Thank you!

Bruce Glassco (esglasb@es.cc.va.us)
Wed, 11 Feb 1998 17:19:24 -0500

Now that the dust finally seems to be settling down a bit, I'd like to
take a moment to tell those who aren't involved in Olympian
diplomacy...man, it's wonderful.
I would like to thank everyone, even my enemies, for making the last two
weeks among the most fun I have had in my long, long history of PBM gaming.
For those of you not involved, as Eric suggested in the Times, this latest
confrontation had everything. What you saw on this list, or even in the
GCoA, was only the tip of the iceberg.
People were involved for revenge and for friendship, for high motives and
for more calculating reasons. There was public posturing and private
deal-making; there were innocent comments misinterpreted as insults, and
polite words that masked iron threats. There was greed, fear, envy, anger,
and just about every fun emotion other than lust. There were couriers who
went astray, coalitions that were forged and coalitions that teetered on
the brink of dissolution, and a fair amount of good old-fashioned bullying.
Speaking for myself alone, I was gratified to see friends I had looked to
who came through, and even more gratified to find new friends turn up where
I had not expected them.
I'll even thank that darn Shadow Alliance, for forcing all of us big
alliances to be paranoid and for making the game more interesting.
Special thanks, of course, go to Eric the Seehawk, who guided us all on
the path through this. If it hadn't been for him, half the world might be
at war this turn. He truly deserves the Olympia Peace Prize, and I hereby
nominate him for it.
To all potential aggressors out there: generals and men win battles, but
diplomats win wars. As more than one group has now shown, it's a good idea
to figure out where all the diplomatic chips are going to fall before you
launch that invasion.
Do I think that Eric's treaty will bring lasting peace to Provinia? I
doubt it, and indeed, I hope not. But Eric was right, a war should be
fought for the right reasons.
If there is one lasting effect out of all of this, I hope it is that,
peace or war, we've all learned to treat each other with respect. Let's
keep the distinction between characters and players; sometimes you can
insult the former while keeping a good deal of respect for the latter.
Let's try not to let anything that's said be taken personally.
Final thanks go to Atnerks, for creating such a wonderful world in which
so many fascinating dramas can be played out. These last weeks are what I
dreamed of when I first starting playing PBM games. Together, we are
creating a world.

Bruce Glassco

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