Since our last issue of PBM Chaos took a little longer to publish than is usually the case, I wanted to go ahead and try to squeeze in one more issue in time for Christmas. No matter what your personal and work circumstances are, know that I and PBM Chaos wish each and every last one of you (including the Tiny Tim of PBM, Wayne Smith) a very merry Christmas!
Will there be another issue to ring in the new year with on New Year's Day? Don't count on it. Ho! Ho! Ho! Oh, sure, it's definitely possible, but I ain't making any promises on that one. On the one hand, I'd definitely like to bring the new year in right, but on the other hand, Richard Weatherhead still hasn't sent in that Austerlitz article that I've been waiting on with bated breath for quite some time, now. Richard is a fan of the stuff that we do here at PBM Chaos (and PBM Unearthed and Suspense & Decision before that), and I really needed an excuse to work his name into this year-ending issue. In one of the great and enduring mysteries that has shocked - absolutely shocked - the collective PBM world as a whole, Richard Weatherhead has abdicated his Facebook throne for what I have a nagging suspicion is "more leisurely pursuits." And so, I have become relegated to the occasional mention of his name in issues of PBM Chaos, to try and ensure to the maximum degree possible that Richard doesn't forget me or our mutual PBM cause.
For an issue with hardly any content, personally speaking, I think that this issue turned out OK. But then again, I might be biased, as I love all things PBM, even if certain things within and a part of play by mail gaming might not be my cup of tea, specifically. And if you're reading this from the other side of Carol Mulholland's Atlantic Pond, don't get yourself into a frenzy at the mere mention of the word tea.
I've never been to the British Isles, and I am an unrepentant American revolutionary who it is ingrained within me to naturally resist the English Crown and Parliament. That said, I truly love the United Kingdom and so many different things about all of the different peoples who collectively make up that realm. That shouldn't be taken to mean that I am anti-European, for Europe holds the status of being a real life fantasy land to me. I love its variety and its diversity, and I many times admire the feats and accomplishments and even some of the aspirations that emanate from what I affectionately know as the Olde Worlde. The UK and certain areas of the European continent remain holdouts, bastions of PBM gaming and PBM loyalists that cause my PBM spirit to rise, whenever I think about them and behold them from afar. Don't think for a moment, though, that I don't know that Richard Lockwood continues to partake of fine beverages which are rumored to have a smidgen of alcoholic content. I, myself, don't partake of alcoholic beverages, but the British pub scene is something that I consider to warrant a mention in this digital PBM "publication" that is ever-drunk from the heady elixir that is PBM.
Yeah, I'm drifting, here. Yeah, I'm navel-gazing, as one individual once described it. I don't think that it was meant as a compliment, but I took it as such, because it's such a wonderfully-colorful term. Ever since our beloved Carol Mulholland departed us, the other side of the pond sure seems to have largely abandoned its previously-incontestable reign over the realm of PBM literature - i.e.: the publishing of PBM magazines.
Flagship magazine is no more (well, as far as new issues are concerned, anyway), and that is nothing less than a blight upon the entirety of PBM's European theater of operations. Have you all gone daft? Is there not so much as a single one amongst your ranks over there that will even consider giving rise to a new age of play by mail literature? Pah!
Of course, the truth be known, things aren't much better on this side of the oceanic fence, either. What's the matter with all of us? Do we just not have it in us, anymore? Do we no longer care? Do we now lack the PBM gumption? Well, whatever the cause, whatever the reason, whatever our river of excuses might be, know that I have every intention of ringing the new year of 2024 in with some scorching hot issues of PBM Chaos.
Dammit, which one of you out there just yelled out, "Lukewarm!?" A fellow can still dream, can't he?
In Issue #27 of PBM Chaos, Randy Ritnour's article is one that keeps on running through my mind. Capitalism, he said. But capitalism doesn't preclude doing things for free. Indeed, it has been my experience over the course of my life that the two concepts co-exist, simultaneously. And the last time that I checked, PBM gamers were playing Takamo for free, weren't they?
Me? I certainly don't hate the commercial PBM sector play by mail gaming, for it was the commercial sector of PBM that enabled me to encounter PBM gaming to begin with. Indeed, it has been the commercial PBM sector that has treated me to many years of playing my favorite game, Hyborian War, and the commercial PBM sector has likely been the largest sector of PBM gaming (though there's no actual way of knowing how many free small-scale PBM games have populated the PBM scene over the last half-century or so).
On its face, Randy's article has a nice ring to it. He is, in effect, advocating in favor of what he views to be a "more sustainable model" for PBM, going forward. He wants PBM to transition to what he likely views to be a more sure footing. And on those grounds alone, there's not really much that one can take issue with. At least, not from my perspective.
But being neither an optimist nor a pessimist, but a realist, Mister Ritnour's article that waxed poetically about the potential future of PBM left me curious - curious about what the chances were, realistically, of the current PBM industry to pick the PBM ball up that Randy had placed on the field of opportunity and run with it. Forgive me for asking, but wouldn't that require some kind of actual leadership of substance?
And this is the part of this PBM sermon from the digital mount that will no doubt cue the gnashing of teeth. Not Randy's teeth, per se, but the teeth of those who it falls to, that such a change might be effectuated. And curiosity of curiosities, in the aftermath of devouring Past, Present, and Potential Future of PBM, I was left wondering what would become of me, and of the PBM-related stuff that I do and have been doing for a number of years on end by this point, if PBM gaming were to actually transition to the more "capitalistic" model that he envisions?
There's nothing, whatsoever, wrong with being a capitalist, nor anything inherently evil about preaching the gospel of capitalism. But being a capitalist doesn't preclude anyone from simultaneously also living a double life as a realist. And as my ever-loving PBM mind wanders the paths and byways of reality, I struggle to find the right off-ramp to the PBM model that Randy Ritnour advocates in favor of.
Oh, sure, I could shut down PBM Chaos faster than you could bat an eye. In fact, I have prior established first-hand experience at shutting down PBM publications. Bada bing, bada bam! Just charge for the PBM ham. In theory, that sounds good. Damned good!
But in actual practice, how would that likely work out?
In fairness, though, Randy may not have been talking about PBM Chaos and I. And certainly, I can envision PBM Chaos to be an aberration from an otherwise more sustainable model for play by mail gaming on a much broader level.
But if my time spent in reality has taught me anything at all, it's that what looks good on paper can end up looking entirely different, when the witching hour sounds, and it's time to actually "implement and execute." It would require no consequential effort for me to begin charging for advertisements for PBM games that appear in issues of PBM Chaos (or that appeared in issues of PBM Unearthed and Suspense & Decision in prior years), but implementing a cost to be associated with such does not guarantee that there would necessarily be any takers. Mathematical formulas and equations in the current PBM sphere of reality are not self-executing, so to speak. For in the realm of PBM, much as in the realm of law, one cannot simply wave a magic wand of ipse dixit, and all of a sudden, everyone suddenly becomes far more receptive to a PBM reality with less free and more costs associated with it.
Crossing the Rubicon into a more pro-pay approach isn't the problem. Rather, the core problem will, I think, likely prove to be that it would be an enormously difficult proposition to get everyone - or even a majority - onboard. Such a transition would, I suspect, turn out to have a quite jarring effect. And what if the attempt to implement and execute the transition in question ended up alienating a sizable portion of the existing PBM player base? How now, brown cow? What then?
If you can't give free ad space away, then how do you succeed at charging for it? And if you can't afford to buy ad space, simply because you either have no budget allocated for such, or your money well has literally dried up or your money trees have all died, what then? I'm not talking about anyone who just might be pleading PBM poverty as a ruse. Remove PBM Chaos entirely out of the equation, for argument's sake. What was one thing that Randy Ritnour said in his article that appeared in PBM Chaos Issue #27?"Today, there's precious little advertisement..." And what was another thing that he said in that article that stood out to me? "Our advertising dollars were most effectively spent on free turns for players who recruited their friends to join the PBM world."
Perhaps it's as simple as the return on investment in advertising attempts from past years and decades have resulted in the commercial sector of PBM gaming becoming more gun-shy of paid advertising. Granted, that's merely bald speculation on my part. And quite possibly, it just might be the case that the remaining pillars of the commercial PBM sector have simply evolved to what they now consider to be a comfortable spot. Not perfect, but they're still here, they're still kicking, and they've still got skin in the game.
Hey, who's side am I on, anyway? Me? I'm on PBM's side. And because I count myself a realist, I don't simply operate from an assumption that what worked yesteryear will necessarily work, today, where cost structures and pricing models associated with PBM games are concerned. I don't even assume that a better, more viable model that works for one PBM company of the current PBM era will work at all, much less somewhat, for other PBM companies.
Steve Tierney's recent assertion of, "I am **the** PBM Overlord," aside, to a recent query that I posted over on the Play By Mail Facebook page, I find myself still wondering what the specific ingredients are for this capitalist recipe that Randy Ritnour envisions. How do we take the recipe of what he proposes, and end up with a PBM cake that doesn't fall even further than its already fallen?
I don't disagree that the PBM industry needs a more viable and sustainable commercial model. Certainly, it does. But any "cure" to fix what "ails" PBM gaming is, I think, likely to prove to be anything but simple. After all, PBM gaming suffers from more than one malady. Now, I'm no doctor, but the realist within me has a very hard time turning a blind eye to what I consider to be "the obvious."
I suspect that Raven Zachary might argue, were it his turn up at bat on this issue, that there are realistic - and demonstrated - advertising models that can - and do - work for some PBM games. If you don't know what I'm referring to, then you're either not a member of the Raven Zachary fan club, or you simply haven't been paying close enough attention to some of the stuff that he's been cawing about in past months.
Of course, another side of the overall coin is that advertising in many mediums has grown far more expensive than it was "back in the day."
A new paper-format PBM magazine is certainly within the realm of the achievable, I think, but for it to be "good enough" to persuade people to buy it would, I think, require a consistent and reliable in-flow of quality content. In his article, Randy Ritnour said, "Our collective voices added some strength to the hobby, and the players were the disciples who spread the good news." I do feel that I have some experience in the area of trying to "find" these so-called "collective voices." A new PBM magazine that embraces a "purchase" model rather than a "free" model would likely require "collective voices" across the PBM spectrum to maximize its chances of success upon and after launch. What's the plan envisioned to get these collective voices off their asses and singing the sweet song of PBM, I wonder?
Certainly, I could close up shop and just write the occasional article or two for such a new PBM magazine (or magazines, as in plural). Who's gonna volunteer (or be hired, since a capitalist model is envisioned) to become the new editor and editorial staff. After all, a one-man job will naturally have real limits to what can be achieved, where a new PBM magazine is concerned.
The biggest issue facing a much better (rather than just better) future for PBM gaming is not, I think, traceable to a lack of funds. Rather, my PBM-loving nose has long sniffed the scent of a lack of will and resolve wafting in the PBM air. All of those "can't do this" and "can't do that" vouchers will likely prove to be exceedingly difficult to cash in, in order to accomplish actual, verifiable progress.
While I do love PBM gaming, forgive me, if you will, for daring to believe that it currently has a very dystopian feel and vibe to it. In a time when we need PBM Paul Bunyans, PBM gaming seems to be over-populated with Lilliputians. Randy Ritnour has spoken out. While we may all feel free to quibble over the details, he clearly envisions - and craves - a bigger, bolder, and more financially enriching play by mail world.
And it's not my place - nor my desire - to stand in the way of that vision becoming reality. But like that old woman in an old Wendy's television commercial mustered up the courage to ask, I now feel that it is imperative that the question be asked, "Where's the beef?"
Where's the beef?!
In other words, how do we actually put real meat on the bun of Randy's vision? Chanting the word "capitalism" doesn't seem to just have a Bewitched effect. Of course, I'm definitely no Samantha Stephens. Broad results will, of necessity, require a broad degree of participation and cooperation - not perfect, but broad.
Regardless of what's possible and what's likely and what's preferable, where PBM gaming and PBM's future is concerned, know that I invite one and all to write in - and to weigh in - with thoughts of your own on the subject at hand. A special "thank you" to Randy Ritnour for authoring the article in question that can serve serve as encouragement to help keep moving the PBM ball down the field of progress.
If you haven't mailed out your Christmas cards, already, by this point in time (I'm gonna go ahead and confess freely my guilt on this one), then you really might want to consider staying focused, because the approach of Christmas waits for no man, no woman, no child.
And last, but certainly not least, may your Christmas be bright and cheerful, and may your spirits get lifted. Don't dwell on the presents, and certainly not upon the shopping. may joy be yours to find, and may it be plentiful this holiday season. To all of the usual PBM suspects, including and especially the great many of you whom I failed to mention in this issue, may you one day realize how very important that all of you are to me.
For you each in your own respective way aid me greatly in retaining my grip on sanity.
