LoneStranger said:
Yes I am offended by that, you want people to sit here and listen to your viewpoint but your not willing to consider anyone else's. You remind me of someone I know out here, he always wants everyone to hear his side of the story but the first person that disagrees isn't willing to hear him out no matter how long they have sat there and listened to him. So I will say in the future KDLadage I will read your posts but I won't put as much stock in them as I have before.
Lonestranger:
I have never, in the course of this discussion, or any other one on these boards, simply ignored anyone. I have not been abusive (although I have admitted that I am not always the best at ensuring that the full extent of my emotions is conveyed -- my choice of phrase and word often times makes it appear that I am being a heck of a lot more emotional than I tend to actually feel). I have apologized for that in the past.
But here I feel that you are either misreading me (which is my fault for not being more clear), or you are trying to be angry/upset with me (which is your fault, and there is nothing I can do about that). Let me try this again:
My statement was: "
I glossed over it because I find it (no offense) to be a pointless position to take. I want B5 RPG material; I want Mongoose to improve; simply walking away when I disagree (for any reason) while I still have an open mode of communications available to me would be counter productive... as in the end, I would have no B5 RPG material.
"
Let me de-construct that, explain what I mean and meant by it, and if you are still of the opinion that I am some kind of "
my way or the highway" kind of a guy, then one of the two conditions above are being hit once again, and we will just have to agree to ignore one-another from this point on, I guess, because we are just not going to see eye-to-eye on this stuff -- even to the point of being unable to simply agree to disagree, I guess.
- I glossed over it because I find it (no offense) to be a pointless position to take. -- Your suggestion was that if I do not like the stuff that Mongoose is putting out, if I find it offensive (which, as I have stated on at least six previous occasions, I am still not sure if I am offended or not; I have just expressed that I can see where others can have a legitimate case for offense) than I should simply stop purchasing it. I stated that this is a pointless position to take. I even indicated that I mean no offense by it -- just that it is not a position I can see having merit for me. Why... well, the following lines explain why:
- I want B5 RPG material; In other words, I want Mongoose to succeed. This means, I want to buy their material. This means I want to ensure that their material is popular, accessible, and -- in relevance to the current discussion -- free of offensive material. The Babylon 5 universe is one that mirrors our own quite closely. People are people. People have biases, prejudices and down-right-racist ideas in the show. But the show always showed that prejudices and preconceived rigid stereotypes were not only wrong, but could be down-right hurtful. The idea that a rule within a game set in that universe would reinforce such stereotypes -- positive ones or negative ones -- goes against the grain of that series. In my opinion. And I have yet to slam anyone's opinion or dictate that I am right and everyone else is wrong.
- I want Mongoose to improve; Right now, many people (certainly not just me) have expressed some level of dissatisfaction with some of Mongoose' procedures. This has led to some rather high instances of typographical and factual errors. It has also meant that some level of document control needs to be instituted in the company. Thus far, I have been one that is willing to be honest with the company, tell them how I feel, why I feel that way, and what I think they can do to improve. My discussions on this topic are nothing short of an extension of that. I want this company to produce the best books they can. If they ever want me to shut up, they can tell me to do so. Thus far, although they have not always been happy with me, have continued to be open minded, and tough skinned. We have disagreed more than we have agreed. I can respect that. I continue to buy their books. I think this is a great indicator of how I am far from the "my way or the highway" kind of guy you suggest I am being. But that could just be my perception, who knows.
- simply walking away when I disagree (for any reason) while I still have an open mode of communications available to me would be counter productive... You have suggested I simply stop buying the material if I find it offensive. I cannot see this as being a viable option while they are still willing to listen to constructive criticism. You suggest I walk away, while they are still open for discussion. You suggest I be quiet, while communication lines and methods are still available. I have indicated, and politely I think, that I disagree with this approach, and do not see it as a constructive alternative. At first, I ignored the suggestion -- glossed over it, as you put it -- for fear that dealing with it directly would result in the sort of post I am now responding to. C'est la vie, I suppose.
- as in the end, I would have no B5 RPG material. If I take your advice. If the rest of those that find fault in Mongoose's books; if those that find possible offense in the books (when it is obvious that no offense was intended by the company or the author, but was inadvertently possible and included none-the-less) then where are we? We are looking at the slow and methodical demise of a small company that has a lot of potential that is still untapped. Each book, without feedback, threatens to perpetuate the problem that caused the loss of consumers in the previous books until the audience is small enough to make the material disappear. I do not want that; I am sure that you do not want that...
I hope I made this clear. It was not my intent to offend you. If I have, I am sorry. I am sorry to have offended you, but to be honest, not sorry for what I said. What I said, I meant, and I mean. What I said, as annotated above, is my honest opinion.
To reiterate: as long as there are methods of communication, and as long as Mongoose is willing to listen, I will give them the most honest and straight-forward feedback I can give them. I will not, when I see something that can be improved (in my opinion) via a shift in rules, elimination of a possible offensive element, or what-have-you simply walk away. That does me no good; that does Mongoose no good; that does the license no good; that's no good for anyone.
Again, I am sorry to have offended you. I hope you can see where I am coming from and find it in your heart to continue the dialog. Because the last thing Mongoose needs is to get my thoughts without a few dissenting opinions. That does them (and everyone else) no good, either. Take, for example, PsycloneJack. He and I tend to come in from opposing ends on most topics. I respect his opinions because they are well reasoned, and quite well presented. I disagree with him a lot. We have agreed to disagree -- but we will still engage in the occasional debate -- lively, energetic and respectful. He calls me out when I am phrasing my words a bit more harshly than I need to. I do not get angry with him, tell him he is wrong and I am right and that's the end of it.
In other words:
I consider his opinion. Something you claim I do not do. There are other opinions I consider as well -- most of the people on these boards in fact. Some I do not, as they have proven to be opinion thrown out without thought or consideration. I will not name names or anything. But I think they know who they are.
Thus far, you are not on that list. I dismissed one and only one of your suggestions. It was one I did not see the benefit of debating. You took offense. I am debating it.
I hope that makes sense.
