Content by Peter H. Wendt (original HERE). Edited by Tomáš Slavotínek.
Who Are We
We are a world-wide non-commercial group of enthusiasts who share their
passion for IBM's PS/2 line, the Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), and other
related hardware and software.
Our Goal
We offer help and support for owners of PS/2 machines. We want to keep the
PS/2 machines up and running above the level of a museum item, which is only
used for exhibition purposes. Our PS/2 machines shall be used in daily life,
being powered up and running in useful tasks.
Where to Meet Us
The main forum is the CSIPH newsgroup,
but you can find pages of our members all across the Internet.
See the Links page for more information.
Is There a Formal Membership?
No. This is a voluntary group, not a formal organization. Either you are in
- or you're not.
Do We Sell Anything?
No. We don't have any product on the market.
Our help is in most cases of immaterial kind. We are willing to exchange
knowledge, files, and in some cases - parts. Item exchange is always preferred
over monetary compensation. While some members do run an official business and
may sell PS/2 parts, these efforts are independent from the supportive nature
of this group.
The members however agree to the common rules of proper business, which is a
question of honor anyway.
Who We Are NOT
Criminals... from the most part.
The borders are a bit unclear to define. Some people may think that
disassembling machines, their internals, their codes and the software running
on them is already a criminal act - but we understand it as a method to learn
more about these machines, which are no longer officially supported. In our
understanding this is a form of adding more details for a better support, so
our members are predestined to be busy with digging in the "secrets" of their
machines to find clues for solving problems.
We do not consider this to be a criminal act.
Why "MCA Mafia"?
Because we are, in a way, one family.
The relations between the members of the group are often far over that of
ordinary "fandom". We are sitting "in one boat" figuratively spoken after IBM
left the support field and left us alone with our problems. It is the legal
right of a company to give up a product line - no question - but there are
still a large number of machines out... and also a large number of people being
busy with them and still are interested in keeping them up. The idea of doing
someone else in this group a favor rather than taking money is one of the
base-lines of the concept. We cannot do the same commercial support that IBM
did - and we don't want to to be true. Therefore the idea of voluntary
information exchange and offering help outside the commercial paths is closer
to the concept of "underground networks" and masonic organizations.
Hence "MCA Mafia".
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