Highly do not recommend Tom's Hardware Forum

[0wenli]

Beware of that site. I asked a question regarding where to get a Windows 7 ISO, at which a moderator by the name of ex_bubblehead rudely closed the thread saying it was "piracy." At which point I was obviously confused so I private messaged him and asked him how it was piracy.

He kept assuming that I knew it was piracy and while I was still asking questions he perma banned me for no reason. And that website doesn't allow you to appeal the ban. I can't even create a new account to contact an administrator because the site detects that the new account is related to my banned account.

The website is run by rude, toxic, disrespectful, hostile, arrogant, dismissive, unhelpful, confrontational people like him who take advantage of their prestigious position and I warn anyone who decides to go to that forum. I hope the forum is shut down and these people held accountable for their actions to thousands of others.

 

[monkeylove]

I read the threads, and I think it's because they argue that if the image files are located outside company websites, then they might be compromised, and thus pirated.

 

[TomsMOD]

Beware of that site. I asked a question regarding where to get a Windows 7 ISO, at which a moderator by the name of ex_bubblehead rudely closed the thread saying it was "piracy." At which point I was obviously confused so I private messaged him and asked him how it was piracy.

He kept assuming that I knew it was piracy and while I was still asking questions he perma banned me for no reason. And that website doesn't allow you to appeal the ban. I can't even create a new account to contact an administrator because the site detects that the new account is related to my banned account.

The website is run by rude, toxic, disrespectful, hostile, arrogant, dismissive, unhelpful, confrontational people like him who take advantage of their prestigious position and I warn anyone who decides to go to that forum. I hope the forum is shut down and these people held accountable for their actions to thousands of others

You violated one of the cardinal rules of Tom's Hardware by requesting a link to a known pirate version of Windows 7 (transcripts can be supplied by the moderator in question if required). You then continued to argue when told that Windows 7 was no longer in distribution and there were no legal downloads available from Microsoft. When told that no further discussion would be entertained you insisted on pressing the issue, at which point you were permabanned. You then proceeded to create no less than 2 new accounts in an attempt to circumvent the ban. This ban is not reviewable and will not be revoked.

 

[0wenli]

You violated one of the cardinal rules of Tom's Hardware by requesting a link to a known pirate version of Windows 7 (transcripts can be supplied by the moderator in question if required). You then continued to argue when told that Windows 7 was no longer in distribution and there were no legal downloads available from Microsoft. When told that no further discussion would be entertained you insisted on pressing the issue, at which point you were permabanned. You then proceeded to create no less than 2 new accounts in an attempt to circumvent the ban. This ban is not reviewable and will not be revoked.

1. Who are you. Your account was created 4 hours ago, and really doesn’t seem official. It’s also strange you now felt the need to create an account manually and respond to a now 2 month old complaint on a barren website. Trying to protect the reputation of a website that doesn’t even have a proper appeal system. Like, I’ve long forgotten about this. And since you seem like an external source, how exactly do you know about this information?
2. “In attempt to circumvent the ban” this is not right, I was trying to appeal the ban, in which the site doesn’t have one, which is strange in and of itself (it shows the site is incredibly authoritarian, which only proves my point) so I thought creating an account would give access to communication with a moderator towards an appeal page.
3. Sure, maybe I could’ve been less ignorant, sorry about that. I couldn’t understand why it didn’t exist. But too be honest not really deserving of a permanent ban imo. 1-3 month ban seems fair.
4. Well to be honest, I don't really care, the site never gave me any useful information or solutions. There are hundreds of other forums that allow second chances and learning opportunities, and if you think banning people over slight misunderstandings like this makes the site better well then... Keep doing it because that's your decision. In fact I think your site is not strict enough and you should ban as many people as possible to make it even better!
5. By the way, if you are trying to protect the reputation of the site, it's kind of not working because the site is.... let's just say not that well rated currently.

You violated one of the cardinal rules of Tom's Hardware by requesting a link to a known pirate version of Windows 7 (transcripts can be supplied by the moderator in question if required). You then continued to argue when told that Windows 7 was no longer in distribution and there were no legal downloads available from Microsoft. When told that no further discussion would be entertained you insisted on pressing the issue, at which point you were permabanned. You then proceeded to create no less than 2 new accounts in an attempt to circumvent the ban. This ban is not reviewable and will not be revoked.

 

[captaincranky]

You can buy Windows 7 DVDs on Ebay.. I've purchased several, and was successful in getting them activated.

I bought a Windows 10 DVD, and it was counterfeit..But, it did allow me to download a Win 10 ISO from M$, which I coupled with a key purchased separately.

As long as the product is not counterfeit, you can get it activated. Your product key is meaningless. The Windows 7 activation servers are shut down_period. Any activation has to be done by phone. A Machine will give you 9 sets of 7 numbers you must type in correctly and activation will happen.

Let me repeat that, YOUR PRODUCT KEY IS NO LONGER OF ANY USE. THE ACTIVATION SERVERS FOR WINDOWS 7 ARE SHUT DOWN.

ALL TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING WINDOWS 7 THIS POINT ARE, "RIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK", CAVEAT EMPTOR.

I'd suggest googling your brains out, instead of wasting our time, and slandering other sites in the process.

If you post back, I'll report you.

 

[0wenli]

What is this, a threat? "I'll report you" oh shoot, I'm so scared.... How ironic under this page it says "Respect one another, keep conversations on topic" seems totally respectful to me...