Ads on rec.games.pbm, The Real Post From: soliiigm@aol.com (Sol III GM) Date: Fri, 06 Jun 1997 00:00:00 +0000 Well, I debated not posting this after winding up with egg on my face, but a little thought convinced me that it does need to be said. This posting has been through several re-writes now. Ads are NOT a bad thing! hehehehe...let me clarify. If you count ads as being any informational post about a commercial PB(e)M game with the intent of recruiting new players or at least interest, then Ads are not a bad thing. Of course, this is not to say that I wish to see SPAM for commercial PBM companies drowning out the regular discussion here, however, I think that the policy, as it has been explained to me when I 'violated' it, is dead wrong. Basically, my company has been around a while. In PBeM terms, a LONG while. How many ads have I posted to this newsgroup? Two. The second one was posted more than a year after the first one, and was in response to a direct request for more info about my game, and netted me 7 new players, a lot of interest, and a threat to contact my ISP about improper use of the net. Excuse me??? Basically, after the 4-5 letters went back and forth between me and said NetCop, I decided that this group was just more trouble than it was worth. How many others have done the same? Now, never mind that Sol III is a dynamic game in constant change, and that the ad was Hype free and was much different from the first ad I had posted. The fact is, in a year, there will be a LOT of turnover in a newsgroup's readership, so posting ads a year apart should not be a problem. I was given a very poor argument about "what if everyone did that?" as if it would be a "Bad Thing". From what I see of the other games around, very few of them are the same thing year after year. Constant improvements are being made. Changes are happening that are usually player-driven in nature, because every game designer out here knows one thing. Players are paying for a service, and their wishes have to be factored in. Ads are the main way to let people know of the changes, and the improvements, as well as to attract new players. This is true of free games as well as Commercial. Eagle Sol III Game Master Sol III Play By E-Mail Role Playing Game http://members.aol.com/soliiigm/ (Large site with 150+ pages and growing) Choose your friends wisely. Your enemies will choose you. Referenced By Up