Letters

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The Letters Page

Yep, I get letters! Looks like all those insipid little "drop me a line" links really work after all!

Subj:    Good job!
Date:    4/29/99 8:45:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:    Randell Lee Wolff
To:    waltonwj@aol.com

Even though it is a probably waste of bandwidth, I just wanted to drop
you a note saying how much I appreciate what you do to promote and
defend role-playing games. I've been playing RPGs for nearly twenty
years, and I've seen and read about every criticism about the games.
Now I teach English at a university in Murray, KY--does this place sound
familiar? Yep, the home of the Vampire Cult. Sigh. I've had to deal
with quite a bit, you see. But I'm working through these problems, and
gamers everywhere are working through them, and you're doing quite a bit
to help.

Thanks. Keep the faith! ;-)

Randell Wolff
Instructor of English
Murray State University

Subj:    The Escapest
Date:    3/14/99 6:25:44 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:    Jennifer
To:    waltonwj@aol.com

Hello!

I came across your website while surfing for World of Darkness (White Wolf
Game Studio) websites, and I wanted to say how great it is to see that
organizations like yours exist to fend off all the far-right-wing
Republican Natzi Jesus-freaks. (Forgive me if I sound bitter.)

It's especially comforting to find that you have such a visually appealing,
well organized, and professional website with useful content.

I'm a fan of AD&D (especially Dragonlance), Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, all
World of Darkness games, and LARPs of any kind. I'm an artist for a tiny
computer game developer, but I used to design professional websites for a
living. Noticing the lack of professional-quality World of Darkness fan
sites, I decided to create one. It's a fully-illustrated and fast loading
idea source, and I would love to have you visit (and maybe become a World
of Darkness fan if you're not one already!)

    http://home.plutonium.net/~wytwolf

If you like what you see, perhaps you would like to link to my site! Either
way, link on by sometime.

May your Muse prosper.

-Jennifer J. Buck
Head Librarian
Axis Mundi--Library of the Arcanum
http://home.plutonium.net/~wytwolf

Subj:    RPGs on Brazil
Date:    3/8/99 6:11:40 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:    Lucas Salvego
To:    waltonwj@aol.com

Hi

At first, I beg your pardon if I write something wrong. English is my second
language.; Here in Brazil, we (gamers) don´t have the problem with the stigma of ´satanic
worshipers´. Maybe because religion in Brazil is treated a little softer then
some groups in other countries.; Brazilian are majoritary Catholic, but we have a mix with cristhianity and african
religions and some afro-brazilian too. Our people have - in some countryside
areas - beliefs in magic.(not all brazilians. I´m speaking about farmers and
some old people that lived in their farmers their entire lives.); The problem here is that most people think that Players are ´Nerds´ or ´Freaks´
or someone who likes advanced intelectual activities or even believes that magic,
elves and all the stuff really exists. :); I would like to say that the brazilian players know the ´satanic stigma´ that
the foreign(for us) players are passing by.; Well, maybe someday, the people in your countries should be more comprehensive
about what is diferent and unknown.

Lucas B. Salvego; Subj:    Your web page.
Date:    3/7/99 8:03:07 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:    Loni Watson
To:    waltonwj@aol.com

I was just looking at your web page and saw that you had several
positive letters on your site and just felt like I'd add one more for
you.

I've only been gaming for about a year and a half now, mostly in White
Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade LARP. I consider this to be one of the
best things I've ever done for myself, because before I started I was
very shy and almost antisocial, but by joining this game I've met a
whole lot of friends and I wouldn't give up this time in my life for
anything. It's also a great way to let out pent up energy and explore
different sides of one's personality through multiple characters.
Presently I have five characters through four separate games and while
it can become confusing, it's a lot of fun.

Unfortunately the first few months was some tough going. When I
started it was not long after the vampire cult killings and some
members of my family immediately associated this game with those
events and all but insisted that I drop the game, for fear that I
would turn into a homicidal maniac or something.

I really take offence to comments like that. It implies that gamers
are somehow mentally deficient and would so easily and readily accept
these games as reality, when in fact, my experiences have shown that
many gamers are of above-average, even genius level intelligence, and
are highly creative and imaginative. Organisations like yours are a
wonderful resource both for gamers who feel the need for support and
knowing there's someone out there who understands the situation, and
for family and friends of gamers who are confused about what it is
exactly. I wish I had known about this when I first started; it would
have helped to defray some of the misunderstandings that took place
and are still present.

Again, keep up the good work on this page.

Regards,

Loni
aka Catherine, Malena, Ilana, Athena, and Liunil
: Subj:    "Kult RPG" and classic litterature
Date:    10/26/98 6:01:29 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:    Krister Sundelin
To:    WALTONWJ@AOL.COM

Some years ago, before the RPG "Kult" hit the US market and still was a rather controversial but local Swedish game, I were confronted by a fanatical anti-RPGer. I took it rather calmly and asked her what she was so upset about. She picked up one of the books from "Kult" - the first swedish edition had three books in a box - and started to quote a passage about a character that lures himself into an old woman's appartment and promptly kills her with an axe. She thought that the game should be forbidden at once, since it contained such unprovoked violence.
Well, the woman stopped her verbal attacks to catch her breath, and before she could continue to attack all the occult stuff in the game, I interrupted her with the single name "Dostoyevsky".; "What?" she said, not prepared for a reply like that.; "Dostoyevsky", I repeated myself. "The part that you read was from Dostoyevsky's classic novel (although I think that I said 'brick', not 'novel') 'Crime and Punishment'. I don't think that classic Russian litterature should be banned, right?"; The woman put the rule book back in her bag and left silently.

- Krille

Subj:	 The page
Date:	98-08-04 20:50:01 EDT
From:	lenigs@gte.net (Paul Lenig)
To:	WALTONWJ@aol.com

Sir,

Just looked up your page, and I have to say I like it.  I have been
playing RPG's ever since my uncle (a very devout, Christian man)
introduced me to AD&D at the age of 10, way back in 1979.  Since I got
into the hobby, I 've never let it go.  Indeed, I'd have to say that
gaming is my favorite hobby still.  In that time, I've had the
"pleasure" of encountering those who thought that they knew what was
best for me and my soul.  Most of them were basically decent people who
honestly thought they were trying to help me.  I really wish I had known
about CAR-PGa then!  Perhaps I could have changed some minds, instead of
dealing with the opposition by simply being stubborn.

Fortunately, the last incident I have encountered of such behavior was
back in 1991 or so, when a friend of my now-wife sent me a Chick
publications tract on the subject of RPG's, once again out of concern
for my soul.  Fortunately, I was better prepared this time, and while I
can't say I left her thinking RPG's were good, I at least convinced her
that they weren't bad.  Nowadays, she wouldn't dream of saying that what
I do is "evil", since she has seen how I treat my wife, and her, with
nothing but respect and love.  Heck, I could probably convince her to
try to play nowadays, if I tried.  :)

I am curious as to how much anti-RPG activity there really is out
there.   Is it just a bunch of cranks singing to the wind, or is it a
still a serious threat?  I've not seen much in the way of problems
lately, but I realize that this my just be my area, and my personal
experience.  Rest assured, though, should I encounter misinformatin on
the games I love, I shall not stand silent.  And thanks to your page,
and other pages and people like you, I shall be able to argue my points
using real facts, instead of just emotion.  Thank you for your efforts,
and keep up the good fight.

Sincerely,
Paul Lenig

The "Without A Clue" award for 1998 goes to Joel Dies, for his following diatribe:

Subj:	 ???
Date:	98-05-27 01:49:22 EDT
From:	t-lite2@email.msn.com (Joel Dies)
To:	WALTONWJ@AOL.COM

why is satan bad ohh hes evil well to him your evil.
give him a name the devil diablo lucifer satan satanism is not bad its a
religen .u are brakeing the law.NO.u say well yes Freedom of religen.people
are kids kids are people wow satan is evil ... what did he do to u..u scum.U
are the evil its just a game... go pick on yo god

And, my reply to him:

Alright, if you meant the above as a joke, then save yourself some time and do not read the rest of this message.

If you are NOT kidding, then I have to ask; Have you ever seen my web page? If you have, then I'm very confused as to why you seem to think that it's an anti-gaming page. It would take a lot of work to make that mistake, the same kind of work that many of the self-righteous who ACTUALLY ATTACK gaming do when they tell us it's evil and Satanic.

I will not go into my personal religious beliefs in this letter or on my page, as my page is about games, not religion. However, I will admit that I firmly believe in freedom of religion, no matter what faith a person chooses, and therefore you will not (and HAVE not) find any attacks on Satanism or any other faith on my page.

When Satanism does get mentioned on my page, it is in reference to accusations made by members of the religious right about the nature of RPGs and CCGs. These people use Satanism as a blanket description for anything that eludes their understanding, or in extreme cases, puts no money into their collection plate.

As for any laws I have broken; I have no idea what you're talking about.

You have made one point that I can agree with however... it IS just a game. Which, originally, was MY point.

It looks like even our letters are stirring up some debate… This one, from Bryan McCarthy, addresses a letter from Daniel Pryor, who said he considered White Wolf's World of Darkness series of games to be satanic.

Subj:	 A piece of my mind
Date:	98-04-18 19:27:20 EDT
From:	mccarthy@northernnet.com (mccarthy)
Reply-to:	mccarthy@northernnet.com
To:	waltonwj@aol.com

  I would like to start by saying I felt very insulted at Daniel Pryor's
letter. I became quite enraged when I read what Mr.Pryor had to say
about the WOD line of games made by White Wolf being satanic. I don't
think I've ever heard a bigger line of crap in my life. I would have to
wonder if Mr. Pryor has even so much as looked in a White Wolf  book. I
mean what's not to like about them Werewolf has the great good vs evil
battles to save the world . Vampire may not always fall in the lines
that Werewolf does but it is also a good lesson in the idea that even
the most heinous of acts can be performed by the best of people.  If
that isn't good enough White Wolf also has your "high fantasy" in The
Changeling series.
  I may have only been playing for about six years but in that time I've
played AD&D, Vampire, Champions, Star Wars, Shadow run.  And I've ran
Marvel Super heroes, Vampire, and Werewolf . While all the others have
come and gone the WOD games have always stayed a constant in our gaming
endeavors and not because it's viewed as "satanic" by others , but
because it is one of the easiest and most fun systems to play

Bryan "Dizzy" McCarthy


Date:	98-03-26 01:03:31 EST
From:	micheen@prairie.NoDak.edu (Michael Heen)
To:	waltonwj@AOL.COM

Sir,
	I know that you may get many letters praising you actions here, 
but I suppose one more couldn't hurt.  I would just like to say that your 
attempts to combat ignorance are comendable.  I am a Christian, and I 
have been battling ignorance over my gaming ever since I started.  I am 
lucky.  My parents and my family saw and accepted the truth.  There is an 
interesting article written by fantasy writer Tracy Hickman conserning 
Christianity and roleplaying.  While I will not get into the details of 
it, I will send you the email address.  I'm sure you will find it very 
useful.  The site is at: www.webrpg.com/?issue3ID=3   
This topic covers three different issues of this "webzine"  

Thank you,

Micheal H.

Subj:	 Hyperlinks
Date:	98-03-27 14:58:58 EST
From:	sdbrimm@dpnet.net (Sean Brimm)
To:	waltonwj@aol.com

Mr. Walton--

I'm a history major at the University of Baltimore.  For the last
ten years, I've followed the controversy over RPGs and have
defended them to the Board of Education of Cecil County,
Maryland, twice--unfortunately unsuccessfully to reverse an order
banning D&D from extracurricular school clubs, in 1987 and 1994,
respectively.  I recently began looking for pro-gaming sites on
the Web, and have found your site very informative.

I also believe that attempts to ban D&D and any other RPGs
violate federal statutes, namely the 1984 Equal Access Act, which
the Supreme Court ruled in Board of Ed v. Mergens (1990).  The
Court held that *if* a federally funded school has any
extracurricular clubs that they cannot be restricted with regards
to "religious, political, or philosophical inclinations."  This
means (as in the Mergens case) that even voluntary prayer groups
are constitutional so long as the clubs remain run by students,
not by administrators.  So certainly this reasoning should apply
to RPGs played as an activity by students.

I also noticed several hyper links that are out of date.

1. Geoff's Rant About Games & the Media is now located at:
http://www.b4dawn.com/geoff/rant.html

2.  Pierre Savoie's Dracopolitics (love that term) page is
located at:
http://www.personal.unt.edu/~jl0007/draco.htm

3.  The Cult-FBI.txt article by Ken Lanning is now at:
http://www.necronomi.com/magic/paganism-celtic/cult-fbi.txt

4.  "The Pulling Report" by Stackpole, dated 1990, is at:
http://www.rpg.net/252/quellen/stackpole/pulling_report.html

Let me know if I can be of further assistance to you!

Warmest regards,

Sean Brimm

I love it when people update my links for me! Thanks, Sean!

December, 1997:

Looks like I've got some catching up to do as far as the ol' mailbox is concerned! Here we go:

David Brown's Beware of Magic: The Gathering page is certainly a hot topic among Escapist readers. If you missed my review of his site, check out the Advocacy 1996 page.

Subj:	CAR-PGa and that David Brown thing
Date:	97-06-25 04:46:21 EDT
From:	es2690a@american.edu (Liz S)
To:	WALTONWJ@aol.com

Dear William - 
	I just caught your page after having sent the message below to his
Christianness, David Brown.  Unfortunately, I hit his page first.  What can
you say?  He needs to be ripped into, I vote early and often.  Especially
since he called - well, if your looking for another mistake in his article,
he called Taoism "occult".  Does this guy know anything???
				Enjoy, Liz S

From: Liz S (es2690a@american.edu)
To: dlbrown@execpc.com
Subject: A Mistaken Notion
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 1997 8:57 PM

Dear Mr. Brown - 

I was very disturbed to find your web page concerning the "dangers" of
Magic and other games such as Dungeons and Dragons.  First of all, and
most importantly, your message implies that people are so weak minded that
they can become "lured toward evil" through a bunch of cards.  Your message
frightens me, because instead of assuming the best about people and
encouraging them to think for themselves, it implies that people are not much 
more than infants, who have to be hand fed every idea that they have.

You say that children's minds are influenced by games; well, I've played
these games and I do not wish to go out and cast spells and kill everyone; I've 
played Monopoly, but I don't wish to get rich by dealing in property; I've played 
Mousetrap before but I don't want to be an exterminator.  You should really 
check the implications your thesis has for other unrelated topics before you 
make such a dumb statement.

Secondly, your message disturbs me because it assumes that such a game
will lead to violence and the occult.  When you were at the convention you speak 
of, were you mugged? Shot? Forced into some satanic ritual?  Was everybody 
there rioting?  Since you never mentioned that, I will assume that no such thing 
happened.  My guess is that this was a gathering of people, while crowded, 
enjoying themselves.  I notice you never quoted anyone firsthand, so my guess 
is you never spoke to any of these people about their feelings on the game.  
You merely assumed and used quotes from media sources to back up your thesis.  

Thirdly, and what bothers me the most, you have the arrogance to assume that 
Christianity is the only way.  If this were true, then approximately 80% of the world 
would automatically be going to hell.  If 80% of the world was the tool of Satan, I 
sincerely doubt that the world would be as wonderful as it is. I feel sorry for you if 
you have closed yourself off from so much of the world.  You know, back in 
Germany there was this man who hated the Jews...  It seems to me that your 
theory is slightly backwards.  Cards do not promote violence, but hatred definitely 
does. 

You said two things in your message: 1., that GOD HATES THOSE WHO 
PROMOTE VIOLENCE, and 2.you state Acts 19:19-20 and imply that people's 
cards should be burned.  As for 2., I believe that would involve literally stealing the 
cards (Thou shalt not steal!) and burning them.  Not just cards you yourself bought - 
if you want to buy up all the cards and burn them, that's your business - Acts 19:
19-20 specifically says "their books", indicating that someone owned them.  
Furthermore, it has been easily proven that once someone develops a hatred of 
someone or something, it is easier to do them harm.  So by saying that GOD 
HATES THOSE... and identifying these game players as promoting violence, you 
have made a target, and you have made it one (if not several) steps easier for your
listeners/followers to commit violence against them.  I'm sorry to say, its very easy 
to see why a witch would spit curses at you, seeing as you have made them a
lesser being in your eyes and in fact pretty much promote violence towards them.

I do not hate you, as this letter may appear, but I do stand by my beliefs and will try 
my best to dispose of people's angry views towards another group.  This world has 
enough problems without crying out over petty differences.  I sincerely hope that you 
will reconsider your argument, and keep in mind that religion should be a part of your 
life, but once you try to make it someone else's, they will surely rebel against it. The 
best thing you could do is to accept people, help them, and be as POSITIVE an
influence on your fellow neighbors as you can without cutting down what they do or 
believe. Once they feel like you don't respect them, then they have no desire to follow 
your advice.  Why try to please someone who doesn't respect you?  The power of 
suggestion, but the weakness of brute force.

 				Sincerely,
 					E.C.S.

p.s. don't try writing back to convert me, I have already chosen to follow Taoism and do 
not wish to change.  If I were to ever look towards a new faith again, I would look towards 
those who respected my first decision.

Whew! Let's all try to stay on Liz's good side, shall we? Seriously, good work, Liz!

Next is a letter from Cameron McGivray, with some very positive gaming news:


Subj:	  How about some good news?
Date:	  97-08-08 22:47:13 EDT
From:	  Dennis.Mcgilvray@Colorado.EDU (Cameron)
Reply-to: Dennis.Mcgilvray@Colorado.EDU (Cameron)
To:	  waltonwj@aol.com (Committee for the Advancement of Role-playing Games)

	I read over your site and was frankly depressed. It seems like our
eternal struggle against ignorance and media bias is an uphill battle.
Here's some good news from my neck of the woods. 
	My employers (Mark Hoge and Ed Kann of Rennaisance Adventures)
recently graced the front page of the local Boulder CO newspaper with a
full-color photograph of their Live-Action roleplaying adventure camp for
kids. The article that followed put the work that Rennaisance Adventures
does in an extremely good light. If you are interested, I can see about
typing up the article or perhaps just mailing you a copy. In lieu of that,
here's a short synopsis of the work that Mark and Ed do.
	Rennaisance Adventures has run a day camp for kids ages 6-15 for
several years now. Each game master spends the entire day enacting a
live-action "quest" using simple rules. Kids learn problem-solving and
social skills (as well as how to defeat grown-ups in hand to hand combat
with padded swords) and the entire exercise serves to indoctrinate a whole
new generation of gamers and fantasy enthusiasts. Renn Adventures also
does private birthday parties and things like that.
	The article in which the camp was written up described Ed, Mark
and Renn Adventures in glowing terms and response has been good. Ed (a
former police officer) is now assembling an alternate saturday live action
event for teenagers using his soon-to-be-published generic live action
system and hopes to run after-school fencing, kendo and stage combat
classes at local elementary schools. Renn Adventures hopes to branch out
into a franchise and perhaps include horse back riding for their summer
camp next year.
	I recently became employed as a third game master for the summer
camp (at least for the duration of the summer), and my involvement with
the company was largely due to the article in the newspaper (which I read
and replied to). Response from parents has been excellent, business is
booming and there has been no protests of any sort by anti-gaming
factions. The only reason I write this is that your gaming advocacy site
reminded me of the excellent work ethic of my employers, who understand
that gaming is an art form and needs to be nurtured and encouraged as
such. 
	I hope that my reports of good press for live-action gamers here
in Boulder Colorado will offset at least some of the dark mood that
reports of negative press bring.
	
					Cameron McGilvray
					mcgilvra@spot.colorado.edu
					1315 5th street
					Boulder CO, 80302
					(303) 415-0417

Wow! I think I'm getting misty! (grin) If I lived in Boulder, Cameron, you would have one overzealous volunteer (and a potential camper in five or six years) on your hands!

Next, Daniel Pryor checks in:

Subj:	hi
Date:	97-08-23 07:02:21 EDT
From:	pi@northcoast.com (Pryor Illustrations)
To:	WALTONWJ@AOL.COM

It's nice to someone advancing rolke-playing. I've been a fantasy gamer
for 15 years since I was 13. I hate it especially when christian groups
go off on RPGs. It's like a darn Salem with hunt thing! I myself am a
christian, but a little more open-minded than most. RPGs are just like
anything: You can use it for good clean fun or warp it and it can become
awful. So far the only problems with RPGs that I can see is I don't like
the WHITEWOLF series of games, which I consider to be quite satanic. I
believe RPGs should be like high fantasy, midieval europe chivalry type
stuff. But hey, each to his/her own. Anyway, just though I say "hi" and
let you know I read your stuf...
	-Daniel "TROLL" Pryor.
	-Pryor Illustrations:  http://www.northcoast.com/~pi/welcome.htm
	email: pi@northcoast.com

Well, Dan, I agree with you on most points, especially to your Salem simile. However, I make exception to your remarks about White Wolf games.

I'm assuming you're referring to the World Of Darkness series, and not White Wolf's other, less popular, games (such as Street Fighter). As someone who owns all five in the series (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Wraith, and Changeling, as well as Vampire: The Dark Ages and Werewolf: The Wild West), I don't honestly see them as being very different from most other RPGs. The main difference, and the main secret behind their success, is that they allow the gamer to play a type of character that most other games will only allow them to play against.

Now, I'm not the best judge of what is satanic and what isn't, but I really don't find anything more sinister in a WoD book than I do in my collection of AD&D, GURPS, or Call of Cthulhu books. Maybe you should give the series a second chance.

Thanks for reading, keep in touch, and Play Nice!

Here's a little note from my favorite superhero, Pickleman:

Subj:	 (rare is the time when i find something to put here)
Date:	97-10-15 00:57:37 EDT
From:	dill_pickle@hotmail.com (Homer Simpson)
To:	waltonwj@aol.com

Hey there,

A little background:
  I play RPG's, including Magic and GURPS and MUD and others...
  Actually, i own a MUD, but that's beside the fact.

What i wanted you to know:
  Your page kicks @$$. -=and=-
  CAR-PGa should 'Rock On'.

Sincerely-
PickleMan

P.S.=- Yes I am insane, and damn proud of it, too!!

Thanks, Homer! (Suddenly, I feel like a classic rock radio DJ). Say "Hi" to Marge for me! (Remind me someday to relate the story about the flamewar I triggered in rec.games.rpg with a simple Homer Simpson quote).

Subj:	Thank-you
Date:	97-10-28 23:25:55 EST
From:	Serrendib
To:	Walton W J

Dear William,
As a fellow aol member, I'd like to thankyou for your page on RPGs, etc.  I've been 
playing magic for almost 3 years now, and I've just gotten into a little role playing.  
My mother never had a problem with it.  Now that I've played a few games, I can't see 
what some people's problems are.  Oh, well.  Anyway, I'm working on a research paper 
where I can only use 2 web sites.  Thanks to your page, I could cheat a little and get a 
lot of info of one page.  Congrats on a great page.
Michelle, serrendib

Thanks, Michelle! Let me know what grade we get! (grin)

O.k., this one is a little hard to read, but there's a good idea in here...

Subj:	 Your RPGing page
Date:	97-11-01 07:35:40 EST
From:	jforward@nf.sympatico.ca
To:	WALTONWJ@AOL.COM

Must say your doing a good job on a page. How about doing a page on
showing how a basic turn goes in magic or an RPG to show theres no
cultism sorta like.

O.k I tap one forset and lay a lanuawar elf. (Tapping meing turing the
card sideways to show that someone is tapping mana form the land)

O.k I cast lighting bolt on it its dead 

Darn oh well I guess it goes to the graveyard.

Yea.. My turn now?

Sure go ahead.

See anything santic in that :)

Good luck.

No, I find nothing santic OR satanic in that! (grin... sorry!) It's a very good idea, however. A sample of play for both RPGs and CCGs would do well to illustrate how games are really played to non-gamers. I would have to be careful to use generic systems, however (I don't know how WoTC would react to me using extended descriptions of Magic cards on this page). I'll keep this in mind, and of course, give you credit for the idea. Thanks!

Gerlof checks in with us from the Netherlands:

Subj:	 Good cause
Date:	97-11-12 09:46:25 EST
From:	Gerlof Woudstra
To:	waltonwj@AOL.Com ('waltonwj@aol.com')

Dear Sir,

It is nice to see that there are people actually trying to defend our
hobby. Even in the netherlands I have found some persons thinking that I
was involved in some satanic inspired game. It would have been much more
logical to assume I was a sexist, since the magazine she commented upon
had a rather undressed lady on the frontpage (with an axe and some fur).
But that is another story. 

About your site, I would suggest you to lighten your background a bit.
The black letters are sometimes a bit difficult to read. Other than
that, keep up the good work.

G.Woudstra

Ps. don't put my email adres on the list, I am not to fond about
junkmail.

Isn't it amazing how things are the same all over? I mean, here is Gerlof, from way over in the Netherlands... where you would think things were very different than here in the States... and despite all of that, he joins everybody else in thinking that my backgrounds are too busy!

Thanks for the tip, Gerlof... I'm working on it, I promise!

John wrote with a request, but his return e-mail bounced... so, here's your info, John:

Subj:	 Looking for an article...
Date:	97-11-20 15:55:59 EST
From:	johnk@ascc.lucent.com (John Karakash - LUCENT ASCC)
Sender:	johnk@ascc.lucent.com
To:	waltonwj@aol.com

First off, I want to say your RPG pages are awesome!
Now that the obligatory fawning is out of the way...

	Another page mentioned that you had mention of
a NASA spokesperson recommending RPGs as a way to combat
boredom in space.  Can you give me the link to this?
(I looked high and low but couldn't find it...)

Here ya go, John: NASA Recommends Role-Playing to Cooped-Up Cosmonauts. Hope this helps!

Elton Ammons shares with us a letter he sent to NBC concerning the recent Dateline story:

Subj:	Dateline
Date:	97-11-27 23:38:12 EST
From:	Pinmillion
To:	Walton W J

Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that there are some people fireing back at these hack journalists.
Below is a copy of the letter I sent Dateline NBC... let me know what you think.

Subj:	Vampire
Date:	97-11-25 23:48:22 EST
From:	Pinmillion
To:	dateline@nbc.com

I must say that I'm very disapointed in your blasting of "Vampire the Masquerade" 
on a recent Dateline episode. While I realize that the tragedy of a family's loss is 
nothing to sneer at, attempting to connect a horrific deed like this with a game is 
sheer lunacy and highly unprofessional journalism. This harkens back to the 
Dungeons and Dragons pogroms of the early 80's in which the news was splattered 
with wild accounts of teenage suicide and murder all because of the "demonic" 
influence of a roleplaying game. I would think that the increased sex and violence 
shown on TV and the desensitization resulting would be a much bigger factor in this 
kind of incident.

Regardless of the cause however, your selective quoting from the rule books is a 
completely one sided attack on the industry. If any actuall research was done into the 
game, you would have seen that one of the main foci is the examination of the battle 
between "dark" and "light"... the retention of humanity against the odds and the 
punishment of those who give in to the evil within.

I don't expect an answer or a retraction, but an examination of the game and perhaps 
an interview with it's creator or people like myself who have played these games for 
years, are married with a wonderfull relationship and have a steady job (in the Navy no 
less) would give people another view on things.
Thank you for your time,
Elton Ammons

Good work, Elton! Keep it up!

Here's a little something from "Fluke" (if that is his real name... chuckle), who tells a story to which many of us can relate:

Subj:	 From an appreciative Gamer
Date:	97-11-28 00:15:16 EST
From:	dalefmly@erols.com (Fluke)
Reply-to:dalefmly@erols.com
To:	WALTONWJ@AOL.COM

Dear sir,
	The visage of your website was a brightening to my day. I'm near to 
overjoyed that someone out there is smart enough to see that RPGs aren't 
evil, satanism, etc. I am an avid fan of the Palladium system, and am 
proud to be GM for a rather successful (four players, who seem to really 
like it) campaign. My recent interest (not to mention ire) in the Pro/ 
Anti-RPG debates comes from an unpleasant run-in about a week ago with 
the Catholic church. 
	All my years while attending Catholic schools (not Catholic myself, but 
I do consider myself Christian, no denomination), I've heard the hype, 
the defacements, the bloody near propaganda against role-playing. But 
I've never actually faced its ignorant narrowmindedness until now. I've 
been running the campaign at my high school, after dismissal, out of the 
way. I can say full well that my group and I were not disruptive in any 
way, nor were we rude. And, most importantly, we were not practicing any 
form of demonic worship, occultism... you know the usual. All we were, 
as usual, doing, was playing a game. We had been doing so for over three 
months, and had not recieved a single complaint.
	Final period of last Thursday, I and all my friends (as well as some 
"innocent bystanders" who must've just looked like "those RPGing kind") 
were brought into the guidance counselor's office. Informed that we were 
engaging in practices that were possibly demonic, or at least 
occult-related, the counselor told us to stop playing. Or, if nothing 
else,"since your parents seem to tolerate this sort of thing, take it 
off school grounds". Care to guess as to how my religion teacher now 
acts toward me? Or any of my group's members teachers do?
	They don't try to shut down smoking at my school, they don't try to 
shut down drugs. They don't even try to make the people having sex in 
the bathrooms at least wear condoms, no matter how much they preach 
about abstinence. But what DO they take action against? Role-playing!
	This whole thing would never have happened, had it not been for some 
misinformed adult, who saw our game and, going off on biased 
information, complained to the guidance counsel. I cannot express enough 
my frustration, since trying to argue this with any of "them" is about 
as productive as bashing one's head against a wall...
	Anyway, enough on that. Let me re-iterate as I close that your webpage 
is a credit to your name, and does you and your associates honor. 
God bless.

(PS: One final question: is that "Game of Satan" webpage a joke or what? 
Is he REALLY serious? If so, I'm not sure whether to laugh or vomit....)

Well, Fluke, I've said it before: I honestly think that the Game of Satan page is a joke. An elaborate joke, but a joke nonetheless. Thanks, and Play Nice.

May, 1997:

Here's a little treasure I found in my mailbox in late April:

Subj:	CAR-PGa
Date:	97-04-21 15:56:35 EDT
From:	enter_account_name@your.mail.host.here (Enter Whatever Name you want here)
To:	waltonwj@aol.com

RPG's are completely safe , you idiot. They do not lead to suicide or 
drugs or satanism. They lead to imagination and fun. They also do not 
remove the world from antidisestablishmentarianism.

Well, what can I say... I'm speechless!

Nah, just kidding. I can't imagine how hard this person must have worked in order to mistake my page as an anti-game page. Which, combined with the fact that this e-mail is from a generic account (no doubt in a cyber cafe somewhere) makes me think that this was just a prank message. As a prank, however, it really isn't funny. Posing as an outraged parent threatening to sue me for daring to defend something that is allegedly responsible for so much death and destruction... now that would have been funny!

To the author of this message, if you're out there: Please view my page again, and read it carefully. Don't skim it the way that so many opponents of RPGs skim game books, cards, and magazines. Thank you.

April, 1997:

Well, you won't find any serious rebuttals from me with this installment; I've gotten nothing but supportive mail for the last few months. Here are a few items that have been sitting around in the Escapist's mailbag for a little while:

The first is from Jeff Freeman, a fellow advocate and CAR-PGa member, whose work in gaming advocacy should be an example to us all:

Subj:	CARPGA web site
Date:	97-04-08 14:03:26 EDT
From:	jfreeman@chrysalis.org (Jeff Freeman)

Good job, the site looks great and has a wealth of material, too.

For the record, I do not intend on replacing the anti-game refutation
material on my web site.  'Doesn't look like I need to.  ;-)

Again, kudos to you.

...yeah, alright, so I just posted this letter here to gloat. You've figured me out. But if you spent as much time on this page as I do, you'd gloat too! :^)

Next are a couple of letters from people who have discovered flaws in David Brown's "Beware of Magic: The Gathering" page, above and beyond those that I listed on the Advocacy page. (For a link, as well as my statement on Brown's page, check the Advocacy entry for November, 1996).

Subj:	CARPGA Pages
Date:	97-03-24 01:45:45 EST
From:	carmenc@dfwmm.net (Carmen Clemons)

Hello, liked your pages.  In the Advocacy page, you mention David
Brown's "Beware of M:TG" page and several mistakes he made.  I'd like to
add one more.  He claims Everway is a CCG, when, in fact, it's an RPG. 
He also claims to have researched these games - I guess that's two
mistakes, but you already seemed to know about that one. *grin*

--Carmen Clemons

Actually, I did notice this, but I didn't mention it. Why, you ask? Well, WOTC did market some of Everway's cards in a collectible fashion, possibly in an attempt to make the first true RPG/CCG crossover. So, technically, Brown was not 100% wrong when he called Everway a CCG. However, in light of his hands-off methods of research, I'd have to say that Brown's verdict of Everway as a CCG was an uneducated mistake. If he had even witnessed it being played, he may have even figured it out for himself.

Subj:	just wanted to say hey...
Date:	97-03-12 05:02:42 EST
From:	kmfdm@gte.net (Paul)

I just wanted to write you and tell you that Im glad you take the time 
and effort to publish this page...
As far as a name, I really didnt think about the subject until I saw the 
main page for the Escapist, I dont really know... the AD&Dvocate
I dont really like AD&D too much, but I do like RPG's and card games, 
and pretty much any game I can get my hands on...
Actually, I wrote to joke about the one little nitpick you missed in 
David L. Brown's: Beware of Magic:the Gathering article, he didnt even 
know what TSR stands for... its Tactical Studies Rules not Research...
Oh well...
Let me know if their is anything I can do to help you spread the word on 
the net...
Thanks,
Paul

Thanks for the support, Paul, and for the nitpick. I don't think I'm going to burn him too much on that one, though... it could have just as easily been a slip of the keyboard. But, you did catch it, which shows that you were paying more attention than I was.. so you get the gold star for today! :^) Thanks again for writing.

April, 1996:

An article entitled "The Postal Worker Syndrome" that appeared in a previous installment of The Escapist drew a bit of fire from some of those who read it. Here's a little bit of that fire:

Subj: (no subject)
Date: 96-04-09 08:00:25 EDT
From: b.evill@tyndale.apana.org.au (Brett Evill); As a manic depressive, I kind of disliked being lumped in together with "Satanists, occultists, sexual deviants, murderers, molestors..." in your essay "The Postal Worker Syndrome".
: I think that this is quite possibly the harshest and worst-justified abuse of a minority of disabled people I have ever encountered.
: Regards,; Brett Evill

...and here is my reply...

Brett,

As a manic depressive, I kind of disliked being lumped in together with "Satanists, occultists, sexual deviants, murderers, molestors..." in your essay "The Postal Worker Syndrome".

Funny, I got the same response from an occultist... :^) Truth be told, it is not myself who does this "lumping;" you only need to look at the media coverage of any game-related incident to see that this is the impression that has been built of gamers everywhere. I mention manic-depressives only because that is one of the many titles I have been given from some ignorant person who has just discovered that I play "one of those games." I mention it because it is a part of the stigma; it is not my intention to equate any of those groups with each other.

I myself struggle with depression every day of my life, but I sure as hell wouldn't let the media know about it... knowing that, along with the fact that I'm a "gamer," they'd probably start waiting at my front door for my killing spree to start.

I think that this is quite possibly the harshest and worst-justified abuse of a minority of disabled people I have ever encountered.

With all due respect, you probably don't get around much, then. Watch television for a little while, or listen to the radio. Pick up the newspaper. Go for a little walk at the mall, or drive downtown. Even better: put yourself in a wheelchair first. You'll find much harsher treatment of disabled minorities through any of these than you have found in my little-read rant. The only difference is that this treatment will be deliberate. (My apologies to you if you are already wheelchair-bound; I only mentioned it to stress the point.)

I once heard a teenager tell me that disabled people should be put to death, because they contribute so little to society, and are usually just "in the way." This was all because he was angry about not being able to get a good parking spot at the mall! I shudder to think how widespread this type of attitude is.

On a lighter note, thanks for reading my 'zine, and thank you for speaking out!

Play nice,
Wjw.

In our usual monthly exchange, Paul Cardwell, chairman for CAR-PGa, had this to say about the same piece:

"...I do have a couple of quibbles with The Postal Worker Syndrome, but in keeping with my firm-except-when-time-is-relevant policy, I won't comment until the following issue in hopes someone else will make the correction. First, there is considerable work by anarchist political groups to abolish the post office and turn it over to their own greedy operations... Second,... I would not be so careless as to assume the growth rates of a new game concept would continue at that rate forever... The best industry guess is almost seven million active (defined as playing at least once a month) gamers, growing at about a quarter million net per year."

Paul makes two valid points, both dealing with my choice of words in that piece. First, I said "...there have been no groups intent on eradicating the postal service." The period was premature, however, as I should have continued with "...due to the stigma assigned to postal workers." Perhaps it would have made the point better if I had replaced the entire statement with the following: "It is not often that you will hear a parent tell a child to stop playing post office out of fear that the child will become a gun-toting maniac."

As for the statement concerning twelve million D&D players, it was much more a matter of misinterpretation than anything else. In fact, the number that Paul cited was for role-players as a whole, not just D&D players, something that he did not touch upon in that letter. For this, I apologize. But, I do have to add that it does not change the issue; seven million players is still a large group, and one that would make the papers daily if they consisted of nothing but murderers and rapists.

Oh, and before any Second Amendment zealots decide to flame me to oblivion: I'm pro-gun, okay? Really, I'm not kidding. I just don't think that maniacs should be allowed to tote them, that's all. I think we can all agree on that.

I'm going to go now, before I get into any more trouble.

Play nice,
Wjw.