jwa@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (James Anderson) (12/22/87)
I am of the opinion that it would be a big mistake for anyone with an interest in games to vote for the formation of this group. The volume is not really great enough to warrant a split and most people that hack games also hack various utilities, why make it more difficult to get a comprehensive source of bugs? Another very important point is that it would make it much easier for those who are constantly looking for a way to supress games on computers to restrict information related to their use/existance. Yes, there really are people that hold this narrowminded viewpoint without realizing the value of computer games. Sure some people get carried away with games, but most people don't or they do only for a short while. Computer games provide a means of entertainment when your people need a break. They are still in the work area and can be called upon if needed, much better than them heading to the donut shop or some such place. Computer games as a rule keep the mind alert to new possibilities and situations, certainly a much more productive leisure pursuit than hanging around the hall hitting on secretaries or similar activity (drugs in the washroom for instance). The value of computer games as a non-threatening means of familiarizing a new person with the aspects of the system is another point that these people miss. I could ramble further but I think this addresses much of the important material. -- Me "I'd volunteer to fly in the shuttle right now." Berger "I'd volunteer you too." uucp: ...!seismo!k.gp.cs.cmu.edu!jwa ARPA: jwa@k.cs.cmu.edu
jbuck@epimass.EPI.COM (Joe Buck) (12/29/87)
In article <559@PT.CS.CMU.EDU> jwa@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (James Anderson) writes: >I am of the opinion that it would be a big mistake for anyone with an >interest in games to vote for the formation of this group. Several of the people who've done most of the recent modifications to "nethack" disagree with you; they've already voted for the group, because it will consolidate the bug reports in one place. Don't worry; if you get comp.sources.games it's almost certain that you'll get comp.sources.games.bugs. If you don't, you won't, but why get fixes to software you don't receive? If you're able to receive the software from somewhere else, you can be equally resourceful with patches. I play hack and warp myself; I'm no enemy of games. It's just that the game bugs come in waves and drown everything else out, and I'd like a low-volume group for discussing bugs in non-game software. As for those that argue that there should be a bugs group for each sources group: one could also argue that since we have rec.music.gdead we should have a group for every rock band in existence. We don't because there isn't the volume for it. As for those that would rather have comp.bugs.games (none of you have sent mail but I've seen a few postings) as a news administrator I'm trying to end up with simple /usr/lib/news/sys files for everyone. Sites not passing comp.sources.games won't pass the bug fixes, automatically. By the way, the vote so far is 99 to 6 in favor of the new group, with yes votes from Canada, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia as well as lots from the USA. I expect that it'll all be over by the new year (100 more yes votes than no votes are required). I'm still collecting votes. They must be mailed to me to count; I haven't been counting posted votes. Oh, Bob Webber: no other software is any more important than games? Wow. How do I get a job at your company? -- - Joe Buck {uunet,ucbvax,sun,decwrl,<smart-site>}!epimass.epi.com!jbuck Old internet mailers: jbuck%epimass.epi.com@uunet.uu.net
webber@brandx.rutgers.edu (Webber) (01/03/88)
RE: jbuck@epimass.EPI.COM (Joe Buck) Message-ID: <1779@epimass.EPI.COM> > ... >Oh, Bob Webber: no other software is any more important than games? >Wow. How do I get a job at your company? Sigh. I suppose it is postings like this that cause people to waste tons of bits with disclaimer signature files. For the record, although there are a number of companies that make their fortune in games software (and hence have commercial reasons for preferring such software), I do claim to know whether or not I am employeed by such (nor do I claim to care) and furthermore, I do not claim to represent the opinions of the citizens of New Jersey. HOWEVER, the note did represent my own opinion. Indeed after careful analysis of all the things that can conceivably be done with a computer, it is my opinion that the most important is to make it play a good game of chess. --------- BOB (webber@athos.rutgers.edu ; rutgers!athos.rutgers.edu!webber) Of chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it -- but that is the fault of life, not chess. Napier