UBB.Developers Forums Announcements Announcements U-Zine Interviews In The Spotlight: David Dreezer, aka, Navaho

UBBDEV: Thanks for taking the time to do the interview!
What is your position at Infopop?

[David Dreezer]
Vice President
Product Manager UBB/UBBThreads

UBBDEV: How long have you been with Infopop?

[David Dreezer]
Starting on the boards or as an inside employee? I've been an actual employee since March 13, 2000.

UBBDEV: Where did you start off at Infopop originally?

[David Dreezer]
Around March of '99 I first posted on the old Scriptkeeper boards looking for some help getting my first UBB installed on an NT server. A lot of people helped out. Not long after that I needed help making a change to the script and more people helped out. I got caught up in the feeling and started returning the favor. Some time after that, Mark Badolato suggested to Ted and Michael Farris that they make me a moderator and it all just snowballed from there.

UBBDEV: Are you going to KEEP your haircut?

[David Dreezer]
Probably, yes. I'm vaccilating. Ted's thrilled, my mom is thrilled that it is short. I'm not so sure. At the rate that it is falling out I might not have to worry about it much longer anyway and that would be just fine with me.


UBBDEV: Do you enjoy your position and job at IP?

[David Dreezer]
Absolutely. I'm fortunate to be in a position where if I didn't love it I wouldn't have to be here. I do love it and have no intentions of doing anything else. This is home for me. These folks are like family.


UBBDEV: So, who was programming the UBB before Charles?

[David Dreezer]
Let's see, the order was Ted, then Michael Farris, then Ted again with UBB 6. While Ted was writing UBB 6 I did the last few releases of UBB 5 - with a lot of advice from Michael Farris, Ted, Charles, Graeme, and Mark Badolato.


UBBDEV: Whats your favorite UBB hack currently?

[David Dreezer]
I don't get to work with the hacks very much anymore. I do miss it. That's where I spent a lot of time, the old code hacking forum. Some of my hacks are now in the UBB. Of course Michael Farris rewrote all of them before he added them but that's the way the process works anyway.
Hmmm... I haven't looked at the calendar hack really closely but it looks pretty cool at a glance. "Who's on Line" is a golden oldie but still a good one.
My favorites now might not be hacks really. I'm kind of partial to mods that change the appearance of the UBB totally. Not as many people as I had hoped have seen the possibilities in template hacking. My last UBB 5 series board didn't look anything at all like a UBB. It was a total pain in the neck to do but it was worth it when the board was finally finished. With UBB 6's templates the same changes would be really easy. I think true individuality can be expressed there, in the templates. I'm tired of looking at UBB's that look like someone went to the UBBDev store and got all the day's most popular hacks. They all look exactly the same. Yawn. Get individual people, get into those templates and see what you can do!


UBBDEV: What types of UBB hacks do you like and dislike?

[David Dreezer]
Uh, I think I got carried away with hacks in the last question, didn't I?
Don't like? I cannot stand hacks that make it so your board can't be updated. I love hacks that are tight, clean and compact, and upgrade well.
I love hacks that are so innovative and yet so simple you look at them and say "Wow, why didn't I ever think of that?" Philipp's UBB Accelerator is a perfect example of that.


UBBDEV: I agree totally. Did you ever develop a hack for UBB? If so, what was your best one?

[David Dreezer]
The UBB closed message hack I wrote got added in... 5.45 I think it was. I did the passwords via the control panel hack way back when. Last time I looked it was still on my website. Now that I think of it I have a pile of UBB 5 and old freeware 5.10 hacks sitting there somewhere.
Nicholas Clark was the person that wrote the original private messages scripts. He wrote them as a stand alone. With his permission I reworked them to use the UBB colors and styles settings and integrated them more with the UBB. The next group took it from there and really made it even nicer.


UBBDEV: What do you think of UBBDev? Any suggestions?

[David Dreezer]
I'm a UBBdev fan. There are a lot of good things going on there and a lot of good people. A lot of bright minds too. It's nice to have UBBDev and UBBDesign as resources to send people when they need that "something extra" to make their UBB feel more their own.
Suggestions? Yes, why in the heck to I have to be registered and logged in to read the U-zine or look at and purchase UBBDev gear? That drives me nuts. Please bring these two elements out where a person can read them without logging in first. I never remember my password so getting to the U-zine is a chore. Make the U-Store more prominent on the front page of you want people to actually buy stuff. I love Scat's UBBDev log, it is a shame to have it hidden. Make the database more visible too. There are a lot of good things in there that I'd wager nobody knows about.


UBBDEV: Good point.
If you could describe UBB in one sentence, what would it be?

[David Dreezer]
I am far too wordy a person to ever attempt to describe something that means so many things to so many people, something so simple that can be so complex, something that can bring so much pleasure and understanding, something that can bring large amounts of varied people together, all in one sentence.

UBBDEV: So, what's you favorite home operating system?

[David Dreezer]
My Black '98 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Most comfortable car I've ever driven. I get more thinking done in that car then any where else.

UBBDEV: LOL. Not what I meant, but works.
What's your Favorite drink?

[David Dreezer]
Oh man, can there be any doubt? HoneyDew Donuts brand coffee.


Thanks for your time Dave!

-Greg, aka, MasterMind