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Author Topic: R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?  (Read 11301 times)

Dr Rotwang!

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #15 on: July 17, 2008, 12:43:09 PM »
Quote from: Abyssal Maw;226065
I think people are being a bit too sensitive. I didn't know either until last year, and I thought it was at least interesting.

Unless you think that is something that someone should be ashamed of, I don't see why it should be hidden or specifically not-discussed.
Naaah, I just think it's not that important.  Interesting, maybe, in a "Huh!  Whaddaya know?" way.  

I mean, look, I know I'm an internet RPG superstar and all and the fame and the chicks and the tie, but...does anybody really find it that interesting that I like brunettes a lot more than blondes, or that I just can't stand Robert Altman movies?
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KenHR

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #16 on: July 17, 2008, 12:47:21 PM »
Yeah, I'm not sure why this is such a taboo topic; I didn't know about this until reading this thread (then again, I didn't care much for Nobilis when I read it back in my Borders days, so I've never really followed Borgstrom's work).  I don't think it's a big deal, either: nothing to get upset about either way, really.

I wonder if this was posted here because the thread was quickly pulled at rpg.net.  Maybe hgjs was just curious.
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Abyssal Maw

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #17 on: July 17, 2008, 12:50:51 PM »
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!;226073
Naaah, I just think it's not that important.  Interesting, maybe, in a "Huh!  Whaddaya know?" way.  

I mean, look, I know I'm an internet RPG superstar and all and the fame and the chicks and the tie, but...does anybody really find it that interesting that I like brunettes a lot more than blondes, or that I just can't stand Robert Altman movies?

Well, he did direct the Robin Williams version of Popeye. Uh. Robert Altman, I mean.

"Whaddaya know?" was about like my take on it. But I am kinda annoyed that people are acting like this is something that must specifically never be mentioned, because it's like it seems to assume both a sort of viciousness that may not actually exist, and then a sort of smug "I'll protect the poor victim!" attitude at the same time.
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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #18 on: July 17, 2008, 01:12:01 PM »
I don't personally give a fuck what gender Borgstrom is.
All that matters is that Borgstrom is a godawful game designer, one of the worst out there today.  That would be true whether he/she was a man or a woman.

That said, this is being moved to off-topic.

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #19 on: July 17, 2008, 01:16:26 PM »
Quote from: Abyssal Maw;226077
Well, he did direct the Robin Williams version of Popeye. Uh. Robert Altman, I mean.

"Whaddaya know?" was about like my take on it. But I am kinda annoyed that people are acting like this is something that must specifically never be mentioned, because it's like it seems to assume both a sort of viciousness that may not actually exist, and then a sort of smug "I'll protect the poor victim!" attitude at the same time.


I have to admit that when I started reading the quoted bit in the original post, I expected it to take an ugly turn, but by the end it seemed to me that the original author was just curious if there were two people with the same name, working in fields that seem very, very different.

I think there's a natural touchiness with this stuff on the 'net because you don't know if the other guy is just confused/curious, or if he's some fascist nutjob. It's the Internet equivalent of a random person on the street asking someone if they are gay. There's a chance it might not end well, because it's not really clear why the other guy is asking.
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King of Old School

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #20 on: July 17, 2008, 02:20:41 PM »
Quote from: Abyssal Maw;226065
I think people are being a bit too sensitive. I didn't know either until last year, and I thought it was at least interesting.

Unless you think that is something that someone should be ashamed of, I don't see why it should be hidden or specifically not-discussed.
No one's saying that it should be hidden or specifically not-discussed.  OTOH, raising it as some sort of "GOTCHA!" to score points at RSB's expense makes you look like a dick.  Given that this place already has a mostly undeserved reputation as a last redoubt of mindless dickishness in the online RPG community, I'd rather not foster any more legitimate reasons to view it as such.  Besides, it's not like RSB's writing fails to provide ample ground for criticism...

Quote
"Whaddaya know?" was about like my take on it. But I am kinda annoyed that people are acting like this is something that must specifically never be mentioned, because it's like it seems to assume both a sort of viciousness that may not actually exist, and then a sort of smug "I'll protect the poor victim!" attitude at the same time.
All I'm interested in protecting is this site's potential as a place for discussion free of idiotic "ha ha stupid fags" banter or the like.  I'll out myself as an insensitive jerk here and admit that I really couldn't care less about RSB's personal feelings one way or the other (besides, she has plenty of online admirers to carry that banner on her behalf).

As for the viciousness which may or may not exist, I submit that if a thread was started with the exact same tone and tenor but was instead "R. Sean Borgstrom: secretly a JEW?" you and I wouldn't be having this conversation.

KoOS
« Last Edit: July 17, 2008, 02:26:52 PM by King of Old School »
 

KenHR

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #21 on: July 17, 2008, 02:27:16 PM »
Where do you see the "GOTCHA!" in the original post?  It honestly sounds like curiosity on the poster's part.  And hgjs didn't seem to be re-posting it for that reason, either.  Maybe he was curious, too.  I just don't see that intent.
For fuck's sake, these are games, people.

And no one gives a fuck about your ignore list.


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King of Old School

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #22 on: July 17, 2008, 02:38:16 PM »
Quote from: KenHR;226116
Where do you see the "GOTCHA!" in the original post?  It honestly sounds like curiosity on the poster's part.  And hgjs didn't seem to be re-posting it for that reason, either.  Maybe he was curious, too.  I just don't see that intent.

The "GOTCHA!" is implicit in posting the information, as though there should be any public interest in it.  Curiosity lies in posting a genuine question, not in posting a rhetorical question and then answering it yourself.

What purpose do you think is being served by the post, if not as an attempt to score points off RSB?

KoOS
 

King of Old School

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #23 on: July 17, 2008, 02:44:33 PM »
Quote from: Jackalope;226062
I read the first post as saying "Is Rebecca Borgstrom taking credit for Ryan Borgstrom's work to pad her resume?" not "That ain't no woman! It's a man, man!"

Oh, come on now.  Why would RSB do this?  It's not like someone's going to say "hey, RSB wrote some cool stuff on cost-benefit analysis, I think I'll hire her to write some overly florid prose about fairy creatures and emotionally stunted adolescents..."

KoOS
 

Werekoala

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #24 on: July 17, 2008, 02:48:48 PM »
Yes, indeed, best not to mention it. Safer that way.

Since when does information have to have relevance in order to be presented? While your intent to protect our fragile reputation is greatly appreciated, I have yet to see anyone make a "haha, stupid fags" remark that you seem to want to preemptively prevent, and even more interestingly must think is imminent.

In other words, we're doing fine so far, thanks.

Now, if by simply posting the article makes OTHERS think that's what's going on - that's their issue, not mine. Can't speak for the rest of the board, of course. But just the fact that the information itself would raise such questions from some people must by necessity raise at least as many questions about the complainers as it does about the initial poster. If it doesn't matter, then why do you (or anyone else, for that matter) care?

100% of the response so far has been "Huh, that's interesting - " - and I imagine it'll stay that way.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2008, 02:51:46 PM by Werekoala »
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jhkim

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #25 on: July 17, 2008, 02:50:21 PM »
It seems to me that if a game author had changed their first name from "Ka-Ping" to "Katherine", or from "MaƱuel" to "Michael", or changed last name after marriage -- then it would not have generated a long post trying to show proof of the change.  At most, someone might ask a brief "Did K. Lee change her name from Ka-Ping to Katherine?"

King of Old School

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #26 on: July 17, 2008, 02:58:08 PM »
Quote from: Werekoala;226126
Yes, indeed, best not to mention it. Safer that way.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're deliberately obtuse or genuinely stupid.

This is one of those times.

KoOS
 

KenHR

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #27 on: July 17, 2008, 03:00:18 PM »
Quote from: King of Old School;226120
The "GOTCHA!" is implicit in posting the information, as though there should be any public interest in it.  Curiosity lies in posting a genuine question, not in posting a rhetorical question and then answering it yourself.

What purpose do you think is being served by the post, if not as an attempt to score points off RSB?

KoOS


I guess because I've never been interested in scoring points with people I've never met save via the Internet, that sort of knee-jerk-jumping-to-worst-conclusions line of thought never happened with me.  And maybe I have too much faith in my fellow human beings to think that they're not interested in scoring those points, either (unless I've seen actual evidence of such before, of course...which in this case I hadn't).
For fuck's sake, these are games, people.

And no one gives a fuck about your ignore list.


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Werekoala

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #28 on: July 17, 2008, 03:02:38 PM »
Quote from: King of Old School;226135
Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're deliberately obtuse or genuinely stupid.

This is one of those times.

Sometimes I wonder why you care what other people think, to the point of chastising a group of people for comments that have never been made, and thoughts that have never been expressed? Point of the matter is, nobody attacked him/her because of the contents of the article, at most there was mild interest as of some bit of trivia that had been revealed. No pogroms, no OMGWTF GAYEZ!1!one!, no outbreak of giggles and shoulder-punching.

Why do you want to make a mountain out of this molehill?

No, wait, that's ok. You just keep insulting me, because verily, this is all about the Koala. And since it was multiple choice, I'll take "Deliberately Obtuse (to you at least)" for 500, Alex.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2008, 03:06:19 PM by Werekoala »
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Spike

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R. Sean Borgstrom: Ryan or Rebecca?
« Reply #29 on: July 17, 2008, 04:38:49 PM »
Quote from: King of Old School;225897
Uhhh, I thought it was commonly understood that RSB was transgendered.  Is there a point to this?


KoOS



Just a note of reminder:  The first ever note of RSB being Transgendered was in fact made, right there in post two, but the very guy jumping on all of us for being... I dunno... Un-PC or something about RSB being... well... Transgendered.

As this is the first remotely credible mention of Transgendering of the Borg on this site that I am aware of (though it does make for interesting historical speculation, etc...), I find KoOS to be a ninny and declare hir a fink. The king is a fink, you heard it first from me.
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