Oper Interview - Raditz
So here we are yet bringing you another oper interview, our victim this time was RaditZ oper on coins.* cool modest person, quite interesting in his own way and loves talking that's for sure ;)
Angelwink: Who is Raditz as a person?.
Raditz: Well. I think I'm quite special in many senses, I tend to be quite cautious with the people I meet. I think i'm mostly a very calm and analizing person, who tends to get on paranoia sometimes, heh. But I can be friendly ... sometimes.
Angelwink: How would your friends describe you?.
Raditz: Heh, most of my friends say i'm kinda brainy ... and stuck in my own world, that I analize things way too much, eek. Some also say that I tend to be kinda calm, but that I could explode if the wrong button is pressed.
Angelwink: What are your likes and dislikes?.
Raditz: I like the loyalty, the trust, the commitment. I can't ask people to be totally honest with me, cause I know that's quite impossible. My dislike would be totally the oposite of my likes. I also tend to be quite ehh ... errant with people that don't explain things right to me, heh.
Angelwink: Tell me about your favorite color and why you like it.
Raditz: I actually have two favorites colours, black and red, but mainly red. I tend to like the red tone, the way it can make something either bad or good, it can mean passion and love for one side and be totally evil and cinical at once. I think it's the same with black, but the black is a bit more imposing in that sense. Also for some reason, black is the only colour you might find on my closet, hehe. I don't know, it reflect my personality ... obscure and misterious, heh.
Angelwink: What words or phrase do you find yourself using the most?
Raditz: On irc, I use 'heh' everytime a ... smile face needs to be placed, hehe, I just don't like to make faces at all. In real life I tend to use one that's really recorded on my head ... 'nothing is impossible, things just have a level of dificulty' ... I always tend to follow that, cause I really think that everything is possible, we just have to put enough effort on them and they may become real.
Angelwink: Aside from IRCing what other hobbies do you enjoy?.
Raditz: Music, it's something that can make you change completly by just listening to it, you can be totally happy listening to one song, and later be sad and nostalgious on other, also it can be make you feel anger and hate, we're pretty much slaves of their tones. On trance I can reach my happy side and even an spiritual calm that makes you feel really calm, trance has this thing that will make you feel totally high (in the good sense of words) but not reflect any negative feeling. But on other music styles, you can express them more accurately, basically you can express with your music what you feel
Angelwink: If you had the power to go back in time to change one thing, what would that be and why?.
Raditz: There's this particular year that changed my life totally, highschool ... *shrugs* ..1995 so many things happened then, that I wish I could fix, my academic performance, my social life ... lots. I think that's what forged me, somehow. I don't know, maybe if that would have been diferent I wouldn't be what I am now, but well ... I guess it will come back together again, somehow.
Angelwink: When were you introduced to our network, by whom and how was that experience?
Raditz: It was back in 1996, kinda odd, I used to be on a latinamerican IRC network, called Red Latina, one day, someone came to a channel I was on and mentioned that channels and nicknames could be registered on some network called DALnet, I was kinda curious of how would that be, so I came here and wandered around for a while at first sight I didn't like it, hehe, cause I didn't speak any english, but I eventually learnt, with the help of people from here on DALnet, and decided to stay and adopt it as my home
Angelwink: Why the nickname Raditz? any particular reason or meaning it was chosen for?.
Raditz:: Yeah, there's a particular reason. The TV series Dragon Ball Z, well, there's this character who happens to the brother of Goku ... Raditz, he appears for like 2 or 3 episodes and he's goner. By the time I got here on DALnet, the only nickname I found unregistered of the series was Raditz, so I took it. Then some friends tended to call me Raditz at school, cause I had long hair then
Angelwink: Your first O:line was received on which server and when was that?.
Raditz: I'm still on the server that gave me my first O:line, coins.* it was on April 13, 2001, I'm not too old on that aspect.
Angelwink: Were you given a hard time as a new oper? What were the steps that you found yourself taking to deal with it?
Raditz: I knew the network perfectly, cause i've been here since 1997, but it was quite a problem at first to get along with the rest of the opers, and deal with the fact that many users need help from opers. It was hard to get along with them because well, I was new, not many knew me, and not many were willing to assist me on somethings (akills and stuff), but with time, I eventually broke that barrier.
Angelwink: What are the positive/negative things about being an IRCop on DALnet?.
Raditz: Well, there are more negative things than positive, on my point of view, positive, cause well ... you can do many things to keep the network safe, a lot of stuff, but most of those things aren't seen or understood by the users. It's kinda odd that you make a lot of things to let the users have a pleasant place to chat, and found that 8 or 10 that message you just come to yell at you and stuff.
Angelwink: Did you find that the responsibilities that came with being an oper having an effect in your life in any way?
Raditz: On my IRC life, definately yeah, hehe, but IRL, no, not really. Sometimes we have to be here for something that needs to be attended, but otherwise it's the same. I hate that people talk to you just because you're an oper, it assembles a celebrity status, which we aren't, at least not me, heh.
Angelwink: Did anything funny happen to you at all throughout the years on the network? any funny or embarassing command you issued?
Raditz: Hahaha, yeah, there's this one that is used to disconnect servers. I told a fellow oper to use it to place us on a different server. I gave her the wrong command, so she made herself quit and the entire network saw that, she wanted to hang me, I didn't issue the command, haha, but I quite felt like it was me, she didn't talk to me for 2 days *shrugs*.
Angelwink: Along the years on DALnet who would you say had the role of a mentor and helped you from the day you were opered till present.
Raditz: 'WhatWhat', she's always been there for me. If it wouldn't be for her guide, I prolly wouldn't be here.
Angelwink: "What's the most difficult thing about your role that you have had to face with the dynamic changes of the network throughout the years"? did you expect this in any way?.
Raditz: I think it's the userbase. The number of users in the network has amazingly increased in the last two years. Certainly, I didn't expect it to be this high, it's kinda like dealing with a parade of 100,000 people
Angelwink: Be honest *G* ;) how much time do you spend on DALnet? and when you're not opered, what do you usually do?.
Raditz: I'm rarely ever not opered. I spend easily, at least 12 hours daily. that's because i'm out of college, heh, when i'm in college, i'm here for like 2 or 3 hours at max, when i'm not opered it's usually cause i'm kinda mad if that happens ... *g* ... don't get close to me. I just yell at everyone that comes close.
Angelwink: What team are you part of and what are your responsibilities on it?
Raditz: On massads, i'm mainly in what we call a subteam of web spam prevention. My task is to get rid of any spammer that comes in front of me, and fill reports ... boring!!. I also take care of channel spam, but I mainly focus on the spam comming from latinamerican channels, since I speak spanish, there are better chances that they'll get what I'm telling them not to do.
Angelwink: I always ask this question so you wont be spared *G*, someone said: "It seems like being an IRCop is like trying to successfully run a kindergarten with 200 kids by yourself." Do you agree? disagree? and why?
Raditz: Hahaha, I definately do. but it's a kindergarden of thousands!! it's like telling your kid to not eat the spoon, but he won't get it until he tries to and hurts himself
Angelwink: Did it ever occur to you that DALnet would grow this big? what do you think has improved and what has deteriorated?.
Raditz: Well, not to this point. Certainly it amazed everyone on this network that we got to become so big. I'd say that not many things improved, beside the userbase and teh chance to meet even more people (for those that actually chat, heh).
Angelwink: Ever met any of the opers or users you've been chatting with throughout these years? how different was it from just chatting online?
Raditz: I haven't met many really. No opers at all, that's because I live kinda faraway from them ... noone would actually think there would be an oper on this part of Mexico, it's like thinking on someone on Alaska, it becomes kinda hard to meet the rest. I've met around 3 to 5 people, and some have resulted to be totally different IRL, heh. I think people are totally the opposite when they come online
Angelwink: I'd like you to pick one person from the wide range of opers that you know on DALnet and tell us what you think of him/her?.
Raditz: hrm, who would that be ... katti, have you notice that I only mention women? hehe she's a really really patient and kind person, she's one of those you rarely find that actually keep that sense of trust, at least that's what I sense on her. I've never seen her refuse to give someone a hand, and rarely see her doubt of what's shes told. I see her and I think she's kinda harmless, and cute, heh, it's kinda strange, which actually makes me thing also that she might be hurt and somehow makes me wanna protect her, but she knows perfectly how to take care of herself.
Angelwink: Any special message Raditz has to pass on to all the users that ask or beg for O:lines thinking it's a power trip and have no conception of what the job is all about?.
Raditz: For all of you that operdom is all but power and fun, you're quite wrong on that. We aren't exactly on a pleasure trip, think on us as a policeman, do you really know what danger are they put on everyday? and what they have to do to protect us all? we're kinda on a similar situation, we have quite a few tasks to do which require time and effort, some things might be even considered boring, if you really want to be an oper, ask yourself if you're realling willing to give up a bit of your freedom on IRC. If you think you can, give it a chance, but not for the power, power is not everything on the ircop lifes.
Angelwink: What does DALnet mean to you?
Raditz: DALnet means my home on the internet, it's like a place I know I can go and be known. I feel quite strange if I get online and not come to DALnet, I have come to get used to it. With all is pros and cons, I do love the network, and i'm happy to be part of it.
Angelwink: How do you like to be remembered as a person and as an oper? :)
Raditz: I'm not quite sure of what would please me to be remembered as, on both levels, we are always subject to be qualified by the things we do, not for what we are. I guess I would rather to be remembered for the overall that I am, for my virtues and my bad things. Once they have made themselves an idea of how I am, they can put together a bigger conception of me and that would be quite enough for me, either if it's good or bad.
Angelwink: In conclusion, any final words? comments?.
Raditz: Nothing comes to my mind that could tie you up here for any longer, so, heh, I guess I have nothing more to add.
Angelwink: I appreciate the time you've given me to answer my questions, it was very enjoyable interviewing you, on behalf of the zine team I'd like to that this opportunity to wish you all the best in everything you do and wish you many more years around on the network.
©Angelwink 2002
