Lol :)

Me-ow!

Finally! Truth in advertising! :p :D

At a guess, I bet in about an hour, we’ll see a BGG thread devoted to EXPLAINING the joke to the folks that don’t get it.

With a number of comments about how Ted is a Shill because BGN posts his press releases.

The word shill needs to be struck from our language. I’m beginning to think people are just doing it for giggles.

Look… do you guys really want an all-on, us vs. them war here on BGN?  If so, keep on making fun of the viewpoints of those people who disagree with you. 

Note:  I’m not coming down on either side of this issue.  But, to me, this “joke” is basically saying that “if you like it here, you can leave.  And if you stay, we’ll make fun of you.”

Kevin,
I assume that I’m a part of “you guys” since I’m the one who started this whole ball of wax.  I just wanted to let you know, Kevin, that for me (I can only speak for me), that post on shilling was heartfelt and not meant as a joke at all.  I had been wondering how to walk the fine line between the two hats I wear:  online poster/blogger/columnist/non-news journalist and RGG demoer/playtester/Dominion developer/half of the development team They Might Be Developers.  As it turns out, people had a lot to say about how those two roles could or should be balanced.  In fact, I think that the sheer number of responses from all corners surprised most of us.

Now Board 2 Pieces is a cartoon--so it is supposed to be funny/joking about what’s going on in the gaming world.  It has always dripped with sarcasm and Ted has poked fun at every single one of us, including himself.  I think it would be oversimplifying the situation to assume that this one venue (which by definition pokes fun at the gaming community) speaks to all of our feelings about this hot button topic.

I think that none of us want an us vs. them war, here or anywhere.

Sincerely,
Valerie Putman

This is getting tired.

Everyone has their opinions one way or the other, and I think if it’s going to be discussed we’re capable of intelligent debate.

But do we need someone taking pot shots at people because they don’t agree with their views?

Is it ‘Satire’? not really, is it clever? not at all, is it funny? no.

Ted I hope we can have a return to ‘normal’ service soon.

I’m not pointing fingers, and I can honestly say that you never, not once, entered my mind when I wrote that.  I’m just saying that this whole thing is getting a bit old.  Personally, I don’t care what gets written in these blogs… it’s your platform and you don’t get paid to write it.

On the flipside, understand that people pay to read this site, so their opinions are as valid as anyone.

I know Ted writes with a sharp quill.  Today’s just struck a nerve with me mostly because of the particularly harsh language used in it.

I get enough of that trying to keep up with the Presidential race.

Warning: Thursday’s strip only takes this whole thing to the next level. Don’t read it, whatever you do. I’d hate to be responsible for permanent wince-lines.

Note, however, that I consider myself a master of reverse psychology, what with me having a 9 and 10 year old. But don’t let that statement affect your decision to read Thursday or not.

Okay, truth be told, I also consider myself a master at double-reverse psychology, having watched The Princess Bride dozens of times. Again, please don’t let that impact your decision to read on Thursday. :D

When Rio Grande’s lawyers in real life now call Ted and demand he removes this comic because its infringing on usage of the company’s private trademark ...will the comic then implode from having more irony that the fabric of the universe can hold?

Jay has attack lawyers?

In Hawaiian shirts, no doubt.

Ted, all I can say is this isn’t exactly the most subtle thing you’ve written.

The purpose of comics is to cause us to laugh at ourselves and the world around us, by way of insightful introspection.

Well done Ted, you’ve caused us to look at ourselves.  Another brilliant comic strip.

Kevin Wood wrote:
> I know Ted writes with a sharp quill. 
> Today’s just struck a nerve with me mostly
> because of the particularly harsh language used in it.

That and the appearance that his view is sanctioned by W. Eric Martin.  If that’s really Eric’s Editor’s Note at the bottom, did he mean call the site’s readers jerks, or come across as one himself?  Or is this more of Ted’s little joke?  Might be better to consider pulling Thursday’s strip?  Hard not to read it if it’s on the front page, after all.

Just to clarify, Eric does not have any input into the strip, outside of the occasional “you spelled Knizia wrong” type of feedback to me prior to publication. Editor’s notes are the result of the expectation of what readers believe editors should do with all controversial material to make it more palatable. In this case, the idea is that the editorial BGN powers that be are in on the actual strip’s joke, and are mocking any detractors of the site and/or content because they too are part of the machine that controls the board gaming world. The language in the notes tends to be over the top, certainly out of character for Eric and pretty much all the regular contributors to the site, with the exception of power-hungry-to-the-extent-that-he-frightens-senior-citizens Larry, deep-in-the-pockets-of-the-corporate-gaming-powers-that-be Valerie, and Minion-of-eternal-and-everlasting-darkness Frank.

Now, if Rick were still the BGN editor, I could certainly understand the confusion (I’m sure everyone knows the true story of why he left the site, in that he was forced out by Zev, Jay, and the rest of the Bigger-and-scarier-than-Haliburton consortium of Euro game publishers because he refused to bend to their will). Fortunately Eric is much more willing to do the bidding of said consortium, so he’ll be with us for much much longer.

Ted Alspach wrote:
> Just to clarify, Eric does not have any input into the strip…

Thanks for clarifying that.  FYI, your “editor’s note” was convincing enough to scare away a potential site member (ie. a donation) that I referred here yesterday. :-/

Well, that’s definitely sad to hear. Hopefully you can scare them back. And don’t let them read any comments from JC. Though the latter is advice I would give to pretty much anyone… :)

Ted Alspach wrote:
>Hopefully you can scare them back.

Sorry, but the joke, thin as it is, simply takes to long to explain.  When you’ve stopped trying to bite the hand that feeds you I might try again.

wait, someone thought the talking yellow meeple was to be taken seriously?  really?

"Sorry, but the joke, thin as it is, simply takes to long to explain.  When you’ve stopped trying to bite the hand that feeds you I might try again.”

Anyone to whom the joke takes too long to explain to isn’t its target. (All that needs saying to anyone else is “it’s an in-joke, hang around here long enough and you’ll get it, until then, just ignore it and read the news and reviews”.) So in what sense is it biting the hand that feeds you?

Ted -

To be fair, that sort of thing does exist in the real world. Knucklebones primary competitor for a while, Gams Quarterly, had “reviews” that were written by the companies that made the games. I don’t how much extra ad dollars it cost them, but you could tell right away what was going on… and that magazine is no more.

I am not making this up as I played a game with the editor and complained about it to her at a convention - her misunderstanding reply was that they were encouraging the companies to do better writing (totally missing my point that those deceptive practices were not appreciated).

However, to say this is limited to one seemingly-above-the-board format is wrong. Often, when one sees a pro-corporate news item in the local news, it has been little more than a paid advertisement. Whether a product endorsement or a PR campaign, you can’t trust it.

How about music? It was just revealed several popular acts are willing to name drop your product on the new CD for the right price tag. Josie and the Pussycats, anyone? There you go.

I know, from everyone’s perspective at BGN this sort of thing sounds incredulous to be applied to BGN contributors, but I want you to be aware that such thing isn’t unheard of and not everyone takes the words of people as the truth.

Thanks to all of the contributors for making a great site to visit.

I understand your point, William.  However, for this website, given that the columnists’ integrity is the thing being questioned (and that there is always a disclaimer declaring any relationship the writer may have with the product being reviewed), I would hope that the onus of proof would be on the folks crying “shill” and that it would not be influenced by the existence of guilty parties elsewhere.  If I had to prove a lack of bias in my writing, it would be like trying to answer the question “When did you stop beating your wife?”.  Not to mention, it would reduce my topics of discussion to approximately zero.

Larry -

I am not one of those that cry shill. I’ve met Valerie twice and I know that she is just an enthusiast for Dominion. I only played the game once (before Jay and team developed it) and thought it was decent. I just knew many people that weren’t good shufflers that might not like it as much.

I look forward to checking out that finished product and am eagerly awaiting the other “X” game that Jay is bringing out for my nephews.