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Jul 1, 2001, 7:18pm

Hate to break it to you, Nornny, but when corporations ask for features in the AW
browser, it's because they, the corporation, think that those features would be best
for their users. It's not as if they send an email to their users saying "Hey, we're
going to be getting a 3D program soon. What features would you like to see in it?"
It's the big corporations that make all the decisions, and until a corp comes along
that will pass on *its* users' concerns on to AW, then we're all shit out of luck.
And even if that did happen, that would mean that their concerns would be more
important than our concerns, people who've been here and used AW far longer than
anyone from the outside corp.

If you think about it, it's disturbing how well Rick & JP keep us locked down and
silenced like this. Almost as if they know what they're doing...

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Nah... that's too much of a stretch...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 1, 2001, 11:31pm

Once again, I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, the "constructive criticism"
route has been tried many times before, and met with little or no success. As people
such as Eep, Just In, and Agent1 have proven, if you want something done, you need to
dog them until it gets done.

Do I honestly think yelling and screaming here in the NGs will get our problems
solved? Of course not, otherwise I wouldn't even bother. The whole reason I'm doing
this is so that *other* people will wake up and realize what's going on, and
hopefully drive them to act on these injustices. After all, this cannot be a one-man
effort. If we're going to bring about change, then this has to be a communal effort,
not just a few rabble-rousers.

Honestly, I would love to be able to walk into AWGate and expound to everyone the
wonders and joys of AW. Unfortunately, with all of these things going on behind the
scenes, my conscience would not let me. And if tourists are reading this, all I can
say is "good". It will educate them and serve as a warning that this is what you'll
have to put up with if you ever decide to get involved in the AW Community. Would you
rather we continue to hide Rick & JP's apathy towards customers from these newcomers?
That would make you no better than they are. Just as the real world isn't always nice
and pretty, so too is the virtual world. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather
know the truth going in, than to have it abruptly come out of nowhere and ruin
everything we've worked so hard to build all these years.

So it essentially comes down to this: Do we simply turn a blind eye to any "negative"
event that occurs and simply don't talk about it, or do we do everything in our power
(such as it is) to right these wrongs so that they don't happen again? The decision
rests in each citizen's hands. I've made my decision. What's yours?

And I'm not attacking you either, Ananas. Just trying to show you where I'm coming
from :)

[View Quote] --
Goober King
The phrase "knowledge is power" was never more right...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 3, 2001, 10:42am

Actually, Ananas, I understand exactly where you're coming from. I used to think as
you do, happy to go about my daily AW business and just tune out all of the rantings
and ravings of other citizens, (Eep, et al) saying "Oh, that's just them. They're at
it again."

But when Roland actually told me, and everyone else there ar TechTalk, that he felt
he was being ignored, that completely changed my way of thinking. Now not only were
Rick & JP ignoring US, they were ignoring their employees as well! I don't know about
you, but that doesn't sound like good business practice to me...

And if I were to own the company, through some small miracle, I would make sure that
the channels of communication were WIDE open, so that dissension such as ours would
never have a need to arise in the first place. Because that's what it all comes down
to: lack of communication. As I told Facter, if we were made privy to what goes on
over there in Newburyport, and knew with absolute certainty that our concerns *were*
being heard, then I, for one, would be content and you'd never hear from me again.

But until that happens, I will continue to rant, rave, and spew crazy speculations
based on half-truths! Because that's all we have to go on at the moment, and there's
only two people who can change that, and they ain't talking!

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Communication is key...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 6, 2001, 7:10pm

I realize you're new around these parts, so I'll try and clear up the confusion...

You and I are talking about two entirely different things here. What you're talking
about is showing gratitude towards the AW Community at large for everything they do,
whether it's helping you with building problems, or helping you get the hang of a new
command. And frankly, I couldn't agree more. Sometimes the job of helper is a
thankless one, and yet they persevere. I commend them for that, as should everyone
else.

My complaint, however, has nothing to do with the AW Community whatsoever. My
complaint deals specifically with Rick & JP, the owners of AWCom, and how they have
consistently ignored our concerns and ideas since they bought the technology from
Worlds all those years ago. (And by "concerns and ideas", I don't just mean new
building commands :P) If they were truly interested in the AW community, don't you
think they would pay attention to what we try to tell them? They don't seem to think
so.

If you want me to show them gratitude for their "support", then they have to show
*us* gratitude as well for all *our* support (citizenships, worlds, etc) by listening
to our concerns. Is that really too much to ask?

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Thanks, though. It was starting to get quiet around here...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 6, 2001, 7:18pm

[View Quote] Wrong. Just because it's "their" business does not give them the right to blatantly
ignore their own employees. The practice borders on worker negligence, which you
could easily sue for. Hell, I'm willing to bet the only reason Roland and friends are
still around is because they haven't found a better offer... yet. Either that, or
they, unlike their "superiors", actually care about AW's existence and don't want to
see it collapse in their negligent hands...

> sure that
>
> Just DO it then tell them how they should run "their" affairs. You are
> blowing
> smoke up your own ass till you actually have EXPERIENCE to back up your
> conclusions.

I do have EXPERIENCE, as you so interestingly put it. It's called "common sense". You
want a successful business? You make sure the customers are happy. (Happy employees
wouldn't hurt either) Happy customers means more customers. More customers equals
more money. More money equals more ways to make the customer happy. And the cycle
continues.

There's a reason that they coined the phrase "The customer is always right." It's
because it's true.

--
Goober King
Goobers, on the other hand, are often quite wrong...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 7, 2001, 2:25am

[View Quote] The problem is, bodhi, that the AW Community *is* separate from the company, and it's
only been through efforts by people like Roland and Facter that we're starting to see
a change. AWSchool, AWEC, ComReg, and all the other organizations out there are run
by average citizens like you and me. The only involvement AWCI has in their affairs
is to give them worlds and webspace, and that's it.

> I feel sure that you would balk at any suggestion that you be compelled to
> hear
> each and every opinion that every tom dick and goober had concerning your
> business; no matter how seemingly important they thought it was that you
> lend
> your ear.

Actually, no I wouldn't balk at such an idea. And the corporate world does indeed
have such a facility to handle things like this. Know what they call it? "Public
Relations Department", also known as "Customer Service". All successful businesses
and organizations have a place where customers can go to air their grievances, offer
suggestions, and find information. These departments are ALSO responsible for making
sure that grievances are addressed so that they don't happen again, for making sure
that suggestions are relayed to the proper people and considered, and for making sure
that information is easily and readily available. Now, I don't know what sort of
capitalist system you live in, but where I come from, that's called "Good Business".
If you don't have such a department, or even one employee doing such, then you don't
last very long. Need proof? Take a look at AWCI's stock, or even their annual
reports. You call that good business? I think not.

> The right to decide who we are willing to listen to is pretty darn basic;
> now,
> you whine that certain ppl (AW owners) will not listen to you (or for that
> matter
> others of your elk,) fortunately they are perfectly within their rights not
> to, how do
> you think they can get on with the very important assignment of keeping
> their
> wonderful business rockin on?
>

I would like to think that keeping customers happy would go a long way towards
keeping their business rockin on, don't you? And, for the record, this isn't some
small minority I'm talking about here. It's not as if me and Eep got together one day
and said "Hey, let's start a riot in the NGs because Rick & JP won't answer our
emails!" Sorry, but this has been a constant and cumulative problem that has spanned
*years* and practically every single AW citizen who ever bothered to care enough
about this wonderful program to want it to succeed. Need proof? Try wading through
the wishlist NG sometime. It's chock-full of great ideas and suggestions, many of
them offered by *multiple* people. And the vast majority of those ideas have yet to
see the light of day. In fact, most of the ones that have been actually carried out
were those that were suggested by corporate sponsors, not the citizens.

> A good business is good because ppl use it - not because proprietors waist
> their
> precious time listening to the selfish whinings of minorities. When your
> concerns
> become the concerns of the majority (and in this capitalist world that means
> those
> who have the money) you can be sure that they will be answered.

And therein lies the fundamental problem. Do you know who the majority is? Do you
know who supplies AWCI with the majority of the income? I'll give you a hint: It's
not corporate sponsors. It's us, the citizenry of AW. We buy the citizenships. We buy
the worlds. We buy the CDs. Hell, we even buy the t-shirts. Need proof? Just look at
their annual reports. Now, using your logic, don't you think that entitles us to
having our opinions matter? I'd like to think so.

> It sounds to me like your problem is more political nature given that you do
> not
> accept the basic structure of capitalism. Maybe you should run for office
> and attempt
> rather to make changes where change can work? Attempting to change basic
> facts
> of the system in the wrong arena will only bring about your own deep
> frustration and
> others contempt of you.
>
> Bad Bad Bodhi
>
[View Quote] --
Goober King
Nothing like beating a capitalist at his own game :)
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 7, 2001, 2:16pm

Guess what, Bodhi? I *am* doing my own thing. The difference between you and I is
that, whereas it would be easy for you to just pack up and go if you ever thought
there was a reason to leave, for me it's not that simple. I have invested *way* to
much in this AW community to back out now. And rather than up and leave and watch
things continue to stagnate and die, I choose to voice my concerns in the hope
(however vain that may be) that there will be change.

Unfortunately for you, I'm not a filthy capitalist pig. I'm more inclined to *help* a
sinking ship than abandon it. And since AW isn't open source, I can't exactly go and
do it myself. Therefore, I am compelled to do everything in my power (such as it is)
to make sure that AW not only stays afloat, but gets better. And the only way it can
truly get any better is if it starts listening to what it's regular users want.

And if you're truly not interested in helping this community, or contributing to it
in some fashion, then what are you doing in the *community* NG, might I ask?

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Exercising his freedom to bitch...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 7, 2001, 2:29pm

[View Quote] Coming from someone who claims to not care whether this community lives or dies, I
could ask you the same question? There's a difference between stirring the shit and
stirring people's minds to action. Somehow, I think you're doing the former.

> that, or
> don't want to
>
> I doubt it... Ppl like to be thought of a benevolent caring benifactors
> but when push comes to shove I don't know anyone who would hang
> around if the bucks werent coming in... Be realistic this isn't virtual
> reality
> we are discussing here LOL
>

Then you haven't talked to anyone in the lower echelons of the AW Staff. (Roland,
Facter, Gand, et al) You know why they're working at AWCI? It sure as hell isn't for
the money. It's because they see great potential in this software and want to make it
as good as they possibly can. Unfortunately, their efforts are undermined when the
people who actually make the decisions don't listen to their suggestions. But, like
me, rather than quit and watch this potentially great company die out, they stick
around in the hopes that one day, their concerns *will* be heard. A vain hope?
Perhaps, but it's all we have right now.

> make
> sense".
>
> Sorry comon sense doesnt count - by EXPERIENCE I mean DO the actual work
> of running your own virsion of AW before you are qualified to critisize...
>

Ok, fine. Ignore my opinion, then. But why not try talking to the AWCI employees? I'm
sure they have much more EXPERIENCE than I do, and I'm sure they can tell you exactly
what I'm telling you - something is WRONG here, and it needs to get fixed. Now.

> employees
> equals
> the cycle
> right." It's
>
> Blah blah blah Thank God AW doesn't play by your rules!

Thankfully, God has nothing to do with this. And these *aren't* my rules; these are
the rules of the free enterprise, laissez-faire market you are so quick to defend. If
you ignore the customer, the customer ignores you with their dollars. If you do that,
you don't stand a good chance of existing anymore. Isn't that the sacred oath of
capitalism? If not, then you're living in a capitalist fantasy world, I'm afraid. Out
here in the real world, customers are listened to, or companies get destroyed, plain
and simple.

--
Goober King
You'd think a capitalist would understand this basic fact...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 7, 2001, 9:06pm

If this is such a lost cause, and if we're all entitled to do our own thing, then why
are you so insistent on my not "raising a ruckus"? Do I honestly think that I can
affect change? Of course not. Do I think Eep or Roland or Facter can affect chance?
Hell no. What I *do* think is that if enough people can come together and form a
cohesive force, then maybe something can be accomplished around here. The process is
a slow one, to be sure, but it begins by not letting up and not giving in to "Oh,
there's nothing you can do" or "It's hopeless" . I, for one, am going to continue to
try and roust other citizens to action until I am shown proof that our concerns are
being considered.

Call me a martyr or whatever you want; I could care less. Just keep in mind that I'm
not alone in this, and I'm in no way trying to head some sort of massive rebellion.
I'm merely giving voice to the frustrations of many in the hopes that we will be
heard as one. If you don't want to be a part of it, then you can go back to your
little Gor world and turn a blind eye to it all for all I care. Let those wishing to
see change come forth. The rest can just get out of the way.

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Let loose the goobers of war! :P
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jun 30, 2001, 1:50pm

I would also like to point out that Chuck is incorrect when he says that "If there is
a name attached to them that means they are still renewing those account numbers."
When a person stops renewing their account, the last name that they used stays in the
AWCI database. It *only* turns into <Not a citizen> when AWCI eventually gets around
to cleaning out the database of old citizenships. Otherwise, the name could remain in
there forever. (Which is why you can still use the priv pass of an abandoned
account...)

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Just thought he'd mention that...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 2, 2001, 10:32am

More like "hung on for dear life for 6 years". The possibility still exists that AW
could very well go the way of all those other VR places you mentioned, with it's
stock still hovering around $1/share and only gaining any profits this past quarter
after steady losses. Yes, "the end" is indeed in sight, the only question is "When?"

And I'd like to think that the *only* reason that AW has even lasted *this* long is
because of the user-created community. WorldsChat, The Palace, etc were nothing more
than glorified chat rooms. You'd come in, chat with some people, visit another
world/room, chat some more, make your own avatar, chat some more, and that's it. AW
is so much more than that. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for the strong
community we have here, (with things like ComReg, AWEC, Cy Awards, etc) Rick & JP
would have been out on their collective ass a *long* time ago. Now if only "they"
would realize that...

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Rick: "Where's all these $20 bills coming from?"
JP: "I dunno. We must be doing something right!"
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 2, 2001, 3:00pm

Actually, there has been a couple layoffs at AWCI that you never hear about. The one
I remember in particular was Dennette, who was hired as an object creator, if I
recall correctly.

The story goes that Dennette was working on a project for them, and then JP told him
to drop everything and work on another project. Dennette tried to explain that he was
almost done with the first project, and that he felt it was a bit more important than
JP's project. Subsequently, Dennette was "released" for insubordination.

Please, correct me if I've gotten the facts wrong. It's been a while, and I don't
think Dennette's world is running anymore, where he had posted all the information
about this. Facter, could you shed some light on this perhaps?

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Proof that Goobers ARE as dumb as they look.
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 2, 2001, 11:14pm

*shrug* That's fine. The details aren't really important anyway. The main point is
that Dennette was another "victim" of Rick & JP's antics, so things behind the scenes
at AWCI aren't as rosey as some would have you believe.

Need another example? How about Cybernome? While he never was actually on the AWCI
payroll, he did take over as COFMeta caretaker for a little while, and actually had
managed to make the place a happening world again. But then, he suddenly decided to
leave. It wasn't because he was bored with caretaking. It wasn't because he couldn't
stand all the citizens hassling him about changing this or adding that. He left
because he couldn't stand the AWCI bureaucracy and red tape. He couldn't get anything
he wanted done because he was always met with "We'll get on it" or "We'll look into
it". Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and left to start his own 3D worlds (coming
soon! *smirk*)

Granted, that escapade was more Lucrezia's fault than anyone else's, but considering
that COFMeta is (was?) supposedly Rick's baby, you'd think he would have taken a
greater interest in its well-being. But noooooo....

[View Quote] --
Goober King
So, who's next to go? Roland, perhaps? Gand?
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 2, 2001, 2:54pm

Not that I'm an expert on such things, but I'd say that anyone below 100000 would be
"low", since it's very rare to see anyone with a cit number with less than 6 digits
these days. I'd also say that anyone below 200000 would be considered "old", since
those are the people who were here before the concept of "tourists" were introduced.
(Yes, I know that there are 200000's that came in before the "Registration Fee", but
the majority of them came afterwards)

Interesting tidbit from Mauz's History Page: It took about 10 months to go from
CitNum #100000 to CitNum #200000, but it took more than twice as long (22 months,
almost two years!) to reach #300000, and the registration fee was introduced about
two months after #200000 was hit. Coincidence?

[View Quote] --
Goober King
#103935... He's "old"...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 3, 2001, 1:37am

Guess what, Mike? I HAVE been waiting patiently, for 5 years in fact, for things to
change and watch what's coming. And you know what I saw over those 5 years? A
continual and steady decline in the amount of interaction between AWCi and its
customers. It's only been recently since someone like Facter has even bothered to
hear our complaints. But, as Roland pointed out, even that isn't enough when they
ignore the employees as well as the customers. And it's only been since then that
I've finally decided to let my frustrations loose in these NGs, in the vain hope that
it'll enlighten others to what's been going on all this time, since most people seem
content to close their eyes and pretend nothing's happening.

I realize you're relatively new around here, so you probably didn't know that. Just
thought I'd let you know...

[View Quote] --
Goober King
You can't pretend forever...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 9, 2001, 12:16am

Ooo! I get the University? Eeeeexcellent... *rubs hands*

*proceeds to rename it "Goober U" and cackles* The take over continues! ;D

[View Quote] --
Goober King
What, didn't you know he was trying to take over AW? :P
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 9, 2001, 10:37am

And they all end in Juno.com, no doubt :P

Yet another of my 2001 predictions that came true... I hate it when I'm right. :P

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Just call him Nostradamus...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 12, 2001, 11:27am

The problem isn't hard drive space, it's bandwidth. A lot of people, especially in
some European countries, get charged by the amount of bandwidth used, so the less
stuff they download the better. If they can download text instead of HTML then that's
one less pound/dracma/whatever they have to pay.

[View Quote] --
Goober King
God bless America and flat rates...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 13, 2001, 2:21am

And *this* is exactly the kind of thing I've been talking about all along! When AWCI
introduced their new high-res textures in AW, there was a flurry of back and forth
posts in here about how they should preserve the old ones and just add the new ones
separately. Several people even tried to gather petitions on the matter. Did it have
any effect? Absolutely not. And all because Rick & JP wanted AW to "look nice" for
the corporate suits who were previewing the program. Starting to get the picture?

As for AWHS, as far as I can tell, it's long since dead. Their website hasn't been
updated since June 4th, 2000, and the only indication that there's anything
historically related going on are Duskbat's Historical Recommendations in the
Newsletter! Please, correct me if I'm wrong here...

Still, even if AWHS were still a living organization, I doubt that they'd have much
say in getting the old textures back. They certainly didn't seem to have much effect
when they were changed in the first place all those months ago...

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Mark my words, I am not alone...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 15, 2001, 12:53am

Well, as far as I've heard, Gand has only finished making the objects, they haven't
actually finished making the world. And they still aren't sure exactly what they're
going to do with it, according to Facter. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
If they do make it into another building world, I hope they have objects that are a
tad more versatile than what we saw in those screenshots...

As for making it successful, good objects alone does not a good world make. You also
have to give people a reason to not only go there, but to keep coming back. That's
why worlds like AWTeen are so popular, is because there's always something going on
there. WildAW died after the novelty of "free speech" wore off. So you can't expect
to draw and maintain hundreds of cits and tourists with just a flashy object set. You
need to have something to keep them there. Of course, with AWCI's lack of involvement
in the community, it would have to be up to the community itself to provide the
entertainment...

[View Quote]
--
Goober King
Thanks, Gamer! Those HTML fruits were getting on my nerves :)
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 15, 2001, 10:21pm

My question is why do they only have 5 special avs? Can't they just add more special
avs to choose from, instead of having to kill off other ones?

Oh, wait... sorry... that would require that some corporate suit wants more than 5
special avs in his world. Forget I asked. :P

[View Quote] --
Goober King
And yes, Dilbert does rule!
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 17, 2001, 7:09pm

What LilAlpha was trying to tell you, marcus, is take it to general.discussion! This
has long since deteriorated from an actual community discussion to a game of
semantics. Go play in general if you want to keep it up.

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Semantics has its time and place... this is neither the time, nor the place
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 16, 2001, 2:29am

She long since "retired" and had handed the reigns of AWHS over to M u n k u y, who
then disappeared after a while. Now AWHS is dormant and leaderless, for all intents
and purposes, hence kellee's need to make such a post in the first place.

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Someone breath some life back into this AW community!
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 1:25am

To Whom It May Concern...

There was a time in AW when COF actually had a presence in the AW Community. There
was a time in AW when the concerns of the AW populace were actually considered before
a decision was made. There was a time in AW when people would meet in a little world
called The Transcend, and eagerly listen to COF's biggest announcements and plans for
the future. There was a time when, rather than see a product that was full of
potential get tossed aside like so much garbage, COF took it upon themselves to keep
it alive, doing it "for the community".
That was then; this is now. All the broken promises, unheard pleas, and unanswered
concerns lie plain for all to see like an open book. Citizenships that were
guaranteed to be free, abruptly changed to a paid system and unwittingly creating a
caste system of haves and have-nots that would forever divide the community. Worlds
like COFMeta, Atlantis, and WildAW, the "babies" of AWCI employees, now stand nearly
deserted and devoid of life due to neglect. World prices skyrocket out of control
without any prior warning or notification as the AW citizen base, mostly teenagers,
scramble to find enough money for their dream world. Features appear in the software
that only a marketing executive could love, as citizens' ideas go completely and
blatantly ignored. Organizations that once thrived on AWCI support (AWHS, AWEC, et
al) now stand in a state of dormancy, waiting for someone to help bring them to their
former glory. Textures get changed without any notification whatsoever, forever
changing, and in some cases, ruining the AW landscape.
And all this because of money; a simple, desperate, constant search for money. While
you were busy building virtual malls that no one would visit, you succeeding in
disenfranchising the AW populace by raising world prices and changing textures
without any input from your supposed "cherished" user base. While you were busy
shaking hands with Juno and making their world, a man by the name of Cybernome left
his post as caretaker of COFMeta (a world that *you*, AWCI, are supposed to be taking
care of) because of the stress of dealing with the AWCI management, causing it to
regress back to an empty, lonely world. While you were busy making Universes that
soon flopped, your stock did a reverse split and you actually had to buy some of your
own stock back! And while you were busy changing names and appointing Board members,
your own employees go as unnoticed and ignored as the citizens they spend their daily
lives helping and serving.
There's a reason this letter starts with the greeting "To Whom It May Concern". It's
a greeting that asks a simple question: Does this concern you? Do these things that
have occurred over the years bother you? Do you think something should be done about
them? If so, then why haven't you? The events that are described here, as well as
many others, are all well documented, so it's not as if you didn't know about them.
You are all perfectly aware of this buzzing community of people that has "suddenly"
sprung up around your little piece of software, yet you chose not to address it.
Instead of seeking to help nurture and grow this throng of loyal followers who have
been with you since the beginning, you wish to try and lure in companies and
businesses who might initially fall for the "revolutionary
e-commerce/education/modeling/simulation/whatever software" routine, but soon
discover it's nothing more than an elaborate chat room.
If it's money you're after, why not look at what has and has not worked in your
storied history so far. Virtual malls have proven to be completely ineffective, with
at mart standing empty, except for the occasional tourist lured away from AWGate. Your
precious Education universe, as well as worlds created for universities and colleges,
lie empty and dead, never to be visited again. Even your most recent projects, like
Nettazi, fail to draw in even a hint of revenue. On the other hand, mainstays like AW
and AWTeen continue to draw in hundreds of users on a daily basis. Volunteers like
Alphabit Phalpha, Brant, Bille, and countless others provide events and community
services that keep people coming back. Even employees like Facter, Flagg, and Roland
do all that they can to help make the community a better place, even if it's on their
own time! And all of these things work for one simple reason: it's for the community!
The community can make AW work!
All it takes is turning around and looking at who's behind you. Will Juno care about
AW's community and development? Will Nettaxi? Will NASA or the Univesity of Santa
Cruz or PCDJ.com or some other corporate sponsor down the road? When all is said and
done, when all the deals have past and all the money has been squandered, we will
still be here, supporting everything you do. Why? Simply because we have taken the
time to invest in your product to its fullest. We are the ones who have committed to
making AW the greatest place for people to come and, ultimately, spend their
hard-earned money. We are the ones who have succeeded in keeping this company afloat,
despite all the hardships and bad decisions. And we are the ones who can help you
bring AW into the forefront, where it belongs; where it *needs* to be.
But in order to do that, our voices need to be heard. We need to work together if
you ever want to see this program break out of this cycle of stagnation. Your
concerns must become our concerns, and our concerns must become your concerns. Only
then, will AWCI begin to see true success, and AW will launch into the stratosphere.
Still, the question remains: Are these your concerns? Do the ideas expressed in this
letter, and echoed by hundreds of users before us, even register with you? Because if
they don't, you've essentially told every single person who's ever bought a
citizenship or a world or a t-shirt or a CD, who's ever started a community
organization or a business in AW, that it was all for nothing. You might as well tell
everyone to send you a check for $20 in the mail every year and never even come to AW
at all.
The community can help you, if you are willing to let it. Let us be heard, and
together we can bring AW out of the darkness and into the spotlight where it belongs.
Because *that* should be everyone's primary concern.

Most Sincerely,
Bob Rodehorst
"Goober King" (#103935)

---------------------------------------------
This is the letter I plan on sending to every single person on the AWCI roster.
Whether you like me or not is irrelevant. Whether you believe AWCI has a right to
ignore us or not is irrelevant. Whether you think this letter has a snowball's chance
in hell of making anything happen or not is irrelevant. The only thing that matters
is, if you agree with the statements written above, please show your support by
replying to this message with your cit name and number. If you want, you can add
extra weight to your "signature" by adding your real name, to demonstrate that you
are a real person and not just some random number. In either case, the more people
who sign it, the better chance of us actually being considered.
So please, let's drop all of our petty squabbles just this once, and show AWCI that
we can actually stand united as one for the common good. Because if we can't, then we
are no better than the company we complain about. I still have some faith in my
fellow community members. Don't destroy it.

--
Goober King
Proof that Goobers ARE as dumb as they look.
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 10:18am

erm... so does that mean yer signing the letter? :)

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Need siggies!
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 10:27am

An olive branch, for all intents and purposes. The time for bashing and name-calling
is over. Now is a time of communication and action. I'm willing to work together with
these people to help make AW a better place, as are the people who've signed this
letter. Are you?

[View Quote] <snip>

--
Goober King
If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 3:46pm

That's the plan... once I get some more sigs, I'll send it to every single AWCI
employee's email. In fact, I already sent this letter to Facter this morning, who
assured me that he'd take it to their morning meeting. We'll see how that works...

[View Quote] <snip>

--
Goober King
Seeing as how it's well past morning...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 7:28pm

That's just it, icey. It doesn't matter what I want AW to be, or what plans I have
for AW. What this is all about is the fact that AWCI isn't *listening* to our ideas
or suggestions, regardless of what they are. Even if it's something as simple as
restoring the old low-res textures, they will completely ignore us and go about their
own ways. *That* is what I'm trying to change with this letter. I'm hoping to open
the channels of communication so that in the future, when the general public *does*
have something they'd like to see changed or implemented, they will know that their
ideas are at least being considered. But until that happens, you can make all the
petitions you want and piss and moan all you want, and it won't make a lick of
difference.

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Solve the main problem, and all other solutions will follow...
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 7:29pm

*poke* That mean yer gonna sign the letter or what? Figured you'd be one of the first
people on this thing...

[View Quote] --
Goober King
Be a team player!
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

Jul 18, 2001, 8:16pm

Whether it does any good or not is irrelevant insofar as signing it. The terms are
pretty simple: If you agree with what was said, sign the letter. If it turns out that
this letter gets ignored like everything else, then what have you lost? Nothing,
except what little respect you had left for them. And if it *does* work, then you can
be one of the many who can say "I helped get AWCI to listen to us." So why not sign
it if you agree with it? It wouldn't kill ya to be a team player every now and then,
Eep. :P

And this goes to all the other people out there in NG land who I know have been
watching all this and refuse to move: If, for whatever reason, you don't like the
idea of posting in the NGs and don't want to reply this way, you can post a reply to
my Stirring the Virtual Melting Pot column at http://www.awnews.com, or you can send
me an email with your name and cit to gooberking at utn.cjb.net, or even send a telegram
to me in AW. No matter how you do it, your name *will* get put on the letter, so
don't hesitate! If you agree with what was said, then let your voice be heard!

[View Quote] --
Goober King
We gotta work together, otherwise it's all for naught.
rar1 at acsu.buffalo.edu

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