Re: rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

From: Brandon Blackmoor <bblackmoor@spamcop.net>

Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:21:36 +0000

Greg Lindahl wrote:
>
> Of course, since you don't bother to read
 > this mailing list very often

I went through three different versions when writing a response to this.
In the first version, I corrected the incorrect statements made in
Lindahl's post (which is to say, all of them).

Then I realized how pointless that is -- he's been lying and making
catty comments for months, and he isn't likely to stop after one more
correction. I keep hoping that we can get past that and work *together*
to keep this newsgroup going, but it's time to admit that that's never
going to happen, because he doesn't *want* it to happen. It's time to
accept what I did not want to accept: Lindahl is a troll. So I deleted
that reply and changed it to a simple, "Don't feed the troll."

Then it occurred to me that what trolls want is a response, any
response, so I deleted that, too.

And then it occurred to me: who am I doing this for? Virtually no one
posts to this group anymore. Despite what any version of the FAQ says,
there *isn't* any discussion of pbm games taking place here, and there
hasn't been for a very long time. So is it just nostalgia that compelled
me to pick up the FAQ a full year after Lindahl stopped maintaining it?

Is nostalgia enough of a reason to read this group every few days, just
on the off chance that just maybe, *this* time, there might be something
posted here other than an announcement from PBEM News or yet another
snarky comment from Lindahl?

I *love* pbem games. That's why I set up PBEM News when Irony Games went
offline a couple of years ago. That's why I started posting errata after
Lindahl stopped maintaining the FAQ, and why I eventually took over the
FAQ when it became obvious that he wasn't ever going to update it again.

But I think it's time to admit to myself that this newsgroup is a ghost
town, and that it isn't likely to revive. Who cares if the FAQ is full
of obsolete and incorrect info, if virtually no one is reading it?
Despite Lindahl's best trolling efforts, only a tiny handful of people
bothered to post on the subject of the recently-revived FAQ.

It's painfully obvious that responding to Lindahl is pointless, and
there's no one else talking here. I hate to admit it, but my time and
effort is better spent on PBEM News and other projects.

So... to anyone out there who might still be reading this newsgroup, or
who might read it out of curiosity one day in Google's archives (or
whatever replaces Google in the fullness of time): I wish you the best
of luck finding the game you seek.

And Greg, I wish you the best, too. Thanks for the effort you put into
this newsgroup and your pbm list.

--
bblackmoor
2007-06-28

References

rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Brandon Blackmoor <bblackmoor@spamcop.net>
Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:40:43 +0000
Re: rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
lindahl@pbm.com (Greg Lindahl)
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 01:47:30 +0000

Referenced By

rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Brandon Blackmoor <bblackmoor@spamcop.net>
Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:40:43 +0000
Re: rec.games.pbm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
lindahl@pbm.com (Greg Lindahl)
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 01:47:30 +0000