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Separated at Birth?
Jan. 23rd, 2004 01:45 pmI never knew that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
raggedhalo had a blue brother
raggedhalo had a blue brotherJan. 23rd, 2004
[Cam} UKG - What a laugh
Jan. 23rd, 2004 02:03 pmMany of my more sensible frends have now pulled off UKG due to it being a complete waste of time, but I maintain web-based access in order to remind myself periodically of the Hell it represents.I seomtimes read it and wonder what happened to the good natured nonsense that I remember back in '97, but I suppose that the inevitable fate of all online bulletin boards had to come to it sooner or later.
The latest topic has two threads: first, whether the Uk should petition the MST to slow down the year of Fire, and second, the validity of polls on a mailing list. Due to general boredom at work, I'll tackle some of the more absurb things I've read there:
The background is that Oz Davis has asked for a vote at the society AGM to petition the MST to slow down the Year of Fire. I can actually appreciate his point, although I disagree with him - the YoF does feel rushed, I'll thought out, and ill-adminstered as a result. I appreciate where he's coming from, and even he is wise enough to acknowledge the essential futility of such a petition, instead the inference that I get from his posts is that he feels this is the only way to register the dissatisfaction of the rush-job that has been put through with the powers-that-be and hopefully to give the membership a better deal next time round. Personally, I'd vote against the measure as I find time too important to waste upon what I consider to be futile gestures, but his motives are understandable and even laudable and I wish him the best.
Sadly, his original request has been siezed upon by somepeople with their own political agenda who seem determined to strip the sense from Oz's basic idea and instead to hop on their own soapboxes.
1) We didn't join an organisation that would reflect the end of the world, we joined one with enormous international links. Half true; we joined a society with international lnks that *also* has the end of the world built in as an integral piece of background. Saying that we shouldn't run the end of the world as it isn't what we signed up for displays a stunningly blinkered view of the game world as presented in the books, and indeed many of the 'Harbingers of Gehenna' plots that have cropped up over the years. To run such plots and never follow through has the same artistic validity as, say, it suddenly turning out that the immortals in Highlander were actually aliens, and that there were lots more of them than you'd've thought from the first film ("You know when we said the end of the world was coming? Well, it wasn't really the end of the world, but just the set up for a sequel. Oh, and all your vampire characters are actually aliens.").
2) That a poll on the list would be nothing more than a reflection of views and would be for no other reason, oh no, not at all.
The fact is that nobody ever asks for an opinion poll on anything if they aren't planning to try and make hay with the results. Hell, I've done it myself, but that experience just makes other people trying it glow that much more brightly under scrutiny. Hilary, thankfully, is far too clever to fall for this obvious ploy (instead preferring to hold valid polls on matters in an orderly and ordered way), and now the argument in favour of a poll has degenerated into 'Let's have a poll, at least it'll shut me up', which at least demonstrates an awareness of the intellectual failure of other arguments in favour.
3) That petitioning the MST would acheive anything.
Let us now be honest. Artistic integrity in this situation is playing a distinctly quiet second fiddle to the bottom line of White Wolf Publishing, inc. The sales of World of Darkness products are faltering and, as Mike Tinney has prevoiusly observed. White Wolf is a publishing company that makes games, not a games company that publishes. They're in this to make money, and putting out a big new edition is the best way to do so.
To the considerable credit of WW, however, they're rounding off the old product line in style. In fact, they're dedicating an entire year in which they could be shipping lots of shiney new product to closing down their old game world - for no other reason than to give people a good send off for their old games. They could have just dropped the line like a hot potato, as has been done so often with underperforming product lines by other companies in the past (Al-qadim, Dark Sun, Runequest, WFRP etc*), but they didn't; and this is unprecedented on this scale.
Naturally, as many gamers are born whiners who seem to feel that the world owes them a living, this ain't good enough. WW should continue to produce, at a loss, support product for their favourite game. We should have a long, drawn out end of the world over a period of many years - or perhaps even never - and Mike Tinney (who, let us not forget, actually owns the damn thing) should subsidise this out of the shrinking revenues of his own company. Why? Because, at heart, someone else putting food on the table for their family is less important than my hobby.
Yes, it's a laugh a minute on ol' UKG.
*Yes, I know some have subsequently been picked up by other games companies, but you see where I'm coming from.
The latest topic has two threads: first, whether the Uk should petition the MST to slow down the year of Fire, and second, the validity of polls on a mailing list. Due to general boredom at work, I'll tackle some of the more absurb things I've read there:
The background is that Oz Davis has asked for a vote at the society AGM to petition the MST to slow down the Year of Fire. I can actually appreciate his point, although I disagree with him - the YoF does feel rushed, I'll thought out, and ill-adminstered as a result. I appreciate where he's coming from, and even he is wise enough to acknowledge the essential futility of such a petition, instead the inference that I get from his posts is that he feels this is the only way to register the dissatisfaction of the rush-job that has been put through with the powers-that-be and hopefully to give the membership a better deal next time round. Personally, I'd vote against the measure as I find time too important to waste upon what I consider to be futile gestures, but his motives are understandable and even laudable and I wish him the best.
Sadly, his original request has been siezed upon by somepeople with their own political agenda who seem determined to strip the sense from Oz's basic idea and instead to hop on their own soapboxes.
1) We didn't join an organisation that would reflect the end of the world, we joined one with enormous international links. Half true; we joined a society with international lnks that *also* has the end of the world built in as an integral piece of background. Saying that we shouldn't run the end of the world as it isn't what we signed up for displays a stunningly blinkered view of the game world as presented in the books, and indeed many of the 'Harbingers of Gehenna' plots that have cropped up over the years. To run such plots and never follow through has the same artistic validity as, say, it suddenly turning out that the immortals in Highlander were actually aliens, and that there were lots more of them than you'd've thought from the first film ("You know when we said the end of the world was coming? Well, it wasn't really the end of the world, but just the set up for a sequel. Oh, and all your vampire characters are actually aliens.").
2) That a poll on the list would be nothing more than a reflection of views and would be for no other reason, oh no, not at all.
The fact is that nobody ever asks for an opinion poll on anything if they aren't planning to try and make hay with the results. Hell, I've done it myself, but that experience just makes other people trying it glow that much more brightly under scrutiny. Hilary, thankfully, is far too clever to fall for this obvious ploy (instead preferring to hold valid polls on matters in an orderly and ordered way), and now the argument in favour of a poll has degenerated into 'Let's have a poll, at least it'll shut me up', which at least demonstrates an awareness of the intellectual failure of other arguments in favour.
3) That petitioning the MST would acheive anything.
Let us now be honest. Artistic integrity in this situation is playing a distinctly quiet second fiddle to the bottom line of White Wolf Publishing, inc. The sales of World of Darkness products are faltering and, as Mike Tinney has prevoiusly observed. White Wolf is a publishing company that makes games, not a games company that publishes. They're in this to make money, and putting out a big new edition is the best way to do so.
To the considerable credit of WW, however, they're rounding off the old product line in style. In fact, they're dedicating an entire year in which they could be shipping lots of shiney new product to closing down their old game world - for no other reason than to give people a good send off for their old games. They could have just dropped the line like a hot potato, as has been done so often with underperforming product lines by other companies in the past (Al-qadim, Dark Sun, Runequest, WFRP etc*), but they didn't; and this is unprecedented on this scale.
Naturally, as many gamers are born whiners who seem to feel that the world owes them a living, this ain't good enough. WW should continue to produce, at a loss, support product for their favourite game. We should have a long, drawn out end of the world over a period of many years - or perhaps even never - and Mike Tinney (who, let us not forget, actually owns the damn thing) should subsidise this out of the shrinking revenues of his own company. Why? Because, at heart, someone else putting food on the table for their family is less important than my hobby.
Yes, it's a laugh a minute on ol' UKG.
*Yes, I know some have subsequently been picked up by other games companies, but you see where I'm coming from.
To the tune of "I wish it could be Christmas every day" by The Sweet.
It's the annual gaming bash
When Wizards want your cash
And Nobody gets to go to bed
Michael Sheard doesn't pay
He gets free drinks bought all day
And the geeks are crying 'cos their favourite characters dead
There's the vampires sucking blood
And the food's no f***ing good
And there's cheap, crap hotel rooms where you can sleep
There's the spotty little twats
Who've all brought their Magic packs
And they buy the boosters like a load of F***ing sheep
Well I wish it could be GenCon ev'ry day
When the geeks don't wash
And the fat chicks can't roleplay
Well I wish it could be GenCon ev'ry day
Let the bells ring out for GenCon
On the downside, that means I'm going to have to write something.
It's the annual gaming bash
When Wizards want your cash
And Nobody gets to go to bed
Michael Sheard doesn't pay
He gets free drinks bought all day
And the geeks are crying 'cos their favourite characters dead
There's the vampires sucking blood
And the food's no f***ing good
And there's cheap, crap hotel rooms where you can sleep
There's the spotty little twats
Who've all brought their Magic packs
And they buy the boosters like a load of F***ing sheep
Well I wish it could be GenCon ev'ry day
When the geeks don't wash
And the fat chicks can't roleplay
Well I wish it could be GenCon ev'ry day
Let the bells ring out for GenCon
On the downside, that means I'm going to have to write something.
