Notes from a *healthy* Newsgroup.
Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It was multiplayer - it wasn’t massive. :) -W Background: The first massivly multiplayer online game *ever* was Kesmai’s Air Warrior which went live on Genie in 1987. 1. No, it wasn’t. It was WarLords. Pre-1985. 2. We’ve seen the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe, we’ve heard the duckjob.wav. I haven’t. Would you mind reposting them? It would be the first time I’ve read something useful from you.
1. It is quite possible we are not discussing the same game of Warlords. There have been serveral, completely different. The one I have in mind was a multiplayer text space adventure game. 2. Massive is in the eyes of the beholder. And where’s the cookie recipe?
Response:
You and Skippy share the *same* test of the worth of a person I see. What I just posted was the most usefull thing I’ve ever posted.
1. Eh? Too obscure, Wayne. 2. No, you didn’t post the *.wav or the recipe.
Response:
You and Skippy share the *same* test of the worth of a person I see. What I just posted was the most usefull thing I’ve ever posted. 1. Eh? Too obscure, Wayne. 2. No, you didn’t post the *.wav or the recipe.
EMAIL IT TO HIM……EVERY HOUR!!
Response:
I’m not that cruel…. -WA1MKH
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You and Skippy share the *same* test of the worth of a person I see. What I just posted was the most usefull thing I’ve ever posted. 1. Eh? Too obscure, Wayne. 2. No, you didn’t post the *.wav or the recipe. EMAIL IT TO HIM……EVERY HOUR!!
Response:
It was multiplayer - it wasn’t massive. :) -W
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Background: The first massivly multiplayer online game *ever* was Kesmai’s Air Warrior which went live on Genie in 1987. 1. No, it wasn’t. It was WarLords. Pre-1985. 2. We’ve seen the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe, we’ve heard the duckjob.wav. I haven’t. Would you mind reposting them? It would be the first time I’ve read something useful from you.
Response:
You and Skippy share the *same* test of the worth of a person I see. What I just posted was the most usefull thing I’ve ever posted. I’m done replying, and this thread doesn’t relvolve around you. -W
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It would be the first time I’ve read something useful from you.
Response:
Background: The first massivly multiplayer online game *ever* was Kesmai’s Air Warrior which went live on Genie in 1987.
1. No, it wasn’t. It was WarLords. Pre-1985. 2. We’ve seen the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe, we’ve heard the duckjob.wav. I haven’t. Would you mind reposting them? It would be the first time I’ve read something useful from you.
Response:
Background: The first massivly multiplayer online game *ever* was Kesmai’s Air Warrior which went live on Genie in 1987. The community that evolved around this game broke a *lot* of ground in the science of the care and feeding of internet communities. Alas, EA bought Kesmai (and Air Warrior) and with the recent folding of of EA.com the passtime itself has died. <pauses for gratuitous moment of silence The remarkable thing though, is that the core community is stronger than ever. A private NNTP server went up before the old boards even came down! The *people* refuse to part ways. The friends made have become "real". One person there recently had a heart attack, after he called 911, he posted to the NG to ask for prayers from the masses. It was then we all recognized the power of this medium. Most had never met this guy, but we prayed our asses off that we wouldn’t lose soemone who had been a friend for years online. And the fact that he thought to tell *us* at all, as a priority, spoke volumes about what we’ve created via a simple newsgroup. Someone (half jokingly) made up an FAQ for our new newsgroup. But within it are all the clues gleaned over years of online communication and community building. Some of you will read this and see little of value. Others will glean some gems. I’m sorry the text wrapped funny. All I can do is fill the water tray – I can’t force people to drink. -W PS: The first paragraph is specific to the game environment – but you could readily substitite any hobby there and make it relevant to any newsgroup. Attn: Fish! Or "An FAQ for those new to the newsgroup" So you’ve decided to wander into ******* ? First things first. You aren’t anything new or exciting. We don’t care how long you’ve been playing, we don’t care about your kill totals, points, who you’ve killed or what you killed them with. Your seemingly fresh, inventive, and righteous viewpoints will likely be picked apart in a manner so vicious and rampant that vultures will find it repulsive. We don’t care what you do for a living. We don’t care about your accomplishments within a game. This is an electronic bullshit session that never ends. It is a neighborhood bar recreated for a bad Sci-fi channel, late night, made for TV special. It never really changes, it just gets an occasional new face. That being said, it’s time to set some ground rules: 1. Topics. Guns, God, and politics. I dare you to start a conversation on any of these three topics. You can argue all you want, your arguments have not only been heard before, they have been fought over inch by inch like a WW1 battlefield. Healthy discussion of any and all topics is encouraged, but don’t be surprised when the flames start flying. (note: if you don’t know what a flame is, RUN, don’t walk, to the nearest exit. This isn’t the place for you.) If you can’t take a little drubbing now and then, this isn’t the place for you. Your points will be countered, both by closed minded folk who know they’re right and you’re wrong, As well as by open minded people who enjoy discussion. Idiots are encouraged to shoot their mouths off, and they usually do. Be prepared to defend every aspect of any topic you bring up. No one will say: "You’ve got a point. You’re right, I’m wrong, I’ll drop my arguments." 2. Posts. If you’re here, you likely have some rudimentary knowledge of how to use a newsreader. Congratulations. However, you’re no Jean-Luc Picard. HTML is a wonderful markup language, but it was not made for posting to newsgroups. HTML is considered a symptom of the disease known as cluelessness. If your concepts don’t stand up as plain text, turning them into red, 96 point wingdings won’t help. Also note that just to the left of your "a" key is the caps lock key, it should be used only when necessary. As a matter of courtesy, outlook users who add everyone into their address book will be shot. It goes without saying virii and other bits of malicious code will be reported to abuse and local authorities. If you’re lucky. Links to web sites are nice; try not to wrap them. If the link isn’t very intuitive, provide a short description. We’re a lazy lot. Make your subjects concise. Try not to re-use subject titles, as some news readers like to lose them in the shuffle of posts and there are roughly 200-400 posts per 24 hour period. Don’t be a seagull. (Fly in, crap all over everything, then leave. It’s rude.) DON’T SPAM. Everyone has a kill file and knows how to use it. We’ve seen the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe, we’ve heard the duckjob.wav. Got a cool picture? Don’t post it as a bitmap (.BMP). Flash Games and other "cool" E-mail forwarded executables can be the host for spyware, ad-ware and other annoyances. 3. Trolls. Go right ahead and try. Even the biggest fish in these waters have hook scars. But it’s not a socially acceptable way of introducing yourself. If you’re a fresh fish, it would be wise to wait and see who should and shouldn’t be trolled. You don’t want to hook a 12-ft marlin while looking for a guppy. 4. Courtesy and Ethics. Discussions get heated around here. If you don’t like it, walk away. It’s a big scary world out there, but if you can’t take a bloody nose, you should go back to an AOL community chat. The insults here are generally good-natured, but mostly because the people insulting each other have been doing so for the past few years. Don’t expect to waltz in and be able to call somebody a rim-jobbing, poodle pumping, cockmaster after a day or two. Don’t expect to call someone a wetback-kyke-spic-jig-hun-gook-dago- wop-camel jockey – *ever*. People share some personal life details here. Woe to the scum sucking bastich that uses those shared tidbits to hurt someone later during the heat of battle. And if things get really bad with you and another person here, Please take it to e-mail. While it’s there, keep it there. If it gets that bad, the rest of us don’t want to hear about it. There’s nothing worse than seeing "well he called me this in an e-mail he sent me." It’s time for the first use of the double standard phrase you’ll hear around these parts. "Grow Up." We’re all adults around here. If not chronologically, then at least mentally, though we do tend to act childishly for the majority of the day. Subscribe to the news group, read the discussions for a few days, (this is known as lurking.) then decide if you want to toss your hat in the ring. We are a generally accepting lot. We are user friendly, but we can be rather selective about who our friends are. Do yourself a favor. Get in the ford explorer, take the dollar tour of jurassic park, then decide if you want to get out and walk around. And don’t go pissing in the T-rex enclosure. 5. Grammar and Spelling. We make English teachers cry. You have a newsreader. It has a spell checker. I strongly suggest you use it. Don’t get pissy about being corrected on the usage of "You’re" and "They’re." You’ve probably graduated middle school by this point, should you want to have dinner at the adults table, you should be able to speak the language. "U", "R", "cuz", and any other abbreviations of common words don’t fly in a series debate. 6. Enjoy yourself. This isn’t a bad place, it just has a very steep learning curve. There is a nice relaxed atmosphere that is punctuated with alternating levels of maturity and immaturity. Learn which one is which, and which one is appropriate. This is a public board, with no form of censorship, no corporate affiliations, and no terms of service. Every rule here is unwritten, except for what you’re reading now. Even these aren’t written rules. They’re *suggestions* on conduct. I suggest you follow them. 7. If you don’t know, ask. Stupid questions are forgotten far faster than stupid actions. 8. Words of Wisdom –Before you post, think.
Response:
Filed under: Community building
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