Well, after my blow up, and subsequent banning from RPG.net, many folks emailed me and told me I should come over and check this forum out.
So I did. I'm here, and figured I'd make my presence known. Looking forward to chatting with you all about all things gaming in the future.
Welcome. We claim another.:haw:
Welcome! I didn't know you were banned from TBP...which is to say, The Big Purple, which is what we call RPG.net around here.
I remember you, Didn't know you got banned over there, (wear it like a badge of honour :D )
Quote from: pathfinderapI remember you, Didn't know you got banned over there, (wear it like a badge of honour :D )
I do!
:D
Yo!
Quote from: zombenWell, after my blow up, and subsequent banning from RPG.net, many folks emailed me and told me I should come over and check this forum out.
So I did. I'm here, and figured I'd make my presence known. Looking forward to chatting with you all about all things gaming in the future.
Welcome, man. What did you do to get Banzorred?
Quote from: TechnomancerWelcome, man. What did you do to get Banzorred?
Probably for just breathing
Quote from: zombenWell, after my blow up, and subsequent banning from RPG.net, many folks emailed me and told me I should come over and check this forum out.
So I did. I'm here, and figured I'd make my presence known. Looking forward to chatting with you all about all things gaming in the future.
Welcome!
I think you will like it here.
Welcome Again
Quote from: TechnomancerWelcome, man. What did you do to get Banzorred?
Ah, jeez... It is a long story, a somewhat embarassing one, and one that I just don't have time to explain right now.
I do promise, however, that I'll explain the whole thing within the next couple of days. In the meantime, Imperator knows the whole story (as I cc'ed him on most of the correspondence), so until I have a half hour to kill, maybe he can fill in the blanks.
Sorry to leave you all hanging, but this weekend is the final stage of our backyard renovation, installation of the raised beds for veggie garden, etc. I promise I'll spill all the beans by Monday morning.
Quote from: pathfinderapDidn't know you got banned over there, (wear it like a badge of honour :D )
Heck, it's more like an ID badge around here. ;)
Sorry to hear of the circumstances, but I'm looking forward to reading someone else post about
HeroQuest and related titles around here.
Cheers,
!i!
Quote from: Ian AbsentiaHeck, it's more like an ID badge around here. ;)
You get banned as well?
Quote from: pathfinderapYou get banned as well?
No, just marked as a trouble-maker to the point where it made the experience miserable. I'm sure there were a couple of mod/admins who were waiting for an opportune excuse to ban me.
But that was yesterday, this is today. :) There are a number of us here who were/are old-timers in good standing at RPG.net who simply found ourselves of the pointy end of changing moderation and user-base. And in spite of certain administrative liabilities here, this is a good place to be.
!i!
Quote from: Ian AbsentiaNo, just marked as a trouble-maker to the point where it made the experience miserable. I'm sure there were a couple of mod/admins who were waiting for an opportune excuse to ban me.
But that was yesterday, this is today. :) There are a number of us here who were/are old-timers in good standing at RPG.net who simply found ourselves of the pointy end of changing moderation and user-base. And in spite of certain administrative liabilities here, this is a good place to be.
!i!
QFT, and applies to me.
But the cult of personality over there makes me not want to post over there too much.
The only time I really post over there is when I think it's a topic that I would get more of a response of over there then I would here.
But even that is rare these days. I post here more now then over at TBP.
Quote from: Blue DevilBut the cult of personality over there makes me not want to post over there too much.
The only time I really post over there is when I think it's a topic that I would get more of a response of over there then I would here.
But even that is rare these days. I post here more now then over at TBP.
Yup.
Quote from: RedFoxYup.
That's part of the reason I created the lounge. I want to give people a choice of where they can go to discuss role playing games where they don't have to deal with the mod abuse.
I have to say I knew Curt was abusive before he became mod, and I knew when he got mod power he would abuse it.
It's a big case of "I told you so"
Having read all the offending posts on RPG.net, that was a silly thing to warrant a *permaban*.
Oy gevalt.
Quote from: Tommy BrownellHaving read all the offending posts on RPG.net, that was a silly thing to warrant a *permaban*.
Oy gevalt.
Are you trying to say that moderators and administrators on RPG.net went too far?
Nah, that
Never Happens :D
Quote from: Tommy BrownellHaving read all the offending posts on RPG.net, that was a silly thing to warrant a *permaban*.
Oy gevalt.
Well, okay, I've got a few minutes, so I'll tell the whole story (albeit in slightly abbreviated form).
My dissillusionment with RPG.net began maybe a couple of years ago. I was getting fed up with the mods throwing their weight around, the 'cults of personality' which were springing up all over, and how people could talk shit about anyone who wasn't an RPG.net member, but as soon as they dumped on a member, the mods came down on them like flies on shit. (IE: It's okay for someone to bash friends of
mine at Chaosium, because Chaosium are not members of RPG.net... but as soon as I chime in to defend Chaosium, I'm being a dick... whatever).
Anyway, the penultimate nail in the coffin for me was last summer when my friend Brit Daniel (whom most of you may know as "Tetsujin28") on RPG.net had been suspended for a month, and during that month was killed in a motorcycle accident.
My pal Brian (Molotov) reported the incident to me, having gotten the news from close friends of Brit's down at the local game store. Brian posted a note to RPG.net about it, and after a few 'oh my god!' responses, the thread was locked by the mods.
Seems they felt that someone might be pulling a hoax, and so we had to scramble around to try and find an obituary or something. In the meantime, I'm exchanging emails with friends of Brit's from all over the world, who've spoken with his family, gotten the full story, etc. Yet RPG.net's mods still didn't beleive it.
I honestly don't recall what ended up happening to change their mind, but basically this went on for at least a few days. It was intensely irritating, and I decided at that point that my respect for the mods at RPG.net was effectively null and void.
So, flash forward a few weeks. I was still frequenting the site off and on, but becoming more and more disinterested. I was also finding myself becoming short tempered and argumentative with people on the site. Basically, if someone was asking stupid questions, or being a dick, I started calling them out.
After a few weeks of that, I decided it was better if I just didn't return to the site for a while. I sent some PMs to a few of the people on the site who's opinions I respected, gave them my email address and told them to keep in touch. That began nearly 8 months of my 'vacation' from RPG.net
Now, I'll be honest, I did return to the site off and on, mostly to sell books in the "Sales & Trades" area, and to keep up on a few threads. But basically, I was done with it.
For some reason, I still don't understand, sometime in February I think, I decided to join in to a thread on the site. That led to me starting a few of my own. And soon, I was back as a member. The few people who'd noticed I'd left RPG.net welcomed me back, and I was having fun again for at least the first few weeks.
But in the back of my head, I still came back with the feeling that if someone was being a dick, I was going to call them on their shit.
And that's exactly what happened. A thread started by a new member, stated that he was getting back into the hobby after the first time in twenty years or so, and wanted to know what games would fit specific criterion for his needs.
Some jackass comes along (sorry, can't find the thread to link to) and suggests the extreme polar opposite of what he wants. Lists games that are OOP, or haven't been released yet (when the guy said he wanted somehting he could go to the store and buy today). Mentions games like L5R when the OP wanted straight medieval fantasy (or something). Basically, being completely unhelpful.
So I call him on it. I say that the list is unhelpful in the extreme. And he writes back something which I cannot remember, but I recall it sort of implied that the guy thought he was being funny by posting the initial list, which was totally not helpful and he knew it.
To which I write in "I can only assume you're trying to be funny, because if you're not, you're a fucking idiot."
WOAH! Bad Ben!
So, I get a follow-up message shortly thereafter from a Mod telling me that I was being mean, and if I did it again, I'd be suspended.
So I told him to get fucked, I was done with RPG.net and wouldn't be returning. "Go ahead and ban me if you want, I won't be back" I think is what I said.
After that, I changed my 'location' bar to "Not on RPG.net, that's for fucking sure" and scrambled my password.
Shortly afterwards, I got an email stating that I'd been suspended for a month for being a dick (not their words; I didn't bother to keep the email).
At which point I wrote back, and was actually really insulting to most of the mod staff. I won't post the insults here, but they were fairly good ones. I went off, telling them "You may as well go ahead and permaban me if you want. I won't be returning."
And so they did.
Now, I will admit that the next morning, after the dust had settled, I sent an apology to the specific mod who'd gotten stuck with banning me. Not for the circumstances, but for my specific actions. I'm normally not the sort to fling insults around willy-nilly, but they'd pushed me to my breaking point. I was told that if I wanted to contest the ban, I could write to a specific person. I responded that I was perfectly happy with the ban, and was not interested in the slightest in contesting it.
And that, in a nutshell, is that.
I still feel a bit bad about the manner in which I stepped out. I should have just faded away and stopped frequenting the forums. But what's done is done. The guys at RPG.net are just going to keep having this sort of thing cropping up (looking over their "Trouble Tickets" forum right now, I see mabye five or six members - some of them with post counts over 2000, like I had - have been banned recently). Frankly, while the 'users' of RPG.net feel like they drive the industry on some level, RPG.net itself is pretty much seen as a 'necessary evil' in the biz. Most pros I speak to talk of the place fairly derisively, and will not go there at all.
And that's pretty much the whole story. If I left anything out, it's simply because I've given it so little thought over the last month+ that I've forgotten.
If there's a moral to this, I suppose that I just should have walked away, and not said anything. Also, never post to RPG.net if you're mad, and taking codeine for back pain.
Quote from: zombenSome jackass comes along (sorry, can't find the thread to link to) and suggests the extreme polar opposite of what he wants.
'Ere (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=318314) it is.
Quote from: zomben...in the back of my head, I still came back with the feeling that if someone was being a dick, I was going to call them on their shit.
This story is so familiar it hurts.
Anyway, welcome to the fold. Around here you're welcome -- and sometimes even encouraged -- to mention that someone's shit stinks. And, like all forms of free speech, it's a priviledge that carries its baggage, good and bad, with it.
!i!
Quote from: zombenAnyway, the penultimate nail in the coffin for me was last summer when my friend Brit Daniel (whom most of you may know as "Tetsujin28") on RPG.net had been suspended for a month, and during that month was killed in a motorcycle accident.
My pal Brian (Molotov) reported the incident to me, having gotten the news from close friends of Brit's down at the local game store. Brian posted a note to RPG.net about it, and after a few 'oh my god!' responses, the thread was locked by the mods.
Seems they felt that someone might be pulling a hoax, and so we had to scramble around to try and find an obituary or something. In the meantime, I'm exchanging emails with friends of Brit's from all over the world, who've spoken with his family, gotten the full story, etc. Yet RPG.net's mods still didn't beleive it.
I honestly don't recall what ended up happening to change their mind, but basically this went on for at least a few days. It was intensely irritating, and I decided at that point that my respect for the mods at RPG.net was effectively null and void.
I think that RPGnet moderation is utterly cockheaded, and frankly the idea that Curt or Darren could ever be mods there shows how intellectually and ethically bankrupt the whole enterprise is. That said, on this point I have to be fair and point out that in light of the whole "John Wick is dead" hoax, I can't blame them for being overly cautious.
KoOS
Quote from: King of Old SchoolI think that RPGnet moderation is utterly cockheaded, and frankly the idea that Curt or Darren could ever be mods there shows how intellectually and ethically bankrupt the whole enterprise is. That said, on this point I have to be fair and point out that in light of the whole "John Wick is dead" hoax, I can't blame them for being overly cautious.
KoOS
I can understand that to some extent. But when I write Shannon Appelcine -- who used to work for Chaosium, and is now an RPG.net mod -- and say "Hey, here's the deal, if you don't beleive me, you can call Greg Stafford and he'll be my character reference."
And they
still don't beleive me...
Fuck 'em.
Quote from: GrimGent'Ere (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=318314) it is.
Ah, yeah, that was it. See, I'm already getting details mixed up a bit.
Wow, that's sad. Someone's blatantly trolling the thread, and you get warned for a personal attack on 'im. *sigh*
Yup!
Gotta love RPG.net
Quote from: zombenYup!
Gotta love RPG.net
You do?
Is there some kind of law I don't know about? :D
Hi, Welcome, athough I'm not banned at rpg.net, I don't really post there anymore. I prefer it here...
God I miss Tetsujin28, :(
The grumpy old bugger
Quote from: pathfinderapGod I miss Tetsujin28, :(
The grumpy old bugger
He would have done well here, I think. All internet gamer people miss him.
Quote from: joewolzHe would have done well here, I think. All internet gamer people miss him.
Made me cry when I heard about it :(
Quote from: joewolzHe would have done well here, I think. All internet gamer people miss him.
Well...he was strong coffee. I'll leave it at that.
!i!
Quote from: pathfinderapGod I miss Tetsujin28, :(
The grumpy old bugger
I am sorry I never got to know this person.
I had only heard of them by going on rpg.net and hearing that they had passed away.
sounds like an interesting person to know
Quote from: Blue DevilI am sorry I never got to know this person.
I had only heard of them by going on rpg.net and hearing that they had passed away.
sounds like an interesting person to know
You know, I hit this same feeling sometimes in my work...I'm a historian, y'know.
Tetsujin28, as I knew him, since I only knew him online, was an awesome poster for a lurker like me to read. I never had a chance to know him better, or post in response to a lot of his stuff. But if it matters in anything, he was a good man online!
Even though I never knew him, he touched my life with his acerbic wit and...strong coffeeness. Good description, Ian.
Quote from: joewolzYou know, I hit this same feeling sometimes in my work...I'm a historian, y'know.
Tetsujin28, as I knew him, since I only knew him online, was an awesome poster for a lurker like me to read. I never had a chance to know him better, or post in response to a lot of his stuff. But if it matters in anything, he was a good man online!
Even though I never knew him, he touched my life with his acerbic wit and...strong coffeeness. Good description, Ian.
The problem that I run into is he was gone before I got there. So I have only seen a few of his posts.
It sounds like I missed talking to a really good person.
Sad.
Quote from: Blue DevilThe problem that I run into is he was gone before I got there. So I have only seen a few of his posts.
It sounds like I missed talking to a really good person.
Sad.
He had his flaws, lol, but never tried to hide them,
He was a part of the our community, I would find the lose of others equaly upsetting,
But hey, he got a book dedication to him (that being the outstanding SotC)
Quote from: pathfinderapHe had his flaws, lol, but never tried to hide them,
He was a part of the our community, I would find the lose of others equaly upsetting,
Hey, we all have our flaws. His death does seem like a loss for the community.
Quote from: pathfinderapBut hey, he got a book dedication to him (that being the outstanding SotC)
That's cool. Is there any specific reason why he got that book dedicated to him? Was he part of the game design process or was he simply friends with the author(s)?
Quote from: Blue DevilThat's cool. Is there any specific reason why he got that book dedicated to him? Was he part of the game design process or was he simply friends with the author(s)?
Other than being dead?,
I think one of the people over at Evil hat knew him,
Quote from: zombenI can understand that to some extent. But when I write Shannon Appelcine -- who used to work for Chaosium, and is now an RPG.net mod -- and say "Hey, here's the deal, if you don't beleive me, you can call Greg Stafford and he'll be my character reference."
And they still don't beleive me...
Fuck 'em.
Yeah, that's pretty fucking ridiculous. I don't blame you one iota.
KoOS
Quote from: King of Old SchoolYeah, that's pretty fucking ridiculous. I don't blame you one iota.
KoOS
Yeah, it was really lame. I mean, here we are behind the scenes talking with close friends of Brit's, trying to get in touch with his parents to send condolence cards, etc. and the RPG.net mods don't even
beleive us. Whatever.
Quote from: Blue DevilThat's cool. Is there any specific reason why he got that book dedicated to him? Was he part of the game design process or was he simply friends with the author(s)?
Britt was a very enthusiastic fan of FATE, and did a superb job of pimping it on RPG.net. Actually, my online friendship with him started after checking FATE due to his enthusiasm, and sending him a PM thanking him for the advice.
I'm going to have a beer on his name right now.