Wargamer.com sob story on Boardgamegeek

[MetalDog]

I second Bloom County and Monty Python!

[GDS_Starfury]

[JudgeDredd]

I never thought any of Doresh's posts that I've seen were that bad.. He never seemed to be attacking anyone in his posts.. He just seemed to be hated because he didn't have a love affair with a certain game.

That was always my thoughts...I never saw anything hate related from him and know of his "love/hate" for Battlefront and their new versions of Combat Mission games (which I love btw)

[Seytan]

My comments on the Wargamer and I will leave it at that.

I've really had a cursory exposure to all of this drama. And I will frankly phrase it as that. I in all honesty do not come here to vicariously live the excitement others may feel from anything outside of wargaming. This is why I left the Matrix forums. I have been a member of this forum for about 10 or 12 years. My first forum character or name if you will for some reason was lost to me(Sheytan), and I tried to recliam him a number of occasions, to no avail. Yet I still come back here because I love one thing above all...wargaming.



I have contributed to this forum directly or obliquely, via AARs written or by making scenarios and posting them in games depot. My name is Frank Kontowicz, you can find them under that name.



I am personally disappointed that this forum cannot as a function stay on "topic". This is likely why a number of people have left and im spend time on two forums now. This is a shame, there is no reason this "community" cannot gather at one local and enjoy what we all wish to share...our fellowship and interests as they were.



At any rate although I have no idea why Curtis was let go, and frankly it is none of my business, the forum did come to life again with much more information and content bieng displayed in respect to gaming.



I salute you, my fellow wargamers, may Mars bless you.



Frank Kontowicz AKA Sheytan Seytan.

[Yskonyn]

I might be thick here and I normally would not really care (hence my absense here for quite a while due to my obliviousness of what was going on), but the more I read the more I am curious to find out what the answers are to a few questions I had for a long time:
Azzurri has been posting under more aliases on the same forum? Which names did he use? O_O
All the drama people can make on the internet... jeez.

[MikeGER]

 i remember the incident when Curtis showed up here in his fuction of EoC and perkily tried to lure trafic to his page with just a link ...and the dicussion that followed here 

i wrote on September 24 this rant, and of course, i stick to it.

...if the editor in chief of The Wargamer would join here as just another wargaming fellow (with a nick) and point out an interesting topic in another forum (even the one he steamed with flank speed into an iceberg  ...and most passengers had to evacuate to GrogHeads) that would be great!

but just another bad PR-idea on the job ...to get some traffic to the front page is a no-go
like spamming his own forum with links to the front page-articles and news every given day, cloaking the good last-24h-activity-screen function with stuff you just happened to read.
even mild critical annotations over-there are not wanted, the forum-software still doesn't work as advertised, trolls and their sock-puppets roam free, long time moderators resign because they didn't get fire-support when they do the job they volunteered for... and the guy runnig the show has developed IMHO community-managing-skills like a blend of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld and an Interrogation robot from the Death Star's arsenal...
The over-all experience, the vibes are gone... and that's a pity!  and still makes me upset sometimes when i have to witness the next Fail.             

-end of rant- 

oh and i had to to witness more fails 
- the long time service medal
- the What Atrocities Has The Holocaust Overshadowed thread   

IMHO: Curtis lacked any empathy how his group of customer is actually structured and ticking
Wargamers are in the majority mature man (of any age) , some with silver hair, some just start rising kids, some even grandchildren, some vets of severall wars (who earned real Medals in RL!), some even get shelled  and shot at by the RL-enemy ...or criminals at the 'home front' (Thank You for your service), the very day when they are not happen to lock-on to a wargaming site. All have responsibilitiess in RL: starting businesses, handling hazard materials and dangerous machines (or humans),  you-name-it...
Does those kind of customers like to be treated like preschool toddlers from a hall-monitor, who think's he is the principal? I don't think so. Does those customers get a hard-on on kindergarten-style virtual medals precentation ceremonies?   

Concerning that 'Holocaust' thread: Was Curtis even aware that some of his customers were Jewish and lost family in the Holocaust, and some customers live in Israel, and still have to fight for the very existence of their state on the map on a daily basis. Would someone with a minimum of common sense without real necessity start a discussion which can only attract trolls and worse and let it dangle in the open to bait for month, on his employers website?

Curtis has tremendouse writing skill, especially when it comes to phatos / the actor's heroics 
maybe we read a best selling novel from him in the future, or he will work as a ghost-writer for ppl, who need a 'William Wallace speech' for their corporate anniversary banquet... Good luck on your future activities. 

[Zulu1966]

I never thought any of Doresh's posts that I've seen were that bad.. He never seemed to be attacking anyone in his posts.. He just seemed to be hated because he didn't have a love affair with a certain game.

That was always my thoughts...I never saw anything hate related from him and know of his "love/hate" for Battlefront and their new versions of Combat Mission games (which I love btw)

Edit ... apologies - have deleted.

[bayonetbrant]

{moderator hat on}
This thread is pretty close to running its course.  DicedT asked about the Curtis sob story.  Let's not turn it into a venue for personal attacks against people who aren't even here, nor a springboard for personal vendettas elsewhere.  Thank you.
{party hat back on}

[Centurion40]

This whole thing is just bizarre.

I have had virtually no interaction with Curtis whatsoever. By the time he took over on the Wargamer, I had long grown tired of the site and migrated over here. But what does it say about a person that he feels that need to post that...let's go with dramatic...final post on pretty much every forum he could find, complaining of secret cabals out to get him? There are better ways to get attention.

All that this does is stir up another round of BS animosity between this site and Wargamer. Are there people here who don't particularly like that site, and vice versa? Sure. Doesn't mean there needs to be a ridiculous turf war. And all that he's done is stir that up with his rambling nonsense about a shadowy group from here that was out to get him...something that DOES NOT EXIST. Grow up, dude. I understand that it sucks to be let go from a position you enjoy, but that doesn't excuse this ridiculous scapegoating nonsense. Unless you truly believe that this site apparently has the ability to force Slitherine-Matrix to do whatever we want them to do...in which case, could we please get a new Steel Panthers? Now! I demand it at once!

Right on man!

[Yskonyn]

No attacks from me. I just find it interesting.
If its not going to be revealed. Fine with me as well. :)

[LongBlade]

No attacks from me. I just find it interesting.
If its not going to be revealed. Fine with me as well. :)

I'm not sure what you're waiting to hear revealed.

My understanding is that after ignoring what was happening at WG since Curtis was hired, in the last couple of weeks Slitherine started to ask around. They heard some things they didn't like and, rather than asking Curtis to try and fix things, they just fired him.

That's what I heard. Dunno if it's true, but I have several sources who tell me similar stories so it sounds about right.

Clearly there are some folks here who didn't like his style. That's not surprising - there are folks on other boards who don't like my style. That doesn't mean there was a conspiracy out to get him, just that he wasn't universally liked. Most mods aren't. It goes with the territory.

[Jarhead0331]

...there are folks on other boards who don't like my style...

Well, in all fairness to them, you are a butthead.

[LongBlade]

...there are folks on other boards who don't like my style...

Well, in all fairness to them, you are a butthead.

"Pencil dick" is my preferred insult of choice.

[bob48]

^That was sharp and to the point, LB

[LongBlade]

Oh, no. Not this again...

I'll need to sharpen my wits if I'm going to try and keep up with you.