Oh man... my post right below this one seems juvenile now. Good stuff Steve, everyone should read.
: Damn, I get embroiled in a real-world battle at work for a few days and look
: what happens to my fav forum. It's no secret that I'm one of a few older
: people who post here. John Sumner and I are both middle-aged academic
: types and and we both deal a lot with inexperienced, juvenile types who
: have a bit too much testosterone flowing in their veins. I'm gooing to try
: not to sound like your fathers on this, but you really need to step back
: for a moment. This forum isn't worth the brusing you're giving other
: people's egoes. Marathon itself isn't worth it. Goran, you may not want
: my unsolicited advice, but you're going to get a hell of a lot of
: unsolicited advice during your lifetime and some of it may even save your
: life. Spend a day with me on Rounds at the Rehab Institute of Michigan in
: Detroit and you'll see several young men and boys who thought they knew it
: all - who didn't think they needed unsolicited advice and got it back in
: the form of a bullet lodged in their spine. Maybe they were right, but few
: of them will ever walk again, go to the bathroom without the use of
: catheters and medications or have sexual relations in the same way that we
: think of sex. The fact is that none of us ever knows it all - learning is
: a lifelong process and being open-minded is the only way to learn. I'm
: sure that John would agree with me on this but learning is a two-way
: street, as was eloquently related in an earlier quote from S'pht lore
: about the youngest learning from the oldest. One of the things I love
: about academicia is that I learn as much from my students as they do from
: me. Learning comes from unexpected places and if you close your mind to
: the advice of others, you will stop growing. My namesake's error in
: building that house was not that he followed everyone's unsolicited
: advice, but that he did not learn from it. He kept taking advice at face
: value and expected to be spoon-fed knowledge rather than seeking it out
: and learning in the process. If he'd closed his eyes and his ears, he
: would have forever stopped growing.
: Goran, you are a gifted mapmaker, but you are one of the most arrogant people
: who visits the forum and you still have much to learn. I have seen much
: growth in your maps over the years I've known you, but there are still
: tricks I've seen in other people's work that are just so unique - so
: insane - that they blow everything else away. Your work has been
: exceptional, but I have seen very few examples of mapmaking that I would
: call revolutionary - inovations that change the course of future
: mapmaking. Fridgidman's mapmaking style may seem dated today, but he lead
: the way for everyone else. When your work is widely copied by others, then
: you'll know that you have achieved mapmaking greatness. Until you see
: examples of mapmaking techniques that you pioneered showing up in others'
: work, you really shouldn't claim that youv'e reached the pinacle of
: mapmaking. More to the point, Goran, is that your zinger to Me_43 was
: really below the belt and inappropriate in this forum. Although I don't
: excuse his reaction, you really should have expected that it would cause
: disharmony here. It was a very childish thing to do. We've had our
: disagreements in the past, but I think I've also earned your respect. I
: may not be a mapmaker, not because I couln't be but because I have a life.
: I only have time to enjoy the work of others, but I am probably one of the
: most experienced Marathon gamers out there and I have experienced nearly
: every map created for Marathon and its variants. I hope that you will
: recognize a voice of maturity and wisdom when you hear it and take this
: opportunity to examine whether you really do know it all and whether or
: not it was wise to start one of this forum's few major flame wars, which
: is what you've essentially done.
: Me_43, you really shouldn't hold Goran and a few of his idol worshipers
: responsible for the opinions of the entire forum. You have made
: substantial contributions and I hope that you will stay. I sincerely hope
: that you have stayed long enough to read this. Goran is arogant beyond
: what is justified even by his substantial mapmaking skills and there are a
: handful of people who stand in awe of him because they frankly don't know
: any better. That still doesn't excuse your reaction. It was a tantrum.
: Sadly, there are tantrums in this forum from time to time and even Forrest
: threw one once when I criticized Eternal (perhaps making a post under the
: title "Eternally Bored" was a bit harsh). You may recall that I
: was extremely skeptical of your ability to create a replacement for AO
: when you first started out. To me you were a mere kid who really didn't
: know what he was getting into (now that I know your age, yes, you were a
: niaive 13 year old kid). What I didn't know at the time was how tenatious
: you were and how much you could accomplish in 3 years, much less that
: you'd stick with it for 3 years. I have been impressed and somewhat
: humbled by what you've managed to accomplish and I would like to think
: that at least some of it stems from the advice I've given you over the
: years. You and I both know, however, that there is still a hell of a lot
: left to do, even though you're close to haveing an alpha of an editor
: ready that can actually import existing Marathon maps. What would truly be
: a crime would be for you to give up just because of Goran's and your own
: immaturity. There are many of us here who are rooting for you and would
: love to see E0 reach its full fruition. The last 3 years have not been a
: waste of your time and I think you know it. You've done a lot, and you've
: contributed a lot with your posts. Please stay, but try not to throw a
: tantrum the next time someone ticks you off.
