather wallet.19. In a world where our jobs here come with badges that are mailed to your place of residence, how do you treat said badge?
WipEout all the way, I never got on with the track layouts on F-Zero. The PS3 WipEout re-boot was one of the easily missed gems of the console, a great game that more than captured the original and bettered it, I felt it never got the20. With all the bickering about Forza vs Gran Turismo, how about we get to the real question; which is better, F-Zero or WipEout?
appreciation it deserved.
I've lost count of the number of times I've been threatened with legal action, unsurprisingly its never been followed through. Stalked however was one of the only disturbing times I have had here at GTP, a (now very ex) member got hold of some21. Have you ever been stalked or threatened with legal action because you're a moderator here?
of my personal and family information and made it public, I have to confess that someone would go to those lengths to try and prove a point deeply disturbed me and its the only time I have considered handing it all in. The rest of the staff were
however incrediably supportive and while it wasn't easy I'm certainly glad I stayed.
Words can describe how unforfiled I feel.Oh no wait, I drove one in the Middle East years ago and what I should have said it that words can't describe how unforfilling that was.22. How envious are you to have never owned the 2.2L Camry knowing it can defeat all, perhaps even end the worldwide sum of debt, world hunger, purge Chernobyl, and a lot more?
Oh yes.23. If site moderation was a paid job, would any of you give up your current positions/ occupations to do it full time providing the pay was acceptable?
Surprisingly infrequently considering its the internet! Honestly on the whole GTP is a bastion of sanity when you view it in the context of the rest of the web. That does however mean that the truly bizarre does then really stand out.24. On average, when generally browsing the forum and its many threads, how often do you come across a post or an entire thread that makes you scratch your head because you're just utterly puzzled?
The real question would be why did I do it twice! I used to own a 33 Cloverleaf and it was a great car to drive filled with a host of electrical gremlins and rust. Now I run (it is a company car this time) a Giulietta which is a great car to drive filled25. You have an Alfa. How did you come around to wanting one, and how much of a task is its maintenace?
with a host of electrical gremlins (it changed the date to 2097 on Monday - no idea why it just did) and bits that fall off. Alfa's are great cars to run when someone else pasy the bills, but the next company car (which has been ordered) is an
Audi A3 Saloon, which I know is going to be screwed together a lot better.
A long time ago and from what I can remember it's little different from my style now, which is rather boring.26. Where and when was your very first post here and how does it differ from your posting style used today?
Oh that's easy.27. Off the top of your head, what is one of the most genuinely head-scratching conversations you've experienced while here?
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...rd-letter-to-evo-magazine.91424/#post-2565777
Its a thread I actually started back in 2007, its about a letter sent into Evo magazine from what can only be described as a truly deranged individual.What no-one expected was that individual would then join GTP and get even more insane, you
should give it a read I promise it will be head-scrathing (and more).
I've not come across it myself, but its a move that I would imagine is not wthout significant risk. Very few followers of any feed like it when what was free becomes chargable.28. In case you haven't heard, YouTube channel /Drive recently adopted a PPV model with /Drive+ - $3.99 per month for episodes ranging from 10-15 minutes in length, whereas the older channel where this same content was
originally hosted has been shortened to 3-4 minutes in total. Do you think this was a wise decision on their behalf or does it just alienate and/or segregate viewers?
In the past it would have been a week or two at most, mainly when away with work or on holiday. With the advent of smartphones its now pretty much on every day.29. What's the longest you've gone without logging onto GTPlanet since joining: years, months, weeks, days, hours?
I can't stand for office legally in a handful of states and am illegal (under pain of death) in a number of countries.30. Are you illegal in any number of states or entire countries?
A combination of well judged physics model with a wide range of motorsport disciplines and all the track rules in place. Its pretty much what I've always looked for in racing games and it's unliklely to change.31. What's one significant change you'd like to see made to racing games in the next five years or so?
Eat all the doughnuts (and then blame Famine)32. Now it's time for the "Moderator Special": the entire staff has been away on leave for several weeks on business and you're the only active staffer left standing, what do you do?
Countdown. A firm student favorite here in the UK33. What was your favorite game show growing up?
A quick list would be, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, HTC One M8 (the latest), Samsung S4 Mini (work phone), a no brand android tablet that cost me £50 (a bet with a friend - could you live with a tablet that cheap for a year - the answer is yes34. How many electronic devices do you own, and is there anything out there that you've been eyeing for some time now but just havent' pulled the trigger on yet?
but only if you are very patient), a big old stack of HI-Fi seperates, my home cinema set-up (these can be seen in threads right here at GTP), five electric guitars, two amps, Nikon DSLR and a load of other stuff I'm forgetting. As far as whats
next electronic wise, well I do need a Telecaster (or two).
The 90's were great for me. Stopped smoking most of Amsterdam, got married, had kids, started working in the Motor Industry, got paid to mess around in cars (unfortunatly not enough), drove my first race car, drove a lot of cars, found Gran35. If the 90's were good to you for any reason, reminisce a little - what's your favorite memory?
Turismo, drove even more cars, saw a lot of bands, went to Glastonbury a lot, drove some more cars. Repeat. I liked the '90s a lot (can we have them back please).
I'm afriad I would have to steal Mr Chapman's "add lightness".36. If you were to indulge in the art of boutique car manufacturing what would your mission statement be?
A thick skin, a sense of humour and doughnuts.37. What would you look for in bringing a new face into our elusive fold of moderator insanery?
I can actually cook very, very well. After a love of Motorsport and Cars the thing that brings my family together most is food and drink.38. Do you have any hobbies we should be made aware of?
Nope I'm good.39. Anything else you'd like to say?