Be Excellent To Each Other

It has come to our attention that CUS has established his own games-orientated forum, and that one or more of our regulars here has been PMing Beexers and encouraging them to sign up there. In other words, in much the same way as WoS begat Beex.

We, however, are not . We think the sneaking around and skullduggery is silly and, frankly, a little underhanded, which we don't understand at all. CUS's forum is located at http://www.sotalkaboutgames.com/forum and, if you feel inclined, we urge you to check it out. We see no reason people can't be members of more than one forum at once -- there is no need for any sneakiness. Indeed, a number of our regulars still regularly posts on WoS, and why shouldn't they?

Note, however, that CUS's forum is closed to guest browsing and CUS is manually vetting accounts, so even if you register you might not be allowed access to the site. As such we have no idea what is being said over there.

Also, to spare their blushes, we won't name which of our regulars has been doing this, so please don't ask. They may, of course, choose to explain why they felt they couldn't just post openly.

Regards,

Your mod team.

That's just bizarre really. I thought CUS was happily posting back on WoS.

He is, but some people are still banned from there and a lot just don't post. He misses a some of the people on here, but of course is banned himself. So he's set up a forum for himself. Makes sense really.

I'm one of those banned from WoS, it seems.

I don't know if I find that sad or humorous.

I'd say a bit of both Meems.

I'm not sure. I think it is the first place I have ever been banned from. Deep down, I think it makes me giggle.

I wasn't sure if my WoS account was still live but it seems to be. I've only got time for one forum these days though.

Do you know, we almost went a week without any kind of little thing being exploded out of all proportion. I'm pleased this has happened.

Anyone want to lay bets on how long it takes for him to go mental and then ban himself while running around the forum screaming about a conspiricy? I give it 3 months.

Good luck to him but frankly my patience ran out with him during his last fit of attention seeking.

And to whoever is doing the PM'ing, you should have just posted the link and let people make their own mind up.

He's been fairly well behaved over at Wos for a while. And offered some explanation for some of his craziness. Though the cynic in me can't help thinking it may still be just attention seeking. Still I've no problem with him as long as he behaves himself.

To be honest, I would have thought that the PMing and things like that are far more likely to have been done to avoid upset, than to create it.

I think that perhaps Team Mod are seeing a conspiracy through paranoia glasses.

My opinion, is that it's a complete non issue, not really worth of comment.

Mali is correct, no malice was intended.

I don't think that Team Mod are seeing a conspiracy, this thread was started to bring things out into the open to stop any paranoia about it. We didn't want people to feel that they have to sneak around.

The new boards are welcomed and we wish CUS luck with them, the internet is a big place, there is plenty of room for us all.

I guess it was through PMs so he could just invite the people he wanted too. I guess he can still vet accounts but I suspect he was trying to avoid having to say that 'I don't think we get on - sorry.'

Don't see anything wrong with that at all - good luck to him too.

Yeah? And so's your face

alright chaps erm, me mate askedm e to post this here for yers... k?... laterz...

Good morning folks, this is CUS. Some of you will already know this of course.

WoS, did not beget Beex. WoS begat Bistro, which was a small private forum of mine, to which I had invited a group of friends. This is because things were tense and difficult at out regular forum, and nobody was too happy.

Truly, history repeats itself. Now, Bistro begat Beex. Unfortunately, I am unable to post here, due to a sneaky, underhanded banning. If anyone was wondering why I didn't post here. Now, obviously, I can't invite anyone from here over, if I can't login. Consequently, I had asked person X if person Y might be asked if they wanted to come too. That's it.

If anyone would care to login to Bistro, you'll find that the initial members group includes some of the fine regulars of this abode, including one of your fearless Moderators. Why it is that this new private forum is causing such teeth-gnashing, when the other was welcomed by them, I really don't understand.

Please disregard the attempts at sensationalism in the Welsh Wizard's initial post. This is no more sensational than my creating Bistro.

I shall spare the blushes of the two Moderators who tried to sneak in with glovepuppet accounts, desparate and agog to find out, ahem 'what is being said over there.'

It is a shame that Doctor Glyndwr is not familiar with code development. If he were, he would perhaps be familiar with the term "closed beta". Another of your fearless Mods would perhaps be familiar with how a construction site will be enclosed. For to protect public safety.

I regret that Doctor Glyndwr and others of the fearless Mod team, have reacted to the news that I have a private site, much like a previous forum which one of their own helped form last year, with such anguish. Do you not have anything better to talk about? Please do attempt to not be children, and to not attempt instantly to attack something of mine, on sight. Are you six?

Just about anyone is welcome over there. It is not the anti-anything, and I do not intend to stop contributing to WoS, just as I have not asked anyone to stop posting here.

Grow up.

Love and cuddles,
CUS

p.s. as regards 'screaming about a conspiracy' - what, such as 'CUS and a group of unnamed forumites are attempting to lure people away?' That kind of conspiracy? Wasn't true with WoS and Bistro, isn't true now.

Fair play to him. It's a place where he can exercise the control for once.

I wasn't invited though so I'm not bitter

Did you read something I didn't?

i dunno mate youd have to ask him yerself soz

Dr Glyndwr's initial post seemed very reasonable to me.



especially that bit.

Heh, brilliant. CUS, we should pay you a retainer.

He is free to do whatever he wants and good luck for him. But my patience with the guy has run out. A leapord doesn't change it's spots.

The fact he set up a sock puppet here and is posting means he still can't let it go.

Basically I gave up caring when I realized his whole posting persona was geared around desperate attention seeking. The best thing to do is to ignore him.

lo guyz erm:

Hello again peeps,
"PM Shenanigans"? The sensationalism is suggesting that there are Reds Under the Beds here. Forumites who are leading others off astray to the evil forum lead by the traitor Snowball. I mean, uh, CUS. Just like Wos! Oh, no! Imagine if a forum you liked was to lose some of its members!

Now, I had a lynch mob after me last time, so I'm not going to put up with it this time. I have no need to this time. So. Leave me alone, and I leave you alone. Okay? All this *gestures* is not a good start.

I thankee with a respectful nod to MaliaA, Mr Russ and Lave, for their comments in this thread, which I appreciate and offer similar sentiments in reply. If you have not been invited, please do not take this as meaning that you aren't welcome. I am testing server load, and other practical considerations that have been entirely ignored in the rush to paint this as some sensationalist conspiracy. I will most likely invite, or simply open to all, later.

I suppose I should get the inevitable, "Hang on, but didn't Dr Glyndwr say 'fair play' and urge people to go and have a gander, and enjoy the forum?" out of the way. Aside from that there's a mildly raised eyebrow at the closed nature, which has now been explained. It's hardly a call to arms for a forum war, is it? And, y'know, why would he?

As for PM's, fair so. I didn't really need to know that PM's were circulating on the manner, so the mildest of frowns on that, but nay beef. I was a fair bit impatient and cross with CUS at the time of his leaving, but I've cooled, and I hope his forum goes well. He's always on top form when talking about games, and I hope this marks his return to the splendido poster that we fondly remember.

As for the forums I frequent, only got time (and barely that) for this one and the Freespace Open Source and whatever game I'm currently enjoying. And Nanowrimo. So though I may dip in to have a look at what they think of the odd game, my rubbish amount of free time means that this is the place I'll be wallowing in.

Good luck CUS, no forum war kicking off here mate, overt or otherwise. Hope you enjoy your new talkee place.

Yeah I don't think there's any sensationalism going on in the first post.

There is something of a revelation - but you can't really blame Richard for that: Trying to poach people to yet another forum by back channels is never going to look good when it's revealed*, even if there's nothing particularly wrong with doing so.

*As pete says "mild frowns".

Thing is, some people who will have thought of this place as a great place when it first started, will have become disillusioned by the way it has turned out and how it has been run.

That's not a slight against anyone; that's a fact of life.

I would prefer to believe that the PMs were not done in a malicious way though, a mere invitational, if you will, to avoid causing public affray; rather than a subversive attempt to 'steal' members.

Okey Dokey here we go:

A, I didn't want a huge arguement about 'you are taking all our forumites' hence inviting a few members
B, The post may would have been deleted if there was a link to another forum as I feel that's not the done thing-I can't say for sure of course
C, The forum isn't ready for a larger amount of people to come on yet. It'll grow steadily and at a manageable pace this way.

Also I love the way Chinny said and let people make their own mind up. What the hell do you think we are doing? Going there and threatening families if they don't join the forum? Get a clue, people don't have to join.

I invited 4 people, 2 of which haven't joined. I won't name names. People asked where I was and why I was quiet/not posting so I said 'I'm on another forum,' I didn't immediately say 'OMG JOIN IT AND LEAVE BEEX!' As that would be very silly, after a few PMs exchanged with one of the members they decided to join, they did not 'have' to as I said if they wanted me I'd be around to pick up PMs and stuff, but the majority of the time I would be over there. The other member I was talking to via facebook and sent the link there.

I like talking to a few members a lot so it'd be nice to do so on a regular basis, hence my invites to people. I didn't make anyone do anything, you all have your own brains don't you

Not a malicious intent at all in any of that, so if you can find one-good luck!

Sure, but given the history, it would have been better to be open about it in the first place. Then, when it's revealed, it doesn't look vaguely sneaky. I dunno, it'd just be more polite really.

Oh!

If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to find out about CUS's forum in the first place? 'Cos I never heard about it and I've been here a lot longer than you

Well Shin's revealed herself now with a thorough explanation.

I think the main problem we have here, with both BETEO and STAG, is that we have absolutely no draw for new forumites. We're just fighting over maybe 200 people, a number which is whittling down as people up and leave. What's the point? BETEO is an island in the middle of the internet, barely anyone knows about it and they're not going to find out about it. STAG will be the same, recruiting its members mainly from the island that is BETEO. There aren't enough people, it becomes stale and arguments break out every week. LORD OF THE FLIES.

WoS had a big draw - a lot of people knew about Stu and new people turned up all of the time. Until we can build a draw for new people (yey, yes, the site), the active members are just going to decline over time.

This is better than Mafia Scum.

[vote:Kalmar]

Yes, I know I'm probably the 50th person to have made this post.

Edit - First? Everyone has abandoned us.

I really like your hedgehog.

Why are all the people involved in this thing reading stuff I'm not? No-one has said anything about conspiracies or malicious intent*.

*Except to say "I don't think there's any conspiracies or malicious intent"

So do I.

On a serious note, I am also posting on stag.
Any forum lives and dies by its posters and all I'm really willing to say at the moment is that I have no intention of giving up on beteo.


I'm glad it's not just me wondering about that.

Oh that's not true we've had several new sign ups just recently. Jim Taggart the other day, and Gryzor.. oh.

If only BETEO had some kind of front-end website that could draw people through to a forum to discuss things! *ahem*

PM Shenanigans? Underhanded, secretive forum-luring-away from a group of unknown forumites? And then Chinnyhill10 mentioned conspiracies a post or two later.

@jonarob: thank-you for such confidence. Actually, I've already got plans in place to draw in other people via other means, rather than simply poach from here. Including the main site itself, which will be live in matter of days.

"Gryzor", you missed out, "CUS told me to say".

You see, with the active members dwindling, there's fewer people to write the content!

Well, I'd already told Grim... at the same time as I created the account that it was me, and he doesn't seem to mind, and well, it's just easier.

Heh, I've met CUS-we go out now and again, later on he asked whether I'd like to join a forum-I said yep as I like talking with him and can't do so here

Hey, I wasn't knocking you or intending to show a lack of confidence. I was just saying it how it currently is.

Ah, fair enough.

Is that where Dudley's gone too? He;s not been around much this week either..

Heh.

I ,of course, was referring to the issue, not the SUPER SECRET FORUM THAT NO ONE PM'D ME ABOUT. YOU CLIQUEY BASTARDS.

<UNSUBSCRIBES>

What? Why did nobody PM MaliA like I instructed you all to do, on pain of death? Goddamnit, that's Stage 1 Phase 3 of the STAG Putsch ruined! God, now I've got to move the friggin' island again.

Pah. WoS is done with. But it's a golden age for us, a golden age that will never end!!

Can I just be the first to make the STALAG joke? Thanks.

Escape from STALAG CUS 116?