Re: Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post

From: soliiigm@aol.com (Sol III GM)

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Ben Swain wrote:
>Sol III GM <soliiigm@aol.com> wrote:
>>Greg Lindahl said:
>>>soliiigm@aol.com (Sol III GM) writes:
>[...]
>>
>>>>   It still does not replace responsible ad copy reaching the readers
>>>> directly, however.
>>>Then buy a magazine ad. Usenet doesn't exist to give anyone free
>>>commercial advertising.
>>
>>  I'm not going to dispute that one with you, but I will state that the
>>current policy here allows some companies a LOT more free commercial
>>advertising than others.  And in any case, I am not talking about ads
for
>>commercial companies, I am talking ads for PB(e)M games, commercial or
>>free.  Besides, I have done the math.  Magazine ads for an on-line game
>>are a good way to go broke at a rapid rate.
>
>I thought that the sole purpose of a business was to make money?  At
least
>that's what I learned in Accounting 101, and it seemed a very reasonable
>conclusion.  If you can't afford advertising, maybe you should take a
look
>at the books to see if you're charging your customers enough in fees to
>maintain your profit margin.  I've run across many a good PB(e)M game
that
>is still thriving today, and they don't find it necesary to post ads on
>r.g.pbm or other USENET groups.

In order.
  No, the sole purpose of a business is not always to make money.  If I
was concerned about making money, this is not what I would be doing.  I am
concerned about making a living, however, but that is not my goal with Sol
III, it's merely something that happens while I am reaching my goals.
  Afford advertising?  Sure.  I can afford advertising, but there is no
such thing as a targeted advertising magazine for PBeM.  I don't see the
point in wasting money buying ad space in a magazine that is aimed at a
different segment of PBM gaming and where less than half the readers would
even have access to the net.  That is just plain silly, and that's what I
meant by, I had done the math.
  Raise the fees when the biggest competition I have are free games?  That
sounds like a good way to go broke charging higher fees.

>>>   The point, was that almost no one is opposed to ads, period.
>>>I am not opposed to ads, period. Quit beating that straw horse; it's
>>>dead.
>>
>>  I have no intention to beat a dead straw horse.  I much prefer live
>>ones.  So, not opposed to ads, period.  Shall we then discuss what is
>>acceptable and what is not?  From my frame of mind, this is not an
>>argument, but a discussion.
>
>... and a discussion I have expressed my opinion on in a previous post.
>
>		_No_ ads.

Nice to see that the farthest extremes on both sides of the discussion
are now represented.

>>  I am not concerned about saturation bombing of the PBM players, but
>>rather, targeting an audience, and giving others a chance to do the
same.
>>  This Newsgroup can be an effective tool, if used right, but it is not
>>going to make anyone rich.  For that matter, has anyone ever gotten rich
>>off of PB(e)M?
>
>I am concerned about SPAM and saturation bombing of me as a PB(e)M
player.
>This group would be quickly added to my killfile if it where to become a
>route of advertising for (any and in particular marginal) PB(e)M
companies
>seeking free advertising space in an attempt to help them make a
>profit/survive.

I can see that I should have clarified.  what my words there meant is
that I do not want to see saturation bombing nor do I expect there to be
such.

>A "unique feature" I appreciate in PB(e)M game companies is excellent
>customer service.  I've played less than perfect games because the CS was
>excellent, and dropped play of excellent games because CS sucked.  RSI
>(Hyborian Wars) of several years ago, and BSE before it's takeover by
RTG,
>are cases in point for the good game-poor CS scenario.  If you're giving
>quality service, even a marginal game will win adherents; but an
excellent
>product won't long survive poor CSR.  If a game falls into the latter
group,
>even free advertising won't save it.

I agree.

>And if companies want to be able to announce a new game here, they might
>want to consider doing it with a call for playtesters when it's in the
>development stage.  If the game has "unique features" and "attractions",
>it won't take long for the playtesters to let it be known.

That is all well and good for new games.  What about established games?

Eagle
Sol III Game Master
Sol III Play By E-Mail Role Playing Game
http://members.aol.com/soliiigm/

There is a certain freedom to being totally screwed.  It means nothing you do is going to make the situation any worse.

References

Re: Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post
bswain@nyx.cs.du.edu (Benjamin Swain)
Sat, 14 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post
bswain@nyx.cs.du.edu (Benjamin Swain)
Sat, 14 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000