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Frequently Asked Questions (Site FAQ)

I decided to put in a FAQ specifically to cover questions about or related to the site. I'll keep this updated based on what I see in my inbox. :^)  Note that there is also a set of FAQs specifically related to the Disk Edition, which can be found here.

Here are the questions, and my answers:

• Who created this site and who maintains it? This site was created and implemented, and is being maintained by, Charles M. Kozierok. I can be reached by referencing the Feedback section of this page. If for some bizarre reason you want to know more about me, check this section.
• Did you really create everything here yourself? Yes, with some feedback and assistance from kind readers. I also have some contributions from guest authors as noted on those pages.
• Why did you create this site? Hmm. I've asked this question myself about two million times over the last three years, usually with the words "the hell" inserted between "Why" and "did". :^) For the answer, please read the site purpose. The history of the site is described in a fair bit of detail there.
• How did you create this site? The site was actually written first using Microsoft Word, and then was converted to HTML afterwards. The reason is simple: it's much easier to organize a large amount of information using a word processor. Using a program like Word also allowed me to manipulate the structure of the site far more easily than trying to write hundreds of individual HTML pages on the fly.
• How large is the site? The original text document of the site consists of over 500,000 words of original writing; the site now contains over 1.1 million words of original text. The content of the site is now broken into over 2,900 distinct content pages, and over 5,000 files total including framesets, indices, illustrations and photos. The site totals over 48 MB of HTML and graphics, which continues to increase, especially as I add new illustrations.
• How long did it take to originally create this site? About nine months. I started with the initial design in January 1997, around the time that the Pentium with MMX was launched. I would estimate that the initial release of this site represents approximately 1,500 hours of work. I spend at least 40 hours per week working on research, design, writing and administration of the site (usually more like 60-80, when you add it all together.)
• How did you acquire the information required to put together this site? The information you see here is entirely written from scratch by myself; there is absolutely no material copied from other sources unless it says so specifically on the page. I learned most of what I know about PCs from reading: written materials, books, magazines, web sites, and Usenet. I supplemented this with my own practical, hands-on experience troubleshooting and later building PCs. (I also do have a technical education, but it has been of less value in creating this site than the items above.)
• Why is this site's design so mundane? I decided that this site should focus on the content first and foremost and not worry too much about pretty graphics and whatnot. I also wanted to make sure the pages loaded as quickly as possible. I originally made the design plain due to limitations in my ability to do graphical design; I have kept it plain because every time I talk about a redesign, my readers tell me not to! Thus my motto: "steak, not sizzle, since 1997...".
• Why should I trust what you say here? You shouldn't. I mean, my credentials are fine; I have two master's degrees from MIT, and I've been working with PCs for years, but that doesn't really matter. What really matters is that what you read here makes sense and is consistent with what you know, and what the people you trust know. If it makes sense, then you will feel comfortable with what you read here; if it doesn't, you won't trust the information here no matter who I am. Never trust absolutely anything you read on the Internet unless it is from an official source (and in many cases, not even then.) I expect I will make some errors here, and I hope that over time they will be weeded out. The longer the site is around the more likely that I or others will have found the errors and given me the opportunity to fix them.
• Is this web site available in print? Unfortunately, no, it is not. But it is available on CD-ROM and/or in downloadable form, which includes a way for you to print sections more easily than you can from your browser. See here for details.

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