HOLY MISCOMMUNICATION BATMAN!!!I am going to address a bunch of issues individually, but in the spirit of TL,DR, here are my bullet points:
1) Reviews are posted on the FRONT page of RPG.net. There is no need for you to be involved in their forums. As a RPG.net reviewer, you NEVER have to engage with anyone on RPG.net. N-E-V-E-R.
2) RPG.net is the biggest RPG forum. If you are taking the time to write, then why deny yourself the biggest audience? If you absolutely won't post there, then please check out OTHER forums. How about posting on Amazon? How about on DriveThruRPG?
3) Palladium's games did SOMETHING to make you a fan of one or more of their games. That same game is still good enough to interest someone else. Stop worrying about the downsides of PB. Be honest about what bugs you, but
something about a PB game got you super excited to be a fan enough to hang around these forums. SHARE THAT!
Shawn Merrow wrote:I want nothing to do with that site.
I don't blame you and I know what you're talking about, but Obi-Shawn Kenobi, we need your writing skills!! RPG.net forums can be a cesspool, but this is just about posting reviews. It's my contention that most of the review audience are lurkers, not posters. The silent majority are our target, not any of the angry regulars.
Rallan wrote:Also, invading RPG.net in an organised campaign to game the average review scores? Really? It's almost like you want to live up to the bad reputation Palladium fans have got over there.
Please re-read my original post. This has NOTHING to do with gaming the average review scores.
First, there are so few reviews of any PB books. Second, I am asking for HONEST reviews, not PR fluff pieces.
There is tremendous power in honest reviews.
Tiree wrote:I'm generally not impressed with the work that has happened either on the writing or editing of these books.
What Palladium game or book did impress you? Write about that one.
Glistam wrote:From what I've always heard, rpg.net seems like the absolute worst place to go on the internet if you're a fan of Palladium Books. I have never heard anything good come about from going there. I don't see how going there and writing/posting reviews will accomplish anything except re-ignite old flame wars.
There are LOTS of Palladium fans at RPG.net. Many are lurkers. Many are posters who talk LOTS about how they port over PB settings to their favorite systems. RPG.net is the biggest space with the most eyeballs. Most importantly, RPG.net reviews are big and bold on the front page, not hidden like other sites.
Again, I am NOT talking about anyone subjecting themselves to RPG.net's forums. Posting reviews is just posting reviews. You write it, you submit it, and you are notified when they post it. You never have to involve yourself with their forums.
And if our honest reviews ignite 2,000 flame wars? So what? Let the interwebs burn.
Glistam wrote:Palladium is not the game system for everyone - I don't care that it's not for someone else, nor why they believe they're justified in feeling that way, and I'm not interested in having an argument about it because neither of us will change the other's minds.
No game is for everyone, but there is a reason you play one or more Palladium games. Reviews are about sharing that reason. Maybe somebody reading the review may also be sparked by the reason that drew you.
auyl wrote:In order to change rpg.net guests attitudes on PB they need to have PB itself start addressing issues and changing people's attitudes. We as fans can argue with them all we want but unless the company itself steps in, I'm afraid not much will change.
We can't change PB. PB is PB, but Kevin & crew are still publishing after 34 years. That's nothing to sneeze at. Also, reviews aren't about changing minds about PB. Reviews are about discussing a book or game for the virtues of that one book.
Our ONLY goal is to introduce new gamers to our favorite PB books. What gamers do after reading our reviews is beyond our control.
Jerell wrote:There are quite a few, by no means all, but a good number of gamers that have their one favorite system and view everything else as garbage.
You are right, but those people are NOT our audience. We want to reach gamers who play lots of different RPGs who may be open to trying something new. I suspect the "I only play X" people don't read reviews about other games.
Dog_O_War wrote:I don't think it's worth advertising until the quality improves.
The quality has been enough to draw all the people posting here, and the quality has been enough to sell lots of books for 34 years. Obviously, there is something in PB's books that makes many gamers excited enough to trade money for PB's books AS-IS. It's that magical something that I am asking people to write about.