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Dreamhack 2001

flagg writes: "One of the world's largest LAN-partys is taking place in this very moment, Dreamhack 2001 in Jonkoping, Sweden. Take a look on this picture and ask yourself a question: Do I wanna be there?"

153 of 281 comments (clear)

  1. Do I want to be there? by Vess+V. · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Frankly, I don't. For me, the fun of a LAN party is being there pulling an all-nighter with my buddies, spilling drinks, making a mess, watching pr0n, and laughing it up all over the place...

    Going to these hangar Lans with thousands of people just doesn't have that kind of intimacy... it's more geared toward people that just don't have broadband access and wanna get a couple of days of some lag-free gaming in.

    1. Re:Do I want to be there? by 3th3rn3t · · Score: 3, Funny

      the real question is : will i have enough storage to leech from 1000 people ? its time to pack those HP Ultrium drives...

      leech on !

    2. Re:Do I want to be there? by trilucid · · Score: 2


      Speaking of LAN parties, drinks, etc... the last true LAN party I attended was at a friend's house back in Atlanta. 'Twas a merry eve, as we were all sitting around (around 20 people), playing Quake and Unreal, eating pizza, and occassionally taking a dip in yon pool.

      Late in the evening, as we were all sitting around talking, hacking, and whatnot, I made the biggest party foul to date. I'm a smoker, and I couldn't seem to, ummm... locate my ashtray. So, I casually ashed in a glass of expensive scotch, which happened to be attached to my friend's hand. My friend (name withheld, of course) is a LARGE guy, and thankfully took mercy on me. Due to this incredible foul, I had to take a "time out" on the balcony for 30 minutes.

      Note to moderators: no, it's not offtopic, the story's about a massive LAN party for god's sake :).

      Web hosting for geeks, by geeks. Starting at $4 USD per month.
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    3. Re:Do I want to be there? by ardiri · · Score: 3, Informative
      • Frankly, I don't. For me, the fun of a LAN party is being there pulling an all-nighter with my buddies, spilling drinks, making a mess, watching pr0n, and laughing it up all over the place...
      have you ever been to a swedish party? this is pretty much what we do all the time! *g* the scandanavians surely know how to party.. but, unfortunately, wont be any strippers there.. that kinda stuff aint looked upon nicely here (in sweden)..

      • Going to these hangar Lans with thousands of people just doesn't have that kind of intimacy... it's more geared toward people that just don't have broadband access and wanna get a couple of days of some lag-free gaming in.
      um.. most people in Sweden HAVE decent internet connections. and, if you have ever had gaming parties over the sunet.se backbone - you wont complain about lag :) most people run at least 512kbps from their HOME (either cable or ADSL). i dont have many friends who use dial-up..

      and, when ADSL (2.5Mbit) is provide for a measly $25 a month (www.bonet.se)? who would be stupid enough to use a modem?
    4. Re:Do I want to be there? by snake_dad · · Score: 1

      Right. I'd never get of my spawnspot with thousands of players in quake2 instagib :-)

      --
      karma capped .sig seeking available Slashdot poster for long-term relationship.
    5. Re:Do I want to be there? by LighthouseJ · · Score: 1

      3 Playboy centerfolds? That's disgusting, they've got enough silicone to make a computer between them. If you want to be in a hot tub, be in one with "good looking girls", namely Catherine Bell or someone like that.

    6. Re:Do I want to be there? by trilucid · · Score: 1


      Public board. Public comments. My protest to the sig char limit. Deal. HAND.

  2. Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by ultitool · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wonder how many people are gonna be spending the night at the local jail because they're word processor was using an illegal key.....

    --
    If You Drink, Don't Park, Accidents Cause People.
    1. Re:Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by W2k · · Score: 3, Informative

      No-one. Using pirated (that's warezed for you l33t people) is not illegal in Sweden.
      Distributing or copying copyrighted works is, but if you download it from somewhere, it's the person you copy it from who's commiting a crime.

      --
      Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
    2. Re:Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by Iamthefallen · · Score: 2, Interesting

      *BZZZZT*


      You get partial credit, but I'm sorry, that's incorrect, but hey, thanks for playing!


      Using software without a license might not be illegal per se here, but it is a violation of the EULA (You know that thing you never read), which demands you have a license. Thus you're free game for the mean men in uniforms to come whack you over the head



      Sidenote, just a moment ago someone in #dreamhack asked for a halflife serial#, it's a farking $10 game! Buy it! 100 hrs (counting very low) of online play means $0.1/hr...

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
    3. Re:Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by Iamthefallen · · Score: 1

      Hey, give Bush a little time... :-)

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
    4. Re:Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by Henriok · · Score: 1

      Those kind of EULAs does not apply in Sweden, they do not comply to Swedish law. Distributing and copying copyrighted material is against the law in Sweden, not using it.

      --

      - Henrik

      - when the Shadows descend -
    5. Re:Lets play spot the SPA enforcer by xantho · · Score: 1

      In sweeden? Wow, you must have gone through a lot of college.

  3. Sweden? Any day! by sdprenzl · · Score: 1

    I'd love to be in Sweden, period.

    --
    --- WWSD? What Would Strider Do?
    1. Re:Sweden? Any day! by klykken · · Score: 1

      http://www.assembly.fi
      http://www.gathering.org
      http://www.theparty.dk
      http://www.dreamhack.se

      http://www.scene.org !!!

      --
      Looks like a fish, drives like a fish, steers like a cow.
  4. The answer... by ThatComputerGuy · · Score: 2

    ...is not very difficult.

    Hmm, a bunch of geeks in a large room with an equivalent number of Athlons/Pentiums and monitors, heating up the room and bringing out the stank in everyone... do I really want to be there?

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    1. Re:The answer... by DarklordJonnyDigital · · Score: 1
      Okay, so it smells pretty rank.

      On the plus side, you don't have to pay quite as much to keep the place heated.

  5. Tux by Mir322 · · Score: 1

    So i wonder how many peeps there are gonna be sleeping with stuffed Tux's in their sleeping bags ?

    --
    "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."- Friedrich Nietzsche
    1. Re:Tux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Since it's a LAN party - not that many I'd guess. They're there because they're 31337 gamerz and use Windows. Not that a bunch of Linux zealots (who mostly are converted Windows people anyway) would know a good Amiga/Atari/C-64 demo if it bit them in the ass anyway. Demo parties are dying, unfortunately.

      Fuck Tux.

  6. Worms by LinuxOnHal · · Score: 1

    Probably more worms floating around on that LAN than the @home network. err..

    --
    Trying is the First Step to Failing --Homer Simpson
    1. Re:Worms by LinuxOnHal · · Score: 1

      hence the err..

      --
      Trying is the First Step to Failing --Homer Simpson
  7. Well what if you have to go to the bathroom? by Asterax · · Score: 1

    Of course I would like to be there. My question is where is the bathroom!!??! What games where they playing? Just seperate 32 player Q3 games? Or what?

    1. Re:Well what if you have to go to the bathroom? by reverius · · Score: 2

      According to their website, on this page:

      Toilets and showers
      Toilets and showers are available in the hall. A crew team is cleaning the toliets 24h a day. Showers is 10 SEK per use.

      Also, check out the games they're playing!

  8. Re:Higher resolution image by adolf · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think I like this picture better.

    -

  9. Re:Do I wanna be there? by woodstok · · Score: 1

    I read the webpage the other day and it said they've got a 1gbit connection =).

  10. So how much power you think they using per minute? by FKell · · Score: 1

    I mean seriously...there have to be over 1000 computers with monitors there...

  11. Warming glow by gandalf_grey · · Score: 1
    Common guys, let's all sit in the warming glow of televisions warming glow.

    I can't even imagine the heat produced, and electricity consumed. Anyone have numbers?

    --
    Mmmmmmm. Floor pie!
    1. Re:Warming glow by elvstone · · Score: 1

      Reports from the front:

      It's hot as hell in here, eventhough they have some huge doors open into the cold december climat of Sweden.

  12. is that.. by RainbowSix · · Score: 2

    I think I see a girl in that picture.. but I'm probably mistaken.

    --
    --------
    It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
    1. Re:is that.. by Anders+H�ckersten · · Score: 1

      You've obviously never heard of the kind of male nerd that has long hair. They're pretty common.

      In other words, you are mistaken.

  13. Re:The First Thought to Pop into My Head? by not-quite-rite · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have always wondered why seemingly intelligent people do not understand the benefits of deoderant.
    Geeks wonder why normals don't like being near them...It's cause they friggin stink!!

    Every time I go to a LAN party or computer swapmeet, I just want to put tape on the top(so they are held de-pressed) of a few deoderant cans and throw them around the room like tear gas canisters.

    If only they made deoderant cans that would fit a riot gun.....

  14. Re:Higher resolution image by kisielk · · Score: 1

    Is it just me, or do none of these monitors seem to be displaying a GAME? They all look like just the standard windows desktop to me... hmm.. someone must be using the Half-Life mass-crash cheat :D

  15. Re:The energy companies... by sydneyfong · · Score: 1

    nah... when it sucks all the electricity from the town and they'll have a big problem. Think of a mob of 1000 energy hungry people charging into the company's office when they don't have enough electricity supply to keep them happy ;-)

    --
    Don't quote me on this.
  16. How many people does it take... by fireboy1919 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...before a LAN isn't a LAN?

    Or does "Local Area" refer to bandwidth in some wierd way?

    --
    Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
    1. Re:How many people does it take... by big_groo · · Score: 1

      I don't mean to state the obvious, but...

      A Local Area Network (LAN) is a term used to refer to a network of computers in a single building or plant. The type of network could be anything including Ethernet, Tolken Ring, ARCnet and RS-232 serial cables.

      Yes - Tolken ring. Look it up on everything2.org.

      ;)

    2. Re:How many people does it take... by bwindle2 · · Score: 1
      LAN has nothing at all to do with ammount of nodes, but mearly area.

      DreamHack might be able to call it a CAN (Campus Area Network), or BAN (Building Area Network), or maybe even ABRAL (A Big Room Area Network), but now I'm just making up stuff ;)

    3. Re:How many people does it take... by bumski · · Score: 1

      Tolken ring? Ah, yes, one ring to bind them all...

  17. I'd go but by ellem · · Score: 4, Funny

    A - I didn't see even one Aqua desktop
    B - I didn't see any BSD Grrls in red latex
    C - I didn't see Heidi Wall aywhere
    D - I can smell that room from the picture

    --
    This .sig is fake but accurate.
    1. Re:I'd go but by Morth · · Score: 1

      Well, you didn't look close enough. My screen is clearly visible in the top left.

  18. /. effect by DigitalGodBoy · · Score: 1

    They'd need that many machines to survive the current /. effect..

    --
    "liberty and justice for all those who can afford it"
    1. Re:/. effect by _GNU_ · · Score: 1

      Well, the webserver is on a completely separate network.

  19. Another pretty picture by choprboy · · Score: 1

    I much prefer this picture of the refreshments in the back room. 12 pallets of Jolt, where's the fridge?

    http://www.dreamhack.org/dh01/photos/PB270108.JP G

    1. Re:Another pretty picture by LWolenczak · · Score: 1

      It looks as if there are another two pallets by the door. 14 pallets? I would just like those pallets in my house.....

  20. Are you sure this is a lan party? by Afrosheen · · Score: 3, Funny

    It looks an awful lot like:

    1. An AOL tech support dungeon
    2. Microsoft's BorgCollective Coding Campus
    3. The Star Trek Official Storyline Accuracy Chamber

    1. Re:Are you sure this is a lan party? by shogun · · Score: 1

      3. The Star Trek Official Storyline Accuracy Chamber

      Uh, wouldn't that be empty?

  21. Is that Excite@home's new business plan? by virtros · · Score: 3, Funny

    or maybe it is Ascroft's office.

    :-)

    everyday seems weirder than the next,

    virtros

    --
    Worst. Sig. Ever.
  22. They slashdotted a LAN party? Thats cruel. by sheetsda · · Score: 3, Funny
    Take a look on this picture and ask yourself a question: Do I wanna be there?

    As pipe is probably saturated with the slashdot effect now, not really. This brings a whole new meaning to "party crashing". Michael must be taking his revenge on them for not inviting him.

  23. Imagine a Beowulf... by Pope · · Score: 1

    Blast!

    --
    It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
    1. Re:Imagine a Beowulf... by Stackster · · Score: 1

      ...instead of wasting all that CPU-time on Quake and Counterstrike.

      When will there be Beowulf Parties?

      --

      There are 010 kinds of people. Those who understand octal, those who don't, and 06 other kinds of morons.
  24. And the english translation is: by A_Non_Moose · · Score: 1

    for Jonkoping, Sweden

    I suppose Jonko means fluctuating and ping, well means ping...

    Or "we own j00, with our l33t ping".

    I suppose any town that ends in ping can't be all that bad. After all it does come down to da king of ping.

    --
    Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
    1. Re:And the english translation is: by MadSwede · · Score: 1

      I'd be even neater if it was located in Linkoping. Seriously, the -koping part is an old word for town, basically. Root word being a merchant, something to do with market town rights. So we end up with a fair amount of cities called, Linkoping, Jonkoping, Norrkoping, Soderkoping, etc etc. For my money, Link-O-Ping is the best one. PS. There's actually an umlaut over the o in koping, making it an -ö- assuming that works on /.

    2. Re:And the english translation is: by ardiri · · Score: 1

      Jonkoping

      its actually "Jönköping" - and, like the rest of sweden, it has its own website (the town) being
      www.jonkoping.se [sweden is very connected]

      nearly every town in sweden has its own website.. try it :) its sad, but, very true..

  25. a little too big? by British · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seems a little too big to be a fun LAN party. You'd seriously have to do the buddy system there. At a LAN party, I woudln't trust leaving my computer for the time it takes to instal NetBus or BackOrifice.

    Nor would I trust logging into anything on that network. Probably sniffers all over the place.

    I like 'em small, like at a friends apartment(or a party room) where you can just chill, eat food a few feet away, etc.

    1. Re:a little too big? by SW6 · · Score: 1
      Seems a little too big to be a fun LAN party. You'd seriously have to do the buddy system there. At a LAN party, I woudln't trust leaving my computer for the time it takes to instal NetBus or BackOrifice.

      Can't you lock the terminal? As you mention Netbus/BackOrifice, I assume you'll be running Windows for some reason. Windows 2000 certainly allows me to lock the terminal - I tap CTRL-ALT-DEL then ENTER, and it's locked. "xlock" in a shell does much the same under X.

      Nor would I trust logging into anything on that network. Probably sniffers all over the place.

      Run ssh, dude. I routinely use it these days for logging into remote systems. The Internet is harsh these days, and the LAN party can't be any worse.

      I like 'em small, like at a friends apartment(or a party room) where you can just chill, eat food a few feet away, etc.

      Well, this is the real crux of the matter. Right here, I have computers and a fast LAN already, without the risk of them being stolen. I also have cheap beer (well, the UK is cheaper than Sweden),and can have a (cheap and nice) pizza delivered in 15 minutes. Last time, I got a date out of it too :)

  26. My first thought by roystgnr · · Score: 1

    That picture reminds me of some email sparring a couple years ago:

    "Well, I think of Patrick and Roy in many ways, but dripping in testosterone is not one of them. Patrick and Roy would be better described as radiating a pale glow, sort of like a monitor-tan."

  27. Re:Higher resolution image by LWolenczak · · Score: 1

    I like the quote. Its a good one.

  28. How cool down all those computers? by A_Non_Moose · · Score: 1

    Open up some Windows!

    /me ducks and runs.

    --
    Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
  29. Re:I spot a chick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    First dibs.

  30. homebrew lan parties by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    That looks really boring to me. I loved the LAN parties back in the BBS days (I suppose they're still going on, but that's when I went to them) just at random peoples' houses with 20 friends or so. Computers strewn everywhere, tripping over cables, screaming at each other, spending hours trying to get the network working and occasionally the kid who would bring beer, and all the "bad kids" who would drink.

    That was fun to me. Playing games against 1000+ other anonymous people seems like it wouldn't be much different than playing online.

    But I don't really play games, anymore, so maybe I'm just lame.

  31. Some facts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Link: 1gbit/s to EBONE with the help from Arrowhead (http://dreamhack.swm.pp.se/)
    98% boys, 2% girls ;)
    40km (we are in sweeden you know ;) TP-cabels
    2km tables

    (Dreamhack is greate, but The Gathering in Norway is way better. (and even larger))

    --
    Quai

    1. Re:Some facts... by Snarl · · Score: 1

      The Gathering is bigger, with 5000 tickets being sold in less than 24 hours. The event lasts for four days and consists of the world largest temporary network. And not to mention the 25% share of girls. The first TG was back in 92 with 1,200 people and then the girls entered for free, but that's not the case anymore.

      Why arent't there any LAN parties like this in the US? I wouldn't think it would be a problem to gather the people, the US having the highest percentage of PCs per capita and all.

  32. I wonder.. by RainbowSix · · Score: 2

    I'm not sure I see the point..
    I see two reasons that LAN parties at your/friend's housees are better than playing on the internet:
    1. See people you know and test their skills while talking to them
    2. Meet new people and test their skills while talking to them

    However at this large a scale, this seems almost to become as anonymous as the internet. If you join a game, you probably don't know who you're playing against and the transaction cost of finding them would be pretty high. At best you talk to the people immediately next to you.

    Most of them are probably better off playing online from home where at least they don't have to walk a mile to go to the bathroom.

    --
    --------
    It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
    1. Re:I wonder.. by redhog · · Score: 2

      The cost of finding them is just asking them "in which row, and in which colum, do you sit", and then walking the manhattan distance over there...

      Last time I visited DH, I actually got to know quite some new people.

      --
      --The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
  33. electricity... by Jaeger- · · Score: 1

    imagine the electricity bill...

    --w

    --
    E V E R Y T H I N G I W R I T E I S F A L S E
  34. in the right city?? by tiffany9 · · Score: 1

    I'd love to be there! I've been to Sweden, and it's quite beautiful. I'm concerned though, about which city was chosen for this: Jonkoping is the only strict religious city in Sweden and it's not very easy to get to. I would have held it in Malmö or maybe Stockholm. At least you would have a better night life.... and there's a great university in Lund which is near Malmö. anyway -- just a thought.

    1. Re:in the right city?? by iolaire_in_swe · · Score: 1

      Well, Jönköping is in the middle of the country, so it's pretty equal to get to from anywhere in (the south) of Sweden. I'm not sure what the religious aspects have to do with a LAN.. and as for nightlife.. if we had a life, why would we be here? :] as it is, there's plenty to do here. A lot of us are meeting people we've known only through the Net before now.

      iolaire

  35. Re:Higher resolution image by dimator · · Score: 2, Funny

    The guy in the top left is looking at porn!

    --
    python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
  36. I'll pass. Thanks anyway. by Klein+Pretzel · · Score: 1

    I love being a software developer. Couldn't imagine doing anything else. But to be in a crowd of {hundreds/thousands} of overzealous geekoids spouting off their latest conquest is not my idea of a good time. It's not even in the top 1000.

    Some of the most brilliant developers I know are mostly reserved about their skills and accomplishments. What discussions do go on, are mostly to aid other members of the development teams.

    --

    Stifle is an anagram for itself.
  37. Do I wanna be there? by Scoria · · Score: 2

    I'm not absolutely sure. That red "X" is rather impressive, however. :)

    --
    Do you like German cars?
  38. microsoft sponsoring dreamhack 2001? by nonane · · Score: 1

    Suprising and pretty cool:

    the dreamhack people have microsoft as their main sponsors.

    how about that *nix people?

    1. Re:microsoft sponsoring dreamhack 2001? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Asus is the main sponsor.
      Sponsor list

    2. Re:microsoft sponsoring dreamhack 2001? by iolaire_in_swe · · Score: 1

      Asus are sponsoring some of the prizes and infrastructure
      Arrowhead are supplying the righteously good net connect (which still hasn't been filled).
      Microsoft have a big corner and are running some Xbox compos.

      iolaire

    3. Re:microsoft sponsoring dreamhack 2001? by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2
      What I'm hearing is that Microsoft has a truck connected to the local network monitoring SMB and FTP traffic.

      I guess 'sponsor' can mean many things...

  39. Do I wanna be there? by x136 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Take a look on this picture and ask yourself a question: Do I wanna be there?
    [click]

    "This page cannot be displayed."

    Well, gee, if you can't even show a picture of it, I don't think I want to be there!
    --
    SIGFEH
  40. You'll notice... by darkov · · Score: 2, Funny

    that there is only one fan in the place (bottom right). Also, looking at the traffic graph, what happened at 8:15? Looks like someone kicked out a plug. An almighty groan must have risen from the crowd about then...

  41. Counterstrike by cascino · · Score: 1

    The website lists an organized tournament of 128 5-on-5 Counterstrike teams. Dear lord that's a lot of people.

  42. Dreamhack Net Access by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    i just stumbled across this during my usually irc window flipping. Its the dreamhack's 1GB fibre internet connection provided by Arrowhead broadband


    tsk tsk tsk, and they cant even max it out ;)

  43. LAN is when you do not cross a road. (OT) by maxwells_deamon · · Score: 2, Informative

    In the networking class I took in the 80's at IBM they defined a LAN as a network where you did not have to use a common carrier for the physical layer.

    If had to cross a road/right of way, you had to use some sort of common carrier (like a phone company) you were then subject to regulations and speed limits :-(

    The network then became a WAN.

  44. Awesome party! by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    OH WELL
    • Disclaimer: The following comment is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real world events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and unintended.
    • Disclaimer: The following comment may contain statements of parody, but does not contain statements of fact, slander or libel. Any statements that appear so are purely parody and should not be taken seriously.
    • Disclaimer: Not responsible for lost or stolen items.
    • Disclaimer: The following comment may include language of an adult nature. Parental discretion is advised.
    Ok... now what the heck was I going to say?! Oh yeah... This looks like the most awesome LAN party ever! In fact, when I first glanced at the picture (I clicked the link and went to a different window--using Opera 5.0 for Linux (but under FreeBSD, ironically) allows me to work in many different windows at the same time, which is very advantageous because I like to do many things at once--I can't wait for version 6 to be available commercially--and then came back to the window with the picture and thought it was the wrong picture because...), I thought it was a photo of a city at night. That's how nuts this LAN party is!

    Copyright 2001, rice_burners_suck. All rights reserved.

    OH WELL

  45. Heh... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 1

    Totally disapointed with that pic. I mean when you asked if I would want to be there - and offered up a pick I was anxiously awaiting a nice high res image of some hot swedish women. sadly all I saw was jolt-burp-smell.

  46. Wait, wait... that's a LAN MEET? by DarklordJonnyDigital · · Score: 1

    The first time I saw that picture, I thought there was nothing unusual about it. Until I realised that it was infact a LAN party, and not a small city. Way to go, Dreamhack!

  47. Norway: The Gathering by caryw · · Score: 1

    Norway has a similar gigantic lan-party type thing once a year called "The Gathering." Anyone ever attended? Why don't we see more of these in the US?

    1. Re:Norway: The Gathering by XyouthX · · Score: 1

      i believe the percentage of people with cable/dsl/similar connectivity is a great deal higher in sweden than in the US. sorry.

    2. Re:Norway: The Gathering by Per+Kristiansen · · Score: 1

      Actually there have been attempts, but the format seems to suit Scandinavie/Europe a lot better.

      Why?

      Well several reasons..

      1) The average American travels poorly :)
      with that I mean that in the US it takes quite a bit of PR/Hype to draw a big crowd, people are not as willing to move around, while in scandinavia/europe we're quite used to have to move around.
      It might have something to do with accessability to servces in the us compared to Scandinavia/Europe

      2) Cost/Liability
      Renting a large venue in the US is VERY expensive, and on top of that you get the security expenses and of course our favourite: Liability Insurance.
      I can picture it;
      Me:Hello I would like en event insurance/Libility insurance for an event o f about 5000 people
      Insurance Company: Why sure! What kind of event is it?
      Me:It's a Computer Party
      IC:???!!!
      Me:The age group would be from 16 - 24
      IC:5000 of them?
      Me: yes
      IC: goodbye..nice talking to you.

      3) Attitude
      with the way people that enjoy messing around with computers have been profiled lately we would probably be raided by the police with SWAT and the whole shebang, because we're all possible killers..sigh.

      It would be WAY cool to do a Large LAN in the US.
      If anyone SERIOUSLY want to do it get in touch with us. you should be able to reach us from the TG web page

      oh and TG and DH are not competitiors :)
      We're actually friends..Part of the TG crew is over there helping out on the network side of things.

      Hi people, Youre doing GREAT!

      Almost more fun doing these things instead of attending them :)

    3. Re:Norway: The Gathering by magg · · Score: 1

      Per made a typo ;-P www.gathering.org.

      He is one of the main organizers of The Gathering.

      --
      magg
    4. Re:Norway: The Gathering by caryw · · Score: 1

      Wow. You are one of the organizers of the whole thing? I probably have some pictures of you somewhere. Do you know cvega and crew?

  48. Whats the difference to being on the Net? by kramerj · · Score: 1

    Okay, so whats the difference of being at something like this, or being on the net? Not much ;) I am sure that thier network is probably pretty laggy unless they spent some huge bux on the equipment.. doubtful though.. anyhow.. I'd rather stay at home and be comfortable than go to THAT.. now, a real LAN party is better.. a few half dozen or so friends, a few quake chicks, some pr0n.. and thats fun...

    Jay

    --
    "What's this script do? unzip ; touch ; finger ; mount ; gasp ; yes ; umount ; sleep Hint for the answer: not everyth
    1. Re:Whats the difference to being on the Net? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Well as a "Former" cisco employee, let me
      explain, LOL ....

      Router top level with Giga-bit connection to
      the backbone, one hop, one hop to the backbone
      if you do not know what that means ask
      around .

      Right beneath this is prolly a Cisco/Juniper/
      Extreme Networks Gigabit Ethernet Switch
      that runs to many 100 Base-T switches with
      Giga-bit uplinks to the Primary switch .

      Thus everyone in this place could have the
      ping we only dream of at home, and kick
      of file sharing appz to beat the band .

      Just think of the DVD rip swapping ...LOL

      Just think of the mondo giant mp3 xfers .

      Just think of the e-books, PDFs, etc ...

      It boggles the mind, last one I hit in
      I picked up 47 gig .

  49. Re:So how much power you think they using per minu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I am at the party. Momy, I want to go home. It's to big.

    The official numbers is 5-6000, we did a quick scan for windowz hosts and found about 3500.
    Thier are 4554 seats on the map.

    Just a mile or two away from the complex is a power distribution central.

  50. How many kilogeeks? by rmckeethen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    OK, I'll bite. Just what *is* the official term for that many computer geeks all in one place? Looking at all those monitors I'm thinking maybe calling it a 'phosphera' of geeks? Or maybe you just use scientific terminology and simply append 'kilo' or 'mega' to the word, i.e. a thousand geeks all in one place would be 'one kilogeek'. Any other suggestions?

    Yes, I AM a computer geek and proud of it, dammit! And yeah, if I lived anywhere near there I'd probably be like, maybe, third from the left in the fifth row.

  51. OK by xercist · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now look at THIS picture, and ask yourself the same question.

    --

    --
    grep "xercist" /dev/random ...you'll find me in there someday
  52. Mod this dude UP^^^! by cr0sh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I agree with you - 100 % - I think the most humble I have ever felt was after seeing this intro - 256 bytes - aggh! - and it still runs under NT!

    Now, I want to see the same intro in Linux - I am not sure if there is a way to make it work and stay that small or not - I am just OK with x86 ASM, but not to that level!!!

    DAMN! I bow before 3 sc hardcore!

    --
    Reason is the Path to God - Anon
    1. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by dj_flux · · Score: 1

      Mother of god man - that's amazing!

    2. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by dstone · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sweet Jesus! That proggie is amazing! Definitely the coolest 256 bytes on the net. Why can't viruses carry sweet little payloads like this?!

    3. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by cr0sh · · Score: 2

      Yeah! It is the ASM code is pretty straightforward, to a good extent - some of the stuff is familiar to me from coding I have done in x86. You can see that he (they?) is using the FPU heavily - but that is too be expected (not likely to create the demo AND fixed point routines in 256 bytes).

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
    4. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by cr0sh · · Score: 2

      My thoughts exactly - it runs fast, lean and most amazing of all, switches into and out of graphics mode (direct hardware hitting, even!) without causing NT to gripe! I am still trying to figure that out (hey, l33t ASM coder I am not).

      I look at the code and the demo from time to time, just to say to myself "This guy can do this - I can be as good!" - as a way of reminding myself to be a better coder, in whatever language I am writing in...

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
    5. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by smoke · · Score: 1

      See our homepage for a GPL'd 4k for linux called Sesamstr, written in pure horrific at&t asm.
      Requires svgalib (libvga.so, not libvga.so.1, saves 2 bytes) and eventually /dev/dsp for sound.

      smoke/ecfh (visit #demoscene on OPN)

    6. Re:Mod this dude UP^^^! by adadun · · Score: 1

      My thoughts exactly - it runs fast, lean and most amazing of all, switches into and out of graphics mode (direct hardware hitting, even!) without causing NT to gripe! I am still trying to figure that out (hey, l33t ASM coder I am not).

      Actually, switching in and out of graphics mode is the least of problems with writing stuff such as this. Switching to 320x200 mode is done by those two lines of code:

      mov al,13h
      int 10h

      Switching back to text mode is done by:

      mov al,03h
      int 10h

  53. Real Life Fragfest by dygytyz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can you imagine the gore, blood, and assorted carnage one could achieve by running through that room with a BFG9000?

    --
    Mmmm... Pistol Whip...
  54. mmm ./ is all about flaming these days. by gbug · · Score: 2, Insightful

    there are about 5000 people here.. and we're all having a good time. here are some pictures from the floor.

  55. At first I thought by Bob+Bitchen · · Score: 1

    this was a shot of the technicians at google...then came to my senses and realized it was a shot of yet another software company after some cost cutting consolidation....who needs offices or cubes?!

    --
    http://tinyurl.com/3t236
  56. Re:How much power are they using? by LighthouseJ · · Score: 1

    I feel sorry for the guy who kicks over the wrong plug in that place. :-)

    They should be glad I'm not in Sweden because I would get a group of people and go there and shutdown the power.

  57. The grass is not greener...in this case. by Barkmull · · Score: 1

    I grew up in Jönköping...then I moved to Alaska...what was I thinking?

  58. Humans are soooo dumb by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 1

    Looking at the picture made me laugh at first, but then it made me wonder. Am I the only one that finds a million geeks, stairing at glowing monitors, while bairly moving, kind of odd. It's like the matrix or something.

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
    1. Re:Humans are soooo dumb by Pussy+Is+Money · · Score: 2, Funny
      Yes, it's television for the idiots, and computers for the smart masses!

      Our world is shrinking...

      --
      Pushin' 'n dealin', shovin' 'n stealin'
    2. Re:Humans are soooo dumb by Lunastorm · · Score: 2, Funny

      Actually, it's television for the idiots, and computers for the losers.
      Not all losers (aka geeks) are intelligent, as Slashdot proves.

      --
      You die too easily.
    3. Re:Humans are soooo dumb by Per+Kristiansen · · Score: 1

      Not stupid...human..
      It's perfectly normal to want to be with people that share your intrests.

      And you CAN'T sit still all the time.
      There is stuff happening all the time.
      I remember last year we had a "find the hidden sticker and get a ATI RADEON for free" competition , it was quite populare. A lot of people moving around :)

      Also with the size of the venue, just going to the toilet is quite a long walk :)

  59. Bandwidth usage at Dreamhack 2001 by iocc · · Score: 1

    Here is the MRTG bandwidth usage stats at Dreamhack 2001: http://dreamhack.swm.pp.se/194.0.15.254_7008.html
    A top of 700 Mbit but right now 400 Mbit.

    So its not the slashdot effect, its just the webserver that have MacClients to low i guess.

    And BTW, its not 1000 people here, its like 5000-6000 people.

  60. Re:So how much power you think they using per minu by tempfile · · Score: 1

    Well... let's do some math. Suppose 2500 people are there (this is realistic, I've seen 6K people parties here in Germany). Suppose most people are l33t d00ds and thus use some > 1.2 GHz Athlons OC'd to 1.4 with vacuum cleaner engines as fans. So let's say 250W average for the PC and 100W for the monitor, that's 350W per machine. Times 2500... 850kW. This sounds much, but on the other hand, electricity is ass cheap.

  61. Re:An Inside perspective :-) by gusnz · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is also here with some Xboxes...

    I guess if you're going to keep the temperature at your comfy 27C... anything that burns must be welcome :-).

  62. Re:The energy companies... by KyleJ61782 · · Score: 1

    The energy companies? How about the oncologists 10 years down the road?!

    --

    I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
  63. Tss... by Asmodean20001 · · Score: 3, Flamebait

    How many times do we have to tell you... Dreamhack is a DEMO party, hosting competitions in all sorts of areas as 64k DEMOs, Wild Music, and so on. The network itself is not laggy at all, of course. The equipment in here (sponsored by Cisco and other huge network companies) is worth in the > $25.000 range.

    1. Re:Tss... by Loligo · · Score: 1

      >The equipment in here (sponsored by Cisco and
      >other huge network companies) is worth in the >
      >$25.000 range.

      You don't get much in the way of a gigabit-class router for 25 grand.

      Maybe you meant $250,000? Even THAT'S low for the number of switches that must be in place.

      -l

  64. Re:business opportunity by Lunastorm · · Score: 1

    Even a prositute has standards.
    Like many others have already said, I see no point in being at one of these. Sure, you get to meet people you've only seen on the net, but only the nerdy boys that nobody in their right mind would want to meet anyway.

    --
    You die too easily.
  65. Re:Some DH stats.. by MikeLRoy · · Score: 1

    So, since sweden uses 240v power, and since the max you can run on a three-phase temporary power system is 200amps per run, they must have 10-3phase 200a power disconnects there, and most likely the same number of generators. Whew!

    --
    -Michael Roy Some people are like Slinkies. Not really useful, but you can't help smiling when you see one tumble down
  66. Re:NOT a lan party you fucks. by redhog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It _was_ a demoparty, and I used to go there, but now, to what reason? Last time I was there, there where gamers there, a lot of them, but they at least had demo competitions... I made a 512 bytes mini-intro (just for fun, there where no matching competition) with a friend...

    Btw, I'l bite and answer two other messages:

    There's no snow at all in Jönköping atm (or in any town in south sweden).

    Sweden is a _long_ country, so this it's-dark-all-winter-and-bright-all-summer doesn't apply that much at all to e.g. Jönköping. But anyway, what does it matter when you'r in a building four days in a row, with ponly the light of thopusand monitors to guid you?

    DH used to be in another, more northern town (borlänge) before, but even there, there where no snow and quite bright...

    Btw, if you want to go to a _real_ demoparty, visit The Gathering in Norway!

    --
    --The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
  67. Re:Higher resolution image by mcj · · Score: 1

    It looks like a couple of those stations are decked out in X-mas lights or something. Tis the season!

  68. Re:The energy companies... by cyberkreiger · · Score: 2

    According to the big screen, we are using 1.3 MW.

    --
    Stumbling in the dark
    I hear slavering of jaws
    Eaten by a grue.
  69. Relax Unreal :) by Otis_INF · · Score: 2

    Today it's more of a combined event: lots of gamers, and a small group of us, demosceners. The demoscene is not what it used to be... more and more people are into gaming than into demos, so when organising such an event, it's obvious you get 80% gamers and 20% sceners. It's not that much fun, agreed, but a fact of life...

    Otis/Infuse Project, coder DemoGL http://www.demogl.com

    --
    Never underestimate the relief of true separation of Religion and State.
  70. Mod that up by autopr0n · · Score: 3, Informative

    (clickable link, for the lazy) pictures of the setup of the site very cool

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  71. There are. by autopr0n · · Score: 1

    Although, mainly gaming focused (not built from the demoscene like in eu) and not quite as huge. My quick googling turned up this obvious site which lists mainly events in the US and Canada.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  72. micro-apps on linux by autopr0n · · Score: 1

    People are writing 4k intros for linux, there are even some tools for doing just that. Also check this out, a Linux program just 45 bytes long, shorter then the ELF executable header :P.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    1. Re:micro-apps on linux by cr0sh · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I know about these - but 256 bytes is even more amazing. Thanks for some other links, though!

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
  73. MRTG over the Dreamhack internet uplink here by _GNU_ · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://stat.event.dreamhack.org/

    Quite elite..

    Arrowhead in cooperation with Ebone
    in combination with a Black Diamond :)

    I'm on an ethernet connection in Sweden, 400km or so from Dreamhack, dunno really... Downloading at around 750k/sec from an ftp inside dreamhack... hehe ;)

    Hugs
    // _GNU_

  74. removing all context... by autopr0n · · Score: 1

    Well, gee, if you can't even show a picture of it, I don't think I want to be there!

    I think you have that backwards, man.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  75. be nice, be concise by autopr0n · · Score: 1

    I thought it was a photo of a city at night. That's how nuts this LAN party is!

    1.25k of useless blather, 79bytes of point. (btw, I don't know of any browsers that don't let you open multiple windows)

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  76. More about The Gathering by snillfisk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    this picture kinda shows what The Gathering is all about .. It started out as demoparty in '92 and is still running hot. These days all 5k of tickets gets sold out in ~24-48 hours, so there's apparently a huge market for lanparties here in norway, sweden and other close countries :)

    Some people has been complaining about "the stench has to be awful" .. well, guess what, since this isnt your average lanparty where people are staying in small, overheated rooms (like most "hey, lets gather over at our house"-lanparties), it works out quite nicely. Most people also shower daily (guess some of you havent heard about that. ;))..

    Ok, for those of you that are complaing about things getting too anonymous .. well, it sorta could be. But that would be boring, wouldnt it? What you usually do is that you go to the party together with your demogroup, your clan or your friends, whatever suits your need. You sit together with the people you already know (5-10-50-100) - and guess what, just on the row behind you, someone you know from IRC is sitting .. and you're meeting them for the first time ever! .. and then, suddenly, the coder of that *awesome* demo just suddenly pops by your row to say 'hi' .. you kinda have to be there to get the spirit :)

    DreamHack looks really nice this year, hopefully there'll be a few good contributions to the democompos and we'll see some nice showdowns in counter-strike and Q3 ..

    .. and to end it all up; go there!

    --
    mats
    One man's ceiling is another man's floor.
  77. Re:Higher resolution image by Tack · · Score: 1

    Well I only said it looked like there were 1000 in that picture. Does that picture capture the entire population?

    Jason.

  78. Re:How much power are they using? by elvstone · · Score: 1

    Actually the power and 10/100mbit switched network has been working flawlessly. And the 1gbit uplink is just fine. To bad this place crawls with 14 year old gamers sucking up the bandwidth. ;)

  79. Re:Higher resolution image by elvstone · · Score: 1

    We are actually just below 6000 visitors this year, but thats just because DH has become more mainstream the last years. It used to be a demoparty, and i miss that.

  80. The Gathering: a demoparty?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    WHAT??? Gathering is by no means a demoparty. 99.9% percent gamers last year when I was there.

    Mekka/Symposium and Dialogos in Germany on the other hand are REAL demoparties. Gamers are actually not invited :)

  81. Re:Some Observations... by AxB_teeth · · Score: 2, Funny

    > 3. But not the condom concession. ...

    then i guess you'll only get 'em going, eh?

    --

    However,
  82. Re:How much power are they using? by TheDick · · Score: 1

    Even QuakeCon used generators. No way you could run that many machines over your average buildings wiring.

    --

  83. Re:Do I wanna be there!? by Jack+Auf · · Score: 1

    You are soooo right. I was in Stockolm for Y2K and it was about -15c. Brrrr.

    The only solution was to drink to excess so you didn't feel the cold attacking your bones.

    --
    "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" - BF
  84. ONLY$25.000 ? by Viceice · · Score: 1

    I want one too... wait.. with those going at 25.. i think i'll take 2,0 :)

    --
    Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
  85. Next party is Dec 27-29th (Denmark, 4k people) by mjul · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The next big party is "The Party" in Denmark, Dec. 27-29. Some 4000 people will be there.

    Their web site is http://www.theparty.dk

  86. Re:The energy companies... by Some+Dumbass... · · Score: 2, Funny

    The computers are using so much electricity, they can't even get the lights to go on :)

    Sounds like fun, until someone realizes that the snack machine doesn't work either...

  87. You're close, honey! by Nagash · · Score: 2

    When I showed the picture to my girlfriend, she thought it was a cityscape :)

    Woz

  88. A great tutorial on what are and how to do 'demos' by fungus · · Score: 1

    ABC Demo Windows only... check it out, it is quite funny =) (1st prize demo at Coma 3 last weekend)

  89. GReeTZ by emars · · Score: 1

    GReeTZ To FuTuRe CReW!

    --
    ...18...19...20 Submit
  90. Dreamhack 2001 - Nerds on a hunt for love by iocc · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dreamhack 2001 - Nerds on a hunt for love

    Funny comic-strip about Dreamhack 2001.

  91. Re:How much power are they using? by Cederic · · Score: 1


    >> No way you could run that many machines over your average buildings wiring.

    hmm. tell that to the average large call centre. they have the whole PC/monitor/lan power needs, plus major telephony apparatus kicking about.

    sure, it isn't your normal average home. but neither is the place in that photo

    ~Cederic

  92. Re:Do I wanna be there!? by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2
    I suspect this is so they can actually save on heating (or cooling, depending on how you look at it). Imagine: roughly 6 thousand systems with monitors. Imagine: the heat that gets kicked out by that many systems. Imagine: almost 6 thousand people in close proximity. Speaking from personal experience, a single machine with a monitor in a 8x10 room gets pretty warm, even if the heat is low, during the winter in South Dakota,USA. (often -50F w/ windchill) With that many systems, people, and monitors, it probably makes sense to have it in the winter - if it gets to warm in there, just open a door on either side of the building, and blow out all the hot air.


    My friends and I will have LANfests in a large basement - roughly 10 to 15 of us. The room is generally about half as tightly packed as the pictures of this festival appear to be. It will get to be almost 105F in there if we don't open a window, unless the air conditioning is on in the summer. Even then, it gets fairly warm. (90F-ish?)

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  93. Re:NOT a lan party you fucks. by Wojtek · · Score: 1

    Why a fat connection? To make it cheaper for the sceners of course. :-)

    I'm not there, but I *was* planning on doing a demoparty tour next summer as a trip with some friends. I'm Canadian and it costs to go to europe. So if I go to a demoparty it had better fucking well be worth my time. If I want to watch people run around and shoot people I can stay home and stay in observer mode in these videogames.

  94. Re:Do I wanna be there? by trycoon · · Score: 1

    Sending this msg. from DH, and yes, we got an 1,5Gbps connections from ebone.

  95. Re:So how much power you think they using per minu by trycoon · · Score: 1

    There are WAY more than 2500 people here!
    I would guess on 5000..
    "this is realistic, I've seen 6K people parties here in Germany"
    ??? The Scandinavian LAN-partys are by far the laegest in the World. Dreamhack, The gathering, The Party and Assembly!

    What big lan-partys do you have in Germany? (I have heard of none..)

  96. Re:athlon heat by Techi · · Score: 1

    And everyone with a P4 is complaining about their processors half-clocking every 15 seconds...

    --
    "You think that's air you're breathing now?"
  97. Re:How much power are they using? by Per+Kristiansen · · Score: 1

    Nope...dosen't work that way...
    a VERY easy way to calculate the needed power:
    1Amp*220V(scandinavia) per person.
    And then you add the "NO MICROWAVES" rule of course:). You would not BELEIVE! the amount od stuff people bring with them to these parties :D

    oh and for the standard "thats not enough power yadda yadda" comment..yes it is.

    We've done this for quite some time now and it works :).

  98. Re:Do I wanna be there!? by DozePih · · Score: 1

    It's +3 at the moment. That's not too bad.

  99. Re:NOT a lan party you fucks. by Per+Kristiansen · · Score: 1

    Actually both DH and TG has moved past that lable.

    They both embrace EVERYONE that enjoys computers.
    Be it Coders/GFX/Anims/Gamers, it does NOT MATTER as long as you have fun!

    Now some people keeps on ranting about how this sub culture is ruining everything for that sub culture. Bullshit!

    To all of you UberCoolHardCoreSceners , please stop!..you are NOT helping the recruitment to the demoscene by slagging someone for liking to play games instead of writing code,Making Grapichs,doing animations or making music..hey wait..ain't there a lot of so called "Game Lamers" that make VERY nice graphics for their clans Web pages, and what about level designers, skinners,Mod coders and so on!..

    Also remember that some of the first Demos was actually Intros to cracked games :)..(still remember the long ass scroll text on the intro to Way of the Exploding Fist:)

    But back to the issue at hand.
    Parties like DH and TG are NOT focus parties, no!
    we're parties that want ot include EVERYONE.
    At TG I've seen everything from the TotalNewbieJustGotMyComputerForXmas to the Serious42YearOldEngineerWhoIsHereToPlayQuakeWithHi sSon

    So PLEASE stop acting like jerks and can the Game Lamahs,Scene Nazi,Leecher Dood,IRC geek or whatever you feel you need to call your fellow Computer Enthusiast to feel superior.

    Oh and Greets to all Old Amiga farts out there..
    remember CryptoBurners Rule! :)

  100. $$ by segvio · · Score: 1

    Can you imagine all the licensing fees?

  101. Re:How much power are they using? by TinWeasle · · Score: 1

    So, er, how much power do you suppose is pulled at the annual COMDEX show at the Las Vegas Convention Center? A "mere" 6000 computers? Not a problem, once you think about the realities of robotic lighting systems, effects machines, LOTS of sound, and all the peripherals that chew watts like cherry Pez...

    --
    The TinWeasle: "Worming Out of Culpability since 1978" - Opinions expressed are mine alone, yadda, yadda, yadda
  102. I remember seeing that... by cr0sh · · Score: 2

    But why doesn't NT complain? I remember NT would complain of such things (I remember trying to run DOOM on an NT box one time - gave me an error about trying to access the hardware directly). This switch, as you point out, is done via a BIOS interrupt - so why doesn't NT complain? Did MS change something to allow better handling of this?

    --
    Reason is the Path to God - Anon