disobey.com

With the newest issue of Game Studies out of the way, I can finally catch up on the hundred or so bookmarks I've been collecting over the past week. First up, Seven Secrets to Good Brainstorming, and the matching sidebar, Six Surefire Ways to Kill a Brainstorm. There's too much to snip, so I'll just numeric the points (which, three years from now, will make this entry woefully obsolete... and so it goes):

The Good Stuff:
1. Sharpen the focus.
2. Write playful rules.
3. Number your ideas.
4. Build and jump.
5. Make the space remember.
6. Stretch your mental muscles.
7. Get physical.

And the Bad Stuff:
1. Let the boss speak first.
2. Give everybody a turn.
3. Ask the experts only.
4. Go off-site.
5. No silly stuff.
6. Write down everything.

Man alive. Nearly two months after it was first released, my schedule finally afforded me time to finish the second issue of Game Studies. Wonderful discourse on games.

Game Studies is a scholarly journal first, and a game journal second. It is not a gamers' web site, it is an academic journal that happens to be on the web. We serve the academic world, and follow its rules. But we also want to be accessible and readable to the public.

Our primary focus is aesthetic, cultural and communicative aspects of computer games, but any previously unpublished article focussed on games and gaming is welcome. Proposed articles should be jargon-free, and should attempt to shed new light on games, rather than simply use games as metaphor or illustration of some other theory or phenomenon.

Paul Victor Novarese on competition:

It seems a lot of people don't understand what the word "competition" means. Just because a product is free, or open source or whatever doesn't mean it doesn't compete with a product that is closed-source and commercial. Anyone who says Amphetadesk doesn't compete with Radio is sadly mistaken.

Good read. Sadly, I don't have brain power to investigate further. Random immediate thought: my "incentive to improve" AmphetaDesk is based on my user's desires and emails (I've got hundreds of feature requests, many of which I think are viable), not based on what Radio Userland is doing. That shouldn't matter, it seems, since a user could a be recovering Radio refugee, giving me insight into AmphetaDesk's "missing" features (when compared to Radio). Sigh. I wish I had more time to think.

In a lot of aggregator articles I've seen lately, there's always been talk of Aggie or Newzcrawler or AmphetaDesk or NetNewsWire Lite. Whilst I've not talked to the Newzcrawler people, I've kept in decent contact with Joe and Brent about interop (they're good people), working together, and generally doing things that respectable, carefree software developers do. Thus, its with some excitement that I congratulate Brent on his release of NetNewsWire Lite 1.0. It may not be crossplatform (like AmphetaDesk), but it's the nicest looking aggregator I've seen for OS X. Recommended if you're not a fan of browser-based aggregators.

RSS 2.0 sucks. Alas, due to Winer's copyright mojo on his RSS 2.0 document, I now need to append the below to my three word statement:

Copyright 1997-2002 UserLand Software. All Rights Reserved.

This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and these paragraphs are included on all such copies and derivative works.

This document may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to UserLand or other organizations. Further, while these copyright restrictions apply to the written RSS specification, no claim of ownership is made by UserLand to the format it describes. Any party may, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, implement this format without royalty or license fee to UserLand. The limited permissions granted herein are perpetual and will not be revoked by UserLand or its successors or assigns.

Comment on this stupidity. UPDATE: Actually, based on the comments over at Ben's site, it makes a bit of sense now. Ignore my stupidity. I was also kinda surprised to learn that the copyright notice has been like that since v0.91. Huh. Sorry 'bout that (though, I still think RSS 2.0 isn't so good - anyone ever play Parappa the Rappa? GeettiIing Wooorsee!).

Just got a hilarious email from someone I barely know:

Subject: Monster
To: dave@userland.com
From: Tom Longson

Dear Winer,

You've been attacking so many people recently, that I was hoping you could attack me as well. I'm not making any death threats, but I'm kinda tired of the whining. If you could mention me, and maybe call me a monster too, I'd really appreciate it. By the way, are you the naked tea kettle guy?

Thanks,
Nym

The "naked tea kettle guy" bit is priceless (it's an urban legend).

When reading DNN, Viewer Discretion is advised. You may be offended. Regarding my whole Jewgregator/Hitler thing, here's what I've said (this stuff is cut n' pasted from various mundania I've already sent):

From the comments at DecafBad.com:

Of course, I do realize the inbred triviliazing of life based on this comparison - I'm not condoning, nor wiping away the deaths that occurred. It's merely another over-the-top metaphor that is ruder than necessary on a closer examination.

From a private email:

I *know* how ugly and disgusting it is. I've [already] said that as much.... That hasn't stopped me, however, and I doubt it will in the future, either (I still reminisce about my school years - specifically public speaking classes. That was a hoot. Everyone realized I was kidding then, too, and the teacher, who had been in that war, gave me an A).

From a private email, and my closing statement:

And yes, in normal day text, I have indeed talked about the KKK, negroes, gay's, etc, to enunciate points I'm trying to make - nothing is sacred, be it any of the common taboos of the day (abortion, rape, etc.) nor tried and true (religion, genocide, etc.). I realize it does offend some people, and the most I'll do is reach out and say "hey, I realize it offends you - that sucks, it's how I am". A lot of people ignore me *specifically* for that reason, and that's quite alright - I know that stuff happens.

LOL. This is funny shit.

I don't even know why I'm responding to this - it's just so "out there" that it doesn't even deserve my time or merit. Either well, let's begin. First off, AmphetaDesk is not a competitor to Radio Userland - it will never tie in to a hosting company, it will never cost money to use, and it will never be closed sourced. Competition suggests I'm getting something in return - that there's something I'm going to "win" from you - and there's absolutely nothing you have that I want, be it your customer's monies, or the headaches involved with week-long outages that leave people royally pissed at you.

As for the death jab - I don't even know where to begin. There's no "intention" there, and if you've read anything on Disobey (a lot of which would probably piss you off as well) besides the AmphetaDesk or DNN stuff, then you'll realize that it's just an idle statement, much like my pathetic attempt to associate women in abusive homes with dodgeball lovers. Neither of us are one-trick ponies, and to think that either of us would get this upset over gay-ass RSS is plain old stupid.

And yes, I did coin the term 'Jewgregator' - in response to your "hear no evil, see no evil" dictatorship of RSS 2.0. What the frell does that have to do with anything?! Oh, oh, I see! I'm a white supremacist now, of course. Bwahahah. You really have my priorities placed wrong when it comes to worldy issues (I don't even watch the news, read the papers, vote, or give two turds - I live in a state of deliberate blissful ignorance). If I did watch the news, I'd probably say you're creating an Axis of RSS Evil, with the same dramatic moronics as Bush's.

Plays this rough? Why'd you link to, on Scripting News, my mailing list comments on RSS 2.0? And, more importantly, if we're not communicating, why haven't you removed it yet? Your hidden spin makes it seem like I approve of RSS 2.0 - I don't, not one bit. If I had half a moment to care, I'd be in the midst of the RSS-DEV discussions, beating out answers that solve something. Instead, I figured, if you're going to go ahead and make RSS 2.0 suck, I'll try to make it suck less. Que sera.

As I sent in a personal email last night: I speak when the moment hits me, creating a unique blend of incredible, jaw-dropping assholishness, and occasional sensible discussion. You know that just as well as I do, considering our history together on mailing lists.

To understand how much you've got me wrong, you've got to understand how much joy it brings me that you've called me a monster. That made me chuckle with joy, dance with joy, and gallop with glee! Hell, I'm thinking of putting that on one of my random email signatures: "Dave Winer Approved Me As A Grade A Monster". My flipping pseudonym (Morbus) means "disease" in Latin, and the last name (Iff) is from an Aleister Crowley book (you know, that good ol' Satanist / Mark of the Beast guy). You would have done me more harm by calling my "Strawberry Shortcake", but even then, that's cultural bravado, and I'd wear that like a badge too. There are so many assumptions you've made, so many idiocies you've been caught in, that this is just another. Yaawwwn.

As for my cause, I'd love to hear it. Honestly, Dave, you're not that important to me. I don't think your ideas are very good, I think you're surrounded by a certain group of "yes" men that empower your twisted visions of grandeur, and you've set yourself up on a pedestal of "I AM IMPORTANT!" - witness your recent whinings about not being mentioned in The Guardian. It's NOT one bit about who was first, or what you think you've contributed to the community - it's about what people think about you and your accomplishments. Quite frankly, myself included, there are many people who dislike you. Whether you want to accept that or not, that's the sole reason you're not being mentioned anywhere - people are disgusted by your attitude, your personality, and your inability to discuss on a rationale level. If you want people to accept your accomplishments, then be a better person.

For my own personal benefit and historical memoirs, I've got to quote this in my weblog just so it'll survive the Winer History Rewriting Machine:

None of this means that RSS 2.0 will be delayed by even one moment. I thought competition in the software business in the 80s was rough, but this is so much worse. Competition used to require a certain collegiality and professionalism. It's not true today. Anyone who works with Hemenway or Kearney should be aware that these people are nothing less than monsters, who will stoop to any level to get their way. Their perversion may even be the reason they're involved.

Oh yeah, you forgot to mention that I write for Apple, I run a game site, I'm a system administrator for an ISP, I collect horror movies (over 400 strong, now), I'm a huge magazine and book reader, I run multiple semi-living zines, and that I collect nearly everything I can get my hands on. I could sell everything I'm working on right now and have more than enough ideas to start anew. RSS or AmphetaDesk isn't that crucial to my existence, Dave (primarily because there is no money going in or out, so there's nothing to lose), so if you're looking to make me boo-hoo over your critical words, then I'm not going to. And so it goes. Ever read Kurt Vonnegut? My favorite author.

I still don't understand your mention of Ben Hammersley - I'm glad both he and the Guardian are threatening legal action. That's just plain old, blatant, misrepresentation by association. You bollock up and down about journalist ethics, but I'm sure it's with a wry smile you commit a common, first-grade sin. Typical Winer, as I've said in the past.

I organized my file cabinet (gasp! archaic means of keeping data around! ewwwww!) today, revamping my freelance system (since there's been a huge amount of it lately), as well as clearing out some old stuff, technologies, and projects (I bid thee well folders for Spyonit.com, NetSlaves, and CVS basics). It feels good to remove chaff. There's so much more to do, though.

In going over some of the old posts on DNN (all the way back to 1998), I'm seeing a few things. One, I wish I had written up more of what I was thinking at the time, and two, man, a lot of these links are missing (which isn't that surprising). Part of the reason I wasn't verbose before was because I was constrained to a short sentence, so that'd appear all "cutesy" on the main page of Disobey.com. I regret that decision.

So, a question for everyone: what are your thoughts on me a) turning the archives into a "per day" scheme (or even "per entry"), turning on comments (for everyone), and then annotating my thoughts from the past with my knowledge of the future. Good idea, bad idea? (I'm not too fond of the whole "one HTML page per entry" scheme, but it will make commenting more sensical, I'd think).