> Sorry, wrong tape. OpenHeroquest, or whatever its called this week,
> was created by one of the then-community's more malignant nutters,
> with the explicit purpose of airing cancerous conspiracy and general
> hatred. it was quickly subverted by members, including myself, to
> contain said nutter and if fact turn the list back against him.
> However, I for one can see the allure of an open forum, where honest
> views can be exchanged frankly, and in fact the need seems to have
> increased since the attempts over the last few years to centralise
> authority and control of Glorantha as a gaming environment and the
> resurgence of One-True-Glorantha fundamentalism, with the subsequent
> loss of communal creativity and energy (lets call it 'The Night of
> the Munchkins'). The self-depreciatory tone and air of mocking insult
> are legacy artefacts, and perhaps have outlived their utility. These
> days, there is enough to be really angry about without concocting
> erudite jibes, entertaining as that once was. Since the only rule
> here is to break the rules, write as you see fit.
Riiight -- fairly accurate, I'll just add that the "nutter" in question is David Boatright, who for some unfathomable reasons eventually transferred list ownership to me out of the blue --- also that the ability to insult people here is actually a necessary function, because every now and then list members have an actual *need* to go out and actively insult each other and what they think/write/whatever.
The self-depreciatory tone and air of mocking insult are NOT just legacy artefacts, they're a social control mechanism --- albeit one that is far less necessary than it used to be, for whatever reason (have people grown up ?? doubtful, they've probably just gotten used to the idea of being cowed into a false air of repectful politeness by Greg & various moderators on the other forums -- or maybe people just don't care about this stuff as much as they used to ? ;-) )
de Immod
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