I think it’s safe to say the population of GNE right now is small enough that it allows for closer networks of friendship and comradery, but what about when the big game opens up?

Will there be a massive network, or several small ones? As much as I’m excited for when the big game comes, I’m a little worried about what might happen to some of the qualities that were great during this prototype.

I think that’s where the political parties, the other neverending parts will come in. What’s everyone else’s thoughts on this?

Urban adventure art from around the world. Most of the artworks described here couldn’t be reenacted in GNE anyway.

What art would you make within GNE, if you were one of the gods?

What art would you make in real life, if you didn’t have to stir from your chair to do so?

One of the simplest things would be to build an infinite M. C. Escher house with four rooms arranged in a square. If you walk through the rooms clockwise (room 1, then 2, then 3, then 4…) then the second time you see room 1, it’s been renumbered room 5. So you can walk infinitely and the room numbers just keep increasing. Counterclockwise room 4 becomes room -1 and so on. As you leave objects in rooms to mark your trail, the objects change (multiply, decrease, mutate etc.) without user intervention.

I’d like to see a map of the GNE world with a black background, where you can see the players dart from hub to hub in real time. If the players are represented as points of light, then we could get some really lovely patterns going by drawing arcs between players based on friendship relationships. To add variation we could have the curve of the arc wax and wane dynamically.

I’ve no complaints about GNE being down—it gives me time to have other dimensions to my life—but it would be swell if we could get to the main page, where we might read a message about the anticipated duration of the downtime (or perhaps even the kinds of modifications that the devs are introducing).

When the site is simply inaccessible, I spend way too much time checking back… .

I keep clicking on the trees in the masthead. Argh!

We have crime in Stencilton! That is not news, it is a fact of life. Free will is inherent in humankind; it will manifest itself in people’s actions in the game, just as it does in real life. What can we do about it? Well, GNE is a good model to formulate and test solutions, and what we find successful we can carry into real life.

A player was robbed again yesterday, and quit the game. What follows is a chat log of the discussion that was triggered by the event. Please add your thoughts and/or feelings on the matter.

(read from bottom up)

metrocake: (Had to be said…)
kathryn: sweet dreams, moondawg
Gronk: well, RL possessions are often imaginary possessions too, I mean often ppl are stealing like $20 or some small items that dont’ really matter
Moondawg: gnite everyone. good talk! ; D
metrocake: And if you’re thieving, you already don’t want to interact, in a sense.
Moondawg: in the end, here they’re imaginary possessions….
metrocake: I don’t think shunning will work. Shunning only works when you *want* to interact.
Loli: (yay, maj)
majick: And our strongest asset, as well.
Gronk: I once had a friend where one stole from the other and I kind of talked them into making up and becoming friends again and guess what, it happened again
Loli: communication is our best defense
Gronk: some ppl are just thieving, no matter what you do
capodistria: yes. there has been that
majick: And we’re dealing with folks at a wide variety of maturity levels.
Moondawg: I don’t think he expected the outcry that occurred…
majick: There are personalities like that.
majick: Shunning could lead to acting out, for attention.
Moondawg: i think we scared him off…
Loli: Yes
Moondawg: *thick-headed*
Gronk: well, by all means warn ppl about those players then
capodistria: the scarlet letter loli?
Moondawg: lesson learned….
Loli: What seems to work the best is shunning the bad players
Moondawg: yeah, it all happened the same day, hour
Loli: well, we have tried vigilante justice, and hired guns…
Gronk: the same day he brought your stuff back?
Moondawg: the funny thing was that Rice was stealing from people that very day…
metrocake: Moon: OK, now that’s just wrong…
Gronk: LOL
Moondawg: he brought the stuff back eventually, but couldn’t understand why i wouldn’t let him in again…
Moondawg: He didn’t answer IMs for a long time. Everybody freaked out on him and he acted like he didn’t know any better.
Gronk: make him your enemy at least?
Gronk: did you call him on it?
majick: Casing the joint!
Moondawg: i’m just naturally like that. but now….
Loli: not good
metrocake: Moon: * No…. * Holy crap!
Gronk: oh, carrying stuff out of there? :)
Moondawg: …and i let him in. one second later, i was hit with realization
Moondawg: Newbie request entry to my house. I naturally let him in. 2 minutes later, i get another request from him.
Loli: ha
majick: Those are the best stories!
Moondawg: Here’s a good example of something i could have avoided. I feel stupid telling it…
Gronk: night Jason
Jason Illuran: rest well ya’ll
Moondawg: nite jason!
Loli: Bye, Jason!
Jason Illuran: or rather…later today
donalfall: nite jason
metrocake: *But*, what happens when….no, never mind…answered myself.
majick: G’night, Jason!
Jason Illuran: I’ll catch you all tomorrow.
Jason Illuran: okay folks, sleeptime for Jason.
metrocake: Majick: * Gee. * :)
Loli: That’s why I don’t do parties
majick: And there are *plenty* of public spaces.
Gronk: not RL and not here
Gronk: but I would never leave anything expensive laying around during a party
majick: That’s why we have public spaces, though.
Jason Illuran: I think we have to be prepared for the reality of the world to seep in here
Gronk: parties are hard, that’s true
Jason Illuran: but regardless
Jason Illuran: yeah, kind of
Gronk: well, you know who you let into your house and then when you come home and find everything’s gone, you kind of know who took it
Jason Illuran: especially during parties and such
Jason Illuran: as the game grows…
Loli: metro: hahahahaha!
Gronk: and they took it while you were in the kitchen making tea or something
Jason Illuran: yeah, but mostly, we don’t know who the others ARE
Gronk: even if you stupidly let them into your house
Moondawg: Hurts Donuts
Gronk: yeah but if somebody stole your TV, if you know who it was, you can go to the police
metrocake: Roshambo: “I’m gonna kick you in the nnnuuuttss!”
donalfall: lol
Moondawg: lol..
majick: Roshambo. This game needs roshambo.
Jason Illuran: there was no recourse for me
Moondawg: well, it depends what bad things you’re talking about…
Jason Illuran: today I was walking down the street with $500 in my pocket (getting ready to buy my TV) if it got taken…
majick: Perhaps so! Or at least an amusing and relatively binding way to settle differences of opinion.
Gronk: night metro
Jason Illuran: Moon> i’m not sure I agree
Moondawg: certainly
Jaen Padryga: night night
Jason Illuran: Moon> is there a defense for the good in the real world?
Jaen Padryga: and fun to be bad, as well
Jaen Padryga: but I do really like the game, and the people in it
Moondawg: if the ability to be “bad” is going to exist in the game, it should be built in such a way that there is a defense for the “good”
Jason Illuran: yeah, it’s half midnight here and I gotta work tomorrow
Jaen Padryga: I’m going to have to let you guys contemplate utopia without me
Jason Illuran: a code duello could be interesting
Jason Illuran: sometimes, yeah
Jaen Padryga: ooh its getting late
metrocake: Majick: So a code duello rather than a dumb prank?
Jaen Padryga: maj : I mean similar about risk
Jaen Padryga: mostly i don’t want to have to argue or fight with people
majick: cakey, hon, conflict is just one of many forms of human expression. It’s *how* conflict is expressed that matters to me. Form counts, to me!
donalfall: lol moon’
Moondawg: My idea of a utpoia is a resizable chat window…
Jaen Padryga: i think the variety will come when people can ‘make new’ items
majick: I don’t think I need to put my enjoyment of play on the line in order to have fun.
metrocake: Majick: But are you saying that you want variety without conflict?
Jason Illuran: I think GNE becomes more interesting when you can have things like a Spanish Prisoner Scam happen
majick: My idea of a *pleasant* utopia is one that includes variety. That doesn’t necessarily entail risk so much as new possibilities.
Jaen Padryga: risk also could mean difficulty level, like what happens after your level and cash are at suffiecient heights
Jason Illuran: metro> exactly
Jason Illuran: that’s frustrating
Jason Illuran: yeah, how many damn genomes have I gotta make to be able to make a GNE?
Moondawg: i think that for the most part the “bad” people we’re talking about were mostly just taking advantage of people’s trust to further themselves in the game.
metrocake: So if we’ll eventually have political parties, plural, then if everyone agrees, what will be the point?
donalfall: and some games frustrating
Jaen Padryga: or messing up a make with expensive ingredients
Jaen Padryga: people taking your things
donalfall: depends on your approach to play. risk makes some games *exciting*
Jaen Padryga: the biggest risk is
Jason Illuran: indeed, there is income for all here
Jaen Padryga: i don’t know
Jason Illuran: because what defines risk here?
Jaen Padryga: right now, money is free, items are not prohibitively priced
metrocake: We’re supposed to be thinking about political parties, yes?
Jason Illuran: I’m not sure
Jaen Padryga: do we want/require more risk?
capodistria: (am i being too easy-going? :))
metrocake: Dona: * yes. *
donalfall: metro - you mean sterile? lifeless utopianism
Jaen Padryga: ;)
Gronk: don’t remember who I did it to anymore but I felt really bad about it and gave him all my coloured papers in compensation :)
capodistria: ok. i see that.
Jaen Padryga: Work, put em all to work
tovah: you’re welcome :)
metrocake: Capo: hard to articulate, I’m thinking. There’s utopian and then there’s…*too* Utopian. Which can lead to stagnation.
Gronk: I made that mistake once :)
Jason Illuran: yeah, but that’s part of learning
Jaen Padryga: well, nice new players might not need to know more than, don’t activate the new economy near people
capodistria: metro: whats wrong with that?
Jason Illuran: yeah, but it can also be more intimidating than it has to be
Jaen Padryga: Consequences can be fun
Jason Illuran: we’re back at the “consequences” thing
metrocake: Capo: In our approach to game play, I think we are. :/
donalfall: capo - don’t think anyone could make *that* accusation
capodistria: does expectation of civility make you homogenous
Jason Illuran: no, but that’s not because there’s a lack of standards.
Gronk: RL society has laws too but you can still be an individual
capodistria: are we a homogenous bunch?
Jaen Padryga: I think the nice people make the game nicer, but do not think, or expect everyone to be nice
donalfall: not homogenity, but boundries, surely
Jaen Padryga: freedom vs establishment
Jason Illuran: is that normal?
Jason Illuran: yeah, but if we’re really enforcing homogeneity, is that a good thing?
majick: The only successful online communities — paid or free — seem to be those with relatively tightly-controlled standards of behavior where the threat of ejection is real.
Jason Illuran: uyeah, but who’s going to want to admin then?
Jaen Padryga: administration is rife with such trifles
Jason Illuran: It’s always someone’s problem, THAT is the problem.
Loli: We had that occur
Jaen Padryga: well, that’s an admin problem then. if people are being harassed…
Jason Illuran: welcome to real life, part 2
Jaen Padryga: consequences imposed, not by other members but by npc’s
Jason Illuran: consequences don’t always work
Jaen Padryga: well, thats why consequences are good
Jason Illuran: that asshole thought he had a golden pass because he was a paid member
Gronk: people who manage to become everybody’s enemy will probably not continue to pay
donalfall: true but you’re hardly likely to pay to be uncooperative in a cooperative game.
kathryn: who believe they have a right to play as they want
Jason Illuran: the last group I was involved with was a paid group
kathryn: or payment may result in superthieves
Jason Illuran: Jaen> not always
Loli: Smooches, Jason!
Jason Illuran: where there is good, there is also evil
Jaen Padryga: payment does weed out a lot of the annoying peole anyway
Jason Illuran: but it’s like the jedi and sith
Jason Illuran: sorry to borrow a bad pun…
Loli: some will turn bad anyway, but for the most part it works out
Moondawg: i suspect that the people who will pay (and continue to pay) for this game will be mostly alright..
Jaen Padryga: some making tasks could be small, and then some would require insano making
Jason Illuran: I learned much from you
Jason Illuran: Loli, indeed you are right
Loli: I firmly believe in teaching newbies, like you teach children - if you nurture and assist, they will learn that is the way…
majick: There is a problem of social bandwidth. You can’t make friends with a crowd, only with people.
Jaen Padryga: that would be required to make a node
Jaen Padryga: which would require many people making lots of things
Jaen Padryga: well, first a node, an empty one
Bobby Bellsy: I think Jean has a good idea…mabey like a garden for your node?
Jaen Padryga: and then a sense of pride
majick: Yes and no. It isn’t so much noise, as it’s a limitation of the human mind — it’s *hard* to form several hundred relatively intimate connections!
Moondawg: but wherever there’s a “good” majority there will be people who purposely deviate
metrocake: (Hey, check it out, it’s like we’re all in ancient Greece or something…)
Jaen Padryga: it’d be a large and difficult task, but enable each gne to make itself
Jason Illuran: because the nature of the game is both individual AND community, there are greater dualities involved.
Jaen Padryga: encouraging people to pitch in
donalfall: making a node - nice idea.
Loli: That’s why I help all lower level players
metrocake: Maj: It’s “signal to noise.”
Jaen Padryga: or road
Jaen Padryga: like being able to help ‘make’ a node
majick: It’s the “mailing list problem.” As soon as a group gets beyond a certain, possibly arbitrary size, it becomes more unpleasant than pleasant to deal with.
Jaen Padryga: i think that big making projects that require more than one maker would help community aspects
Jason Illuran: especially at lower levels
Jason Illuran: there are ways that just trend toward personal achievement
donalfall: hear hear maj
Jason Illuran: while the society is often benefitted by actions…
Loli: agree
Loli: second majick
Jason Illuran: Loli> but only to a degree.
majick: Like *any* community, and especially any online community, there is a point at which S:N ratio suffers and there are simply too many people to keep track of. It’s the current intimacy that I really like. You people are fun!
Loli: But Jason - even with a capital system, we tend toward communism
Jaen Padryga: i like making
Jason Illuran: capo> me too
capodistria: im not here to compete for dollars or beat up other users. I am here to indulge my sense of play.
Jason Illuran: we’re going to have to adapt to thjat
Jason Illuran: as the game gets more crowded…
Jason Illuran: and a capital system…
Jason Illuran: but with limited resources…
Jason Illuran: I don’t want to worry about that here.
donalfall: :)
Loli: poor jas
Jason Illuran: because he was such a cock.
Jason Illuran: He ruined my online time
Jason Illuran: I had an experience a few months back, where I had to deal with someone who was less than wonderful IRL.
majick: If I want to sit and chat with Nthousand people, I can break out an IRC client.
Moondawg: i kind of get a kick out of someone just being “evil”. to a degree anyway…
donalfall: also unfortuneately true. hear hear maj
Jaen Padryga: won’t being on many peoples ‘enemy’ list be a detriment?
Jaen Padryga: well the social index will be part of that
Loli: agree, maj
capodistria: i agree with majick :D
metrocake: Human players = human element, and not everyone’s going to be nice.
Gronk: heh donalfall, you could have a job in GNE
majick: To be quite honest, the relatively small, cohesive and managable size of the group is one of the things that makes the prototype worth playing.
metrocake: Gronk: But at the same time, you’re playing with *human* players.
Jason Illuran: indeed
donalfall: i consult on physical security in real life - don’t want to be doing the same thing in GNE
Jaen Padryga: i agreen jason
Gronk: well, I already have RL so if I can’t have utopia, than why take time from my RL to play some other kind of RL?
Jason Illuran: I would really like to see there be a private room in each house.
metrocake: Well, that’s the thing The beta *was* utopia.
Jason Illuran: there’s a privacy requirement
Moondawg: this beta is kind of a utopia, you know? the real game will be more “real” that way..
capodistria: majick: maybe the past here was too idyllic and insular and now things have to change to accomodate reality.
Jason Illuran: and while I share lots of stuff…
Jason Illuran: I have no secure storage
Jason Illuran: since I don’t have the luxury of a private room…
Jason Illuran: yeah, so long as I have at least seen them about
tovah: but most of the time i have no problem allowing someone to go in
Jason Illuran: Exactly.
metrocake: Jason: But that’s not necessarily *wrong.* You’d do that in real life, no?
tovah: me too
Jason Illuran: I’ve been known to refuse people entry because I’d never as so much said hello before
Jaen Padryga: building permits for adding on to houses!
majick: I think people are a little hesitant to refuse entry. It goes somewhat against the friendly, open nature of the way most of us play.
metrocake: * perk * Front porch = nifty…
Jason Illuran: better.
Moondawg: oh, i want a house with a porch!
Gronk: yeah
Moondawg: front porch!
metrocake: Moon: You’re right, sorry. :P
tovah: that seems simple enough
tovah: the houses are locked…how about just not letting them in if you have valuables in there?
Jaen Padryga: yeah, i’d love to be able to lock the bedroom
Moondawg: but there’s a difference between taking some food and cleaning out 3 rooms…
metrocake: …and I’m not eating it all!
Jason Illuran: maybe make a foyer that’s more equivocal
metrocake: I’ve *still* got 1,100 pieces of pizza in my sewing room…
majick: I’ve opened a discussion topic.
Jason Illuran: metro> that’s fine, but I think we can allways alter that as well
Jaen Padryga: you could give stuff to them
metrocake: Jason: Unless it’s in my private closet, I *expect* things in my house to be removed.
Jaen Padryga: inside your house
Jaen Padryga: oh, how about, non aq or friends can’t take
Jason Illuran: do you really want people who aren’t designated friend, or at least, acquaintance taking stuff?
Moondawg: or you actually give them the things
metrocake: The 10 Commandments of GNE: Thou shalt not take stuff from others’ houses unless you tell them you can
Jason Illuran: then perhaps you pay that price
Jaen Padryga: what if you want people to get things from you
Jaen Padryga: well, they don’t have to stay there
Jason Illuran: perhaps picking something up in a non-friend’s house ought to lower karma?
Jaen Padryga: i think that karma bonus’s on give should be varied, is that in the works?
Jason Illuran: the idea of slapping someone in jail…doesn’t appeal.
Loli: I will save chat
capodistria: but..over the past few days we have seen some users who are just here to make trouble and thrive on conflict. Luckily, and this may be the nature of the game, most have gotten bored, not gotten the response they hoped for and went away
Jaen Padryga: i love surreal
Loli: ok
Jason Illuran: consequences, while real, are more subdued and surreal here.
tovah: maybe just a statement abour how real life code of ethics applies here too.
metrocake: Include an incentive: read the information, get a blue sheet. :)
Jaen Padryga: i like consequences, good and bad
Loli: Can do!
Jason Illuran: add it to paperlane
Jason Illuran: make it a separate website
Moondawg: “you make the genomes, then put them in my house”
Loli: good
metrocake: I’d still ask for the information booth — maybe in Centraal Station?
Jaen Padryga: well, i understand that the goal is to appeal to several types of gameplay
Jason Illuran: I would too
Loli: (yay, metro)
tovah: sounds good capodistria
metrocake: I’d do it.
Loli: me
capodistria: .. a list of users (I’d volunteer) that you as a newbie can feel free to IM and can be trusted
Jason Illuran: consequences will shun more people
metrocake: It’s a balance thing. We don’t want to cram things down people’s throats; at the same time, if people are getting upset because of others’ ignorance, then how can we tweak it?
Jaen Padryga: so perhaps what some people want is consequences
Jason Illuran: we all suffer from that
tovah: exactly!
Moondawg: [kidding]
donalfall: hahahahaha moon.
Jason Illuran: tovah> live, learn, make up for it in the long term
Jaen Padryga: well, there is a jail
tovah: i didn’t know if there even were rules at first.
Loli: no
Moondawg: how about a battery of tests to determine aptitude and IQ…
tovah: hey, for all i know i might have accidentally “stolen” somethjng from someone when i was a newbie…
Jaen Padryga: if they wanted to mentor, guide, advise, give
Jason Illuran: this is more of a game without a manual
Jaen Padryga: well, non-new users could hang out there
Loli: Yay, cap
capodistria: how about a special ‘mentor’ designation for some users
Jaen Padryga: i have no problem with places that only allow people of lvl+ to enter
Jason Illuran: this is a lot like real life, learn, live, experiment
Loli: No
Jason Illuran: no, we don’t want a corral of newbies
Jaen Padryga: let you leave until you level up to 2
donalfall: tovah - gotcha, sorry. your dead right
Jason Illuran: so can a room full of n00bs.
Jaen Padryga: perhaps a few hubs that don
Moondawg: like freshman orientation, but less beer.
tovah: chat can be intimidation
donalfall: I’m only on about 4 days and found everyone really helpful. some people just don’t get the group thing as said
Jaen Padryga: i can make new things with higher skill
Jason Illuran: isn’t that what the chat is for?
Jaen Padryga: the making skill makes sense
tovah: like an information center
tovah: not segregation…just a place to go for some help
Loli: haha, metro
metrocake: No, no, not to keep them in. Like an information center.
Jason Illuran: why call attention to newbies like that? They could fall prey to trickery
Jaen Padryga: whats the point in leveling
Gronk: I have a junk house I’ve been filling with all kinds of stuff for whoever needs it and I noticed just now that it’s been completely cleaned out of all things with resale value
Jaen Padryga: i was thinking about levels today
Loli: Yay, moondawg!
donalfall: nah, thats segregation
tovah: that might be nice
metrocake: Like LambdaMOO’s?
metrocake: Wait, what about a special hub for newbies?
Jason Illuran: there’s all kinds of possibilities for people to be bad as WELL as good
Moondawg: if i see someone having a problem or a lot of questions, i usually go right to IM
Jaen Padryga: there will prolly be factions that different kinds of players can work on
tovah: fun!
Jaen Padryga: and eventually, parties or religions
Loli: YAY, maj!
majick: Just so, cakey: some people are *not* going to reach out to the community. But a portion of those folks would probably respond to being individually approached. Not everybody digs a crowd!
Jaen Padryga: it could just be part of a big sign that people see when they first log in. not really rules persay, we are allowed to have enemies
Loli: metro: we explain it to them
Gronk: I don’t leave stuff laying around that I care about
Jason Illuran: then you treat it like you would treat a friend who didn’t know better
Jason Illuran: it’s a lot like LIFE that way
Jason Illuran: or figuring them out yourselves…
metrocake: But — if they don’t ask, and just *do,* then what?
capodistria: benny didnt seem to want help. he wanted to solve the problem on his own and then i guess gave up in frustration
tovah: most people wont ask though
Jason Illuran: yeah, but part of this game is learning to ask questions
majick: I’ll go start a topic.
metrocake: I think the thing is, we’re all good at answering people’s questions — when they ask.
donalfall: gronk - i dunno, he wouldn’t say
Jaen Padryga: i just try to be nice to most everyone, works better than being upset with people ‘beating’ me to items
Loli: I always check players info to see their level, and explain things to them if they are new
majick: Hi caterina! I’d be happy to bring this up in discussion.
Moondawg: i think we do a fairly good job at helping out new folks
Jaen Padryga: serenity is always zooming up to new users with help and advice
metrocake: Caterina: * good. *
Jason Illuran: ^5s Loli
caterina: one of the jobs in the big game will be ‘guides’
Gronk: if somebody stole from him, why not tell us who did so we could make sure not to let that person in?
Jason Illuran: well, people are often on at specific times, too
tovah: it took me a good week of just sitting back and watching to understand this place enough to feel like i could join in.
Loli: Hey, I have been mentoring
metrocake: Sometimes I can’t tell who’s a newbie — I saw some people this afternoon that I’d *never* seen before, at higher levels than me.
Loli: moondawg:hahahaha
Jaen Padryga: well, some people have really been doing that
caterina: majick, can you record some of these ideas and post it to the discussion area?
donalfall: dunno. he’s been on about as long as I have tonite. 8 hours? probably really tired
tovah: not a bad idea
majick: even go so far as to say “mentoring.” Just reach out to that crowd of (?) people and make them feel at home.
Moondawg: “Hi, I’ll be your GNE guide”
Jaen Padryga: perhaps new users should get notes that talk about general culture of stencilton
metrocake: Jaen: Hmmmmm. :)
capodistria: majick: i do that. loli does that as well as others here. but theres too many of them :)
tovah: yea, that sucks, but instead of leaving, why not try to fix the problem?
Gronk: so why’d he still let ppl in?
majick: I wouldn’t
Moondawg: newbie mentoring…
Jaen Padryga: or even just their first 5 logins
donalfall: he was working for ages on stuff and then it was being taken every time
Jaen Padryga: like physical yea
Moondawg: true tovah
Penguinix: first login date?
Jaen Padryga: oh, well a week
tovah: why would he leave just because someone stole from him? is it THAT big of a deal?
metrocake: Jaen: Thing is, someone could come on, play for 12 hours straight, and get up to level 8-10. So how do you define newbie?
majick: We each need to take the time to sit down and hang out with someone new, explain things to them, make new friends. Not everybody is going to reach out to the crowd. It’s pretty weird joining a group of strangers, and some folks are going to be less adept at integrating themselves.
Loli: Can anyone contact Benny?
Jaen Padryga: so we can be nicer
Jaen Padryga: perhaps they could have a N symbol to show they are new for a week or so
Moondawg: agree maj
metrocake: Tovah: I do think that’s it.
Jaen Padryga: when did enrollment begin again?
Loli: right
majick: We really ought to redouble our efforts to help new folks understand and join the community. If stuff like this is going on, it’s really our own damned fault for letting it happen.
Jaen Padryga: wouldn’t building permits be nice.
Loli: ditto, metrocake
tovah: maybe they think that if you let them into your house it’s all up for grabs…
Jaen Padryga: I don’t have a closet, will just have to be careful
metrocake: I don’t think they would understand about houses. If you have a private closet (as I do), then you keep your important stuff in that. But a lot of people don’t.
Loli: Can anyone contact Benny?
Bobby Bellsy: That doesnt go for all “newbies” some people mothers thaught them better!
Gronk: well, there are thieves in RL too, last time I moved, all my clothes got stolen
capodistria: some do though and are stealing intentionally
majick: And they’re not indoctrinated into the culture, as well.
Loli: It happens - newbies don’t understand about houses
Jaen Padryga: thats not too cool.
Moondawg: it happened to me too, but i suppose it was my own fault for letting people in…
Jaen Padryga: oh, house stealing things
majick: Well, that’s why you be careful about strangers!
tovah: how did they get into the houses in the first place?
Gronk: supposedly they can’t get into ppl’s houses without asking
metrocake: I don’t know. Others who were on (Plurp? Povx?) said they were familliar with it, too. People going in and taking stuff from others’ houses without asking.
majick: “stealing?”
Gronk: who stole from him?
Jaen Padryga: oh no :(
tovah: what do you mean stealing?
Moondawg: wow
donalfall: don’t know what happened. he said he wouldn’t come back
metrocake: This is the second time today I’m hearing about stealing newbies. What the hell is going on?
Thorn: must be why he had the garage sale
Jaen Padryga: will he come back?
Bobby Bellsy: Gutenacht
capodistria: what happened?
donalfall: benny was really pissed.
tovah: newbies who steal?
Loli: Benny! Don’t go!
caterina: nite!
donalfall: dammit
metrocake: Say what?
Benny: This is Benny signing off for good. All of you please have fun and beware newbies who steal.

capodistria: ooh! garage sale!
Benny: I just cleaned out all my spare junk at my house and left it on my lawn in marvin gardens please help yourself

Moondawg: Benny, you’ve been acting psychotically….
Benny: YOU WANT TO CROSS ME AGAIN???

Ok. I was supposed to write about the new items that were added last Friday, but I was a little unfocused. I started the post, got side tracked, and just returned to it today (primarily because I just got back into town, and the game was down). The subject now seems a little dated. I’m sorry, Selva.

I have taken advantage of the GNE (crash? forced moratorium?) hiatus to accomplish some things I have intended to do for a while. Top of the list has been to visit more of the weblogs of fellow GNErs. All I have to say is what a talented group! I highly recommend the intellectual journey. I have said many times that GNE is my oasis, and if you visit these sites, you will know why. ‘blog on, people!

In case you were wondering what my loser butt is doing posting on Christmas day, I was visiting at my sister’s house in Richmond, IN, but returned this afternoon to keep from being stranded by the snowstorm. So now I am in my office having a surprisingly delightful time consuming a veggieburger and several bowls of tea while posting this and listening to 3WK. Don’t worry, I’m not really missing anything family oriented - our big get together is going to be a sleepover at my brother’s house this weekend.

Wishing everyone a safe and joyful holiday! I’m going to try the game again.

Eric, one of our favorite developers, missed the Christmas party this past week, and I promised him a gift and something special so I got together with some other GNE players and we put together a card. Under inspoetica’s suggestion I posted it here so that everyone could take a look at it.

A Christmas Card for Eric!

Dear Eric,

Thank you for all the hard work you have done for the GNE; my addiction thanks you very much as well. :)

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
flippy rice
Written by flippy rice at 12/19/2002 2:45:19 PM

Yay, Eric! A level 1,001 developer!

(Now, please, the antidote?)
Added by Peter Verona at 12/19/2002 2:50:45 PM

Merry Christmas (or other (non)secular holiday)!

Did’cha get any nice toys for the kids yet? :P

(Spending too much time working on GNE can be hazardous to your health! Take it easy, Eric!)
Added by yeoz at 12/19/2002 3:05:02 PM

Eric, I know we whine, bitch, tease, and just all around don’t seem to appreciate you. But if anything was to ever happen to you that’s when the real wailing would begin. We love you! I hope you and your family have a very wonderful holiday, and a blessed new year.
Added by Loli at 12/19/2002 4:16:42 PM

Eric, you make my mood +200. Thanks for the fun, the laughs, and even the occasional divine repartee (or verbal sparring match!). May this holiday season find you and yours happy and warm. :)
Added by Selva Morales at 12/19/2002 4:26:31 PM

Thanks for this beautiful world, Eric. Now go forth and stay away from the keyboard for a couple days. :)

Here’s to hoping that you and yours have a great holiday.
Added by Thurgood Marshall at 12/19/2002 4:37:17 PM

Here’s hoping you have a fantastic winter holiday, from David and me. Take it easy and see you around!
Added by Eglantine at 12/19/2002 4:42:20 PM

Oh Eric, though I try to tell you that I love you every day, I know it is not enough. The paychecks are not enough. This wouldn’t have happened without your Kung Fu, and you great ideas. Hooray for you!
Added by Stewart at 12/19/2002 4:44:27 PM

Happy Holidays Joly Moly!
Added by capodistria at 12/19/2002 5:48:17 PM

Eric is like 100,000 genomes and 500,000 purple papers. We love Eric!!
Added by caterina at 12/19/2002 6:10:38 PM

Eric, thank you so much for all you have done for us. If i could turn GNE into RL, I would!!
Have a wonderful holiday!
Added by Mina at 12/19/2002 6:28:52 PM

Thank you for your long and dedicated service, your “smiling” face, and sharing your genial nature. Happy new year, cold (and flu?) season, and everything else that can be wished upon you!
Added by majick at 12/19/2002 6:49:14 PM

Deck the halls with bowling bellies. Gel the crawling bowls of jelly. Droll, the drawling tolls of Nelly.

And, like that.
Added by Plurp at 12/19/2002 7:42:07 PM

I happened across glish.com a while back and
said “hey, this guy is good.” I learned a lot
of CSS from you and said “hey, this guy is good.”
I started playing GNE and saw you were involved
and said “this guy’s out to get me.”

Happy Holidays!
Added by Moondawg at 12/19/2002 8:19:25 PM

Thank you so much for bringing us a new addiction for the new year.

Warmest wishes for a great winter solstice, and Happy New Year. ‘squeek’
Added by konamouse at 12/19/2002 8:32:48 PM

Excellent Eric,

Our most enamored electronic error eradicator … you know I was wondering when you’d introduce a dynamic marketplace, and you know that pesky IE bug where it logs you out, and then how about … we love you Eric. Really. In the non-creepy kind of way.

Relax, unplug your phone, ignore Stewarts emails! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and yeah, about that bug…

;)
Added by inspoetica at 12/19/2002 11:30:59 PM

For everything you do… this card’s for you. (And if you drink beer, have something other than a Bud, will ya?)

Your efforts are appreciated big-time; you’re keeping me up waaaay too late at night again! :-) Thanks, and a happy new year to you and yours.
Added by Eleanor Rigby at 12/20/2002 1:39:00 AM

Merry Christmas, Eric! :)
Added by pixel a. shun at 12/20/2002 1:41:44 AM

Where would be without GOD and his randomly placed blue papers? Thank you for building a fun community here. Keep up the great work, and happy holidays!
Added by Thespian at 12/20/2002 4:50:49 PM

First off I’d like to thank our dear editor Selva Morales, whom the party wouldn’t have been possible without. :D

The party had gone off smoothly with record-breaking attendance (some suppose it was the biggest party in Stencilton history) that had admittedly “brought the server to its knees.” Food, drink, presents, and condoms were in abundance and a good time was had by all. Everyone took something away with them last night (even if their “party favors” were parts of my home ;) ). Serenity and I attempted to initiate a formal gift exchange but due to the overwhelming amount of people it never formalized. Nonetheless gift exchanges were made, even if they weren’t blind. The night ended with a cozy gathering of GNE players in the golden living room and kurtdevious passed out on my front lawn.

Thanks to all the people that came, and I sincerely hope that every single guest had a good time. I’m looking forward to throwing another one next year; thanks again to everyone!

Francis Walsingham: fun, but I’m gonna get fired. We need a ‘panic’ button

Selva Morales: “hi, my name is eric and i helped you lose your job. in fact, i’ve written some code that, as you read this, will ensure that you don’t get hired again. if you’re in a hurry, just walk out the door.”

Every GNE player is invited to the first GNE Christmas party midnight - Eastern Standard Time this Wednesday night (so technically December 19th, 2002…) at my house (flippy rice) in Marvin Gardens! Refreshments and food will be served (bring a dish of your own if you desire). There will also be a gift exchange taking place so please bring a gift!

Happy Holidays! Hope to see you all there!

Hey all!!!

We’re happy to announce that Collective Detective and Paper Lane have joined forces to bring you GNE chat 24/7. In addition to the blog power of Paper Lane and the Ludus Perpetuus ‘Zine, it’s one more thing to make sure you get nothing productive done in RL, and and a place to be when you’re NOT in GNE.

Also, when GNE is down for maintenance, upgrades, or goes on hiatus while working on the “beta,” we will have the latest updates, and the Paper Lane chat at Collective Detective will make for a nice spot for GNE refugees to hang out while constantly hitting refresh on the GNE website.

You can connect to the web based chat console directly at

http://www.collectivedetective.org/chat/?channel=paperlane

If you have an IRC client, connect to :
irc.collectivedetective.org
port: 6667
channel: #paperlane

Looking forward to seeing you all in the Paper Lane Chat!

Thanks,
Necessitas and Quixado.

OK. This has gotten out of hand. There is GNE merchandising going on. And not just one isolated incident, either. (That latter one is pretty funny!)

Here are the t-shirts I want for Xmas:

- “I’m a wool licker, and I vote!”
- “Have a chicken!”
- “Do you like my buns?”
- “Transcend this !”

And you?

What’s the deal? Did GNE go down this afternoon? Is it still down? Or do the gods just hate me?

I thought it was kind of funny originally, then I stopped to think about and got scared instead.

Har, har, har… *twitch*

Note: If you fear you’ve actually become addicted you can take this online test to gauge yourself.

Stewart: Plurp - I swear to G-nesh, that this will be more interesting and support your odd and wonderful inclinations in the big game
Stewart: otherwise, I owe you $5
Plurp: Stewart: You’re beginning to frighten me.

Ludus Perpetuus, the GNE zine, has a new editor-in-chief and a new home: PaperLane.net! Selva Morales is a personal friend of mine, so I guess there’s a nepotistic component to my decision, but I think we all know she has the energy and the strong social ties to the GNE community to pull this off.

To that end, she’s assembling a board of volunteer editors to get the zine up and running again. So. Any volunteers to help Selva out? If so, please follow up in comments!

Well, what a fun day that was, the first 24 hours after the wipe. (I just happened to sit down to a day’s work at 9 am as GNE came back online, freshly laundered).
Half the people ran round like crazy bootstrapping themselves back to where they were before, while the other half spent some minutes ranting and whining about “my real big pile of purples and my amazing furniture collection - gone, just gone” before running round like crazy bootstrapping themselves back to where they were before. (The unmentioned fraction here were the ex-hackers, who stood about wondering how they were going to survive in this crazy new meritocracy - “you mean we have to push the same buttons as the rest of those suckers?”).
It was great being able to buy a house, too (I’d missed out on the previous lot), and have somewhere to go to, hit the ‘drop all’ button, and sit eating the pie which spawns (in my case) next door.
But after about 24 hours, when one has done most of the stuff there is to do, what next? Mere accumulation of points becomes senseless, and one hopes that the Big Game will offer more than this.
In the meantime, here’s my plea to the Devs:

Wipe once a week! Wipe once a week!

mail to outis@btopenworld.com

Three small birds, which arranged themselves in a pattern described in an illuminated manuscript that was never written.

Paper Lane presents a special archaeological exhibit in the shiny new annex building, in light of the Big Wipe:

The Stencilton Public Library in the First Epoch
A collection of notes, writings and ephemera found amongst the ruins of old Stencilton.

The exhibit will be ongoing in Butterfield Hall, on the second floor. Enjoy!

Courtesy of a bug, but it’s probably the only time I’ll see my name on the boards . .

hmm it seems that GNE’s lacking one more thing. a cinema. in reality am a member of brash young cinema and an avid coffee club viewer. a sort of group where you watch a film then discuss it with coffee afterwards. isn’t it swell.

well here’s what am proposing: starting wipe out version, every saturday afternoon am gonna watch screen or post a week before saturday a movie that we can all view on saturday. we can all watch it (real time) while playing online. then after the movie we can all head out to my cinema (a property bought in GNE) to have coffee and muffins (its on the house) . im gonna write a review on the notes then you can post your two cents. we can do it every saturday afternoon.

SWELL! just hoping i get a big property to do this. and hoping people get to join this movement.

to all film buffs heres our chance finally one in GNE.

A Chat Transcript

Note: User nepenthe was the first to figure this out

Joe Kavanagh: I just won Game Neverending!
Selva Morales: yay joe!
capodistria: excellent!
Thurgood Marshall: way to go Joe!
Joe Kavanagh: cool!
Joe Kavanagh has advanced to Level 16.
Thurgood Marshall: cool :)
capodistria: its neat. i was there when it was first
figured out.
Thurgood Marshall: And you know I love it when you do
all the work, Joe ;)
Thurgood Marshall: capo: I love how this exploits the
wee spaces of lag
capodistria: all thurgood has to do is stand there -
you do all the work
capodistria: Q.E.D
Thurgood Marshall: doh
capodistria: until you have them all
capodistria: give him all 4 devs and pick up 2 more
etc.
Thurgood Marshall: go for it
capodistria: now, you have to repeat this process
capodistria: but before they return you can pick up
others
Joe Kavanagh: yep
capodistria: they ‘bounce’ off thurgood
Joe Kavanagh: I did
capodistria: if all goes well, you should end up with
4 devs
Joe Kavanagh: ok
capodistria: jo: hand your 2 devs to thurgood quickly
and then quickly pick up 2 more devs off the floor
capodistria: ok.
Thurgood Marshall: they’re all there already
Joe Kavanagh: Stewart, Jason
capodistria: (wait, first buy all the devs and drop
them on the floor)
Joe Kavanagh: ok, I’ve got two
capodistria: now, joe needs to get as many devs as he
can - 1 or 2
Thurgood Marshall: heh
capodistria: they havs set a hard limit on weight at
300 but theres a tricky way around it
Thurgood Marshall: alright, now i’m at 217.42
Thurgood Marshall: oh?
capodistria: ah. you need to increase that to over 200
Thurgood Marshall: 300 total, and I’m carrying 17.42
around
capodistria: whats your load, thurgood?
Joe Kavanagh: ok, I got the funk
capodistria: def. get the funk
Joe Kavanagh: where is the funk?
Thurgood Marshall: joe: go get the funk
Thurgood Marshall: what’s it now?
Thurgood Marshall: it has?
Joe Kavanagh: I”ve got all minus the funk and devs
capodistria: thurgood: you know the process has
changed
Thurgood Marshall: you got everything else ready?
Joe Kavanagh: I’m at the Bentown Mash backroom
Thurgood Marshall: joe: yeah
Joe Kavanagh: ok, can someone help me make a GNE?

(posted by flippy rice for capodistria)

Is anyone in the least suprised that inspoetica managed to get the top entry in the records’ office’s list of property deeds?

Not I!

I have been playing this God Damned Game again…i quit about eight months ago, but now they have an expansion, and I’m playing again…They tricked me into spending $200 dollars to update my video card and add some memory so that i can play the damn thing again!

So, this is where i have been…

But it’s a hell of a lot of fun, i’ll tell you that much!

I stumbled across this news item just now.