Physics Forums: History, Founder & Ownership

In summary, PF is a psychological experiment to see how many time a day you can interrupt people's connection to an internet forum before they go berzerk.
  • #1
Ratzinger
291
0
Who created Physics Forums? Who is its founder? Does anybody owns it?
 
Science news on Phys.org
  • #2
Here's a clue. It was his birthday yesterday.
 
Last edited:
  • #3
PF was created in 2000 by a team of psychiatrists at the Moronvia Institute in DuBuque, Iowa, U.S.A. as a psychological experiment to see how many time a day you could interrupt people's connection to an internet forum before they went berzerk.
 
  • #4
No one created PF. There is no "intelligent design" involved here.

<ZapperZ runs and hides from the PF God>

Zz.
 
  • #6
PF is owned by a dog. This dog:
http://www.artglass-pottery.com/Dogs/images/A02453St.Bernard.jpg
 
  • #8
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/mcknight/nerd.jpg [Broken]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #9
I would like to know the relationship between Greg and Warren. Are they related, friends or..?
 
  • #10
Tom Mattson said:
I can't believe no one PM'd me about Chief Crazyhead Mattson. You guys usually watch my back better than that!

haha I always wondered why you never had a response to that :biggrin:
 
  • #11
Mattara said:
I would like to know the relationship between Greg and Warren. Are they related, friends or..?

Warren is my mom's cousins dads step son's ex girlfriends classmate
 
  • #13
Did you watch your school pull off the upset, Greg? You do go to UWM, no?
 
  • #14
Greg Bernhardt said:
Warren is my mom's cousins dads step son's ex girlfriends classmate
Thrice removed.

Greg and I have never actually met, or even conversed on the phone, believe it or not. I joined PF a number of years ago and spent most of my time being an arrogant jerk to the crackpots. Eventually, somehow, I was promoted to mentor (I guess I softened up!). Later, when Greg realized I could help him with some of the site's programming, he made me a co-admin.

- Warren
 
  • #15
loseyourname said:
Did you watch your school pull off the upset, Greg? You do go to UWM, no?

Was no upset my friend :biggrin: GO PANTHERS! Now watching marquette get wipped.
 
  • #16
my time being an arrogant jerk to the crackpots

Said like a true scientist
 
  • #17
So then Greg you must be crazy rich by now like all the other Internet people.
 
  • #18
He would be rich, but I keep skimming off the top.

- Warren
 
  • #19
Ratzinger said:
So then Greg you must be crazy rich by now like all the other Internet people.

yup, advertising firms are spending billions on the physics market lol
 
  • #20
I bet these two Google guys have been knocking on your door lately.

Are we talking seven digits numbers? Or stock options?
 
  • #21
What're you trying to say? That Google would buy PF? I think you have it all backwards... Greg's been talking about investing his PF profits in some little search engine company for a while now.

- Warren
 
  • #22
But don't you realize how much money is needed to keep the site up? With the amount of data on PF, the hosting package isn't 100 MB of disk and 500 MB bandwidth! I wonder how much bandwidth PF uses monthly.
 
  • #23
z-component said:
But don't you realize how much money is needed to keep the site up? With the amount of data on PF, the hosting package isn't 100 MB of disk and 500 MB bandwidth! I wonder how much bandwidth PF uses monthly.

Close to 300gig total bandwidth (http, ftp, ssh, backups...) and near 3gig raw data (over a gig for all those latex images!). Good thing we have a dedicated server with unlimited bandwidth and two 160gig drives!
 
Last edited:
  • #24
:eek: Yeah, good thing! I had no idea LaTeX images took that much.
 
  • #25
No one "created" PF. It evolved over millions of years from protoforumoids like sci.physics usenet.
 
  • #26
Okay, this is probably going to sound like a weird question, but I've been thinking about asking for a long time. Since I know very little about how the net works, I'm curious about where PF is. Is it all in one honking huge computer somewhere, or distributed among a bunch of them, or am I just a Solipsist and dreamed the whole thing up?
 
  • #27
Danger said:
Okay, this is probably going to sound like a weird question, but I've been thinking about asking for a long time. Since I know very little about how the net works, I'm curious about where PF is. Is it all in one honking huge computer somewhere, or distributed among a bunch of them, or am I just a Solipsist and dreamed the whole thing up?

It's in a datacenter located in New York.
 
  • #28
Greg Bernhardt said:
It's in a datacenter located in New York.
That's weird. I always figured there was this big sort of borg cube in your garage that you went out and banged on with a wrench now and then.
 
  • #29
Greg Bernhardt said:
It's in a datacenter located in New York.
Okay... next question (and no, I'm not kidding): what's a datacentre?
 
  • #30
Danger said:
Okay... next question (and no, I'm not kidding): what's a datacentre?
It's a building that has (hopefully) redundant power supplies, and multiple carriers with fiber into the building. They rent out space in their building to people that want to place their servers and other equipment in a secure environment.

There are other concerns such as HVAC, fire prevention, you don't want water pouring onto your server in case of a fire, security.

There are obviously different levels of providers, some outright lie about their facilities. I quite often have clients call me saying that XYZ data center says I have fiber into their facility and I don't.
 
Last edited:
  • #31
So the server is one computer?
 
  • #32
Danger said:
So the server is one computer?
Basically.
 
  • #33
Wow! I think that I want one...
 
  • #34
Danger said:
So the server is one computer?
Is that why I often get an error loading the page: it sights a failure to connect to the server, and it doesn't matter what browser I use.
 
  • #35
The webserver itself is on a single computer, but the database is likely on a much more powerful computer shared by many web servers.

I actually don't know much about the site's new configuration, since it was moved just a week ago.

- Warren
 
<h2>What is the history of Physics Forums?</h2><p>Physics Forums was founded in 2001 by Greg Bernhardt as a way to provide a platform for students and professionals to discuss physics and related topics. It has since grown to become one of the largest online communities for physics enthusiasts.</p><h2>Who is the founder of Physics Forums?</h2><p>The founder of Physics Forums is Greg Bernhardt. He also serves as the site's administrator and plays an active role in the community.</p><h2>Who owns Physics Forums?</h2><p>Physics Forums is owned by a company called Physics Forums LLC, which is owned by Greg Bernhardt. The site operates as a for-profit business.</p><h2>What sets Physics Forums apart from other physics forums?</h2><p>Physics Forums prides itself on being a professional and academic forum, with a strict moderation policy and a diverse community of experts and enthusiasts. It also offers a wide range of features, including homework help, career advice, and interactive simulations.</p><h2>How has Physics Forums evolved over the years?</h2><p>Since its founding in 2001, Physics Forums has undergone several updates and changes to improve user experience and keep up with advancements in technology. It has also grown in size, with over 1 million registered members and millions of monthly visitors.</p>

What is the history of Physics Forums?

Physics Forums was founded in 2001 by Greg Bernhardt as a way to provide a platform for students and professionals to discuss physics and related topics. It has since grown to become one of the largest online communities for physics enthusiasts.

Who is the founder of Physics Forums?

The founder of Physics Forums is Greg Bernhardt. He also serves as the site's administrator and plays an active role in the community.

Who owns Physics Forums?

Physics Forums is owned by a company called Physics Forums LLC, which is owned by Greg Bernhardt. The site operates as a for-profit business.

What sets Physics Forums apart from other physics forums?

Physics Forums prides itself on being a professional and academic forum, with a strict moderation policy and a diverse community of experts and enthusiasts. It also offers a wide range of features, including homework help, career advice, and interactive simulations.

How has Physics Forums evolved over the years?

Since its founding in 2001, Physics Forums has undergone several updates and changes to improve user experience and keep up with advancements in technology. It has also grown in size, with over 1 million registered members and millions of monthly visitors.

Similar threads

  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
1
Views
714
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
3
Views
896
  • Feedback and Announcements
Replies
26
Views
962
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
4
Replies
122
Views
3K
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
13
Views
1K
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
3
Views
887
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
7
Views
888
  • High Energy, Nuclear, Particle Physics
Replies
5
Views
297
  • Art, Music, History, and Linguistics
Replies
19
Views
10K
Back
Top