Brian Tickler's folly.

From: Peter Metcalfe (metcalph@voyager.co.nz)
Date: Mon 10 Aug 1998 - 03:54:11 EEST


Brian Tickler:

>My orginal post was confusing here...I was really referring to the
>fan-published materials *on the digest*...the drop in output from the
>"occasional" posters as opposed to the Digest Elite[tm], in my mind a sign
>of a strong Glorantha core group, but with fence-sitters starting to
>peel off...

And there is a simple reason for this apparent drop of in fan-published
materials on the digest. It's because most such material is better
suited to being placed on a webpage rather than having to search through
it in the digest archives.

>Let me ask you a question...if you had $30 to your name (until next payday)
>and walked into a store and saw the following 2 products on sale, which
>would you buy first?

>1. Hero Wars box set with rules and entry-level basic scenario
>2. Reprint of RQ2 Pavis box set bundled with a new RQ scenario book for Pavis

>Let's assume here that you haven't photocopied the Pavis boxed set. Ok,
>maybe you'll choose #1. More people will choose #2, IMO.

You assume most people are rank idiots for most of the information
in the pavis boxed set was reprinted in River of Cradles which has
a new scenario. Furthermore the appeal of holding in your hands
a reprint of Pavis or Big Rubble or Griffin Mountain is limited to
those who have heard about them. Hero Wars is aiming for a bigger
audience than that.

>Well, Nick, I'm glad you know all about my contributions to the
>Gloranthan community...as I recall, our last discussion ended with you
>telling me how Chaosium supported any efforts to publish fan-based
>materials and that I was foolish for thinking otherwise. That was,
>oh, at least a year ago I'd guess.

>Ironically enough, I went out and got a commercial-class web site, started
>overhauling a couple of 100+ page scenarios, and submitted my ideas for
>the site to Chaosium and Avalon Hill for approval. Avalon Hill gave theirs
>within 2 weeks...I'm still waiting for Rob Heinsoo to respond with anything
>other than "I'll get back to you later, wait for Issaries Inc."...oh, wait
a >minute, that's right, my most recent follow-up turned up the fact that he
>lost my original request.

Since when do you need approval for putting your own scenarios on
the web? Oh wait a moment, 'overhauling a couple of 100+ page
scenarios'. Perchance were you busy trying to publish Big Rubble
Adventures on the Web without even bothering to upgrade them to
RQ3*? I'm quite sure that isn't what most people had in mind
with respect to 'fan-published material'. Nor does your 'Rob
doesn't give a shit' thesis explain the abundance of fan-published
material on the web and on paper.

*an amusing quirk of Brian's revealed by a bystander in the
CopyQuest debate a year or so back. Brian wanted to publish
material claiming the purchase of the said material from
Chaosium gave him the right to republish it or something along
that line. It turns out that what was really bugging him was the
lack of future support for RQ2.

- --Peter Metcalfe

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