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mepbmlist
#1

Shaun,
Hurrah! Thank you for saying what I and others have been
thinking ...

I also apologise for having an opinion and stating this on what
used to be an open and friendly list.

Time was when one could express an opinion without someone
jumping down your throat. I hope we can get back to that
before long.

And Brad ...

Last I heard, the odd people out there, Scots, Welsh,
and maybe some others, may have had the odd historical
"chip" in regards to being called Brits....

A straw poll round the room I'm currently sat in (plenty of
the 'odd' people you refer to) finds no problem with
references to 'Brits', even though we'd geenrally prefer the
term British. I wouldn't care to call a Scotsman 'English'
of course!

I would also agree with Gavin. Whilst I have only met one
American I personally didn't like, there is a stereotype
which I'm afraid certain members of this list seem to be
doing their best to confirm - and it isn't to the credit of
your great nation.

So far, the Americans that have manifested themselves on
this list have
pretty much reinforced the stereotypes some people have of
them: whingy
complainers who want everything yesterday and dislike
change. Luckily, most
Americans I've met aren't like that.

Britain: England and Wales
Great Britain: Britain and Scotland
United Kingdom: Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Um, I'm afraid that's not entirely right - as far as I'm
aware, historically and constitutionally speaking there's no
difference between Britain and Great Britain, i.e. England,
Scotland and Wales (as defined by the Act of Union). As
opposed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.

Then of course there's the Channel; Islands which are
strictly speaking the Duchy of Normandy, and I'm none too
sure where the Isle of Man fits in (with it's own Parliament
etc).

Laurence / Richard can you shed any light on this?

Colin.

#2

Been reading the comments on complaints with some interest. My take is
this, human nature (and players loosely come under the title of human...
mostly) is that change is bad. With errors/delays as well this complicates
things. Of course there will be some rivarly betwen the largest groups of
US and Uk players (there being major contingents of Scandanavians, and
others - such as Canadians, Aussies, Germans [growing] and the like) but
hopefully that will be a good thing as time develops the relationships
between the two main groups. No doubt we'll see.

I usually try to take things with a pinch (sometimes a big one) of salt and
trust that even if a player is expressing himself in such a manner that I
would personally find (let us say) "awkward" I have to try to work out what
the problem is. Now this can be antagonistic but I have found that most
people respond well to keeping calm, dealing with the problem with
information and cordiality (I might be hitting my head against the computer
screen in reality but you don't need to see that. :slight_smile: ) For those that
don't react favourlably, as mistakes will always happen, then things usually
quickly develop to a head.

There is a clear difference in confrontational and discursive style between
the North Americans and the way UK people and players do things. (And
Scandanavians, Germans & Aussies etc). Try to keep that in mind when
discussing anything; such as who's going to have the Magic Item and upwards.

We've taken games over around 10 times now - each time, major antagonism,
cries of "foul" that sort of thing. it does take a little time to develop a
reasonable relationship -but heh we get paid for it (well rumours are that
we do!). 1st month is hell, 3rd month things are calming down, 1 year
everything mostly fine is what we have noticed here.

So with that in mind try to keep a clear head, take a moment before
launching into some form of diatribe, and I expect that for most of us
things will work out okay.

Okay soap-box put back - "have fun and help make it fun for others" or as
Stu might say "Good Gaming!"

Clint

ยทยทยท

Shaun,
Hurrah! Thank you for saying what I and others have been
thinking ...

> I also apologise for having an opinion and stating this on what
> used to be an open and friendly list.

Time was when one could express an opinion without someone
jumping down your throat. I hope we can get back to that
before long.