Re: The PBM Report

From: maxnbr1@aol.com (MAXNBR1)

Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Joey Browning,
  As far as I know, I have not heard that you were in any way unethical. The
editor at the time was Bob Boost. The "dirty deeds" he preformed are numerous,
and I don't want to dredge up old news, but irregardless of your stewardship of
Flagship, which I am sure was ethical and honorable, it had sustained a bad
reputation under the leadership of Bob. That negative Image did hurt the
magazine.  I am aware that Hansen has the rights to publish flagship in the US,
but there wasn't a large subscription base for him to market to.
  That was the reasoning behind my comment on the ethical history of (American)
Flagship. I do apologize for accidentally dragging you into this.

Bill Bowersox

>OK, I don't normally post to newsgroups, but I HAVE to reply to a bit of
>this message.
>I was US Editor of Flagship magazine for more than 2 years, and during
>that time can state with confidence that we had no editorial bias. We
>DID publish roumors about games, but these were clearly labeled as such.
>Reviews were (of course) the opinion of the reviwer. The news articles
>in "Spokesmen Speak" were all either verified, or clearly identified if
>"Believed to be true but not 100% confirmed". American Flagship may be
>dead, but biased reporting didn't kill it.
>
>That having been said, I do believe that Grendal wasn't very pleased
>with us, due to an incident which happend before I became US Editor, and
>the complete details of which I do not have. However, I was never a
>party to biased reporting - if I had biased opinions, I tried to make it
>quite clear that those were just that - opinions. Though I was right
>more often than not in most cases, I certainly wasn't infallable. For
>example, I praised Steve Massey and Suzerainty very highly, and that
>game ended up folding rather dramatically. However, at no time did I
>make any attempt to downplay a game or company because of any personal
>bias I may have ahd.
>
>Joey Browning
>Former US Editor, Flagship
>jbrowning@stc.net
>
>
>MAXNBR1 wrote:
>>
>> Ken Mitchell,
>>     When you first posted on the AOL board for Galactic Prisoners, run by
>> Grandel Inc., your bias was evident. Nevertheless, I responded because I
>had
>> hopes that if you received an opposing view it may have helped you
>challenge
>> some of your beliefs. After reading your most recent posts, I see how
>mistaken
>> I was.
>>  The article that you are proposing to run on Grandel inc. in your
>newsletter,
>> the PBM Report, is nothing short of a revenge filled attack aimed at
>bringing
>> new life to your newsletter. Your letters to me have directly contradicted
>your
>> posts. This forces me to believe that everything you say needs to be
>> scrutinized.
>>     You are a first rate reporter, and with your skills Dateline should be
>> giving you a call very soon. You already know the outcome of your
>investigative
>> report before you even investigate. You have an ax to grind with Grandel
>Inc.
>> because they were vocal opponents of the unethical activities that took
>place
>> at Flagship. (American) Flagship died with only a few hundred subscribers
>> because of their biased reporting. If you advertised, you got good press,
>if
>> you did not you were ripped. Now the PBM Report seems to be doing the same
>> thing. Grandel Inc. Refused your attempt to get them to advertise and they
>> refused to subscribe so now your going to trash them for it.
>>     I have been a PBM junkie since 1988. My girlfriend complains sometimes
>> because I the most passionate when I am talking about PBM. I have tried the
>> PBEM games, but the camaraderie, rivalries and friendships just are not the
>> same. I will be very sad when the PBM industry dies. And it will die,
>> unfortunately. Replaced by cheap and free PBEM. Why will it die? Partially
>> because of the speed, ease and cost effectiveness of PBEM, and partially
>> because of self-serving moderators and Publishers.
>>     The PBM industry has always been cutthroat. There are a huge number of
>> games, and a limited supply of players, and that supply of players shrinks
>more
>> often than it grows. This makes it profitable to try to crush your
>competition.
>> Some game masters and publishers do this by putting out a superior product
>or
>> service (like Grandel Inc, or Paper Mayhem); others do so by trying to tear
>the
>> competition down.
>>     These others change a fun, gaming environment into a cutthroat,
>stressful
>> race. I encourage all PBM Players not to support these ruthless game
>masters
>> and publishers. PBM Gaming should be fun. It saddens me that I felt the
>need to
>> print the previous, but I feel the biased and unsubstantiated reporting in
>the
>> PBM Report needed to be addressed.
>>
>> Bill Bowersox
>> PBM Junkie
>> Icq# 4817943
>

References

Re: The PBM Report
Joey Browning <jbrowning@stc.net>
Sat, 25 Jul 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: The PBM Report
Joey Browning <jbrowning@stc.net>
Sat, 25 Jul 1998 00:00:00 +0000