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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: NeoJudas neojudas@******************.com
Subject: Online Community Evolution (part 1?)
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 04:27:55 -0500
With the various couple of responses to the heated email response of mine
(which btw, I wanted to point out that the person I actually responded to
acted in probably the most civil and open minded manner of anyone up to this
point in time), and after some conversations with a couple of other
individuals afterwards (I had to do some cooking, and a business-related
meeting so it did me good to take a break as well)... I come back to skim
email in-between drawing up some computer maps.

I then encounter a few more replies (including the excellent one from
Augustus) and one from Adam seems to leap out across to me. It leaps out,
because Adam is wanting to refute and/or disparage a remark made by another
individual about "buttered muffins" (and where Adam is concerned, I just
wanted to stop that line of thought *there*).

I'm going to leap back into this topic, because it is something that
probably does need to be said. Especially in lue of the official records
and remarks made by numerous individuals in this forum and in other
locations.

Adam... as much as I really want to agree with you... I have to stand far
closer to NightLife's remarks. I'm going to drop the names because at this
point in time, anyone on the internet SR community with a "reputation" is
involved at some level.

Lets see... NightLife's remarks go something like...

-=-=-=-
This is where I have to point something out. If indeed you are employed in
anyway by Fasa it kind of like getting both sides of the muffin buttered.
Don't take this as a personal insult Adam but humans being human tend to
protect the hand that feeds them. Not yourself but others have and it needs
to stop.
-=-=-=-
...and...
-=-=-=-
But the connotation is there. Just as I've said with other things. If you
working for Fasa and maintaining this list then personal and professional
convergences are inevitable. This means that changes are in order. If
Granite were still around I'd give him the nod for an addition to the admin
team and right now I can't think of anybody else except for Tinner but I
don't think he'd be up to the position.
-=-=-=-

Okay... I admit that human beings tend to be human beings, but in
NightLife's instance, he's making statements that he himself is also equally
incapable of standing up to. He too has had his "muffin buttered" by the
FASA train as well, he just doesn't want to recognize it officially. His
comments have been directly conveyed by people of this list or other
locations to the FASA staff, and in at least one instance, a consideration
was made since at that level due in some part to it.

Also, this concept of "Admin" team additions that NightLife is suggesting is
utterly fraggin' preposterous. I grant that any of the larger
net-functional groups such as Dumpshock/ShadowRN should have some
guidance... but quite frankly... it is because of reactive declarations that
the individuals who may be interested are probably just flat out tired of
dealing with it all. Sure, Dvixen and Paolo are probably less visible than
they may have been in the past.. but geesh, they have a life a *REAL* life
now. Mark has *always* been quiet for the most part. Adam does what he can
because he's historically been the most available (those with no life...
;-). Gurth and Marc are on when they can, but they too are only human. And
David... damn, he's been drug across the coals of injustice enough himself.

What everyone who ever screams "foul" because they aren't part of the inside
track to FASA seems to keep forgetting is *ALL* those people who are on the
inside track have worked their internet asses off to get there. They've
caught the attention of others on the inside track for one reason or another
that seemed of a positive manner to future development, and people fought
for them in some cases.

ShadowRN, Dumpshock.com and the other major groups go the extra distance for
their hobby. OF COURSE FASA is going to take notice. Sweet gods...
Dumpshock gets what??? Over a million+ hits a month last I had heard. That
is a resource... a massive one, and Mike M. and the rest of the SR folks at
FASA (and some people who aren't SR for that matter) take a look at sites
like theirs and go "thank you".

Now over time, the Online Community has changed.

I am really, really, tired of people saying they can't get internet access
or they only have internet access from school. If that were true, then why
the hell have the ISP's become so massive in the states alone? Anyone else
here that Europe's Internet Economy is going to break the $1 Trillion Dollar
(US) mark this year/early next? Australia is about to lose it's number 2
status for most online customers outside the US. That is a LOT of online
power. Enough indication that people are online, and they are online in
numbers. DROVES of numbers.

The individuals that started the RN List all those years ago.... geesh, what
can I say? They helped that ladder get climbed. They talked it up, they
spread the word. They didn't need any kind of inspiration other than they
just got to do it. I mean hell, Wordman's sites are actually older than
Paolo's in the long run, and I can only guess what he's really got in his
own archive.

NOW... for the flipside of this evolutionary ferris wheel.

As a game changes, as more and more people do get interactive in some manner
(seeing as how most gamers I've ever heard of are too fraggin' lazy to mail
in a response card provided for them)... those that are "close to the
development track" begin to come into some place they've never been before.

They get to be the invariable "people in the middle". They may not be
choosing to do so, or perhaps they are. I for one am vocal because I am
just constantly running into questions from people that are answerable ones.
But for some reason, people just won't answer them.

I hear stories and rumors of people and individuals who "are new to the
online community" and then have a bad encounter with such. Where do those
bad encounters happen?

ShadowRN, #Shadowrun, Dumpshock Forums.

Look folks, those are the relative "Big Free Three" (BFT). These are the
things that don't have restrictions. If you have internet access, if you
have email access, you just go to the support locations for them, sign up
(required by the software, not for sales purposes) and begin to "plug in".

Do I think the people who admin/manage BFT have opinions? Hell yeah they
do. Some of them are at least, if not moreso, hot headed than myself and
will voice their opinions as well. Do I think they formulate opinions and
generate communications breakdowns as well?

Yes.

Whether on purpose or otherwise, they bump heads with other people.
Sometimes I personally think what they do is uncalled for and I'll even tell
them that if it really doesn't make sense or seems like a big "infraction"
of what Adam has term "netiquette". That doesn't necessarily mean anything
will come of it, but at least I got to speak my peace.

Now do they have biases?

Sure they do. I know from personal experience that Adam is a highly
self-opined individual with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rockies
at times. But that hasn't stopped him from doing what he wants to and in
fact may have helped to serve as an inspiration for him or others to "take
command".

Why did people like them "take command"?

Oh, now this is a good one.... it'll be part 2 I think....

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
J. Keith Henry ("K" "NeoJudas")
Hoosier Hacker House (www.hoosierhackerhouse.com)
THREEH.COM (www.threeh.com)
Message no. 2
From: NightLife NightLife@********.com
Subject: Online Community Evolution (part 1?)
Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 02:34:58 -0500
>Adam... as much as I really want to agree with you... I have to stand far
>closer to NightLife's remarks. I'm going to drop the names because at this
>point in time, anyone on the internet SR community with a "reputation" is
>involved at some level.
>
>Lets see... NightLife's remarks go something like...
>
>-=-=-=-
>This is where I have to point something out. If indeed you are employed in
>anyway by Fasa it kind of like getting both sides of the muffin buttered.
>Don't take this as a personal insult Adam but humans being human tend to
>protect the hand that feeds them. Not yourself but others have and it needs
>to stop.
>-=-=-=-
>...and...
>-=-=-=-
>But the connotation is there. Just as I've said with other things. If you
>working for Fasa and maintaining this list then personal and professional
>convergences are inevitable. This means that changes are in order. If
>Granite were still around I'd give him the nod for an addition to the admin
>team and right now I can't think of anybody else except for Tinner but I
>don't think he'd be up to the position.
>-=-=-=-
>
>Okay... I admit that human beings tend to be human beings, but in
>NightLife's instance, he's making statements that he himself is also equally
>incapable of standing up to. He too has had his "muffin buttered" by the
>FASA train as well, he just doesn't want to recognize it officially.


I've received money at some point from them. Well that explain why my
checking account is overflowing at the present moment. Yes I play tested
for them at one point and got a few freebie books out of it. That is about
as close to receiving any compensation as I've gotten.

>His comments have been directly conveyed by people of this list or other
>locations to the FASA staff, and in at least one instance, a consideration
>was made since at that level due in some part to it.
>
>Also, this concept of "Admin" team additions that NightLife is suggesting is
>utterly fraggin' preposterous. I grant that any of the larger
>net-functional groups such as Dumpshock/ShadowRN should have some
>guidance... but quite frankly... it is because of reactive declarations that
>the individuals who may be interested are probably just flat out tired of
>dealing with it all. Sure, Dvixen and Paolo are probably less visible than
>they may have been in the past.. but geesh, they have a life a *REAL* life
>now. Mark has *always* been quiet for the most part. Adam does what he can
>because he's historically been the most available (those with no life...
>;-). Gurth and Marc are on when they can, but they too are only human. And
>David... damn, he's been drug across the coals of injustice enough himself.

Stand and lead, expect criticism. Pure and simple.

>What everyone who ever screams "foul" because they aren't part of the inside
>track to FASA seems to keep forgetting is *ALL* those people who are on the
>inside track have worked their internet asses off to get there. They've
>caught the attention of others on the inside track for one reason or another
>that seemed of a positive manner to future development, and people fought
>for them in some cases.

So they should be accord that much more respect because they went after a
job. That's preposterous your reward is your pay and you continued
employment. Nobody else get more. People go to work, do their jobs,
assuming they do them well they get paid and advanced accordingly.

>Now over time, the Online Community has changed.
>
>I am really, really, tired of people saying they can't get internet access
>or they only have internet access from school. If that were true, then why
>the hell have the ISP's become so massive in the states alone? Anyone else
>here that Europe's Internet Economy is going to break the $1 Trillion Dollar
>(US) mark this year/early next? Australia is about to lose it's number 2
>status for most online customers outside the US. That is a LOT of online
>power. Enough indication that people are online, and they are online in
>numbers. DROVES of numbers.

So anybody who can't cough up the dough for a PC should be treated as a
lesser subspecies of gamer.

>Now do they have biases?

So nobody is supposed to notice this and formulate their own opinion based
on it.

>Sure they do. I know from personal experience that Adam is a highly
>self-opined individual with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rockies
>at times. But that hasn't stopped him from doing what he wants to and in
>fact may have helped to serve as an inspiration for him or others to "take
>command".
>
>Why did people like them "take command"?
>
>Oh, now this is a good one.... it'll be part 2 I think....

This who take command should expect two thing scrutiny and criticism.
Anybody who in charge of anything can expect when a mistake is made or a
comment heard.
Message no. 3
From: Patrick Goodman pgoodman13@************.com
Subject: Online Community Evolution (part 1?)
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 23:06:08 -0600
From: "NeoJudas" <neojudas@******************.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 3:27 AM

> I am really, really, tired of people saying they can't get internet
> access or they only have internet access from school. If that were
> true, then why the hell have the ISP's become so massive in the
> states alone?

ISP going to give them the computer to access their service? *That* is why
so many people say they can't get Internet access except through school,
Keith, *not* because they can't afford the ISP.

The way you put this, frankly, is remarkably naive, and possibly even
insulting, but that could just be me.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Online Community Evolution (part 1?), you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.