I pondered this for a day or two, since my experience of sending off the humble fruits of my labours to anyone who asks has not always been positive. About 48 hours later, MSFoy received another email (that's two in a week, which is almost a frenzy of activity), this time from Scotty, who is also in the USA, and again it expressed disappointment at the lack of a facility to download the Corporal John game, and requested that MSF send the materials to him.
I thought about it, and I put the rules booklet, with its current supplements and the images for the two card decks, into a zip archive file, and sent it off to Henschel and Scotty, with my best wishes and a brief explanation:
* The game is currently a mature draft, it works pretty well, and the rate of change has slowed right down.
* I regret I cannot send a set of the correct dice, since they are available only from the makers of the "Tricorne" board game (who refuse to sell them independently, by the way); they are, however, easy to make up with blank dice and coloured Sharpie pens.
* Although this is not commercially published work, I would appreciate the usual courtesies if the material is passed on or reproduced, including giving credit to the original source. In particular, the artwork is the work of a professional artist, and is copyright. I do not make a living out of writing wargame rules (fortunately...), but he does make a living out of drawing pictures.
All fine, I do not expect anyone to get too excited about anything, and I'm happy to forward the stuff if it is of some use.
Another three weeks passed, and old MSF received another request for Corporal John - this time from Alessandro, who lives in Italy. Same story - he had read a discussion somewhere which mentioned Corporal John and the lack of a download site, so could I please send it along - thanks in anticipation, etc, etc.
Yeah - whatever - I still had the zip file handy - I just sent off the same files and the same story. I'm quite happy with all that.
You know what? I haven't had a word from any of the three of them. It doesn't matter at all, of course, and I am not going to be offended, but no acknowledgement of receipt, no thanks. Not a dicky bird, as someone or other used to say. It's possible that they have all realised instantly that it is crap, or maybe they haven't had a chance to have a look at it yet. I really don't care, but I'm left with a faint feeling of weariness for reasons I can't put my finger on.
Have our collective expectations of the internet evolved in all the right ways?
MSFoy -
ReplyDeleteAs one with the social demeanour of a thrown half-brick, and a lousy correspondent to boot, I do try to make a point of expressing thanks where thanks are due. I've been remiss in my youth for neglecting such elementary niceties, but gradually it dawns on one that thanks cost nothing to express, and a great deal to omit. 'Twere me, after three strikes out of three, I'd be rather disinclined to respond in the same way subsequently.
Having said that, if you do receive further requests for your Corporal John rule set, perhaps you might refer the requestees to one or more of three gentlemen of your recent Internet acquaintance... Just a thought...
Cheers,
Ion
Thanks Ion - I think the suggestion that the three should find themselves involved in a mutual support network is truly inspired - my compliments for this.
DeleteThe old phrase about "did your mother not teach you the magic words?" comes to mind, but maybe such sentiments belong to a bygone age.
Absolutely entitlement! It's outrageous that you didn't provide the facility for these freeloaders to download all that work you did!
ReplyDeleteNaturally, your failure to accommodate them doesn't merit a thank you, kiss my **** or whatever; you have just about redeemed yourself enough by providing them with your rules.....
Sadly, the internet / social media culture is such that people EXPECT free downloads and people to be grateful they download them from you....
The late Otto Schmidt of Society of Daisy fame reckoned that in any group of gamers, 80% expected someone else to provide the game, figures, rules at their house and run the game. Their role was to turn up, throw dice and generally leech off you. If you were lucky, they turn up with some snacks which they eat themselves without sharing. "You don't expect ME to do any work do you?" To top it off, they then moan about the rules, break the figures and generally be obnoxious....
Most wargamers are not that bad, but there are some....
Neil
I confess it is very easy to get pulled into the scavenger mindset, I am certainly guilty of it myself, though I do make a point of thanking people for help or good service, and I do choose to pay for my use of Wikipedia and my online news service - I'm sure it doesn't help a great deal, but at least I feel better about it.
DeleteI believe that we persist in identifying the wrong heroes in public culture. Intuitively, I feel that we have probably always done this; the true heroes were guys who dug coal out of the ground for very little money, or women who raised children in impossible hardship; apart from fripperies like film stars, the public inspirations have always officially been the landowners and the toffs who sent the true heroes to fight the French (or similar).
We now have the bewildering rise of the role model which generates wealth online in return for very little effort and no originality. If our kids aspire to copy (for example) the inventors of an internet portal which makes huge profits from simply getting in the way of an otherwise logical process, then I am convinced that this is not sustainable. We (the community) cannot afford pointless greed on such a scale.
Tony, at least an acknowledgment is in order. Perhaps all three are closely examining your rules before commenting?
ReplyDeleteI have had similar requests regarding QRS and scenarios created for a few rules. Sometimes I hear nothing in return but other times I receive a hearty thank you.
Jon - I know this is true - they are probably busily working through the details as I write. As I say, I am untroubled by the situation, though I may have changed the guys' names...
DeleteIt's maybe an age thing, I was always taught to thank whoever gave you anything, goodies, advice or whatever but the internet age has changed things and folk are maybe not taught the same. I still do whether it's face to face or through the internet, just manners when it boil down to it and an age thing.
ReplyDeleteI find that almost everything has become an age thing - funny, that. The internet seems to have brought a strange sub-culture of grasping, predatory anonimity. I believe there is still a tradition of community somewhere, but you have to look for it. Given a pseudonym, traceable or not, people tend to behave rather badly; a group of them can become toxic very quickly.
DeleteI've had a similar experience with M&M although to be fair most people do at least acknowledge receipt.
ReplyDeleteThe internet could be fixed so easily by making it mandatory that all users publish their full name and address details and photo to be able to use it...
Hi Ian - agree entirely - easily fixed, but too many vested interests in keeping it chaotic.
DeleteI'm aware that I mostly get to see the elderly portion of this, so I only know of vague rumours of the full horror, since most people in my bit of the Venn diagram tend to be polite and friendly. I suspect this is probably because we don't have the energy to commit to any other strategy!
That's a shame. Maybe you were being too nice - I don't recall you ever saying you would be making your rules available, and I suspect they may be 'work in progress' anyway, so you could just say 'sorry they are not available' with a clear conscience... Or am I too harsh?
ReplyDeleteAn alternative approach is suggested by the fact that I think it was me that put forward 'Corporal John' as the name. I am quite happy for you to tell any future scroungers that I am a highly litigious old git who has expressly forbidden the further distribution, etc etc and will sue any infringers for all the jelly babies they've got... 😀
If I haven't passed you the CJ rules pack previously, it was probably an oversight, and I shall now inflict it upon you immediately - and if you acknowledge receipt I shall just snort. The "highly litigious" reference is debatable, but there may be some merit in the rest of your description. There is no escape - death by internet kindness.
DeleteThanks indeed, Tony, you are too kind!
DeleteSnort.
DeleteIt is just plain rude.
ReplyDeleteMatt - I believe that you have come up with the word I was struggling to identify. That's it - nicely done.
DeleteA sad sign of our times maybe Tony? I still fondly recall the help and advice you gave me when you introduced me to C&CN around 13/14 years ago (!!), and have all the emails and attachments stored in a file which is still a pleasure to look back on now and then :)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Lee.
HI Lee - It's odd to consider any time within this century as the Good Old Days, but that was a happier period all round. I'm gently horrified to think that you have access to my old emails - how much do you want for the negatives...?
DeleteHi Tony, I think as a community of bloggers we are spoiled / protected from the wider aspects of internet behaviour. Ours is a friendly corner of the internet where like minded creative people each support each others blogging activity.
ReplyDeleteEven with that, you will know from your stats that a goodly number of total viewers are passing through and there is large scale avoidance of dropping even a simple thank you.
My own blog (on silent retreat at the moment for various reasons that also include the subject here) typically has 12 - 14k hits per month, but a very small band of kind regulars actually bother to comment. It is a measure of entitlement to a ‘free internet’.
I am just e-baying some surplus. Three parcels went out this week. I had put a freebie extra in each and at my own expense upgraded the postal service for each and updated their feedback as soon as they sent money. One out of the three has kindly left feedback for me. Of the other two, I would not even have known the parcels had arrived had I not had the parcels tracked.
This story can be repeated for each of the past 4 weeks that I have been selling stuff off.
I fancy that the loss of manners in all of its forms has become too endemic for any of us to attempt any meaningful rescue. We can only do ‘our bit’ as individuals.
As another blogger says ‘keep battling on’ :-)
My sympathies for the eBay saga - I gave up on eBay almost entirely a while ago - I think eBay was a bit ahead of the curve for bad manners and attempted scams. These days I deal if possible with people I know. Loss of courtesy and positivity in online dealings is sad, but - as Stryker says - could be improved dramatically by making people communicate as themselves.
Delete