Friday, March 23, 2012

William Z. Cohen expresses Distate at eating of own words.

The Following is a chat log between myself and William Z. Cohen. This occurs after a forum post was removed for vulgarity. Over the course of a week, we've discussed several topics including sex in games, art, cyberbullying and privacy. Billy allowed me parting shots, and then continued the argument further, so here it is.

When a someone sends me a Personal Message, an Email, or any other kind of written communication which mocks or insults me, I don't owe them privacy. Children; Have fun and enjoy.

    • LOL, where is your post at now???? HA HA HA

    • Tony Scinta The last thing the old school gaming hobby needs is a game that promotes the garbage you calim it does. If it has a mature audience only label, then take it elsewhere. I think that I may be speaking for others but the purpose of this site is too promote old school gaming and that requires the younger crowd. The last thing I want to see is a parent reading posts on here about a game that promotes FILTH. This in turn makes parents wary to allowing their kids access to such places as this site. In other words, take your little pervert game and make your own FB page for it. I do not feel it is appropriate for the purpose of this site which is to PROMOTE OLD SCHOOL GAMES of which your silly, perverted game is NOT.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • Dude, we were having a mature discussion, if you don't want that to happen, good for you.

      As for your moral arguments, i don't really care for them.

    • Wow, you just do not get it, do you. Your type of game is not required nor is it desired in the Old School train of thought. It has nothing to do with my moral views on what is right or wrong and I would be the last person to push my personal viwes on anyone but the point is, your game is not an old school game and it is not appropriate for the youinger audience that we have as members in this group. It is what it is. In any case, your post has been removed and for a good reason as such...

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • Can we just chill for a minute? Just, like, cool off? We're both OSGs, we're both adults, we both want to see the industry grow.

    • I'm fine with the post getting killed.

    • I didn't realize that there was a younger audience on the thread, i thought we were mostly adults talking about what we'd like to see in RPGs and mini games. I feel like AW pushes the limits of what works and works well in games, there are some good, solid, social bending mechanics there.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • I wasn't trying to piss people off, and it's not My game.

    • You, an adult??? Let me tell you something Tony. The moment you told me "Screw you", that is when you started the war. Next, for the last 7 years that I served in the Marine Corps after retiring 23 years of honorable service, I did 116 personal notifictions of which I told parents their son or daughter is dead. I maintain a level of professionalism at all times with any person provided they give me the same treatment back. As a part owner of a game store, material of sexual nature to include your "game" is not tolerated in my store. Adult material is frowned upon and it was never within the confines of the Old School mentality. It is not for a younger audience and the longevity of the old school mentality lies in our youth but they will not get the opportunity to experience it when we have people promoting "gutter" games. As with all things whether it be porn, sex magazines, drugs, and all other vices, there is someone out there who is going to make it sound good by saying it helps do this and it helps do that. The fact remains that this type of games does not promote what we feel is right for old school gaming. We want the hobby to grow and not be slapped all over with a "Mature Audience Only" sticker as was the The Book of Vile Darkness and the Book of Exalted Deeds.

      I have no clue if you have children and it is none of my business but would you let your child play a game such as that you mentioned??? It would not even take a microsecond for me to make that decision...

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • Listen, I'm trying to settle the water here and you keep on coming at me.

    • As far as I am concerned, it is all under the water... I have no hate for you or anything but I am leary of people like you who promote such games or defend their purposes... That is my nature...

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • Look man, I don't care much about your nature or your game store, or even your military career. I'm looking into going into game design -- Video game design -- from an angle of being a psychology major, just as long as we're being upfront and honest with eachother.

      Any time I see something new, I jump on it and disect it, and i try to find other people's views on it.

      I'm not trying to spread smut, and i would have much rather had this conversation in public.

      I'm sure your a good dude, doing your thing, owning your store, years of service behind you and teaching the youth gaming, and thats cool. I'm in the osg, i'm into gaming for different reasons than you.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • and I want this thing, between me and you, to be cool. I want to have an honest, cool-headed back-and-forth about games, psychology, and whatever, without blowing up at eachother, killing threads, and laughing in eachothers faces.

    • Provided the topic is g-rated, no problem. Topics on sex, perversion and that garbage will not be tolerated, plain and simple. follow the rules and guidelines with maturity and expect mature responses but do not tread in the taboo areas.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • I'm not going to lie Will, sometimes we're going to talk about things that upset you. The topic of sex in games is probably going to come up again, and its probably going to be me who brings it up.

      I will tell you this tho, I won't be bringing these things up in the same context. I'll make sure that anything that I bring up on the topic will be 'safe' for young readers. I'll be cautious and wary of it and i'll watch my tongue.

      But I don't see your name on the admin list, and until I do, you don't have any athourity over the words that I type and post. I'm coming to you about this because when I post something that upsets you -- and i'm sure I will -- I want you to know that I respect your opinion even though I'm not following your orders.

    • And guess what, I am going to make my comments as I usually do and I will be thorough in my comments and expect there to be issues. As far as I am concerned, you did not learn anything and from reading your personal comments on your FB page, you are someone that I really do not want to know at all. You have some serious issues and I realize now why you have no moral compunctions with your attitude on sex and all that crap. People like you are one of the main reasons this hobby is in decline. I will continue to defend this hobby against people like you who have no clue about OLD SCHOOL GAMING.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • Well then lets talk about it.

    • because I really don't understand what you find so offensive about me and my morals and attitudes.

    • I have no desire to talk about it. You made it plain and clear that you will continue to push your "sex" agenda in the OSG FB page and you already saw the result of that once. It will continue to be an issue no matter how you reword it. Expect constant deletions of your "sex" agenda because others have already PM'ed me and said they will not tolerate it.

      Now, I have to go and spend some constructive time doing things instead of conversiong about something that is going nowhere.

  • March 19
    Tony Scinta
    • You aproach me about my post offending you, then you criticize me and who I am, and my views on sex, then you attack me even when i'm trying to cool the water between us.

      You Bark Orders at me like i'm in your stupid military and use your military service and game store to try to push me around.

      When I finally get you into a civil tone, you decide that you'd rather walk away than talk out the problem.

      I was really hoping that I could walk out of this with a friend and a mutual understanding, but You're a jerk and a bully! You're lording over me because I don't agree with you.

      Why? Because I'm Sex Positive? Because I'm an Atheist? Because I'm a comic book podcaster? Because you think i have Sex on the Street for Money? I don't know! You won't tell me!

    • Tony,

      I wanted to send this message to you and explain a few thing about why you may have been kicked off the site so please do not take tis as why you were actually kicked off:

      1. First, you posted a comment affixing a link to it to your blog of which you posted a personal/private conversation between us for all to read. That conversation by PROXY is a PM (private/personal) and you infringed upon my right to privacy by posting those messages to prove a point of which you could not. I must also add you failed to add to the entirety of the conversation by NOT adding your last comment in that entire conversation. So, not only did you infringe upon my right to privacy as a decent person, you posted that conversation to create antagonism on a site that promotes old school gaming. There was no reason to post that link there. Since I am on the subject of that conversation, you said a few times you want to discuss differences between us with civil discourse but your action of posting this link to your blog is just not civil. It was an outright assailment on my right to privacy. What this means to me is that If I discuss something private to you, I cannot trust you to keep it to yourself.

      2. You became extremely angry when one of the moderators again deleted another post you created on the subject of "sex" and its relevancy in gaming and again, it was met by resistance by myself but with others. As the conversation continued to digress and get less civil by other members in the forum, it was the only logical choice to make to delete it because the goal of the Old School Gamers forum is to discuss Old School Games and anything up to now to include all the games of today HOWEVER it is not an open forum to discuss certain topics because of the younger audience. The moment that some of the members began telling other members that they are not raising their children propperly by allowing their kids to read posts was not right. So again, the topic was deleted because comments that were inflammatory were disrupting the board and its main purpose.

      3. So, for whatever purpose and reason, you posted ANOTHER topic on which you stated specifically that you accused me and another member of bullying you of which that has never been the case. I never bullied you whatsoever nor did the other member. I despise bullies and I would never resort to such tactics to prove a point. I will also note that topic was deleted and I never once posted on it because you had people taking sides and unfortunate for you, many were against you and your incindiery attacks upon me of which I wisely refused to participate in. I have no clue as to why you made a post like that but guess what, it was possibly interpreted that you were targeting me out of anger, harrassing me (which is illegal), or you was simply just trolling to get me to respond to your post (in that case you failed because I refused to respond to your false accusations that I was bullying you).

      4. I will add that there are members on the board who have their own businesses which deal with the gaming industry. They are on that board to support the community by providing products that can be used by gamers of all genres. When disruptive behaviour occurs on that board, people who have money will leave those boards thereby hurting those members who rely somewhat on their buying power to remain in business, pay the bills, and feed their famlies. When a member leaes the board, that is one less piece of advertisement that can be spread to others within their gaming circle of friends. I just happen to be one of those people who has an extremely large circle of friends and associates via gaming conventions, comic cons, and gaming stores. I am a co-host on a 1st edition podcast. There are others like me on this board who do just as much or more than me. Therefore disruptive people hurt the business.

      I really hope you learn from this experience. You come off as a highly intelligent individual but when the going gets tough, you resort to the very same tactics of which you falsely accused me. I wish you well in finding a board that will let you discuss your personal agenda of "sex" in games and all that stuff. Please go to TheRPGSITE.com and RPG.NET. Those forums will find your agenda a home for certain BUT understand you will still have opponents. Good luck...

      r/

      William Z. Cohen
      MSGT/USMC, ret.

  • Wednesday
    Tony Scinta
    • Dude, I don't respect you. You bullied me off that site without provocation. Your making a halfassed apology because I posted something you didn't like. Again.

      When you want to be civil, come back and say hi. Until then, my original sentiment stands. Screw off.

  • Wednesday
    Tony Scinta
    • And the post on my blog stays as well.

    • I was not making an apology. I was just explaining what happened that might explain why you were booted off. Anyways, have a good life... Rest assured, I will not bother with conversing with you again... LOL LOL

  • Wednesday
    Tony Scinta
    • You're not though, your rubbing it in my face after the dust has settled. Where is it your job to 'inform me' of this or that.

      Your a jerk and a bully and your words are that of a jerk and a bully.

    • I cannot help how you feel, Tony. Your comments of "Screw off" and your lack of respect of my privacy are total indicators of a small child in a man's body having a tantrum because he did not get his way. You made comments that made it sound that I was the "Be all, End All" of you being removed from the board and that is not the case. You continued to push the issue and it disrupted the board to such a point that members were taking sides. It is obvious that you only want to see one side of the manhole cover but guess what, there are always two sides to the story and no matter how hard you convince others you are right, some people are not so naive to think there is only one side to it all.

      I am certain that you are a good reader but you will not see me write anything to dismiss you or say "Screw Off". You continue to tell me we can talk civil to one another of which I am but you are the one who continues to be the aggressor in this situation. I could not help but notice that you claim you have a degree in Psychology. Have you ever heard of an "injustice collector"? That is you to the very definition of the words. Look it up. So, with that said, Take care of yourself and I wish you well in finding a place that you can call home so you can peacefully discuss your findings on "sex" and whatnot in games. If you want the last parting shot, you can have it. It is all yours.



SPF's Failure to address "Magical Negro" stereotype Stunts Gaming as an Artistic Medium

Apparently having respect for my opinions, I was contacted by Billy Cohen about events in the gaming industry of late. Events of which I don't settle well with me. What follows is the entire PM from Billy.

William Z. Cohen
  • Hello there Tony,

    I wanted to share with you an email that came from the Editior in Chief concerning a very big mistake he had made. Here is the apology that he sent out to all those who get the newsletter from DRIVETHRURPG:


    To All of Our Valued Friends and Customers,


    I made a big mistake today. I allowed a Newsletter to go out to many thousands of folks without thoroughly reading through each of the feature pieces that I shared. In particular, it was the "Archetype of the Week," which contained a racially insensitive passage.


    I failed in my duty as the Editor-in-Chief of the Newsletter. Though no one that works for DriveThruRPG or RPGNow wrote that piece, it was my responsibility to review anything that went into the mailing. I got careless.


    Please understand that DriveThruRPG and RPGNow represent a very socially conscientious company with a highly ethical approach to business. This was a terrible mistake and in no way should the offensive material be construed as representing our views or philosophies.


    Please accept this as my personal, sincere apology to you all, as well as my pledge to be more dilligent in the future about vetting all material that is mailed out by us.


    Sincerely,


    Sean Patrick Fannon

    Communications & Marketing Manager, DriveThruRPG and RPGNow



    So, now that you read his letter, you are probably wondering why he sent this and what offensive material he was talking about. Here is the article in nature that was accidentally sent:



    Archetype of the Week - the Noble Savage

    It's been a while since we last visited the stack of Archetypes from the great folks at Hex Games, so let's throw one at you this week -

    The noble savage is a character from a primitive culture who is uncorrupted by the prejudices and quirks of "civilized" society. As a result, the noble savage is seen as embodying a high level of spiritual enlightenment despite his barbaric nature. His simple, straightforward way of looking at the world allows him to point out the irrationality of many of modern society's most treasured rituals and beliefs.


    A variation on the noble savage theme is the "Magical Negro" archetype, which includes characters like Uncle Remus, Bagger Vance, and numerous Morgan Freeman characters. Although the Magical Negro is generally less overtly primitive than the noble savage, the core concept of a character who is wise despite his otherness is very similar.


    A Word of Warning


    Aliens and made-up fantasy barbarian tribes are one thing, but this archetype can easily become an offensive stereotype when real-world cultures come into play. In fact, some people find the archetype itself offensive. Therefore, if you’re going to use this archetype for a member of a real ethnic group, please approach the character and the culture with some maturity and tact.


    Likely Stories


    The noble savage most commonly appears in historical and fantasy stories, westerns, and science fiction stories featuring alien races.


    The Name Game


    The noble savage's name will reflect his culture. In most cases, this means that the character's name is either a completely nonsensical, alien-sounding collection of syllables or a translation of the meaning of the character's real name. These translations often describe the character in some way, often by evoking animals or natural phenomena.


    The Numbers


    Because noble savage typically live much harder lives than other characters, they tend to have above-average Body Numbers. Brain and Nerve can fall anywhere in the usual range, but language barriers, cultural differences, and the character's unfamiliarity with mainstream society often cause the character to experience difficulties interacting with other people and can make him seem simple or dull. The easiest way to handle these societal differences it to require the character to take an appropriate Weakness or assign penalties to rolls involving modern society.


    Suggested Jobs: Aborigine, Amazon, Archer, Barbarian, Berserker, Brave, Bushman, Cannibal, Chauffeur, Chief, Gaul, Gladiator, Guide, Harpooner, Hun, Hunter, Indian, Manservant, Medicine Man, Mountain Man, Nomad, Pict, Pilot, Pirate, Porter, Raider, Sailor, Sasquatch, Savage, Scout, Shaman, Sherpa, Sidekick, Slave, Sorcerer, Talking Gorilla, Tribesman, Vandal, Viking, Warrior, Wildman, Witch Doctor, Wookie


    Suggested Gimmicks: At One With Nature, Battle Frenzy, Born In The Saddle, Danger Sense, Fearless, Forest Ninja, Hard To Kill, Horse Whisperer, Keen Senses, Lightning Reflexes, Lord of the Apes, Mighty Thews, Powerful Kung Fu, Survivor, Tough As Leather, Unerring Direction Sense


    Suggested Weaknesses: Alcoholic, Battle Scars, Big and Dumb, Code of Honor, Savage, Social Stigma, Sticks Out Like A Sore Thumb, Stranger In A Strange Land, Superstitious, Underestimated, Uneducated


    Suggested Skills: Ambush, Animal Lore, Archery, Axe, Climbing, Contacts, Dancing, Dodge, Drinking, Fishing, Foraging, Healing, Herbalism, Horseback Riding, Hunting, Intimidation, Martial Arts, Mythology, Sailing, Spear, Stealth, Swordsmanship, Tracking, Wilderness Survival, Wrestling


    WWPHITM? Andre The Giant, Halle Berry, Moon Bloodgood, Don Cheadle, Wilt Chamberlain, Rae Dawn Chong, Iron Eyes Cody, Sybil Danning, Rosario Dawson, Johnny Depp, Michael Dorn, Graham Greene, Rutger Hauer, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Grace Jones, Vinnie Jones, Val Kilmer, Keira Knightley, Sonny Landham, Lucy Lawless, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Mako, Russell Means, Mr. T, Miles O'Keeffe, Lou Diamond Phillips, Tonya Roberts, Mickey Roarke, Arnold Schwartzeneggar, Jay Silverheels, Stellan Skarsgard, Ringo Starr, Wes Studi, Gina Torres, Danny Trejo, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Johnny Weissmuller


    Tag Line: "He is very fortunate to have such a woman looking after his weapon."--The Groosalugg, Angel


    Tools of the Trade: The noble savage's most important possession will probably his weapon, though medicine men and other magic users will also carry an assortment of holy or mystical items.


    Where You'll Find Him: With his tribe. If for some reason the noble savage has been separated from his tribe, he can usually be found alone in the wilderness. If for some reason he finds himself in a city, he will typically stay close to whoever brought him there, at least initially.


    Social Circle: His tribe. If the character has lost his tribe, he will most likely spend his time with a small circle of companions who have gained his trust.


    Sample Character


    George of the Jungle


    Body: 15


    Brain: 8


    Nerve: 12


    Job: Ape Man (12)


    Gimmick: Animal Allies (13)


    Weakness: Watch Out For That Tree! (13)


    Skills: Vine Swinging +3; Feats of Strength +2; Climbing +1


    WWPHITM? Brendan Frasier


    Dumb Fact: Has an ape friend named Ape.


    Tag Line: "Sometime George smash into tree.'


    HP: 15


    YY: 3


    Inspirational Materials


    Books & Comics: Conan series by Robert E. Howard, DragonLance series by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hikckman (Goldmoon, Riverwind, the Kagonesti), The Epic of Gilgamesh (Enkidu), Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper, Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Queequeg), Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Turok


    Movies & TV: Angel (The Grooosalugg), Avatar (The Na'vi), Brotherhood of the Wolf (Mani), Dances With Wolves (the entire Lakota tribe), King Arthur (2004) (the Woads), The Lone Ranger (Tonto), Star Trek (Klingons), Star Wars (Chewbacca), Superfriends (Apache Chief)




    As you can see, this article may have offended many a person and he sent the apology to ensure that those who subscribe to the newsletter do not take it as a personal attack or as a joke because the view of the author of this article is NOT SHARED by those at DRIVETHRURPG.


    Have a nice evening...


    Will




Rather than address the Hollywood tropes of 'the magical negro' or 'the noble savage', SPF redacts the offending article, apologizing for offending the masses. In the efforts to protect social and political face, SPF denied readers the ability to maturely discuss issues of race and stereotypes in games. While I feel for SPF's position of inadvertently taking on a large social issue, he shuts down the discussion before it even begins. I understand that SPF's job depends on saving face for the company, that SPF may have had no other choice than to apologize, and that the issue of race and stereotype in games may be too large an issue for SPF to tackle on his own. However, I disagree with his action of redaction, apology, and taking action as sunblock for the gaming community at large as a member of this community.

A few years back there was a similar issue regarding a different topic and a different industry. The game was called Six Days in Fallujah. The game was to be a tribute to soldiers who had died in the battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War. During the process of the design, developers sourced content from soldiers who had fought in the battle and from family and loved ones. The message was to be simple. "War is Hell." Development continued until News outlets and Fox News found out about the game. Atlus, the publisher, backpedaled, and rather than stand by their game and the content honoring the troops, they dropped the game from their line up and halted development. As a consequence, the troops who fought and died in that battle lose their immortalization within our medium.

More on Six Days can be seen Here.

Race and Stereotype may have been too big for SPF to address. Specifically the original article may have had the wrong tone in bringing up this issue. Furthermore, SPF may never have had the intention of addressing how we view race and stereotype in games when the original article was approved. Still, the industry is worse off for not having this conversation lead by someone so prominent within the industry.

My Point of bringing all this up, is that my sentiments concerning sex in games were recently removed from a gaming forum on facebook, and Billy, not satisfied with three threads being removed and myself being removed from the group, expects an apology in addition to my forced redaction.

Much like the late Christopher Hitchens said, the speech that voices opinions different than ours is the speech the most important to protect. Maybe SPF had something inspired to say about Race and Stereotyping, Maybe Six Days had something important to say about War, Maybe Apocalypse World, and yes, even I, had something interesting to say about Sex in Games, but now we'll never know. When we disagree on things, we argue, and when the conversation stops, we stop learning. Disagreement and Argument is not a good reason to shut down a thread, it is, however, an excellent reason to keep it going.

The Fact is, Every form of media had its detractors and its banner-holders. The same arguments are being flung around from the pro-social-stagnation position as were being tossed around when Roger Ebert was fighting to qualify Film as an artistic medium. Unless we use our pens and our dice and our keyboards to make the tough arguments, we will never be taken seriously. And yes, that may include getting into a confrontation about what belongs and what doesn't. If we refuse the confrontation, we submit to stagnation, and allow our medium to fall by the wayside and die.

That's my dukes.
-TK.