Timewaster's Guide Archive
General => Suggestions Box => Topic started by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on September 05, 2003, 11:36:45 PM
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Ok, I'm going to start doing the "staff picks" articles. Probably do them bi-weekly. See how that goes. Make them more or less frequent depending on response.
So email your picks to [email protected]
The picks this time around are for Paper and Dice RPGs. I want one or two sentences on SYSTEMS (not rule books, not setting, mood, or genre, SYSTEMS) you would recommend people try. They can be common systems or unknown, obscure ones. In print or out of print. But I want system recommendations for our readership.
Rules:
- No more than three recommendations
- Limit your explanation for WHY we should play the system to 50 words or less.
- email them to me at the above addres. Don't post them.
- Deadline is 11:59 PM (that's 23:59 for you military folks) on September 12, 2003. (Though realistically if I have it before I submit the article I'll probably still include it).
I'll compile the list and make it presentable. Let me know if you want your real name or your TWG forum display name attached to it. If you don't tell me, I'll assume forum display name.
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Okay, I just want to point out that this is often the source of shattered dreams: one person will come up with an idea, immediately tell everyone else to jump on, and inevitably grumbles when nobody does. I'm not saying that Staff Picks are a bad idea--in fact, I hope it works out--but I'm saying that you should not be surprised or angry if nobody else participates in this idea that you just made up and got no feedback on.
How often are we going to do Staff Picks? How many of our responses are you going to post per article? How far in advance are we going to know about them? Just curious.
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I'm starting with bi-weekly. Adjusting from there if I get some response but need more time or get a lot of response and people want to see them every week.
I forgot to post the deadline, I'm fixing that. I'm making deadlines on the Friday before I plan to submit the article. Which I will do before Monday morning. This, if it works out, will be a good monday or tuesday post. every other week or so.
Reckon I'll give you a week's notice. Submissions are due Friday at 11:59PM, for this one, they're due by that time on september 12th.
I will post all responses in a single article. If that's three people, than so be it. If it's 20 people, so be that too.
If it's no one, then I'll just stop doing it. :)
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Pesonly I don't like staff picks. why? Because no one cares. Anyone who has any attachment to TWG or a certain staff memeber allready knows what we like dislike becasuse of the forums. It's not like Penny-arcade or some site where 1) People care about indivigual staff members 2) Neither Tycho or Gabe are active on thier forums.
I think this is a waste of time that could be used for actual content.
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what other "actual content" are you referring to?
And my target audience are not the posters in the forum. It's the people who see us only on the main page.
I know for a fact that at least three publishing companies are going to link to us soon (well, that's probably provided they get good reviews -- but at least two of them are getting those, and I haven't read the third). That means new readers who aren't reading this forum necessarily.
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actual content is something people ACTUALY want to read, like reviews, rants, other articles. Staff picks aren't something. For me to want to read someones recomendations I have to care what that person thinks. I doubt many people that come here just for a look every once and a while do care.
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So what you're saying is YOU wouldn't read it, so no one would....
The idea works in stores. People check out titles posted there. It's like a different way of advertising wares.
I reckon we'll have reviews for most of those products, and this would obviously link to those reviews, which increases page hits.
And my point is, it's not interrupting any other content if no one is writing any content.
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It's a stupid idea
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SPrig, I'm gona give you the benefit of a doubt and assume someone's using your account without your knowledge, but if not, you should know that you're being a ... well... I won't say that word. But you're definitely being one. If you don't like the idea, don't contribute to it, don't read it. If no one else likes it, it'll die. What's with all the bad attitude and insults?
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If you don't want people to comment on what you want to do then dont post it. I'm telling you what I think, deal with it. I have more time invested in this site then you do so I'm not going to keep quite. I think you wanting to come up with new ideas is admerable but they need to be worth the time and effort.
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Its not that stupid an idea, lets say you've never seen Army of Darkness and all of a sudden you see it with Steve's horror picks for Halloween and decide, ... "Hey Steves got some other good choices up here, I mean he has nightmare on Elm Street, and Nightmare before Christmas,... I liked those movies... maybe I'll try this.
and viola (the instrument) you just saw a great film.
So whats with all the opposition to new articles?
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It's not opposition to new articles, it's opposition to ones I don't like. That's why SE posted this in the forum, to hear what we think. I can easly be in the minority here but I'm going to argure my point. If everyone else loves it and wants to do it fine, I'm not going to stop you from doing it or delete it after it's posted. I just think our time should be spent else were.
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Sprig, it has NOTHING to do with whether you like the idea, ok?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
That is NOT why I think you're being retarded.
I think you're being an idiot because you're being insulting. There is NO CALL for you to say ideas are stupid. Especially when I've talked to other people who think the idea worth investigating. I'm sorry you don't like the idea, but you're out of line when you start talking like you have been this whole thread, as well as the one about fiction.
Maybe you have more time, but you're being even more ridiculous when you say that I don't have a stake in where this site goes and haven't done important things for TWG. No, I don't think you're opinion is more important than mine on this issue.
It's ok to not like it. I didn't ever tell you not to say you didn't like it.
And why are you so adament about rejecting it? Who's putting the time and effort into these ideas? ME. I AM. Not YOU. Fell will probably look it over for a couple minutes and then click a couple things.
Summary: Fine, you don't like it. I want that feed back.
Insults on the other hand, well, stick it.
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Look, from my perspective as a non-staff member I can see both sides. Both SE and Sprig have valid points. For those who know you all through the forums here it'd be cool to see what you think, even if we already know, but most people aren't really going to care.
I really think reviews of the stuff you like are more useful and more popular in the long run. You can get across the same point (This is Out of Print But You Need to Play This Game!) but not have it wrapped into a "here's what our staff members, who you know little or nothing about, think about the game in a short paragraph that tells you little beyond the subjective."
I mean, what could these Staff Picks articles accomplish that reviews cannot? Sure, they'd be quicker to write, but I think the depth that would be lost would make them practically useless to Joe Schmoe who wants to know how the new coolest RPG plays.
Just my opinion.
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They provide supporting links to other articles.
And I don't see the "you know little or nothing about" argument, as they know little or nothing about the authors of reviews either.
Staff picks are intended to be an interest generator. People have their attention called to an item, and they think "hey, I should learn more about that." Then we give them a handy link for more detail.
Again, if no one submits, I won't do it.
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My opinion dosen't matter, the only ones that do are Fell and Tage's. I'm not insulting you so don't get your pantys in a wad. Yes it's you time,and that time should be spent how you want, But if your going to spend it for TWG then it should be something that's worth your time.
I'm sorry if you think I'm being a jerk but this is how I am. I'll tell you what I realy think and not suger coat it.
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It's a stupid idea
That provides neither helpful information nor friendly advice. There IS no other way to take that then be insulted. So please don't try to pretend I'm over reacting when I call you on it.
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I insulted your idea, not you. There's a difference there.
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It amounts to the same thing, your semantics aside.
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Only if you're overly sensitive to critisim.
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Not at all.
When you insult an idea, you insult the process. You effectively say that the originator cannot think properly.
This is why in couth society we find nice ways to say that ideas aren't workable.
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To their bosses maybe but not their peers. Face it "I think that it's a stupid idea" isn't an insult. Stop trying to play victim.
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Gentlemen,
This behavior is downright silly and immature, akin to a schoolyard fight. I highly recommend you both take a step back and relax a few minutes and think about just how all of this bickering looks. You're both smarter than this.
If you can't apologize then at least take this out of public view and into email.
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Sprig, I'm not playing a victim. I'm explaining that YOU insulted ME. Yes, *I* was offended by the way you approached tonight's discussion. YOu were not in ANY way polite when you said those things. You'd have be believe that you didn't intend those to be harsh. Ok, then you must be socially inept. Because that's not how people treat each other when they're being friends. It's rude, by ANY standard. THAT is why it upset me, because I thought that we could discourse with intelligence, without resorting to insipid remarks.
It's a fact of our society, Sprig, when you insult a man's remarks, you insult the man. It's not overly sensitive to think that it's inappropriate to verbally abuse someone's thoughts and ideas like that.
You may argue differently, but you'd ignoring my point. That at the very least, that kind of discussion is offensive to ME. No matter who you said it about.
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While true it's not mature no one has ever credited me for being a bastion of maturity. I'm not going to aplogize where there's nothing to be apologized for. Immature, maybe, but I feel speaking honesly is mature, even if the way it was said wasn't PC. There was no personal attack, and if I cannot critisie someone's ideas then I might as well move to cuba.
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Fine what ever SE, just say you don't like to be critisied. don't try to rationalise it and blame other people.
If I had said. "My dear sir I do beleave your idea is rubbish!" would that had made a difference, no. So how I said it dosen't make a differnce.
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You're being deliberately obtuse. Please believe me this time when I say it has NOTHING to do with whether you like the idea. It's the way you're a complete jerk about responding to it.
Let me give you two examples:
You're interested in a girl, and you think she likes you. She announces she wants to go to a fashion show, which you have absolutely no interest in. Do you say "That's so lame I'm not going to even respond to it?" (If so, that will leave you single for many years -- and incidentally, if it's too lame to respond to, why did you respond?)
Second example. You're in a class, and someone proposes a new approach to a problem. One that you think obviously won't work. Do you say to the class "That's a stupid idea?" If so, I'll bet you don't have any friends in that class.
There are ways we're supposed to interact with people. It's not about honesty. again, since you've missed this point many, many times. IT'S NOT ABOUT HONESTY. It's not about whether you like or dislike an idea. Mr. P didn't like the idea either, you don't see that I responded badly to him. It's completely about your unacceptable way of stating your opinion. One can disagree with something without being insulting. That is how people can function in polite society.
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This is what happens when i dont check the forum...
SE, i like the idea. I will probably contribute, although i have not read a vast variety of stuff.
And Spriggan, damn.
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Okay. As perhaps the only recognizable authority figure here, I'm telling you both to knock it off. Spriggan, your comment was legitimate but you presented it far more aggressively than you should have. SE, you should have dropped this argument several posts ago.
Now kiss and make up :)
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/me looks puzzled
Fell is an authority figure?
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He's the best we have. (See my post on the huge rant-thread in this section.)
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I have a side-note for this, based on a post in another thread here. I see no reason why we shouldn't post Staff Picks (and the like) which are only of interest to our regulars. As I mentioned, we can make this a community site. People can read an article like that and get a feel for the regulars here, maybe decide they agree or disagree, start lurking, and eventually jump in. I've seen it happen in many other places.
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Alrighty. My problem with the Staff Pick right now is the topic--I'm just not as interested in game systems as SE is, and I'm finding it very hard to pick one out without falling back on setting and such. What I'm going to do is suggest a handful based on aspects of their system: this one has a clever character creation system, this one has a neat damage system, etc.
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then recommend three: say you like one for combat, one for skills, whatever. Or wait till the next one. I have three people who told me they'll submit for it, and that's enough for me to try a second week.
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I think it's a good idea to have a summary page for someone to quickly glance through, without having to invest the time in reading/skiming a longer review. A hook if you will.
Unfortunately, like Fell, I don't much about game systems. I love Hero and will submit my take on that. Maybe this "Staff Picks" section could be expanded? I love Movies and will run that section of "Staff Picks" if anyone is interested?
Umm . . . and I don't take criticism well--as EUOL, etc. can attest--so if you don't like the idea, I will get the point from your silence.
Thanks ;)
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Silence is a stupid way to get the point of something.
(:))
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Yes, but it's harder to take silence personally, and start a fight over it. ;D
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Staff picks will be different each time around. I intend to hit specific points. I'll be doing an RPG setting bit eventually, which I'm sure will get lots of palladium hits.
I'll be doing movies and books soon enough, don't you fret.
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Okay, I'll leave it to you then.
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Best Card Game: Fluxx
Funny and unpredicatable flux will drive you crazy, who has the cookies who has the milk? Who knows!
Best Science fiction RPG: Classic Traveller
Basic Black never seems to go out of style, and this games one of the classiest ever made. If you like your Sci-fi hard, and your characters hardened this is the game for you.
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You missed the point, Jeffe. You're supposed to email me on the current topic. 3 choices. under 50 word reasons. The current topic is Roleplaying SYSTEMS (not publishers, settings, or genres, but mechanic systems).
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incidentally, that deadline is today, some of you said you were mailing, but few have.
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ahh solly.
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I mailed, but totally ignored the word limit. :P So everyone else has 150 words, i have 300.
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incidentally, this is getting made TODAY. So i need those emails. if I don't get at least one more, I'm writing up this one and ditching the project.
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150 words? I thought they were only supposed to be 50?
Ooops
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I see Camel poo experts are no good at math. Unlike we Chief Foresters who can do math with the best, and worst, of them.
See, the way I see it anyways, is that you do 3 reviews. Each totalling 50 words. Therefore they add up to 150 words. Where in Entropy's case he wrote 100 words/review.
So MoD, what did we learn today?
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Unlike Chief Forresters who are apparently no good at spelling. ;D
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Umm, I think we've learned that Chief Forresters are condescending.
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I've learned that a spork will fit almost all the way up Jeffe's nose!
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Cool. How did you learn that? And what did you use to distract the girls?
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actually, that was just me being silly. I don't have time to hang out until the 30th.