More Google problems ... time was, newsgroup posts sent in through Google
didn't actually appear on Google if you were reading the group by those
means - which was pretty frustrating for those posters who then couldn't
see their own posts, leaving them to wonder if the post had gotten through
at all. If someone replied, they could see the replies, but not the
original.
Now I'm seeing a new twist ... posts sent in through Google show up just
fine if you're reading the group through Google, but not if you're reading
by other means ... at least, that's true for me, using FreeAgent. Perhaps
other readers using other programs, aren't having this problem at all. I
had to dig the following post out of Google in order to reply - and just
to
be sure it showed up everywhere, I cut and pasted it into e-mail, manually
added > marks to quote the original text, and sent it as a separate
message. I'm leaving all the original text intact, for the benefit of
those who may not have seen the original post.
Sept. 4, 2004, by robo_rob:
>This is to both Soundblaster and Raksha. I never intedned to ask that we
only re****t news on this matter and not put in our >own opinions on the
matter. Maybe my message came out that way, but that was not my intent.
>
>What I was desiring was hoping that we as a fanbase could discuss events
involving OTFCC without getting into some venom >spewing argument. I know
opinions are mixed and truthfully split on the whole situation. I
personally am saddened by it all. >Mostly because of the uncertain nature
of what is going to happen next.
What's going to happen next is an interesting topic for speculation. I'd
like to hear people's thoughts on this as well. I'm hearing a lot about a
company called Master Collector, which puts on huge and expensive G.I. Joe
conventions. Now, I've never been to a JoeCon, but what I'm hearing about
Master Collector raises some red flags for me already ... I have the sense
that if they end up with the TF con, it's going to be an entirely soulless
cor****ate entity, designed strictly as an advertising vehicle for Hasbro's
latest toys - something run as a business venture, very tightly controlled
by Hasbro itself - which is always a Bad Thing (tm). Mind you, I could be
wrong - maybe they could come up with exclusives and concepts that could
still tempt me - but at this point I have entirely zero motivation to
attend such a cor****ate convention. It's not even something I'd be upset
or angry about. Not something I'd feel in some way honor-bound to
boycott. It just wouldn't be worth my time. If the con happened to be
held across the street from me and a group of friends asked me along, I
might even visit for a day ... so it's not something I have any great
emotional investment in one way or another. I can't see myself bothering
to take a 2-day road trip in an RV to make it to such a show, however.
Nor
even a several-hour drive. It's just a matter of lack of interest.
But if it does come to this, I'm very content and happy with the 10-year
run that BotCon had. It had some great shows, some mediocre shows, and
even one or two truly abysmal shows, but it couldn't have reached a more
perfect or more satisfying conclusion than BotCon '04. If that indeed is
to be the last one, then the era of the big TF cons is over for me, as far
as I'm concerned. And I don't mind. Since I'm not in the least
interested
in the new toys and storylines, I'd not really be missing anything. Well,
it's true that one can always find goodies in the dealer's room that elude
you even on Ebay ... but in all my years of collecting, I've learned that
most things come back around again, most things you get another chance
at. It's just a matter of patience. And it's true that I'd miss hanging
out with friends at the big conventions - but, there are other means of
getting together with friends too. It's my hope that smaller local shows
will continue to exist, and even have an upsurge now that they have this
huge gap to fill.
The best of all possibilities, of course, is that the Hartmans and Pete
continue to hold BotCon, whether official or unofficial (preferably the
latter). But that depends on a number of things, not the least of which
being the course of their own lives. As they explained at the organizer's
panel, all of them have other pursuits and careers and interests in
addition to putting on TF conventions. Either way it turns out, would
seem
to be acceptable at this point.
>So basically, all I am saying here is. Can we talk about this without it
being some pro/against argument.
Realistically, there are always going to be cla****ng views. For instance,
I think that having a soulless cor****ate convention run by an extension of
Hasbro, is a joke upon the fandom and not worth bothering with; whereas
someone else might consider this, for reasons I cannot fathom, to be the
best of all possible worlds. And just because I don't *agree* with the
latter idea, doesn't mean I don't want to hear it and try to understand
why
the other person may feel that way.
> I truthfully am sick of
>arguing over the con. Truthfully, I miss the days when the fandom didnt
seem to argue as much. Thats all I want, really. A >fandom that isnt so
busy arguing that we can just get back to what we are all gathered here
for. Transformers, we all love >them.
Truthfully, I don't think there was *ever* a time when the fandom didn't
argue so much. It's true that we have more material to fight/disagree
over
now than we did 10 or 15 years ago in the "good old days," and I would
certainly say that a huge amount of damage has been done to the TF mythos
since then - but in terms of fans argueing among each other, it really
hasn't changed that much. We were fighting about different specifics, but
I can tell you from personal experience that those long-ago battles were
just as intense, just as upsetting, just as emotionally draining, just as
much of a scorched-earth flame-war, as anything that goes on today. Trust
me on this; I've been getting hate-mail since 1993. ;) Each new crisis,
though, seems to be far worse and far more personal than anything that
came
before - merely because you've already survived and moved on from the
last,
but the new one is what you're dealing with *now*.
I'm not saying any of this is a good thing. It's part of why this group
was created to begin with, after all - so people could disagree on the
issues without personally attacking each other. But it *is* an
inescapable
byproduct of a fandom such as ours - a fandom populated by creative people
who passionately *care* about the characters and their stories. When you
care about something, you take it personally. You fight for what's
im****tant to you. And, like the Classic TF characters themselves, there
are people of all imaginable mindsets and worldviews in our fandom,
because
there really is something for everyone in this mythology. There will,
unavoidably, be clashes of personality, belief systems, and values.
Having said that, I'll again agree with you that I too would like to see
this topic discussed without vitriol. Because there are definitely some
possibilities open now, that weren't so obvious before.
>robo rob (who had to use google groups to post this, so not sure if it
will display properly.)
I know you were probably posting from a laptop or public computer at the
con, so going through Google was unavoidable - but whenever possible (and
this is addressed to the whole group now), let's try *not* to post through
Google until the propagation problems are cleared up. If it's your only
means of reaching the group, of course, it's better that you post through
Google than not at all....
>btw, Dragon Con is a great con. It's only Friday and I am having a ball.
Neat... :)
--Raksha
Broke? Unemployed? Paying too much for gas?
Do something about it! www.johnkerry.com
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"I am the Plumed Serpent, I strike and I soar!"
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All-time favorite Transformer: Soundwave ("The secrets
of the Universe reveal themselves to those who listen.")
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ATTCM - the Transformers at their best!
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