GTAGuides.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
GTAGuides.com is a British fansite for the Grand Theft Auto computer and video game series, founded on 17 February 2003. During the peak of activity the site was the most popular GTA themed site on the internet (according to TheGTAPlace.com, powered by Alexa), when running as an information resource and community portal for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. At the moment there is a forum community of over 28,500 members, and well over 900,000 forum posts. Created, maintained and updated by Simon "Psy" Elliott, the site ran originally for three years under GTA-SanAndreas.com. The (original) site is also mentioned in the back of the San Andreas manual, included with the game, and has also been namechecked in the UK Official PS2 Magazine.
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[edit] Past, present and future
When the site was originally created on 17 February 2003, it was based entirely on a PHP-Nuke template, with customary phpBB forums. As the site grew, PHP-Nuke became too much of a target for script kiddies and became difficult with regards to customisation and content management. The transition to Invision Power Board and a custom-made design came as a shock to long-term members, who were more familiar with phpBB. The forum was started from scratch as of August 1, 2004. Originally, under GTA-SanAndreas.com, the site was a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas fansite; and since San Andreas's release, it gradually slowed down in visitation, for rumour and leaked information were no longer (for obvious reasons) a major part of the site.
On 6 June 2006 the site launched the new version, GTAGuides.com, which allows users to make their own guides and to run their own blog, amongst smaller features. The new site is coded in PHP and has been expected for over 3 years, however work only started on it in earnest in September 2005. Although GTAGuides has been released, work on major features is continually being carried out. Alongside the guides, on which the name of the site is based, the site also has blogs and a question and answer section. Ironically, since viewing figures suggested the blogs are more popular than the guides, the blog system was improved prior to that of the guides. Major work as to guide submission is currently underway.
As suspected, the GTAGuides release was able to breathe new life into the site, and many more members have joined up since it was released (around 25,000 registered members at the start of June to almost 29,000 registered members as of 28 July). Forum activity has also picked up with the boards becoming more active.
[edit] Site overview and features
GTAGuides.com offers a considerable amount of information regarding the GTA games series, with a complete bank for GTA San Andreas. Originally a source for San Andreas rumours, teaser sites and magazine screenshots, it now holds an illustrated mission guide to the entirety of the game, as well as holding locations to the infamous Hidden Packages (and their guises), different brands of vehicle, stunts and the other factors required for the coveted 100% completion. Since the game was released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC, cheat codes have been researched, translated and even discovered by site members. In a more interesting addition, screenshots and explanations of glitches are also archived for reader interest, as well as addressing frequently asked questions. Recently, a Downloads Database has been added which allows visitors to download modifications, savegame files and more trivial aspects such as GTA fonts. There is a growing source of guide input from members of the community regarding other games in the series: checklists are available alongside suggestions for more trivial tasks within the game environment. The submission of articles by members is a key feature to the design of the site, and members are guided by the success of the San Andreas databank to create similar resources for the other games.
[edit] GTAGuides.com forums
The GTAGuides.com community resides in the Internet forums (powered by Invision Power Board 2.1) and is, arguably, the main factor of the site. The forums include specific GTA discussion, as well as General, Graphics Discussion, Geek Central, Political & World Issues; the more popular Rants and Raves forums and the hugely popular yet absurd Asylum spam board.
Major staff members managing the forums include the following:
- Administrators: Psy, PyroHazard, mello_yello, 'Cuda, GFX, Sheep and Nanook.
- Moderators: Albino, DeKo, Duffman, DuPz0r™, I/O, OptimumPx, R-I, Squirrelboy, Vlad, XtortioN and ZacKo
- Staff: Bulldog, CygnusX, Pecnut, Washunka and Pieface
- Former moderators: AsT, Catnip, Chuck, Coxy, Crush, Damian91, Dunpeal, Flism, ImaPhatPimp, McEggy, NCP1315, Nic Nix, Prime, Psycho, R-I, QDeathstar, Selpy, Stan Petrov, Xealos, Xerxys and Yensed
(bronco92 is the server administrator, and is unaffiliated with the running of the site)
[edit] Controversy
[edit] The Jack Thompson incident
A few months after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, some members of the forums ran into trouble with Miami-based attorney and video game critic Jack Thompson. The feud began when, on the forums, some members openly threatened the lawyer.
Though they claim it was purely jocular, Thompson took the insults very seriously, and said in an email to a member of the boards "dear idiot. the entire web site has been taken down, the fbi is all over it, and you're in trouble. there, is that precise enough for you?" [sic]. Despite the threats, none of the members involve seem to have been arrested and jailed, though the site itself was taken entirely off the registrar. Many members were outraged by this, saying it violated their right to freedom of speech.
As well as this, Jack has been in constant contact with members of the board. Jack Thompson and his now-defunct site have been made targets for satire in gaming circles, especially among GTA players on the Internet, including GTAGuides.com and an article from The Best Page in the Universe.
[edit] External links
- GTA-Guides.com -- current temporary location
- GTAGuides.com -- former location
- GTA-SanAndreas.com
