Monster Island News : Sept (97K) From: warden@mack.rt66.com (Scott Micheel) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 05:56:21 +0000 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ m m mm mm t ee m m m m oo nnn sss t ee rrrr e e m m m o o n n s tttt e e r eeee m m o o n n ssss t eeee r News 09-25-94 e m m o o n n s t e r ee m m oo n n sss tt ee r #29 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Headlines this time: ABM responds! Gaming gods Keith, Jack, & Bob Tell All (well, some anyway) +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor's Note: This issue is over two weeks late, and will probably be really boring for those of you on America OnLine, because it's mostly a rehash of what's been posted there last month. But I felt it would be important to send it out to a wider audience due to the postings by Keith, Jack, & Bob at ABM. I'll try to do better next month. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Publication data: eMonster News is published ideally on the 25th of each month. Send all submissions, questions, letters of comment, and subscription information to the email address below. eMonster News is available free for the asking to anyone able to receive it on INTERNET, CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi, America Online, Prodigy, or any other service tied into the net. Press run: 151. To avoid problems with my mailer, I send this out in batches; for a full listing of players on the net, send a note to Scott (below). eMonster News is not affiliated with Adventures By Mail in any way, and nothing in here is necessarily official. We like to think they like us, though. Please copy, post, print, or otherwise distribute this newsletter to as many players as you can; especially if they have email access. We want to promote this here game! Editor & Publisher Scott Micheel warden@rt66.com Keeper of Blurbs Aaron Fuegi fuegi@cs.colostate.edu Group Man Brian Derks normandyknight@cup.portal.com Monster Mapper & MI BBS Jim Wuerch 73234.3410@compuserve.com Capture Creature Captain Larry Barrows lrdbear@aol.com Statmaster Jack Vinson vinson@unagi.cis.upenn.edu Seeker of Demigods Ben Vincent bjvincen@mtu.edu Lord of the Hard Sell Tom Richardson salmanila@aol.com List Director Sharyl Leis michael.mackinnon@mwcsinc.muug.mb.ca Q&A Lady Dana Barker jujubunn@aol.com America OnLine Liason Chuck Miro casbahcarl@aol.com This newsletter is also posted to the Internet newsgroup rec.games.pbm, and usually ends up on the America OnLine boards, as well as Bif's Monster Resort BBS. You are welcome to post this anyplace you wish, but please leave it intact. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The PBM game ftp site now has most of the email Monster Island newsletters ever made -- specifically, we now have all the issues put out by Cheryl Frech and myself, and lack only the very first Chris Jones issue. For convenience, I number the Jones issues 1-3, the Frech issues 4-13, and my own 15-28 (and up). For those with ftp file-transfer capability, here's what to do. At the normal prompt, issue the command ftp ftp.erg.sri.com That will connect you to the pbm ftp site. Log on as anonymous with the password being your own email address. Then issue this cd pub/pbm to get to the main pbm menu. Now, all the files here are maintained in gzip compressed format, so you'll need the 'unzip' program. I'm sure most of you have this, and yours will work fine, but if you don't have it, there is a copy here, and you'll need to get it like so get gzip-1.2.4.msdos.exe Then get into the actual Monster Island section cd monster_island Here is what's there right now (file size, name) 73 README (it's nothing, really) 5594 groups.gz (Brian Derks list from March'94) 2810 intro.gz (the file I post to rec.games.pbm occassionally) 4811 list.gz (lots of DOL lists, date unknown) Then, finally, one level more to get to the newsletters cd newsletters And here's the list 6300 mimail.01.gz (the UK newsletter #1) 3271 minews.04.gz (minews.2 and minews.3 should be up shortly) 8294 minews.05.gz 9982 minews.06.gz 7347 minews.07.gz 4647 minews.08.gz 5291 minews.09.gz 10979 minews.10.gz 10351 minews.11.gz 17831 minews.12.gz 8291 minews.13.gz 7415 minews.14.gz 6737 minews.15.gz 12232 minews.16.gz 11128 minews.17.gz 16149 minews.18.gz 20178 minews.19.gz 13607 minews.20.gz 17674 minews.21.gz 24860 minews.22.gz 17087 minews.23.gz 15826 minews.24.gz 12846 minews.25.gz 15721 minews.26.gz +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From: CasbahCarl@aol.com (Chuck Miro) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 94 14:50:22 EDT Subject: AOL Liaison for "eMonster News" If anyone who's not an AOL subcriber wants to have a message posted on the AOL MI Board, they can send it to me and I'll make sure it gets posted. Chuck Miro <casbahcarl@aol.com> From: "Obleman.Eric" <obleman@ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: MI vs Magic I just finished reading the eMonster eMail for August. I'd like to thank you for running all the comments you did on ABM service. I have been hearing the rumors for a while and am sad to see such overwhelming confirmation of the truth in them. Like yours my monster is "developmentally challenged". It has gone fifty turns and is still playing around at the first line of Far Inns. Like you I have also had very few problems with ABM and none of my seven friends who play with me have had much trouble, so I guess we are all lucky and will be staying in the game. But I have been heavily involved in Magic and would like to spend some time on it and several of the comments made on the subject. I consider my credentials as a gamer to be extensive enough to qualify me to comment on this subject. I am a wargamer and have been since 1964, when I was 10 years old. I cut my teeth on the old Milton Bradley wargames like Dogfight, Broadsides and the Civil War as well as the classic Avalon Hill games and other old family game stand by board games. In the early seventies, I was on the staff of one of the largest and most prestigious wargame clubs in history, Sparta, until its demise and remain a member of its only remaining fragment. With my long time friends and others of my gaming experience exist the kernel of the group best described as Grognards. I was an active gamer when D&D came out and have long since turned my back on it as a game of little social value, not promoting sportsmanship or teamwork. I have seen games come and I have seen them go. Such as it is, this is my gaming resume. As I said above, I have been heavily involved in Magic, so I am very familiar with the game and its potential. The comparisons that many have made of Magic to Pet Rocks or, even, D&D and that it is just a Fad are extremely short sighted and seem to be generated by the anger they should be directing at ABM for forgetting us in favor of the Magic craze. Well, I have some real bad news for all of you who hope Magic is just a fad. It is not going to go away. I should be obvious to even the most disinterested casual observer that Magic is no Pet Rock. To be sure, Magic is in the Craze phase, just like many other games before it. It is going to subside, and it feels like it is showing signs of some slow down among core gamers (the people who count anyway) right now, but it will never go away. Unlike D&D, Magic is a well thought out, well executed product that has more manufacturer support than any game I have ever know. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the game's manufacturer, can thank the Internet for the instant support they can supply the game and they have taken advantage of Internet's capabilities. D&D, when it first appeared, was a loose set of rules, a guideline by designer Gary Gygax's own admission, put out in a substandard package, by the Milton Bradley and Avalon Hill benchmarks. It practically begged for an improved rival, and it was not long before it got several challengers, not only in role playing, but in the same fantasy role playing setting as D&D itself. After one year on the market what has challenged Magic? Anyone play much Spellfire lately? Jyhad shows signs of being a lasting game, but it will tend to compliment Magic rather than compete with it and it is made by the same company. Magic will never be seriously challenged and there will always be a profit in Magic due its collect ability. Many MI players will have to wonder why I have spent so much time defending a game that is ripping the Island to shreds. Well, I'm not defending Magic. I like the game, but I like MI as well and am also angry that one has to be promoted at the expanse of the other. By the same token, it would be senseless for me to not give one game a chance because I'm mad it's degrading another game I like. The fault lies entirely with ABM and they deserve all the anger. My purpose here is to tell all MI players not to hold their breath waiting for Magic to die off and become unprofitable. If you are pinning your hope on that to happen you are bound to be disappointed. In the long run and it is better to drop MI now and save yourself a whole bunch of money and grief. If you stay on the Island be prepared for this to continue for a long time and learn to be satisfied that things will go right most of the time and on rare, very rare occasion MI will be upgraded. And take every promise that comes out of ABM concerning MI with a large portion of salt. In the case of ABM and MI, a bird in the hand is worth any number of birds in the bush. I support the idea of someone or some group buying MI from ABM. I would not like to pay any more per turn than the fee now charged to improve the service to a level provided by other PBM entities for an equivalent product or to the level ABM lead us all to believe we would get in the first place. I will be striking in November and will encourage my seven friends to do the same, supporting my arguments for the strike with all the fine comments made by all the MI players published in the August newsletter. For what it's worth, that's my $.02. Thanks for taking the time to slog through this. From: Gerald Hagedorn <hagedorn@umr.edu> Subject: MI Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 08:53:18 -0600 (CDT) I got a turn back last thursday. The intersting thing is that, even though my stats said I had 6 more creature kills. None of the battles were printed out. I got results for the three loggerheads that I fought, just not creatures. Did this happen to anyone else? When I tried to let ABM know about it on Friday, I was told that both Keith and Jack, were gone for the day. Someone, said that they thought they had since fixed that problem, I just wanted to make sure. From: Dana Wright <72627.531@compuserve.com> Date: 14 Sep 94 20:58:05 EDT Subject: Re: Trashing ABM Scott asked me if any of this griping about ABM has spilled over to the Compuserve boards. Seems to be only 1 complaint.... Dana ------ Tony, I've tried a lot of games through the years and seem to enjoy the ones where my char can 'grow' by gaining new knowledge and discoveries. I've been in Mi for over 3 years and there is still (not as often as in past) the element of new discoveries to be made. No one has found the demi-gods yet... No one has found any mounts other than the basic Plodder...no one knows if the crystal hills can be entered...no one knows what the "special lighting" is that's needed to enter a Tainted Hollow...No one has been successful in obtaining the priest level in their respective religion...And that's FURCAT! (G)... As for the funny/silly names...What's in a name? This is a fantasy game with all sorts of strange items, creatures and voodoo. Not to mention the spells one gets when one become a disciple... But this IS a game where one has to have a commitment...A game like Quest can be 'looked at' for a few turns but MI takes longer to obtain the benefits... From: Mark English <englism@CSOS.ORST.EDU> Date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 15:01:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Monster Island, as always. Got a question for you. If you don't know the answer, would you mind posing it in the newsletter? Skizlum Skallaglamm, female Mudwalker at large, seems to be pregnant. She just had her 'Love Cycle', and completed a Love Dance successfully. She's now experiencing morning sickness ("Sometime after waking, you experience some dizziness. Suddenly, you spew chunks! Yik. Eventually you feel better.") The strange thing is, the only monster she did a successful Love Dance with was a Viper. Is this unusual? Has anybody given birth after a mixed-race Love Dance before? Are we about to see the island's first Mudwiper? From: Dana Wright <72627.531@compuserve.com> Date: 20 Sep 94 21:27:32 EDT Subject: MI:?'s Do you know if anyone has done Brawn and/or reptron salve who has been in the game a very long time without benefit? Don't want to waste time. What are crobbler skins good for? ***** And now our feature attraction... From: CasbahCarl@aol.com (Chuck Miro) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 94 00:15:02 EDT Subject: AOL/ABM Submission #1 ::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::: Hi Everyone, Since this is my first issue as eMonster's "official" liaison to ABM's Monster Island Board on America Online, I thought I'd explain that I'll be copying to eMonster many of the messages that appear on the AOL/ABM MI board that I've found to be interesting and relevant to Monster Island. I may edit out some extraneous material and repetitive messages, and I've added in parenthesis real names to AOL's screen names (sorry if I missed a few). Also, if you'd like to have messages posted to the AOL/ABM MI board just send them to me and I'd be happy to post them for you. If you'd like to send email to any of the authors of the messages and you're not on America Online but have access to an Internet gateway, merely append "@aol.com" (no quotes) to the end of the name. ::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::: Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-25 01:05:13 EDT From: RHDLAMB (Rob Lamb) If you, or anyone else, wants to adopt a couple monsters, mine will be available shortly, stay tuned. I've found another open-ended fantasy game to play, PBEM this time, which is brand new (turn 8), lots of fun, much cheaper ($2.50 flat fee, weekly turns), and is ACTIVELY supported by the GM. Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-25 02:56:14 EDT From: JKim 21 (Jae Kim) I have to agree that ABM's service has deteriorated greatly. I remember a long time ago reading the Beyond the Stellar Empire board on AOL, and there were alot of IRATE former players posting messages. At the time, I never had any major problems with Monster Island (whenever there was a problem, it was solved quickly and courteously) and figured that the players that were complaining were just a bunch of whiners who didn't get their way. Lately, I'm beginning to sympathize with those former players. I've had a great increase in the number of input errors for turn submissions, the corrections seem to take forever and ABM's cuurent attitude about such problems are that they're a BIG hassle and make it seem like it's my fault. I agree it's a hassle to both sides, but the mistakes shouldn't be happening in the first place. A simple double check on turn inputs would probably eliminate most errors. A "J 26" turned into a "T 26" should not be happening. Turn results sent to the wrong player should not be happening. Errors made in correcting a previous error should not be happening. All these problems make a great game less enjoyable, and the question of "Is this worth $4?" comes up more and more often. One thing that stands out in my mind about the old Beyond the Stellar Empire posts is that these bitter, former players used to love the game. And mixed with their anger was a regret that a game that they had alot of fun playing before was ruined. I'd really hate to see that happen to Monster Island, but lately it seems to be on that path. I hope that Jack and Co. don't remain mesmerized from all the money coming in from selling trading cards, and still have some loyalty to their original customers. The same customers that kept the company running before Magic was around. Subj: Re:Next BMT 94-08-25 03:18:29 EDT From: MAMNON (Morgan Hatrick) When is the BMT coming out? I've been wondering the same thing. ABM has been sitting on it for quite some time now. Actually, stacks of Magic cards are probably sitting on it. The BMT was probably buried under stacks of Magic paraphernalia immediately upon arrival. Or maybe they got some coffee and/or magic stains on the proof copy of the BMT and discarded it. Who (at ABM) cares anyway? Keith? I would like to concur with those who think Keith is an asset to ABM and the players. I think they should establish a customer service dept. and place Keith at it's head. Keith is always helpful and often perky. Yeah Keith!! If the players buy MI maybe we could hire Keith to moderate. Subj: Long-Time Players Quitting 94-08-25 07:43:20 EDT From: CasbahCarl (Chuck Miro) I recognize the feelings of frustration that drives many older players to consider quitting the game. I think it's a real loss to all of us. If you plan to leave the game and you have an advanced Fuvite monster with several temples under their belt which you would like to see continue playing and advancing, please contact me. The Shadow Guardians has a home for him or her. Subj: Re:ABM (The Magic Dist. Company) 94-08-25 17:01:50 EDT From: CasbahCarl I just read a review of Magic:TG in a fantasy magazine (_Realms of Fantasy_) that listed current sales of cards in the millions, with a projected *BILLION* cards sold by the end of the year. In comparison, that makes the income generated for ABM from our little 2000-player game seem pretty insignificant. No wonder ABM hasn't been devoting much time to Monster Island or to its other PBM games. Also another tidbit from the magazine article is that Wizards of the Coast, which is manufacturing Magic, will be producing a second card-based game set in a vampire realm. Presumably ABM will be the distributor for these as well. Any guesses to what happens to the PBM side if ABM's card-distribution business doubles from what it is now? :::sigh::: I still love the game. Maybe Jerry Hagedorn was right, especially in view of all the income ABM must be swimming in they could hire someone to program MI alone. Or, as Morgan suggests, they may be willing to sell their pbm interests to another pbm company. Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-26 15:48:58 EDT From: SLIP JEEM (Duane Brockaway) Hi All! I know the feeling, three months ago I changed religions and only got the stat decrease, and not the the increase for the new religion. I've talked to Jack more than 5 times and each time I was told it would be fixed on the next turn. It still has not been fixed!!!!! Also so I'm still having many errors on the "tween turns results", but every time I call about that I told that its fixed, so I send in a copy of the turn and nothing happens. One of my monsters is owed 6 monsters battled from between tuns that were never added to his stat's. Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-26 18:09:50 EDT From: Atrickpae Well folks, I'm bummed. I just started playing MI. I waited 3 weeks for my first turn, which I recieved only after writing to ABMbob with no response, and then my second turn sheet was lost! I waited 2 weeks before realising something was amiss. I wrote a heated letter to Bob and a make-up turn was generated. Now I found this board only to discover that these problems are widespread. But the other thing I've noticed is the mention of other PBEM games. Luckily my losses are minor in quitting this game as I have no time invested in a character. Why should I continue playing a game when the only response I get is after threatening to quit? Nor am I willing to invest money in a game run by a company whose rep is questionable if there are other competitors out there anxious to get a piece of the pie, especially if it translates into superior product and response? So the search begins anew. Anyone have a recommendation? Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-26 20:10:29 EDT From: PaulMcGinn (Paul McGinnis) Oh well! Just 275 turns down the tubes.Let's see 275 times $4 equals only $1000. Actually there were $3 turns in there but who cares? It's still to damn much if I can"t finish what I intended to do with my monsters.It's hard to kill a demi-god disciple when they aren't even in the game. Believe me I'm starting to rack up make-up turns and I had never done that before.It used to be as soon as I got my turn it was going back out the same day so I could get my next turn as soon as possible. Now...when it gets there it gets there. -- Slippery Jim & Mudpie Willy Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-26 22:32:39 EDT From: SteveS1709 (Steve Staszek) That doesn't even count the $1.00 postage every 4 turns, + the cost of long distance phone calls to ABM. We should all sit a month in Far Inns, Posts, and such safe places for a month as a protest. Subj: Superior Service 94-08-27 12:49:08 EDT From: ABMJack (Jack Everitt) Please accept our apologies for the less than stellar service at times in the past month. I'm afraid it's going to get worse in early September, but by October we hope that everything will be running smoothly again. So, please bear with us, as we are trying very hard at our end. Subj: Re:Monster adoptions 94-08-29 21:29:31 EDT From: RHDLAMB The other players in my group have decided to adopt Felonious, my Fuvite Disciple. Unlike me, I guess they're still having "fun" in this dead-end (as opposed to open-ended) game. Sindero Luminoso, a Kabuki neophyte, is available for taget practice. He's 1 turn away from Faltans Far Post, to the SouthEast, following the trail. That's approximately 2 turns almost directly South of The Cracked Skull Far Inn. After reading Jacks sarcastic post, I'm quitting the game immediately. My gaming time is too valuable to waste just wandering around a stagnant game system and getting p****d off at a situation that obviously isn't going to improve. Hope to see you all in some of the GOOD games that are available out there. (ex-Felonious; ex-Disciple of Fuvah; ex-Nomads of the Red Hand; ex-ABM game player.) Subj: Re:ABM Downhill 94-08-29 22:20:40 EDT From: Fasolt You know, I guess if you invest time and effort into a game and then run into some disappointments, you have to realize that 1) it's only a game, and 2) there are somethings in life we just can't control. Sure, it leads to frustration. I was one of the first BSE players, and I dropped..after some frustration with a few players who turned on me. I put alot into the game. But that's just how it goes sometimes. The RW does alot more damage to us, and we usually pay more than $4 for the privilege. Bottom line, I guess, is that Jack has been there longer and done it better than anyone else. But that doesn't make him perfect and he's nowhere near being God (playing God, or demi-god, perhaps, but not The Big One Himself). If you really feel he's let you down, then move on. At least he gave you alot of enjoyment for awhile. But on the other hand, you can't blame someone for trying too much, for growing too fast. And, after all, if you have already learned everything about MI there is to learn, then chances are you got 90% of it second hand...via info trades or alliances. And who's to blame then if there's "nothing new"? In this day and time, 10 Jack's couldn't program faster than one day's exchanges of info on AOL. To alot of us, and to alot of new players, this is still a great game. Your disappointment need not be shared by all and it's unfair to dis the game and quench the fire of some new monster. And if you and others do move on, I hope to encounter you in another game soon, and best of luck. But as for me, I'm willing to stay in. MI is still the best game in town. Subj: Re:Monster Island's Demise 94-08-30 00:32:49 EDT From: ABMKeith Ok. I've sat back and watched long enough. I've seen accusations fly, insults hurled, and people cry and moan. Yes, Monster Island has reached a slowdown. Yes, customer service and programing has taken a dive lately. I'm not here to "snow" anyone. But rumors that Jack has abandoned MI to run sell Magic: The Gathering are greatly exaggerated. Think of me as the GM here to set the record straight. Would we fault you if you leaped into a high money-making endevour? Hey, Magic sells. So does Monster Island. When Jack first launched MI, i can assure you that MANY things in the office suffered greatly. Jack devoted so much of his time with MI that he ate, slept and lived MI. MI was, is and always will be his baby. He no more wants to see a game he put his sweat and blood into die, than i want to up and look for another job. But for now, other things must slow down. The money we can make through our Magic sales can only help to strengthen the foundation of our company making us able to continue games like: Monster Island, Quest, etc...We have already begun to strengthen other areas of our support staff hiring John, Jennifer, Tom & Chris. Still looking, we plan to add to our ever-building company and come back with a knockout!! With the help of our new additions, us old timers can return to our old jobs of play by mail..leaving many of the Magic duties in their very capable hands. I for one...was never hired to GM play by mail games. But over the years, i grew into games like: It's A Crime! , Quest and especially Monster Island. I learned to love Monster Island like a friend..a friend i get to see every morning. Many of you don't see me. Yes, me. Keith. I'm there every morning. I process your turns, make mistakes on your turns, correct errors on your turns. I do all this day in and day out whether you know it or not. I for one love my job. When i see others knock the game, i take it personally. When i hear people say we want the game to DIE..i take it personally. I do NOT want MI to die...and as far as i can tell..i have the final word on that. Many thanks to Brian Derks for keeping my head on straight these last few weeks. Brian has been feeding me the Good news (which there hasn't been much of) and the BAD, (which there's been much). As is everyone else at ABM i too am guilty of paying too much attention to Magic. It does not mean however, that i care any less for MI nor does anyone else for that matter. Jack included. Most of the staff is working long hours sometimes staying very late at night. I myself am so exhusted some days that i go home and collapse in a heap, only to awaken some hours later. But do i complain? Nope. Becuase i love what i do, and so do the rest of us. Magic isn't your enemy. With Magic soaring..we will soon be back to the things that used to fully occupy our days. Hopefully, you all will be with us then. None of us here can blame you for your many frustrations. I can only ask, speaking for all of us at ABM that you do not dismiss us or our games. A lot has been said about us and our company. Some lies. Some true. But anyone who says we Don't Care..doesn't know ABM. The persons you read about that hate and despise us our former players that couldn't get their own way in the games they played. They spewed venom about us as their only revenge and recourse. ABM still stands. We stand because of our loyal friends. With the help of our friends we again will rise and make ABM what it has always stood for. I am not promising any miracles. I cannot part the Red Sea. I ask only for a continuance of your patience and understanding till we can work the kinks out. Thank you for listening to a 10 year ABM veteran rant and rave. Thank you for being there! :) Subj: Re:Monster Island's Demise 94-08-30 02:09:44 EDT From: Harrisonk (Kerry Harrison) Keith, That's all very nice, but frankly actions always speak louder than words, and ABM's actions indicate that selling Magic trading cards is much more important then running PBM games to y'all (which I don't really blame y'all for as I'm sure the Magic cards have one hell of a higher profit margin). Subj: Re:Monster Island's Demise 94-08-30 12:51:19 EDT From: Ross81 (Ross Stamper) Keith, I think what you said wrapped it up. I myself haven't had any problems I think that goes to the 100+ turn guys. But, maybe you guys were understaffed to handly the expanding game like MI. Now that you have more help, and more time, MI for the players that are complaining can get back to normal. I don't want to see MI go die. Before I signed on to Aol I was really happy with your service until I saw that everyone else was not. If the death of MI ever did occur it would mean the death for one of my favorite games. I'm going to be around for a long time even if I'm the last monster on the island. Guys, just stop complaining about it, all will be nice and dandy in good time!! I for one am standing behand MI 100%. If anyone else cares to join the line it forms behind me. P.S. If it wasn't for everyone at ABM we wouldn't even have had MI. Thanks Keith, Jack, and everyone at ABM!! Subj: Most Fearsome Warrior 94-08-31 12:15:54 EDT From: CasbahCarl On a topic not related to ABM Service Complaints, I'd like to bring back our Most Fearsome Warrior competition so see if we have any new additions to our list. It's been nearly five months since we compiled the one shown below, so hopefully we can get some updates from all you monsterly mauraders. +--------------------AOL Fiercest Warrior Scoreboard--------------------+ Last Updated April 1994 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Who among us has taken blade, club and spear most often to our fellow monsters? Who has the greatest fighting skill, battle craft and blood lust? Why maintain these statistics? If it's true as Shelly once wrote, that "Poets are...the trumpets which sing to battle," then let us rely on some of Illudak's warrior literati for our answer. Sir Walter Scott wrote: "Respect was mingled with surprise, And the stern joy which warriors feel In foeman worthy of their steel." Thus, replies Scott, it is only against the best that we test our true mettle. Yet, it is also true, as Vegetius advised long ago: "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum" (Let him who desires peace, prepare for war). If your monster(s) sets a new record, please submit the information to be so that I can update our scoreboard. +-------------------------The Fiercest Warriors-------------------------+ Category Monster (Rlg) Battls Group Player ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Overall Tantor (F) 90 The Fire Riders J. Michael Kilburn Turn 86 Slippery Jim (N) 72 Order White Rose Paul McGinnis Turn 76 Snot Locker (S) 36 The Fire Riders Nick McClure Turn 66 Sanskrit Q. (F) 26 Shadow Guardians Jae Kim Turn 56 Shadowspawn (N) 36 None Russell Calkins Turn 46 Macumba (S) 34 Shroud's Own Morgan Hatrick Turn 36 Kilpurr (K) 21 None Josh Knapp Turn 26 Macumba (S) 9 Shroud's Own Morgan Hatrick Turn 16 Shadow's Pawn (F) 12 None Russell Calkins +---------------------Are You Up To The Challenge?----------------------+ Subj: Re:Most Fearsome Warrior Contest 94-08-31 21:29:22 EDT From: Beekums (BK Morris) We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother. Be he ne're so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And monsters in Far Inns now abed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their monsterhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Monster Island today. - Henry V (slightly edited) King of England and France Early MI player; Follower of Fuvah. Subj: MI 2nd fiddle 94-09-03 15:08:26 EDT From: GauchoGlen Just a thought. I attended Orgins in San Jose. At the ABM table there was not even a hint of advertising for MI. I also subscribe to Paper Mayhem and Flagship MI has not been advertised in months. Nor has any ad been placed in the Dragon. In my oppinion ABM is letting MI die a slow death. As it stands right now MI is very low maintence. Just plug in our turns and mail the results out. ABM will not be making any significant additions to MI and their customer service, while always suspect has become abhorent. I have stayed in the game thus far for the sake of my group. Recently I sent a large check to ABM to replenish my account. Unless I see significant (as opposed to token) attention given to MI I will consider dropping and finding another open ended game run by a company who takes care of their loyal customers. P.S.- just in case anyone from ABM bothers to read this- in any buisness it is vital to not alienate your loyal clients even if you have a flurry of activity form a new source. In the long run your steady clients are the backbone of a company to treat them dishonestly or with indifference is worse than bad buisness- its dumb. Subj: RE: ABM's Demise 94-09-03 15:44:28 EDT From: Beekums Actually, I have never complained about MI's service on this board. I prefer to take complaints with any product to the source. Perhaps if people continued to take their problems to ABM's phone lines and not this board, more would happen. Overall, I have NEVER had a problem with ABM's service that was not solved very quickly. Maybe I'm just lucky. As for `Magic, The Etc.' I don't think that game's amazing growth can continue much longer since it's only a matter of time before the authorities in a lot of states recognize the game for what it is. It is (in my humble opinion) a form of gambling, with ABM and other distributors acting as the house.' After all, losers in the game often have to give up cards, which have cash value (just like poker chips). Furthermore, you can only buy these chips (oops!), I mean CARDS!, from certain sources. Distributors probably even encourage children to play! Any game that creates an expectation that you can expect to win more than you lose is gambling. States usually interpret gambling restrictions VERY strictly. They don't care about a few people playing poker at night. But they do care about someone that get's a percentage of any game of chance (it cuts into their lottery take!). I could be wrong. But I'll bet (ha ha ha) I'm right. Subj: wow! Such Generated Interest! 94-09-04 01:47:07 EDT From: ABMKeith I never realized tossing my butt into the fire would cause such an uprising...then i realized...my opinions..facts...posts..etc..do not mean a lick anyway. No one can really understand what i've said with all the "Negative Publicity" being generated from the many posts filling this board. It's a real hoot to log on here and see the "garbage" filling this forum nightly. To be honest..it makes me a bit depressed. This is a Monster Island forum. Not a Monster Island Bashing and ABM Bashing Forum. If you'd like one..why not ask AOL to create one? I'm usually a quiet guy. My wife says I'm a bit passive too often and i take a lot more than i should. If all of you are really so unhappy with ABM..why not just leave? Go away. Leave us and the people that wish to play the games alone? Why? Because you want to stay. You want to make this the most miserable place to be on all of AOL. Why not just come out and admit it? Who do you really expect to help with all these comments? You've already quit!! You don't play! Come on! What use here could you have? I know what you want. You like it when we try to defend ourselves..it gives you more ammo against us..you can call us liars. You post so much stuff here about us that even players that have never had reason to believe this stuff..start to. Do you honestly belive in your own minds that ABM is a place where 4 people walk around all day thinking of new ways to screw our customers? If tomorrow we decided to sell Ice Cream..you'd find a way to blame everything on that. It will never change..will it guys? You will always blame US for everything that went wrong..whether it was our fault or not. This is turning itno one giant cancerous growth spreading daily. It's the same people poisoning the minds of people that really don't even have a clue to what it is you are even talking about. **TRANSLATION** If you continue to read this stuff day in and day out..you will begin to belive it after a while. (Even if it doesn't affect you). Oh, by the way. I'm not the lamb being sent into the slaughter as some people may think. I wasn't sent here on any divine mission. I chose to come here on my own. I sit here at home with my wife and we go over these posts and she is shocked that people would actaully say these things about ABM. I always tell her..."Don't be shocked..wait till tomorrow night..after they read the post I'm going to leave". Subj: ABMKeith 94-09-04 03:42:14 EDT From: GauchoGlen Keith -- I don't think that anyone here is trying to cast any damaging aspersons on you personally but I think that your response misses the point. We have stayed in MI this long because we like the game. For many of us MI has been a fun game for years. I personally run three monsters and I can say without hesitation that until recently I have enjoyed the game immensly. I don't think that you can deny that of late everyone at ABM has neglected MI. I understand that you may have had your reasons. What I resent is that no one at ABM has had the simple candor to honestly approach the members. Rather ABM made no attempt to reach out to the MI membership and explain your situtation and give us an honest assesment of when or if things will return to a semblence of normallcy or, better yet, when some of the changes long promised will be implemented. Your last note, while emotional and I'm sure heartfelt, utterly neglected to acknowledge our legitimate concearns. Many of us feel betrayed. We stuck with ABM for years. Now when ABM is doing well we are treated like second class citizens. Worse still their is a fundamental ethic involved in providing the service which is sub-par. No one as far as I know thinks that ABM is out to get us. We feel neglected and want to know that ABM will show us the same loyalty we showed it for so long. By the way my experience with you personally has been universally good and pleasant. I have always found you professional and helpfull. I can tell from your last message that you genuinly feel hurt. Please understand that I too feel somewhat hurt. To the exent that you took personal offense to anything I may have said please accept my deepest personal appologies. In the future I will try to be more specific as to the exact nature of my complaints as to avoid the inference that you personally (or anyone else at ABM) are personally to blame. Subj: Re:Monster Island 94-09-04 21:09:53 EDT From: BOSTREDSOX (ABM Keith) Again. My apologies. I meant not to bait anyone into any angry replies. I only meant to say that it would be nice to log on here and see Monster Island posts and not *Bashing* even though you all have the right to do so if you choose. People have stated that they would appreciate more GM participation here in this forum, so i will. i just do not wish to spend 2 hours replying to bashing and flames.. (who would)? If anyone cares..I AM still processing Monster Island on a daily basis. How do i know this? Near my desk is a PILE of MI turns run. Monster Island IS still going strong..and contrary to public beliefs..there is no slowdown in turns going out. Programming and bugs are behind in some cases..VERY far behind..but i am still keeping processing on schedule daily. My motto is always and always will be: In Today..out Today...no exceptions. I would like to wish all of you a very happy and safe Labor Day. I will see all of you on the other side. :) p.s. sorry for the different screen name...i do my downloading with this name. Subj: Re:Monster Island 94-09-05 00:02:12 EDT From: Philomorph Dearest Keith--sorry to upset you, but why should you be any better off than those of us who are playing the game MI,such as it is? I have seen messages from many long time players who are very hurt/disappointed/disgruntled. to date, no one has answered any of their complaints. I am a MtG player also. I was also an IAC player and stopped because it became so arbitrary and capricious. I have been playing three monsters but sat out for a number of months in the past because of poor GM'ing and expect to do so now for a while, again. As a Magic player I can get my cards from any where. There are at least three local distributers. There is only one source for MI and I along with many other regulars on this BB am unhappy with the way things have been handled. Why does Jack, who is one damned good programmer need to handle the distribution of Magic; the Gathering? It would seem that someone with a high school education could be taught how to fill card orders in a few days. Then Jack could do that which he is best suited for. It just seems to me to be a p*ss-poor case of personel management. Are you guys trying to emulate the US government? If so you may be giving the BATF and Janice Reno a run for their money!!!! You do seem to be giving a lot of MI players a David Koresh seige mentallity and backing them into a corner. Subj: Turns: LOST/LATE/SENT 2 TIMBUKTU 94-09-05 03:59:10 EDT From: MAMNON Hello again my favorite ABM person (Keith), Quoting you>>If anyone cares..I AM still processing Monster Island on a daily basis. How do i know this? Near my desk is a PILE of MI turns run. Monster Island IS still going strong..and contrary to public beliefs..there is no slowdown in turns going out. Programming and bugs are behind in some cases..VERY far behind..but i am still keeping processing on schedule daily. My motto is always and always will be: In Today..out Today...no exceptions...<< That's funny (but I'm not laughing), I have sent a turn in three times to get it processed once. I have told these fine folks that my monster spent 18 game days in a Kabuki temple square with lighties all around, what I didn't tell them, was that it was simply beyond my control. One of my less than fond memories is the time I received my turn OVER a week late, but the check enclosed with my order card was cashed right on time, and to top it off, ABM set their meterwheel back (shhh... people still think that's a post mark) so that it looked kinda like it was processed on time. Some people think the meterwheel is in the post office, but even those people would be perplexed to see the date on the envelope PRECEDE a turn's input date, hmm... PS: Thanks Keith, for saying SOMETHING -ANYTHING- but when you say that you are not here at the behest of ABM, that is really discouraging. Still, you DO speak for ABM right? So tell me, what's the word? Subj: Losing Players.. Cleaning House? 94-09-05 04:05:24 EDT From: MAMNON I have an immensely high opinion of MANY players who have spoken against ABM. I have to ask myself why they would do such a thing. One thing I always felt about types like: Jerry Hagadorn, Chip Welch, Ben Ramirez, Ben Vincent, Jerry Ritchie, Mark Hall, Chris Meyer, and many others, is that they seemed very level and just. Now some are threatening to quit and the others already have. It is my belief that old steady customers are an asset. And that loyalty should be returned. Why should these some of the finest players in Monster Island be subject to the type of neglect that can force them from the game? I've heard that Jack has expressed concern about the way info is distributed by the experienced players. I have also heard that the newer players are experiencing fewer problems. Hmm... I still have faith in ABM's morality. So I dismiss (respectfully) the notion that was relayed to me: "ABM is doing nothing to draw new players to MI. Many players have felt compelled to drop. Many more are on the way, it's only getting worse. The crystal hills are still there, the 4th edition rulebook has not put out. ABM is cleaning house. They have a potentially great game (especially when they add all the new stuff), but they're stuck with a bunch of old players that will complicate their "game of discovery". When ABM suddenly produces a bitchin new rulebook, gets rid of the crystal hills, and introduces a ton of improvements (religion, new items, races), they'll advertise real big and send brochures to everyone on their handy dandy mailing list. They'll suddenly draw an endless stream of new customers. Their current playership will be very small by comparison. ABM will definitely not want all of those new players "tainted" by the old ones. The new players will also not like the idea of a bunch of veterans with a serious advantage due only to their seniority. The solution? Get rid of the current playership now, before the influx of new players. This is why the players with all the heartaches are uniformly over turn 75. I think though, that another group targeted by ABM is the well connected, since they pose exactly the same problem as the well experienced. Even the butt-kissers are complaining now, I guess none but the young and quite are spared. I know this sounds extreme, but just look around; I think many players have been flagged for the type of "special" treatment that will force them out of MI. I also think that ABM's horrendous campaign to eliminate the top 100-200 players is the surest sign that the game is about to experience tremendous new changes (ie: the far eastern region, demigods, all new religion, new items, new mounts, new races, good customer service, lots of new players, and more)." I think we should give ABM more credit (if only to grant them the benefit of any doubt), but then thoughts like these are encuraged by ABM's conduct... Subj: Monster Island 94-09-05 10:02:09 EDT From: NYNavyMike (Mike Haas) I'm going to put my $.02 worth in...Most of you won't give a hoot, but I hope some of you will listen.. ABM has a right to do whatever they want to do..If they are busy selling Magic Cards, then let them..If you think you can do better, then by all means design your own play-by-mail games, market them, and spend thousands of dollars of your own money before you make a dime..Should be easy for some of you, the way you talk.. I myself have been at times dissatisfied with ABM's service..I have even voiced my opinion on the subject here, along time ago..However, it's not my right to "bash" ABM any more than you guys..If you don't like their service, then LEAVE...Let other people decide for themselves whether they like it or not..I won't say i'm ecstatic, but I still enjoy MI.. It seems some of you quote-toting people would do better debating politics than spending time bashing Keith, Jack, etc...You could charge each other $4.00 a comment, and print out the results on a laser-jet printer..Should make a great PBM game.. Subj: ABMKeith 94-09-05 14:30:44 EDT From: GauchoGlen Ok, I'll bite. Now that we have both stated our viewpoints, huffed and puffed in rightious indignation and then appologized lets get down to buisness. You said that you are responsible for MI and the players so I am going to take you at your word. From now on I am going to hold you to what you promise and, for good or ill, will judge you by the way ABM handles the MI players. If we get good and prompt service and if ABM's representations regarding new additions to the game are met then it will reflect well on you personally, if not then the opposite will be true. For my part I promise you that I will intermitently post my impressions of how you are keeping your promise. Actions speak louder than words- here is a chance to back up all the rightious anger will tangable evidence. A few points I would like a definite response to: 1) Why has ABM not made any attempt to advertise fo new players. As a PBM vet I know that with any open ended game their is a certain amount of attrition. Aquiring new players is therefor vital. Not only has ABM not advertised MI but at both major cons this year MI was noticably absent from your booth (except the "small stack" of MI rulebooks which someone alledgedly saw at orgins-how could I have missed that?) I know that MI used to be extensively advertised. This shows a commitment to keep the game growing. 2) When will ANY of the new changes be implemented? I think that the players desearve a realistic assesment as to when some of the new structures will be opperational and when the hills will come down (Not to mention Demi-gods, creatures hinted at in the rulebook ect.) Responses such as, "In the near future" wont do. We are entitled to an educated guess from Jack which we can rely on. If you say about six months then we should reasonably expect that time frame or, if indeed it will be significantly longer THEN YOU SHOULD KEEP US INFORMED. 3) Jack needs to be accesable for at least part of the day to resond either telephonically or in writing to MI concearns. 4) No inquiry to ABM should go without a response. I know of two instances wherein ABM has ignored correspondence. One involved a two page letter which I wrote to ABM which I was ignored (although you did cash my check which was sent with the letter so don't claim it never arrived- I have a copy of the letter which I would be happy to resubmit) and the other was when a friend of mind wrote Jack to ask some questions and was likewise ignored. This friend has now dropped the game (and since I encouraged him to join I feel slightly vicariously guilty). 5) ABM should take a more active role in the player newsletter (including getting it out on a timely basis). An article by Jack should take a few moments. Significantly there was a great deal of ABM imput in the past which has disappeaed of late. 6) If there is a problem with running a turn or a slowdown in operations then the players should be informed. A breif note goes a long way. OK Keith the balls in your court. I am glad that someone at ABM has the courage to take the heat and be personally responsible for ABM's MI operations. It's your chance to show if you are a man of your word or not. I look foward to your responses to my inquiries. Subj: Re:Monster Island's Demise/m:tg 94-09-06 00:00:20 EDT From: ProPatri I would like to bring up something I've heard from many gaming companies; while they are jealous of Magic: The Gathering's success, they fill it is doing the gaming hobby a service by pumping a lot of cash into the retail stores hands. This cash flow allows the retail establishments (your local game store) to stay in business and stock other products. I think that Magic: the Craziness is going to feed a big boom in the introduction of new products that dealers wouldn't want to risk stocking in other times. So us Grognards should just take a deep breath and wait for the cards to fall. (Pardon the pun :D). Subj: Sour grapes.Nah,I'm just whining 94-09-06 10:29:19 EDT From: Nemesis382 (Mike Pan) Well I've been quietly watching and reading all these "bashing" messeges for quite sometime now. I already put my two cents worth at the beginning of this gripe session, oh about a month ago. Now just to air my personal feelings again...generally speaking, service isn't that bad. You (AbM) did lose a few faxes and re-faxes, but hey it happens. You even over charged my credit card, but you promptly corrected it when I inquired about the error. You have been great and helpful through out my three years playing MI. You're not the problem...it's Jack's, for lack of a better word, "attitude" that has tarnished my view of MI. His constant failure to admit there's a bug in the program is well known. Why can't he just say "you're right, there's a bug and I'll fix it soon", instead he tells us there is "no problem". But there is a problem! Examples...you want examples, here's a couple more recent ones. Do you remember when the DoL was trying to clear out a Loggerhead Camp. We killed over 40 Loggerheads but still could not clear out the camp. We called Jack many times asking about it, since the blurb stated about 2 dozen dwell there. Jack told us the blurb was incorrect. Low and behold, alittle while latter, all the camps were primed to be cleared out. Jack finally admitted there was a problem a month an a half after we brought it to his attention. At least he corrected this error. An now the infamous DoL temple incident. For those of you not familiar with the story, let me fill you in. Not too long ago, a group of Lightsiders were rebuilding a temple ruin and a not so friendly Fuvite group was trying to stop them. Well this Fuvite group did a great job at harrassing the Light followers from finishing this ruin. They finally snuck in and sanctified the temple in the name of their god. But wait you say, how can you sanctify a temple with rival followers in the square... that's what the blurb tells us. Well the Fuvite did and the DoL lost...life's a b*tch. Of course the DoL was upset and quickly called Jack, who simply told us the blurb was wrong and it was a well known fact the blurb was wrong. Well obviously it was not a well known fact. What ever happened to sending all players blurb corrections...I kinda remember AbM doing it in the past. We the DoL should have known about this, seeing many of us were near the first incident which enlightened many Shroudians and Fuvites about this flaw. But the good'ol Fuvite group we were helping didn't inform us about this slight error. Like I said earlier...life's a b*tch. AbM has refused to answer many of our inquires about this incident...yeah, well we are starting to whine about it now, but if you would have somehow corrected this problem, it wouldn't have to resort to whining. Hey, if Jack's burnt out programming MI, why not hire a new computer whiz. It should be easy enough with all the money you're making with Magic. And don't get me started on all those new improvements to be added into the game. It's a shame this just isn't my view alone, but the view of many old DoL members. When you're losing the support of a group actively promoting the game...that's not good. You know we loved the game, hey isn't it a DoL member who runs Bif's and created Monster Mapper. Don't we help out any monster on the island and give them friendly advise. I'm a fool for still playing, but you still have some of my money and I'm just gonna drain it down to zero. Hopefully things will change for the better, until then, this monster won't be playing too much longer. Food for thought -- cancer starts within. -Mike Pan (Nemesis Shureshot, DoL) Subj: ABMKeith's 10 reasons to.... 94-09-07 00:08:05 EDT From: BOSTREDSOX 1) i never said i was a savior 2) i never said i controlled any more than the processing of daily game turns. 3). i have always been loyal to my gameplayers. 4) This is the WRONG place to air gripes. 5) Until further notice, Jack IS still in charge of Monster Island 6). I will do all i can to see that Jack resumes work on Monster Island. 7) Rome wasn't built in a day. 8) If you want fun...head to a Tainted Hollow 9) if you don't......what can i say? 10) for all those who've said there is nothing more to do? what game are you playing? ..eat your heart out Letterman! seriously...in response to you Morgan...i think you have it all wrong. We don't need "Biting" Wit and "Hot" Flames here. We need game discussion. This is a forum for Monster Island game discussion..not company business or policy. A great number of Monster Island players have phoned me recently rather upset with the happenings in this forum. Many people like the game. Many others do not. To each his own. Let's try not to spoil it for the (few)? players that are still having fun. Let's get back to Monster Island..the reason people write in here. --ABMKeith Subj: Re:ABMKeith 94-09-07 02:03:54 EDT From: GauchoGlen Keith does your last note mean that: 1) I won't get a response to my reasonable inquiries? 2) You personally disavow responsibility for replying to my questions? I think that it is rather disingenuous for you to huff and puff in rightious indignation and then, after the fact, attempt to qualify your statements. I for one will not let you off that easy. You threw your personal reputation into the fire and now its time to put up or shut up. Don't take this the wrong way, hopefully the issues I raised will be addressed and you will provide prompt responses to my six questions. Then we as players will know that you are a man who backs up his words with actions. P.S.- "Rome wasn't built in a day" is more vauge than "in the near future" (see my previous note re. vaugness) P.P.S.- This is a forum for discussing MI- all of my questions relate directly to MI. P.P.P.S.- I still enjoy MI and only want to see it get better and to see the players (friends as well as enemies) who make it so much fun stay. P.P.P.P.S.- Yaz is my favorite player of all time. Period. Thanks Keith- I look foward to an unequivocal response to my questions at your earliest convience. Subj: Re: ABMKEITH 94-09-07 15:36:04 EDT From: MAMNON I just called ABM, and one of their oh-so-helpful staff picked up the line. I asked to speak with Jack, and she asked what company I was with. I told her that I was an MI player, and she said I would have to speak with Keith. I guess that about settles the quetion of who is at the helm of MI. Subj: The great silver mystery 94-09-07 23:32:37 EDT From: GauchoGlen Hey folks here is an open ended question...does silver work against undead? I know that silver arms work against undead but I have fought several blood mumi and I have seen no difference between my monsters who use silver armor and the one who does not. (BTW- I have also not seen any wrestling difference between my monster w/TWO silver knuckles and the monster with none) Especially since the silver knuckle blurb specifically refrences bloom mumi. I wrote Jack with this question but (suprise) never got any response. Let me know if anyone out there has any insight. Also what treasure have you gotten after defeating a bloom mumi? Subj: Re:New Guy 94-09-08 01:08:29 EDT From: Ross81 Tim--Despite what some of the BSE guys are saying MI is a great game. I just picked up my second monster this week. You can submit turns by e-mail or by snail-mail, and they always come back snail-mail. Don't believe everything on this board. Some of the older players are getting bored and when that happens they start to complain. Its not that the game is boring just that they think they have found everything there is to find. Also ABM has had some problems but I've been assured that it will soon get back on track. If you're ever looking for a good group the Shadow Guardians are the best!! We follow the wonderful god Fuvah and would love to have you. Just let me know. Ross/Tek'ta, Fuvite Shadow Guardians Subj: ABM: Hangups & Ringalings 94-09-08 04:36:51 EDT From: MAMNON Quoting Keith>>A great number of Monster Island players have phoned me recently rather upset with the happenings in this forum....<< My heart is bleeding profusly for these fine fellows (BTW, would the great many please identify themselves?). I also sympathize with the poor souls who can't even get ABM to come to the phone. There are some people with concerns which are actually valid, matters of great importance that ABM should take care of. Group projects have been laid to waste, monsters have lived and died according to ABM error, accounts have been charged wrongly, these items SHOULD be addressed. It is genuinly sad that so many fine players have been ignored. Hey Ross, Mike and the great number who called Keith, check it: Today (7 SEP, 14:30 EST) I called ABM and asked to speak with Keith, the woman who answered the phone told me to call back in 15 min. When I did, the phone rang, and rang. Then in reward for my patience, the phone was picked up, then hung up (14:50 EST). Of course I was deeply insulted, but not in the least surprised. This has happened before, and to others, but ABM has simply been ignoring their 518)2374870 number lately, only hanging up on the hapless callers when the ringing gets just too annoying. They have a dedicated phone # for Magic orders, a 1 800 number at that, so now when the 4870 phone rings, they know it's one of those darn PBMers. Subj: Re:The great silver mystery 94-09-08 07:20:56 EDT From: CasbahCarl >> Hey folks here is an open ended question...does silver work against >> undead? In my characters' experiences, I've found that silver works well against regular, run of the the mill undead, such as mummies. Like you, I haven't found a real difference against the more exotic undead like Blood Mummies. The blurb couldn't be wrong, could it? :/ Subj: Re:ABM: Hangups & Ringalings 94-09-08 18:26:00 EDT From: ABMKeith You were hung up on Morgan?? I hardly believe so! No one hangs up on anyone at ABM. Did you give someone a reason to hang up on you? I recieved calls from Ross, Glenn, Steve, Jeff, Brian, Bill etc. and YOU in the last week. (that's all i can remember). Why would anyone hang up on you? Are you sure you aren't getting just a bit paranoid? --abmkeith Subj: Re:Simon says... Shut up!! 94-09-08 18:32:14 EDT From: ABMKeith That's fair and good morgan..but all you seem to do is find that "DARK CLOUD" all the time.. when is the last good thing you've said about ABM? Oh, and if you think any of my posts have been flames or deragetory towards our players..maybe you should reread them. I can find nothing that stands out as a flame? Oh, my apologies for not answering your last post. About Jack not coming to the phone. Just because he doesn't come to the phone doesn't mean he isn't in charge. And just because i do answer the phone doesn't mean i am in charge. I hope that better explains things. -k- Subj: Re:Wool over sheep's eyes. 94-09-08 18:36:24 EDT From: ABMKeith Look who's telling others to lighten up... (sigh) --abmkeith Subj: Answer to questions. 94-09-08 22:39:44 EDT From: Abhorrence Let me answer some questions asked by Keith, since no other questions are being answered up here. > "...when is the last good thing you've said about ABM?" There have been 40+ posts by Mamnon (Morgan) where he has openly supported AbM's MI by offering players information and participating in MI discussions. In some of the posts he even supports comments made by Jack (check a post dated 7/27/94). It was until after 40 or so posts that he even began questioning why AbM stopped supporting MI and other games. I would say that this type of active support of a game goes far beyond mere lip service of saying "Gee I like all you AbM guys.", dontcha think? > "Oh, and if you think any of my posts have been flames or deragetory towards our players..maybe you should reread them. I can find nothing that stands out as a flame?" First let me give you the definition (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary) of FLAME: 2. To burst or break out violently or passionately. <flaming with indignation>. Second, the definition of DEROGATORY: 1. Degrading, detracting 2. expressive of a low opinion: DESPARAGING. Now that we have that out of the way, lets take a look at you earlier posts, which you claim are not FLAMES or DEROGATORY. > "When i see others knock the game, i take it personally. When i hear people say we want the game to DIE..i take it personally. I do NOT want MI to die...and as far as i can tell..i have the final word on that." ------ This qualifies as a flame. >"The persons you read about that hate and despise us our former players that couldn't get their own way in the games they played. They spewed venom about us as their only revenge and recourse." ------ This is a degrading statement. >"It's a real hoot to log on here and see the "garbage" filling this forum nightly." ------ I would say that this is degrading. >"If all of you are really so unhappy with ABM..why not just leave? Go away. Leave us and the people that wish to play the games alone? Why? Because you want to stay. You want to make this the most miserable place to be on all of AOL." ------ Another degrading statement. >"This is turning itno one giant cancerous growth spreading daily. It's the same people poisoning the minds of people that really don't even have a clue to what it is you are even talking about." ------ This qualifies as a flame. >"Are you sure you aren't getting just a bit paranoid?" ------ Degrading. Well, I did my part and addressed a question from AbM, now when will all the question from all the people up here be addressed? Oh, one more thing, I found multiple mentions from Keith that he could be considered (or is) a GM for MI. If this is not the case (as he now says) then he should refrain from saying such things. I say this because he will simply hurt his credibililty when he is called on as a GM to respond to certain questions, like the one he now faces. If he cannot correctly address the question put up here, then he should have someone with the knowledge and experience do it. By the way, I still think people should lighten up. This is (and always has been) a discussion concerning the lack of support that AbM has shown up here, and at no time has anyone made personal attacks or comments against specific individuals of AbM (the reverse cannot be said.). When one gets up here and tell people to shut up and leave because they don't want to listen to what they have to say, one is attacking the individual. Subj: Re:Answer to questions. 94-09-08 23:01:53 EDT From: GauchoGlen Abhorrence- Bravo! Masterfull! Nothing tastes worse to a person than to eat his own words. Keith has left a paper trail. He has made many statements and then attempted to qualify or outright deny them after the fact. Fortunitly we can go back and reread these posts. Your highlighting the duplicity by exerting the choice portions of his messages is what we attorneys call impeaching a witness. Comfronting a person with his own words is the best way to discredit them. (wait- the last refuge of the cornered is to claim that the quotes are "taken out of context.") Subj: Re:The great silver mystery 94-09-08 23:45:03 EDT From: GauchoGlen Chuck--While silver weapons seem to work better against Undead I'm not so sure about silver armor (not to mention rings, charms, bone neckess ect.) As for the knuckes who knows? Do you have any experience with silver v nonsilver armor against undead? My monsters (one with all the silver items mentioned above) and the other with none seem to take just as much damage from undead. Hmmm.... Have you gotten by a Blood Mumi yet? If so what did you find? Subj: Re:RE: New Guy 94-09-09 00:55:11 EDT From: Shdowspwn Morgan, Quoting Morgan > BTW, (to all), *I couldn't care less* about the new things that may or may not be developed. What I insist on, is that I get what >I pay for. It seems that 4 or more monsters can't co-op together lately since ABM can't manage to process 4 turns (in a row) >reliably AND on time. Funny, I seem to have very few problems with that. With one notable exception whenever I send in my turns they get processed on the same day and are in my mailbox in two days. BTW, here's a hint, if you REALLY want to make sure your turns will get attention call Keith tell him there coming and THEN fax them or whatever it is you do to send yours in. I Faxed 4 turns for 4 different monsters on two different turn cycles on Friday and had them all in my hand by Wednesday and I don't blame Keith for the delay I blame the wonderful mail service in this country that takes three weeks to get a notice of a dental appointment 2.5 miles. >Russ, all I want is for MI to take care of their customers. I'm tired of ignore-ance. If they make an error they should fix it. And I >want to have at least a little faith that my turn will come back WITHOUT errors. Unfortunatly, I'm lucky if I even GET a turn back! > I don't EXPECT a turn in my mailbox anymore, if it come it does and if it doesn't then I call, get the run-around, then send another >one in. When I get errors, I just keep on truck'n, Shroud's Own manages to kill even WITH crippling errors. I guess we're just that >good. Still, it's not fair for those who feel they should get what they pay for. Morgan, I'm not sure why you addressed that last paragraph to me. Unless you misplaced a "O" with a "U". Or maybe it was a continuation of my previous post. But that post was mostly in regards to the fact that suddenly the board was being overun with messages from people acting like authorities that I had never heard of before and the ones I did recognize were BSE players. If the BSE players want to throw an occasional cut in at ABM that's one thing but they were the only people talking for what seemed like weeks. This is an MI board not a bash ABM board or lets say how unhappy we are board so that we can further try to hurt ABM since they aren't paying attention to us board. If I have a problem I take to the people responsible and they either fix it or they give me a reasonable explannation or they don't get my money anymore. I'm involved in other games and it seems like everyone puts all kinds of things on hiatus for the major cons during the summer. I've seen it before and it happened again this year. Personally, I always plan for a bit of a slow down in the summer and spend the extra money on things like amusement parks, baseball games, and golf. Unfortunately, Baseball went on strike and that's when I started to get antsy and want more service and it was still a few weeks before Gencon. Hopefully, now that all the major cons are past things will get a little more back to normal. And, you say the employee you got sent you to Keith? The one I got didn't even know who Keith was and sent me to Bob who then sent me to Keith. Of course, Jack was at Gencon at the time but Keith has told me before that Jack doesn't really want to talk to anyone and only talks to Magic Dealers because it such a good income source he HAS to. Otherwise, Jack would just sit and Program. Subj: Re:ABM: Hangups & Ringalings Date: 94-09-08 18:26:00 EDT From: ABMKeith You were hung up on Morgan?? I hardly believe so! No one hangs up on anyone at ABM. Did you give someone a reason to hang up on you? I recieved calls from Ross, Glenn, Steve, Jeff, Brian, Bill etc. and YOU in the last week. (that's all i can remember). Why would anyone hang up on you? Are you sure you aren't getting just a bit paranoid? --abmkeith<<< Also, Keith, it would be much better if you responded to people's questions rather than trying to come up with snappy comebacks. Essentially, what Morgan (or perhaps it was Glen) said: put up or shut up. One more thing for the record: I'm a former BSE player. Does that make my input on AbM and MI of no value? Count my messages, and those of other "accused" ex-BSE players. I think you'll find that we toss in one or two messages for every 20 or 30 that the MI players themselves generate. This forum doesn't need us to keep this issue rolling, so whoever keeps making that insinuation should review the postings a little more thoroughly. It is disingenuous, ill-informed, and rather rude to accuse the BSE players of causing trouble here: this is not the case at all. Subj: ABM hangs up 94-09-09 06:38:24 EDT From: MAMNON Quoting Keith>>You were hung up on Morgan?? I hardly believe so! No one hangs up on anyone at ABM.<< Keith, I left the most insulting part of your statement out, so maybe we can forget that it was said. However, I take real offense when someone challenges my integrity. This is not the game. I will have a phone bill that will show two 1 min. calls to (518)237-4870 on the the date of 7 Sept, and you will have an apology to make. You can start right now, if you'd like to recover your face. Subj: Blood Moon Tribune 94-09-09 06:39:54 EDT From: MAMNON >>Also ABM has had some problems but I've been assured it will soon get back on track.<< And the cow jumped over the (blood) moon. I'm tired of waiting for the Bood Moon Tribune to come out, ABM has been siting on it for ages now. Come one, come all, any who want a copy may email me their US mail address and I'll send you a copy free of charge (my pleasure). It's the best one yet (and the last from me). It was guest edited by a fine talent named Tracey L Waterman. Subj: Re:ABM: Hangups & Ringalings 94-09-09 16:43:02 EDT From: Cashew Nut Keith -- You forgot to mention you got a call from me last week. I called and the line was busy, I called a few minutes later and the phone rang and rang and rang, over twenty fives times. I called again a few minutes later and finally it was answered. I called to complain about my turn being over a four weeks late. Thankfully I finally received it, this week. Subj: Re:Wool over sheep's eyes. 94-09-09 19:36:51 EDT From: Ross81 Alright, I see what you mean. I just hope MI gets back to normal soon. But complaining is still not the answer. We should work with ABM not against them, or the other way around for that matter. Subj: Re:Some suffer more, some less 94-09-09 20:35:59 EDT From: Shdowspwn Morgan, I didn't say the mail was at the root of all the problems. But, they are far from perfect. And, I AM still trying to figure out how when I faxed two turns on one sheet of paper one got proccessed right on time and the other "never arrived". However, my biggest complaints on MI are from a time when you were all gung ho for it and Jack was more involved. Jack cost me group members and if he doesn't want to get on the phone or handle complaints that's OK with me. Subj: Quit yer d*** whining 94-09-09 21:13:09 EDT From: SteveS1709 Geez, I wait 2 days since I last checked this area and there's about 24 messages... about 3 of them worth reading. Guess what? This whining is doing very little to change ABM, and AOL is making a fortune off of us when we write, then sift through all this crap. Also, who ever said ABM was perfect? I'll wait 'til Oct. to see the promised reforms. On to a real question: has anyone ever entered a Tainted Hollow? How/ what light source, etc? Steve. Subj: And now ... 94-09-10 19:19:22 EDT From: Beekums ... for something completely different. Is one Class Four weapon as good as another Class Four weapon? Like other players, I've got my monsters chasing around trying to find exotic edged weapons and the like. Other than the thrill of adventure (which I'm not discounting) does one class of weapons make a difference in monster v. monster battles??? Here are the various rumors I've heard. 1) Pole weapons help defensively. 2) Edged weapons do more damage. 3) Bashing weapons do more damage (sound familiar?). 4) Silver weapons do more damage against some creatures in dark places. 5) Silver armor reduces damage taken from creatures in dark places. 6) Pointed weapons are not as effective in battles. Anything to add? To confirm? Correct? Subj: Re:Quit yer d*** whining 94-09-11 17:35:35 EDT From: Shdowspwn (Russ Calkins) I've been in Tainted Hollows. I'd heard that you could get in with just torches. However, that didn't work for me. The torchlight spell did, but then all I did was wander around lost and come back out after 40 AP's wasted. Obviously something more is needed. Subj: Question... 94-09-12 01:25:26 EDT From: Tim Kline Well, I still have yet to recieve my first turn... hopefully I'll get it soon. :) But I was wondering... what happens when your monster dies? Are you reincarnated with little or nothing and far from home, or do you have to start ALL over again or what? --Stormrider Subj: Re: Death 94-09-12 02:44:01 EDT From: MAMNON Quoting Tim>>But I was wondering... what happens when your monster dies? Are you reincarnated with little or nothing and far from home, or do you have to start ALL over again or what?<< Hey Tim, How's it go'n? As for your question, I would direct you to the authorities on death (ie: The White Tiger Clan, and The Black Death). Shroud's Own has aided these two groups in achieving their status as 1st & 2nd on the list of groups with most members killed. We of Shroud's Own are quite proud to have assisted them in their quest for death. The White Tigers & The Black Death both enjoy the dubious distinction of having had approx. 30% of their active members killed (give or take about 5%). So, I'd have to say, "they're the experts." Subj: Re:Question... 94-09-12 10:27:55 EDT From: CasbahCarl >> But I was wondering... what happens when your monster dies? >> Are you reincarnated with little or nothing and far from home, >> or do you have to start ALL over again or what? Greetings Stormrider, One of my monsters, a Shroudian called Fangor, was killed by the vile and disgusting members of the White Tiger Clan, may their hearts be eaten by a Ghoul Buzzard. Anyway, in answer to your question, you lose about 10 percent of your stats (except health, where you lose 100%) and you lose all of your weapons, armor and other things you were carrying. You become a ghost in the spot where you were killed, and you get to watch as a ghost your murderers void the bladders on your poor, mistreated carcass. ;) On your next turn you can start travelling to a temple of your god for resurrection. Oh, but that's only if you've reached acolyte status. Anytime before, or if you haven't followed a god, then you're dead for good. You can get killed up to three times and still get resurrected. After that then you're dead for good too. Having a character travel as a ghost is not very exciting, so I'd recommend against it. ;) Subj: Toughness 94-09-12 23:04:17 EDT From: Cashew Nut Here is a copy of a letter I sent to Keith, can anyone answer it? >> Subj: Toughness >> Date: 94-09-06 19:00:42 EDT >> From: Cashew Nut >> To: ABMKeith >> Hi Keith: What, why, or when does toughness go up. I just realized Boa >> has only gone up 2 points in toughness in 32 turns. On the other hand >> Ridin' Rice Burner has gone up 11 points in only 10 turns. How can I >> increase Boa's toughness? Has anyone else had any problem with toughness not going up? Any info will be helpfull. Thanks. Subj: Re: Toughness 94-09-13 06:21:56 EDT From: MAMNON Hey Kathy, Boa needs to head east to get tough. If at any time a monster fails to get toughness 'tween turns, then he is too far west for his turn level. The Shroud's Own temple sits on the cut-off line for turn 50 toughness. Turn 62 toughness is right around our 0 east line. Subj: Re:Toughness 94-09-13 07:16:51 EDT From: CasbahCarl >> Has anyone else had any problem with toughness not going up? >> Any info will be helpfull. About 20-30 turns ago, Sol-Rac went through a period of time without gaining any toughness. I think it lasted about eight to 12 turns. I called ABM about it and as I recall was told that was the breaks. Sol-Rac at the time was heading northeast and then east, so he was travelling in the right direction. A friend whose character was travelling due east nearby continued gaining toughness. Subj: Re:RE: ABM's service 94-09-13 17:17:04 EDT From: SLIP JEEM Don't waste your money calling abm this week as I was told this morning that Keith is on vacation until then!!! Subj: Come on guys........ Date: 94-09-13 23:22:13 EDT From: ABMBob The purpose of Jack's post was to inform everyone there might be another delay...not to provoke even more complaints. We are being 100% square with you about the BSE delay and what's going on. Stop trying to read more into this than there really is. To date we have added 7 new staff members, and its simply still not enough. We've added 7 new computers, a new network, lots of software, hired an outside consultant, and a myriad of other things to get this under control so that Jack, Mike and myself (Bob) can devote more time to the PBM areas of our business. We have plans to add at least 3 more staff members in the coming month. People are being trained, and yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Let me repeat....BSE is the only game whose turnaround was affected by the recent growth in our business. MI was affected in that Jack didn't have time to program new modules into the game recently. Those are the ONLY two affects this has had on our PBM business. Keep in mind that BSE has been offering very good turnaround for 14 years previoiusly. So, although a couple of you might think we are lying thru our teeth, what we've posted is the truth. Sure, things change with time....maybe we'll hire 2 new people this month, not 3 as I mentioned above (or it might be 4 or 5)....but the underlying concepts are correct. We are working frantically to get everything back to normal. We are sorry that some players always want to believe the worst in any given situation, even when there are no facts to support such beliefs. All we can do is continue to keep you informed and thank you for your patience. Subj: From ABMBob 94-09-14 00:51:11 EDT From: ABMBob I usually don't monitor the MI folder as I'm usually pretty clueless about specific game details and wouldn't be of much help to most of you. I thought I'd check it out tonight and it seems that there are a couple things I do have to say after all: A) From my end I see only two problems with the MI service you've been receiving from ABM. Corrections are taking longer to be done and Jack isn't adding new modules to the game quick enough to keep long time players happy. Unfortunately, anything that takes Jack's time is going to suffer a delay. We aren't happy about this either. You have our apologies if you are one of the few who suffer from a correction being overdue. We are doing everything possible to return things to the way they were and get Jack back on MI. B) I can't believe the discussion that's going on about somebody being hung up on! In the past couple months we've installed two completely new phone systems. We've added 6-7 new phone lines and 7 new staff members. Yes, there have been days when the phones have rung and rung, simply because the phone technician hadn't arrived yet to run the wires from the new lines into our KSU. There's no underhanded plot to avoid your calls. Yes, there have even been days when we've been programming the new phone systems and may have picked up on your call and disconnected you. You have our apologies for that if it happened to you. We've also added 7 new staff members...mostly sales people for Magic. Yes, these are new people. They are being trained about all our products but their main job is to take orders. They will be curteous to you and try to route your call to someone who can help you. If they are not, I'd like to hear about it. C) Yes, Keith is on a well deserved vacation this week....and I hope he spends his entire time trying to dry out after hitting that 50 ft drop at the end of Splash Mountain, and doesn't think about MI until he gets back. You all may not realize this but Keith is the best ally you could have here. Stop trying to make him the bad guy and twist his words around. He's your voice at ABM. BTW, while Keith is on vacation Jack is supervising a data entry temp to keep the turn processing on time for both MI and Quest. D) Glen wants answers to his 6 questions. I believe we've already covered some of them but here goes: 1) Why have we not advertised to new players? The answer is simple. PBM advertising is vastly expensive in relation to the response. It has to be carefully done. Contrary to popular belief, advertising in PBM magazines does not get players to any great degree. You'll notice we did an insert in Cryptych for both MI and Quest not long ago. We ARE actively recruiting a LOT of new players from various computer nets. We are criticized for not publicizing our PBM products at ORIGINS. Nobody ever praised us when we lost money every year for the last 10 years going to ORIGINS to support our games and conduct seminars! The one year we go to a convention to actually make a profit, we are condemned. I guess the point of this topic actually is that you are asking us to demonstrate we plan on supporting MI by advertising for new players. The answer is YES, we plan on advertising MI and recruiting new players. And one thing that may not have occured to you is that maybe, just maybe, some of the profits from Magic could be used to build up the PBM side of our business in a major way! We have a design or two in the works that you wouldn't believe, and just never had the resources to implement! 2) When will any new changes to MI be implemented? I can't venture a guess. All I can say is that we are doing all we can to train people to take over areas of Jack's responsibilities. No one can take over his MI duties and programming, but they can replace him in other areas. The problem lately has been that when we hire 2 new people, business grows and we find we actually needed 4! We are fighting to catch up and hopefully pull ahead for a while. 3) Jack needs to be accessable. Yes, and this is already true. He is often accessable. There are times, sometimes days at a time, when he's super busy and inaccessable for MI calls. This is unavoidable, and (again) should clear up when we have enough staff to assist him. 4) No inquiry should be ignored. Yes, I agree completely. Sometimes what you see as being ignored is actually sitting on Jack's desk waiting for a resolution. We try to address ALL correspondence as best we can and there is no "policy" to ever ignore anyone's questions. 5) ABM should be more involved in the newsletter. Jack again needs to be the one involved here. Same reply as the past. 6) Inform players of a slowdown or problem with a turn. The answer to this one is easy. There hasn't been any MI slowdown. If there's a problem with a turn, our policy is to try and correct it so the player never even was aware of the problem in the first place. Obviously this isn't always possible. When there is such a problem we should inform you, and I know this hasn't always happened. We are flattered that you all are so involved with MI that you can become emotional over anything less than perfection. Some of you won't be happy with anything but direct access to Jack at all times, and his full attention on MI. I won't mislead you and say that this will happen at any specific time. I can assure you though, that MI is a game we plan on supporting and running for a long time. If some of you want to put your monsters on vacation for a while until new areas of the game open up, by all means do so. If some of you want to quit a game that has given you so much enjoyment over the years, that is your choice. Just remember the fun you've had in MI, and don't do newer players any disservice. Simply realize that for now you have reached a point in the game where you have learned all there is to learn. Subj: RE: ABMBOB 94-09-14 03:28:52 EDT From: MAMNON Well Bob, I must say, I'm am pleased. I am glad that ABM has addressed our concerns. I am very happy to see Glens questions answered, and to be advised of the situation at ABM. I am looking forward to your service returning to it's previously high standards, and given your recent post that seems likely, if a little uncertain in the timing. As far as the improvements and new modules go, they have always sounded good to me, but my biggest concern is service and bugs. I hope these items are given higher priority than the new things. Thank you for your very level and substantial response to Glens questions, and the rest of our posts. Subj: Re:RE: ABM's service 94-09-14 15:59:39 EDT From: SLIP JEEM They have added 7 new staff, none of which know how to check to see if a monsters turn has been run! (Keith's vacation is over on Monday) Subj: Re:Toughness 94-09-14 21:59:19 EDT From: SteveS1709 Toughness maxes out depending on the race of your monster... mine maxed out about 25 turns ago. Subj: BMT plus Jack's ramblings 94-09-14 22:35:27 EDT From: ABMJack Yep, it's my fault it hasn't gotten out. Just been way too busy to get to it. Each day I have more than one hundred tasks I need to do. Each day I get 4-12 of them done. Each day the number of new tasks grows by 6-18. Get the picture? I work 60-80 hours a week (and so do Bob and Mike). The phone is constantly ringing off the hook. Or busy and many can't get through (we lost a huge dealer order/Magic because of this....huge!). [To give you an idea of how crazy it is here, we're already have had to toss out and install a Second new phone system in the a span of 3 months. We're simply doing the best we can do right now. As for accepting calls, except for Mark Hall, I'm not taking any MI calls. Nor am I taking dealer calls anymore. Just not physically possible. This week, for example, Keith is on vacation. So we have a temp in to input MI and Quest this week, and I have to supervise her, run the games out, check 'em, etc. I don't have time to do it. I'm just doing it anyway. Incidentally, yesterday I readied the BMT (i.e. printed up a new Group Listing). But haven't had it printed yet...still hope to have it out finally next week. You can all through Mud Pies at me if it'll make you feel any better. Hey, I FINALLY have a computer for home, so I shall try to keep up with the msgs here. One more thing, Don't you think we want to give great service for our PBM games? Of course we do! We even take pride in doing so. And as I stated before, it's very frustrating we can't keep up with everything at the moment. But it sure doesn't mean we don't want to! -- Jack (tired, frazzled, and in deep need of a long vacation. What IS the number of the Monster Island Tourist Board? Me and Nada have got to go huntin'!) Subj: By my count 94-09-14 22:48:55 EDT From: ABMJack Bob can't count. We've added 8.5 people (not including one we trained and dismissed cause he didn't work out). Btw: Anyone notice how slow we've been at depositing your checks? I'm lucky if I get to this even once a week now! Subj: Re:Jack and Bob 94-09-15 18:37:32 EDT From: RobertJ896 A pleasure to see both of these ABM folks on the board here and answering questions. Somehow, I think that if this had been done a month or two ago we wouldn't have had to put up with all the rambling lunacy of the complaint crowd here. Nice to see ABM getting a handle on things! Subj: Re: Gnit Gnats 94-09-15 20:21:21 EDT From: Beekums Ahhhggggg!!!!! I've got gnit gnats! Shame shame, nothing but shame. Get 'em off, ahhhhgggggg!!!!!! Subj: X'ing inactives.. 94-09-15 23:20:07 EDT From: SteveS1709 Hey, the way I see it... it's tough enough to kill another monster by yourself... why not nail a follower of the opposite religion at every opportunity? I've seen tough monsters get KO'd because the player went on a 2 week vacation. I would expect nothing less from my enemies! Subj: Timeliness 94-09-16 14:04:40 EDT From: CasbahCarl I'd like to jump in with a compliment on ABM's service. I faxed in turns for three monsters this week (on Tuesday the 13th, at 3:18 p.m.). Well, I was stunned to get all three back on Thursday!! The turns were processed within 10 minutes of being faxed in and must have been snail-mailed right away (I get my mail in Washington, D.C., which was recently certified by the Postal Commission and others to have the slowest mail delivery in the nation). I couldn't believe it! That was absolutely, without question, the fastest turn around I've experienced in the two years that I've been playing Monster Island. And it was a temp yet, who was inputting the turns while Keith's on vacaction. Hmmm...say Keith, maybe you should go on vacation more often. ;) Subj: Re: Gnit Gnats 94-09-16 21:56:12 EDT From: Fasolt Lord, I hate them! Shed them once, but they're back again! Subj: Re: Gnit Gnats 94-09-17 23:28:34 EDT From: RobertJ896 Why are you guys carping? Free combat every turn, and they're a pushover!! If you don't like 'em, end your turn at a Far Structure! Or make some Gnitgnoff! Subj: Re:Toughness 94-09-19 19:14:45 EDT From: Shdowspwn I don't think your toughness maxes out. I'm over turn #150 and I gained a toughness on my last turn. Subj: Re: Gnit Gnats 94-09-19 19:21:30 EDT From: Shdowspwn I've got`em and I love em. I need the missile practice. Subj: Re: Kieth's Vacation 94-09-19 19:24:04 EDT From: Shdowspwn Mine was screwed up in the other direction. I called to see if my turn had been run since Keith was on vacation and was told NO turns were being processed that week. I then found my turn on the bottom of a pile of mail in at 3 in the morning. Those phone answerers need a little more training. Subj: Competition Among Groups 94-09-20 20:36:25 EDT From: Beekums Since there have been a few shake ups around here, perhaps group leaders/board reps could provide some info on their groups. Numbers of members? Religious affiliation, if any? Area(s) where most active? Ambassadors (sp) to other groups? Recruiting Contacts? Start date? A SHORT (25 words or less) description of goals. ::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::::ABM::::::::::AOL::::::::: +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ " No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money as well. " -- Margaret Thatcher, TV interview 1-6-86 Up