Issue #14 - Suspense & Decision PBM magazine

Work on Issue #14 has already started. I haven't made a lot of progress on this next issue, yet, but I do have things under way, already.

Here's hoping that the magazine's readers found something in our last issue to enjoy, and I invite one and all to send me something to include in a future issue. Art, articles, photographs, and various other things such as thoughts, feedback, and memories from days of PBM gaming past all make for a more interesting magazine to read.

If you would like to be worked into a future front cover for Suspense & Decision, then be sure to send me a photograph of yourself that the cover artist can use as a visual reference. You could end up as a hero, as with Jim Gagliardi on the front cover of Issue #13 in the role of his Tom Krieger character (aka Baron Mazas) from the game Phoenix:BSE, which is run by KJC Games over in the United Kingdom, or you could end up as the victim of some strange beast from who knows what kind of setting. This concept is aimed at giving the magazine a more personal feel, one which plays on our sense of humor. I think that it's a good way to promote PBM gaming with one's friends.

You may not know it, yet, but Bernd is still out there. He may contact with me shortly after I published Issue #13, but before he knew that it had been published. I don't know, yet, in what capacity that he will be returning, but you are likely to begin reading something from Bernd, again, sometime soon. For those who may be new and not know who Bernd is, Bernd was Suspense & Decision's assistant editor, previously. He may be, again, but he's also been ruminating about possibly starting up his own game-related zine. Either way, it appears that the future will hold more of Bernd for you, rather than less of him. Rather than de-Bernd, there will be re-Bernd.

Though Suspense & Decision has had rough spots that it has endured (the delay in publishing Issue #11, and Issue #12 being completely lost to the sands of time, as I look back over the span of time since Issue #1 was published, the magazine has had its high points, also. I really do think that we get a few things right, even though I never seem to manage to do a good enough job of proof reading each issue before publishing them for your reading pleasure. Personally speaking, I like the fact that the magazine is free. I also like the fact that the magazine embraces some kind of free advertising model. I wish that more people took advantage of it, but so far, it hasn't proven to be unduly difficult to give ad space away, if I spend any time, at all, making game companies aware of the chance to advertise for free.

The forum here has died off, in recent months - again. It goes through phases of growth and death, it seems. If you would like to see this forum become a more thriving place, then contribute to the overall effort by posting a message or starting a new discussion thread, each time that you visit here. It's when site visitors notice that something new has been posted since their last visit here that the forum seems to enjoy its greatest spurts of growth.

One of the changes with the return of Suspense & Decision that I will be making an extra effort to focus upon is in the area of dialogue. That's the primary reason that the Down the Whirlpool section of Issue #13 was as long as it was. It wasn't just about beating poor Rick McDowell of Alamaze fame over the head. Rick feels that my writing style is almost as acerbic as his own, but he likes acerbic, so as the saying goes, all's well that ends well.

The big picture, which is what my increased focus upon dialogue is geared towards, isn't about any given individual, although from issue to issue it might very well seem that way, if you lose sight of the big picture. My core aim is to generate and to grow a sense of dialogue across the PBM community and PBM industry. It's about getting people talking, about getting people to participate in dialogue about things PBM related.

Think about it this way - when was the last time that various personalities in the PBM industry gathered at a PBM convention and discussed things related to PBM games in person, face to face? There aren't any PBM conventions, anymore. Paper Mayhem magazine is gone. Flagship magazine is gone. The various PBM magazines that Bob McLain was involved with in the past are all gone, now. I'm not saying that' its Bob McLain's fault, of course (even though we might could do an article on that possibility in a future issue). Rather, I think that a variety of different developments down through the years have harmed, negatively impacted, or taken their toll - both individually and collectively - on play by mail gaming, and some of those developments may get overshadowed by other things (like the advent and growth of the Internet).

Maybe I should save some of this discussion for future issues of Suspense & Decision magazine, though. If people don't send me anything to include in Issue #14, then I'm going to have to fill the pages with something, after all.

Anyway, give me some feedback on Issue #13, what you liked about it and what you didn't. Let me know if you're glad that it's back, or if you dreaded the day of its return.

Regardless, it has returned, and as I said in Issue #13, it's returned with a vengeance! To find out what that means, though, stay turned, and join us in the next issue - and in issues that will extend out on past Issue #14.

As always, happy reading!

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136077' dateline='1472478832']

The forum here has died off, in recent months - again. It goes through phases of growth and death, it seems. If you would like to see this forum become a more thriving place, then contribute to the overall effort by posting a message or starting a new discussion thread, each time that you visit here. It's when site visitors notice that something new has been posted since their last visit here that the forum seems to enjoy its greatest spurts of growth.

[/quote]

Hear hear!  There are a few of you who drop in once in a while to check and see if anyone's posted anything new.  If you post even just a short note commenting on some thread, giving feedback on some S&D article, or posting an interesting link, we can start back on the road to making this a premier spot for PBM...

Grimfinger wrote:

> Paper Mayhem magazine is gine. Flagship magazine is gone. The various PBM magazines that Bob McLain was involved with in the past are all gone, now.

Gee, that goes back over 30 years, in my case. Why are they gone? Mine are gone because they didn't make enough money to justify continued production. I made more money selling the magazine to zealous would-be publishers than I ever made publishing the magazines myself. Nicky Palmer sold off his interest in Flagship to Carol Mulholland in the late 1990s for much the same reason. Carol had to diversify Flagship into a general games magazine to eke by. David Webber kept Paper Mayhem going until his death, but his day job was working for a printing press (where I'm sure he got discounts) and Paper Mayhem was never anything but an on-the-cheap fanzine. There were a few other UK-based PBM fanzine-type publications in the 1990s; none of them lasted long. It'd be a financial disaster to launch a print play-by-mail magazine today - in most cases, it'd be a financial disaster to launch ANY print magazine today.

PS. Now that I think about it, I wrote an article for Steve Jackson's "The Space Gamer" way back when about why I gave up publishing PBM/Gaming Universal. If you'd like to republish it, I'll find it for you. I probably have that issue around here somewhere. Wait a minute... Maybe I wrote that article for White Wolf's old gaming magazine ("Ingame", or "Inquest", or some damn thing), and the one I wrote for Jackson was about the "death" of play-by-mail. I'm getting old, and often I become confused. You can have them both, if you want.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136089' dateline='1472661973']
I'm getting old, and often I become confused. 
[/quote]

It is my understanding, Bob, that you became confused long before you became old.

Getting old might just be a McLain ploy of some kinds.

I am receptive to articles. I try to avoid any unnecessary copyright problems, though.

If you're really and truly getting old, though, Bob, then perhaps the time is ripe for you to bless the world with a new article.

I appreciate you filling in some of the details associated with the 'why' behind the closure of the various PBM magazines in question.
Why the closed, however, while each closure was and is interesting in its own respective right, their closings - both individually and collectively have resulted in a reduced amount of dialogue on the subject of PBM gaming.
Not much time to respond, at the moment. I've got to depart.
Take it easy, Bob!

What about Nuts & Bolts? Money issue? Maybe I should just re read the article its editor wrote in S&D some time back.

I am encouraged by the rise of numerous board game and war game magazines recently. All professionally done, and some available in print and PDF. Are they all doomed?

Maybe we should make a German language version available, since the board gaming center of gravity seems to be over there nowadays...

Nuts & Bolts went out of business when I acquired it from Rich Buda, the owner, in 1983 (or thereabouts). Although N&B was the first publication to cover play-by-mail exclusively, it was more of a sideline hobby fanzine than a serious, money-making enterprise.

The magazine industry as a whole is in deep trouble these days. Circulations are down across the board. Why pony up subscription money when nearly everything is online, and available free?

[quote='ixnay' pid='136114' dateline='1472757952']
Maybe we should make a German language version available, since the board gaming center of gravity seems to be over there nowadays...
[/quote]

I did give some thought to incorporating a German section in Suspense & Decision, but so far, getting an English version published has ranked as a higher priority for me than trying to do a translation for a language that I, myself, have no fluency in. My overtures to date to the German community tend to go unresponded to. The communication barrier doesn't help, I'm sure.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136118' dateline='1472760479']
Nuts & Bolts went out of business when I acquired it from Rich Buda, the owner, in 1983 (or thereabouts). Although N&B was the first publication to cover play-by-mail exclusively, it was more of a sideline hobby fanzine than a serious, money-making enterprise.

The magazine industry as a whole is in deep trouble these days. Circulations are down across the board. Why pony up subscription money when nearly everything is online, and available free?
[/quote]

Looks like we have come full circle back to a sideline hobby fanzine, eh? The more that things change, the more that they remain the same.

Free certainly doesn't seem to hurt the size of the Internet. It's certainly a hobby interest for me that drives Suspense & Decision to get published. Personally speaking, I rather like the free model. In fact, I built upon it by incorporating a free advertising model into the free magazine model. It doesn't appear as though all PBM companies necessarily value free advertising, although Suspense & Decision's relatively small readership base likely plays a factor in that.

Submission period articles for Issue #14 is now over.

Submission period for advertisements for Issue #14 is still open.

Any additional articles received for Issue #14 will be reserved for Issue #15. Exceptions will be made solely at the editor's discretion!

The primary point of cutting off further article submissions for any given issue is to try and keep the issue from growing a lot larger, in keeping with the consensus in favor of Suspense & Decision publishing smaller issues.

I always reserve the right to publish any given issue to any particular degree of length or brevity, as I so choose.

It's not geared towards trying to leave anyone or any particular article out of any given issue. Rather, it's more an attempt to maintain some degree of minimal discipline towards delivering smaller issues with greater regularity.

Well, this is a surprise, Grim.   Wasn't issue #13 just out a week ago, after a year or so between issues?

As a contributor, potential contributor, I think some notice as to a deadline would be appreciated / appropriate.  But it's your thing.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136145' dateline='1472928407']
Well, this is a surprise, Grim.   Wasn't issue #13 just out a week ago, after a year or so between issues?

As a contributor, potential contributor, I think some notice as to a deadline would be appreciated / appropriate.  But it's your thing.
[/quote]

Actually, notice was given - right here in this forum. I have highlighted it in red text for your convenience, Rick.

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136006' dateline='1467171617']
Everyone is free to think what they want to, of course, but the monthly rate of publication played no role in why it ceased publication. Quite to the contrary, in fact. The monthly rate of publication was, whether you or others realize it or not, one of the primary reasons that the magazine published with regularity, when I first created it.
That said, one of the changes going forward that I will be implementing will be the elimination of an actual publication deadline, monthly or otherwise. The focus will be issue-specific. There may well still be submission deadlines, but I will intentionally make the publication time frame more flexible and less rigid.
Also, it isn't accurate to describe the monthly rate of publication, under which most of the past issues of Suspense & Decision were published, as a grueling task. While that is certainly a colorful way to characterize it, personally speaking and from my vantage point in the process, it just isn't even remotely accurate. Grueling is a pretty harsh term. What David Webber and Elaine Webber faced in the old days, where the publication in print format of Paper Mayhem magazine was concerned, or what Carol Mulholland faced in more recent years with her publication of Flagship magazine in print format, was vastly closer to a grueling task than anything that Suspense & Decision magazine has faced since day one.
[/quote]

SOURCE: http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.php?tid=130482&pid=136006#pid136006

As I recall, you're also one of the ones who advocated in favor of shorter issues.

Per your e-mail to me of August 23rd, 2016, you committed to submitting an article for Issue #14, so that's already accounted for, even if I haven't received the actual article, yet.

Again, the grand object isn't to screw anybody out of a chance to submit anything. Rather, it's to try and keep issues smaller than they otherwise might be, in keeping with the consensus for smaller issues.

Before, issues didn't just get bigger and bigger, simply because I favored larger issues - which I, personally, do tend to favor. Rather, people send stuff, and historically speaking, I would try to go ahead and publish it.

One thing that I experimented with for Issue #12, the missing issue, was to not bother so much with 'beating the bushes' for articles. I can tell you that that approach tends to result in a noticeably reduced amount of submissions, comparatively speaking.

Ultimately, I will include something if I want to include it in a certain issue. My discretion always remains intact, insofar as what to include. Just because I try to set a few parameters within which to operate doesn't mean that my discretion to publish suddenly dissolves, Rick. Of course, if I want to amass material ahead of time for future issues, then I do have to select some point at which to stop packing stuff into the current issue, that I might be able to begin compiling the next issue ahead of time. I do believe that is the direction which consensus preferred that I move the magazine in.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136145' dateline='1472928407']
Well, this is a surprise, Grim.   Wasn't issue #13 just out a week ago, after a year or so between issues?
[/quote]

A little more than a week ago, about a week and a half ago, or thereabouts.

Issue #14 will be combination of material previously submitted back when the magazine was last being published, material submitted too late to include in Issue #13, and material submitted for the express purpose of appear in Issue #14. Issues will be smaller than during the previous publication span, so slots for articles fills up faster. Plus, it appears that at least a few people missed Suspense & Decision during its absence from the publication scene, so perhaps its return has ignited a desire within at least some of them to pony up some material to try and help the magazine to regain some steam.

I eliminated all had publication deadlines, previously, as I set about the task of preparing to publish Issue #13. That doesn't mean that I am aiming to publish less frequently than on a monthly basis. It just frees me of the headache of trying to get issues out by a certain, specific date. The core problem is not publishing the magazine with a reliable degree of frequency. Rather, what really hurts the magazine is when artificial lulls get induced, such as when I am waiting on others to get an article to me that they have committed to sending in. That's when I am most likely to drift off and get involved with other things, and that always holds the very real potential for the magazine to 'disappear' for extended periods of time - perhaps even forever.

I do not tend to allow myths, including some rather longstanding ones, to govern my approach to publishing Suspense & Decision. Publishing a magazine in PDF format really isn't an unduly difficult undertaking. It's more time-consuming than it is hard, per se. Having a steady flow of submissions coming in can greatly facilitate and expedite having a steady flow of issues coming out. Not publishing issues for an extended period of time wreaks havoc on one's familiarity, process-wise, though. In other words, not publishing the magazine makes me grow rusty, and I have to figure out, again, in some instances, how to do a given thing that, before, may have become relatively routine for me.

Publishing at a faster rate than monthly introduces its own set of potential problems. Could it be achieved? Sure. Could it be sustained over an extended period of time? Probably. Do I want to try and head that route? At this current moment in time, probably not. Why? Because I'm not sufficiently comfortable in my routines for doing things, this time around, yet, and because the flow of submissions would have to increase beyond what they currently are, and that would require more than just temporary blips in increased submissions on the magazine's radar. It would also entail other 'complications,' such as the need for an increased amount of front cover art pieces to be secured. The lack of an actual budget for this free magazine poses limitations on how far, how fast that I am willing to stick my neck into the noose for.

It's a hobby interest of mine. Now, that doesn't mean that I can't try to instill a certain degree of urgency into the processes that bring it into existence. It does mean, however, that I am unlikely to embrace more of a business-like approach to this undertaking. For now, we are pretty much stuck with the status quo, and that boils down to each issue publishing as I am able and willing to get them done.

Smaller issues will facilitate achieving greater reliability in frequency of publication. Now, whether that actually translates into a better magazine or not is something that is subject to debate.

OK.  Its your thing, Whatever you do is better than not doing what you do.  I think we all appreciate the effort. 

I am just saying if you have interest in improving the quality of submissions, rather than trying to meet a self imposed deadline, tell your potential contributors something like, " September 15 is the deadline for submissions for Issue 14." 

I don't know.  I never published a magazine. 

Again, the main point is your energy and drive, so do as you wish.  I know I don't want you (or anyone) telling me how to run Alamaze.

Rick

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136149' dateline='1472954421']
OK.  Its your thing, Whatever you do is better than not doing what you do.  I think we all appreciate the effort. 

I am just saying if you have interest in improving the quality of submissions, rather than trying to meet a self imposed deadline, tell your potential contributors something like, " September 15 is the deadline for submissions for Issue 14." 

I don't know.  I never published a magazine. 

Again, the main point is your energy and drive, so do as you wish.  I know I don't want you (or anyone) telling me how to run Alamaze.

Rick
[/quote]

You're not the only one who prefers a submission deadline, Rick. Davin of Talisman Games prefers one, also. Others may, as well, that I haven't heard back from, yet.

Here's a copy and paste of something that I just posted a short while earlier over on the PlayByMail.Net Facebook page:

====================
Not counting ads or the front cover, we are at page #21 of the compiling process for Issue #14 of Suspense & Decision magazine.

I don't yet know how big this issue will be. Other articles are still in the queue to be compiled, and additional articles already committed to for this next issue have not all arrived, yet.
I can tell you that Issue #14 will not get published before September 20th, at the earliest, even if compiling for it is done before then. Barring any unforeseen circumstances and the good LORD willing, Issue #14 should definitely get published at some point near the end of this month (September of 2016).

Not everyone is used to the new process, yet, the one involving the elimination of hard deadlines for publication. Submission deadlines don't work so well for this new process, simply because they negatively impact my ability to keep issues from growing too big in size, in keeping with the consensus that favored smaller issues.

What people are not fully grasping is that the new system increases flexibility, overall. If you submit an article or other material, it will either appear in the next issue, or the one after that.

It's a new system, but I do believe that it will work. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have implemented it. With an increase in focus on the frequency of publication, that aspect alone works in favor of those who submit articles, by helping to ensure that there won't be a long lead time before your articles submitted appear in a future issue of Suspense & Decision magazine.

Ultimately, I reserve the right to add to any given issue, as I see fit, even with little or no notice in advance. Part of the whole smaller issues consensus was aimed at help to build up a supply of articles for issues out past the immediate next issue.

As always, we live in an imperfect world. If you are swift at getting your submissions in, then they will likely appear in the immediate next issue. If, however, you drag your feet, then they will likely not appear until the issue after next. At most, you're looking at roughly a two month time frame, since I'm still trying to aim for a monthly rate of publication frequency, in spite of eliminating specific hard deadlines for publication.

Reliable publication of issues requires a certain degree of a sense of urgency. This is true on both the editor's end, and on the material submission end.

My intention is to beat our best previous record of reliable publication of issues. On their regular pace of publication, and not counting any delays for any reason, both Paper Mayhem and Flagship magazines aimed for a rate of publication.of one issue every two months. I seek to double that.

If we fail, then it certainly won't be the first time that we failed. If we succeed, however, then everyone who enjoys the magazine stands to benefit from the new process that I have switched to.

I just wanted to provide a little update, before I head back to trying to compile a little more of Issue #14, tonight, before I have to head off to bed.

Thank you for your time, your interest, and your understanding in these matters!

- Charles -
SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/PlayByMail/posts/1276543545689424

Again, your thing, your rules.  But from a contributor's point of view, and with a less than predictable publication schedule, asking to write articles on the spot as in this deadline, is almost adversarial.  Maybe you have lots of article contributions. I think most will say, OK, the deadline is passed, I will try to get something next time, whenever that is.  I just feel some sense of a timeline is not a bad thing.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136151' dateline='1472960027']
Again, your thing, your rules.  But from a contributor's point of view, and with a less than predictable publication schedule, asking to write articles on the spot as in this deadline, is almost adversarial.  Maybe you have lots of article contributions. I think most will say, OK, the deadline is passed, I will try to get something next time, whenever that is.  I just feel some sense of a timeline is not a bad thing.
[/quote]

Except, there is no schedule, and there is no deadline. So, no one is on the spot on a deadline that doesn't exist.

Every coin has at least two sides. There will be those who will say, "OK, the deadline has passed."  There will also be those who will be relieved that, even if they miss what they think is the submission deadline, they can send it after that point in time and it will still appear by the following issue.

Can a magazine function, even thrive, without having either a hard publication schedule or a hard submission deadline? I am of the mind that it can.

I can include what I want to in any given issue. A case in fact - I included what you sent me for Issue #13, didn't I?

I can always revert back to deadlines, if this new approach doesn't work. Granted, not everyone may think that I have my head screwed on straight, with the approach that I take and with the concepts that I embrace, where publication of a magazine is concerned. I launch a PBM magazine, of all things, and I don't charge anything for it, and I don't charge anything for advertisements, and now I do away with both publication schedules and submission deadlines. Whatever was I thinking, eh? It's doomed for failure, right?

Not everyone takes advantage of the free advertising. Some do. Not everyone reads the free magazine. Some do.

Another case in fact, I am currently the furthermost ahead in the compiling process of probably any issue tackled by Suspense & Decision, to date. I am also closer than I have ever been to beginning to get articles amassed for the following issue. Could it all collapse on top of my head? Oh, sure. Absolutely. Positively.

Granted, I am doing things differently than other PBM magazine that have come before. They faced their respective challenges, and I face mine. To date, deadlines and publication schedules proved insufficient to the task at hand. When Suspense & Decision fell by the wayside, previously, did a set publication schedule and set deadlines for issues preclude it from disappearing? Obviously, they did not.

When I named the magazine for Issue #1, I went with a name that even I, myself, didn't originally conceive of. Ultimately, I am tasked with pairing up my drive and my energy with concepts that I, myself, believe in.

If people that read and enjoy Suspense & Decision want - truly want - a magazine that comes out regularly, like proverbial clockwork, then they need to be prepared to submit material for inclusion within its pages in that manner. They need to quit worrying over deadlines. Carol Mulholland worried over deadlines all the time. She was almost always at someone else's mercy - and I always felt a great deal of sympathy for her for being stuck in that position. She did what she could, and from that example, I intend to draw inspiration.

I feel that there's a better way to do things. I fully intend to demonstrate that there is. If time bears out that it isn't a better way, then w can adapt and improvise and transition to something else, to other - better - ways of doing things.

For now, though, we're going to try this. I do understand your concerns. They are so noted.

As Issue #13 said, Rick, to trek unchained and to boldly go!

I have a missing issue to remind me of the possibility of failure.

I am surprised that #14 is locked up as well. But having a motivated editor and a community of contributors pumping out content is, if anything, a HAPPY problem to have. Like "too many customers" or "extra doughnuts". I myself haven't got anything in shape for publication yet!

So first, I will have to up my game and get at least one article written and sent to you (Grim) for consideration, should you decide you want it for #14. Editor's discretion and all that.

Second, I will speed up development of my mini-zine idea. It might not make this issue, so into 15 it may go.

Third, I will need to get in the habit of keeping up a pipeline of content, rather than a monthly pulse. That's probably what, er, "successful" writers do.

Regardless, I am glad to see things humming again, and will do my best to contribute!

[quote='ixnay' pid='136157' dateline='1473163579']
I am surprised that #14 is locked up as well.  But having a motivated editor and a community of contributors pumping out content is, if anything, a HAPPY problem to have.  Like "too many customers" or "extra doughnuts".  I myself haven't got anything in shape for publication yet!

So first, I will have to up my game and get at least one article written and sent to you (Grim) for consideration, should you decide you want it for #14.  Editor's discretion and all that.

Second, I will speed up development of my mini-zine idea.  It might not make this issue, so into 15 it may go.

Third, I will need to get in the habit of keeping up a pipeline of content, rather than a monthly pulse.  That's probably what, er, "successful" writers do.

Regardless, I am glad to see things humming again, and will do my best to contribute!
[/quote]

Your article is already accounted for, so you don't get off quite that easy, Bernd.

As to what successful writers probably do, I wouldn't know. Bob probably would, though.

Issue #14 is only 'locked up,' as you characterize it, because the consensus was for smaller issues. Of course, several of those individuals who have committed to an article for Issue #14 haven't actually submitted their respective articles, yet - although they have increased their time spent in the forum. That's good for the forum, but Issue #14 still awaits your articles.

Issue #14 won't publish before September 20th at the earliest. I don't intend to go past the last day in September, at the latest, without publishing it, though.

I'm excited to see issue #14. I am glad that Suspense & Decision is available, whether monthly or quarterly or sporadically. Thanks for pulling everything together for us!

What can I say, Picasso?  It's your thing, do what you want to do.  Anything is better than nothing and you are picking up the gauntlet unlike anyone else and you are entitled to your, perhaps, peculiar, way to go about it.  Yeah, you aren't making any money, likely losing some to do this as a benefit to the players that like this style of games.  

Just keep doing it.  Make your choices.  But if I miss a promised article submission because the deadline was 10 days after the last issue was published, just understand. 

As just a reader opinion, along the lines of this discussion, I would like about 50 pages bi-monthly.  And you should charge for advertising.  I think you should edit out some of the stuff submitted, although I realize in this time its probably more time consuming than just keeping everything in.  It's just, if everything gets in, doesn't that make it closer to junk mail?

I am putting together an Alamaze article, more in what I think is missing for players trying to discover new games: just explaining the basics, not way deep into some specifics in games players don't know.  So I want to show a couple maps, an extract from a turn or two results, and let that do most of the talking. 

Anyway, I want to be encouraging.  I think I am engaged in what you are doing, Grim.  It's just most of us are accustomed to deadlines, and, editing for stuff that is not too good. 

On a completely different note, I have been asked several times lately who are the remaining major PBEM companies?  I can't give a good answer, all I can give is a guess.  Another reason for S&D to try to define the hobby a bit more.  Alamaze has started more than 200 games in the last three years.  It seems like lots of PBEM standards have started about 10 games in that time, but I don't really know, not really trying to start a fight, I just think people would like to know. 

Rick

If this were 1980, having started "more than 200 games in the last three years" would be terrible. Schubel & Son, in 1980, probably made more money during a single month than you made in the last three years. But in 2016, it's really, really good. New games of Starweb start on the average of every two or three months.

I agree that each issue of S&D (which, admittedly, I only skim) seems to have stuff in there that shouldn't be in there, and that gives the publication a strong fanzine vibe. I'd rather have the more amateurish stuff cut out. That would lower the editor's workload and deliver an all-around better experience. I also agree that you should charge for advertising, even if it's a nominal amount. Maybe make it "subscription-based": $100 per year gets you x amount of space in each issue of S&D published during the next year. If a moderator can't come up with $100 per year, even if he knows deep-down the money is being spent more to support the only PBM publication in existence than it is to attract new players, then who needs him, anyway?

I'd also consider making use of turn reports as "cover art". I'd be interested in seeing turn reports from different games, even vintage turn reports from games no longer in existence. The cover art now in use reinforces that fanzine vibe.

Nobody asked for it, but that's my two cents.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136224' dateline='1475393152']
What can I say, Picasso?  It's your thing, do what you want to do.  Anything is better than nothing and you are picking up the gauntlet unlike anyone else and you are entitled to your, perhaps, peculiar, way to go about it.  Yeah, you aren't making any money, likely losing some to do this as a benefit to the players that like this style of games.  

Just keep doing it.  Make your choices.  But if I miss a promised article submission because the deadline was 10 days after the last issue was published, just understand. 

As just a reader opinion, along the lines of this discussion, I would like about 50 pages bi-monthly.  And you should charge for advertising.  I think you should edit out some of the stuff submitted, although I realize in this time its probably more time consuming than just keeping everything in.  It's just, if everything gets in, doesn't that make it closer to junk mail?

I am putting together an Alamaze article, more in what I think is missing for players trying to discover new games: just explaining the basics, not way deep into some specifics in games players don't know.  So I want to show a couple maps, an extract from a turn or two results, and let that do most of the talking. 

Anyway, I want to be encouraging.  I think I am engaged in what you are doing, Grim.  It's just most of us are accustomed to deadlines, and, editing for stuff that is not too good. 

On a completely different note, I have been asked several times lately who are the remaining major PBEM companies?  I can't give a good answer, all I can give is a guess.  Another reason for S&D to try to define the hobby a bit more.  Alamaze has started more than 200 games in the last three years.  It seems like lots of PBEM standards have started about 10 games in that time, but I don't really know, not really trying to start a fight, I just think people would like to know. 

Rick
[/quote]

1. It was never designed - nor intended - to make money.

2. If you miss a promised article submission because the deadline was 10 days after the last issue was published, I will understand. You can't miss a deadline that doesn't exist, though. Additionally, you've had several weeks, and your article hasn't arrived. So, when future issues published, and no articles or ads for your games are included, understand that it is because they never arrived. I can't publish things that don't actually get submitted.

3. If you feel that the magazine becomes closer to junk mail, because it contains things that you, yourself, don't care for, then it always remains your choice as to whether to download it or not. Not everyone likes the same things. The articles and other materials that you, yourself, might prefer appear in the magazine cannot be included, if they are never submitted in the first place. I give priority to stuff actually submitted, rather than to hypothetical stuff that may or may never materialize.

4. As for editing, when I edit, some complain. When I don't edit, some complain. When I go for a compromise, and don't publish at all, some complain. As I have often said down through the years, and over the course of the magazine's life span, we live in an imperfect world. If you have some spare time just lying around, and would like to spend that time editing material submitted to the magazine, then I'll be happy to do so.

5. I can and do appreciate the fact that you are accustomed to deadlines. I, on the other hand, am accustomed to trying to give individuals time - even extra time - to get articles submitted, before publishing particular issues. I've done that for you, in fact, previously, ending extra reminders, from time to time.

6. As for material that is "not too good," as you call it. Personal taste is largely a matter of opinion. One man's junk is another man's treasure. One man's lyric is another man's vulgarity. To the best of my recollection, reading requires an affirmative act. Thus, I leave it to each individual reader to decide for themselves which articles to read, and which ones to skim through, and which ones to skip over altogether.

7. As to who the remaining major PBEM companies are, it has been my experience over that last long while that game companies and game moderators frequently demonstrate little interest in actually communicating in a timely basis, if at all. Most PBEM games are not run by companies. As for PBM companies, notably commercial ones that use the actual postal service for turn delivery and turn results, there are very few of those left. If there weren't any, then Suspense & Decision magazine would never have come into existence, at all, and I likely wouldn't bother investing any time or effort of note into trying to publish a magazine, at all. PBEM games, web games, and other games with Internet delivery of some sort or other are able to make use of Suspense & Decision, if the individuals or game companies behind them want to. No one has to make use of it. Many don't. Some do. I tend to give priority to those that do.

Additionally, I created the PBM Wiki. Game companies, former game companies, and game moderators apparently do not consider it to be worthy of their time or effort, to a large degree. As I stated around five and a half years ago, "I'm not here to save the play by mail industry from a final death, nor am I here as a harbinger of a revival of the hobby of postal gaming. From time to time, I will post, when I take a notion, and hopefully, a few others will join in, whenever the mood strikes them." (See this posting:  http://playbymail.net/mybb/showthread.php?tid=4&pid=8#pid8 ) 

8. I don't consider you to be starting a fight.  I understand that you are trying to be encouraging. 

9. Defining the hobby requires time, effort, and energy. Suspense & Decision magazine is an extension of a hobby interest of mine. A lot of my previous efforts to define the hobby more have been met with silence. Additionally, not everyone is equally receptive to the way that I define things, be it the hobby or other things.

10. If you dislike particular articles, then send in letters to the editor. If articles that you don't like keep appearing, then keep on writing in. Readers are free to disagree. It tends to make the magazine more interesting to read, I think. Others may feel differently, of course.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136225' dateline='1475429010']
I agree that each issue of S&D (which, admittedly, I only skim) seems to have stuff in there that shouldn't be in there, and that gives the publication a strong fanzine vibe. I'd rather have the more amateurish stuff cut out. That would lower the editor's workload and deliver an all-around better experience. I also agree that you should charge for advertising, even if it's a nominal amount. Maybe make it "subscription-based": $100 per year gets you x amount of space in each issue of S&D published during the next year. If a moderator can't come up with $100 per year, even if he knows deep-down the money is being spent more to support the only PBM publication in existence than it is to attract new players, then who needs him, anyway?

I'd also consider making use of turn reports as "cover art". I'd be interested in seeing turn reports from different games, even vintage turn reports from games no longer in existence. The cover art now in use reinforces that fanzine vibe.

Nobody asked for it, but that's my two cents.
[/quote]

1. Specifically, which 'amateurish' stuff do you want cut out?

2. With regards to the editor's 'workload,' the real issue is time allocated to the magazine, not an actual workload, per se. None of it is like work, to me. As to the all-around better experience, that's overly broad and overly vague. What, specifically, does that mean, from your perspective, Bob?

3. Why would I want to make it subscription-based? To me, that would be wholly counter-productive. Those game companies and game moderators who can afford to advertise would likely advertise elsewhere, anyway. Because the magazine is an extension of a hobby interest of mine, the original objective was never to generate revenue/money. Furthermore, free advertising is geared towards trying to help small game companies/individual game moderators out, by facilitating them being able to get the word out about their games. Since the 'only PBM publication in existence' doesn't really cost much of anything to publish, why would it need revenue from subscription-based advertising?

4. I appreciate your two cents, Bob. If only everyone who reads it would give their two cents, from time to time.

I keep forgetting this, as it's totally different from the projects that I've done (and do):

"None of it is like work, to me."
"Since the 'only PBM publication in existence' doesn't really cost much of anything to publish, why would it need revenue from subscription-based advertising?"

As it truly is *your* publication, independent of the commercial realities of advertiser revenue and editorial workload and paid circulation, then of course you're doing it right. In fact, your way likely is the *only* way to do it, as there isn't enough of a market to make S&D even remotely profitable, and you're not worried about recouping the investment of your time and effort.

Let me make a suggestion not based on my bottom-line approach to everything: why not contact some of the gaming podcasts and ask whether they're interested in having you on the show to talk about play-by-mail? They may not have heard of play-by-mail, or just heard of it vaguely, but most podcasters are always looking for new content, and I think play-by-mail could be pitched as one of those historical, quirky topics that you often find at the end of traditional newscasts.

With regard to editing down content, I think Grim has been doing just fine. There is a good variety of stuff, lots of different writers (a feat in itself, given how small our hobby is), and the whole mishmash presents a vibrant, if discordant, fan space.

I recognize that some of the writing is amateur, wordy, or whatever, but it covers content I absolutely can't read anywhere else. It's plenty good enough. And every amateur writer who gets an article published here becomes a super fan who invites all his gaming buddies to download. Just like me.

Personally I would adopt a slightly more strenuous editing policy, only to tighten up some of the more obvious flaws, and this could include sending annotated articles back for revision and resubmission. But I'd want very much to preserve each writers stylistic voice, and especially preserve the diversity of content. I might also consider soliciting specific articles or reviews that might particularly flesh out an issue or boost the hobby. But on the whole I'd give Grim an A for the whole magazine.

I have it on good authority that issue 14 will include one of the best articles EVER printed in S&D.

I started a new article for Alamaze.  I think to make it a bit different, I will mainly include extracts from the game itself such as the maps, a couple battle reports, some other excerpts from the results of a turn, as I don't think you'd want to occupy 30 pages to print a full turn, but perhaps I can have a link to a sample turn.

Grim,

Did you receive the Alamaze article?  I can't find the email address you requested that submissions be sent to.  I sent it to three of your email accounts but didn't hear back.

Has anyone heard from Charles in the last month or so?  I'm starting to get a bit concerned.  I understand if S&D is tied up, or something else has come up, but I've never seen him not respond to emails in the 10 or so years I've corresponded with him.  Hope everything is OK.

I don't want to be morbid and apologize if I'm mistaken, but this wasn't him, was it?

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greenvilleonline/obituary.aspx?n=charles-mosteller&pid=140645711

Oh God.  I sure hope not, but it sadly seems like it might be.  I'm embarrassed to say I am not sure what state Charles lived in, and he never went by "Jr.", and said he had named his son Titan.  52 sounds about right, self employed in telecommunications seems like a possibility.  In Dec 2014, he said he was feeling better, but didn't elaborate.

I'm praying this wasn't our Charles Mosteller.  Though I never met him in person, I consider him a friend and he did a lot for Alamaze, gratis.  And for all of the Play By Mail community.

Someone tell us he is ok.

I believe it's him. If it wasn't, I'm sure he would have posted a denial. I do know that Charles lived in South Carolina, which fits the obituary. As the family asked mourners to donate to a cancer institute in lieu of sending flowers, it's a fair bet that this Charles died of cancer.

Very sad and unexpected.

Ohhh.  Damn.  I fear you are correct, Bob.  We have then lost one of the last champions of our hobby.

Well, I'm going to say that the fellow in that obituary was not Charles - or somebody is playing with his Facebook account. He changed his profile picture an hour ago, saying he was off to the polls...

I'm going to choose to believe that he's just 'gone silent' and is not actually 'gone'.

Well, if it's not him, then shame on him for not coming here himself, to his own forum, and putting the rumor to rest. At some point he has to decide, if he's still in a condition to decide, whether he wants to run a site and a forum, and publish a "magazine", and do it on a reasonable schedule, without going radio silent for weeks at a time. That's not fair to the handful who take his projects seriously and contribute to them.

I sent Charles a message on Facebook sever days ago. The message does not show that he has seen it, but his profile pic changed again this morning.

I have no idea what's going on.

I haven't been able to find him on Facebook. Can you send me a link to his page? There's another Charles Mosteller on Facebook, most definitely alive, but that's not him.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136244' dateline='1479059201']
I haven't been able to find him on Facebook. Can you send me a link to his page? There's another Charles Mosteller on Facebook, most definitely alive, but that's not him.
[/quote]

Guys
please look at the date in the article:
 
Published in The Greenville News on Oct. 25, 2004

This is not our Grimmfinger...

Just checking in for any update.

I fear i agree with Bob, this is not a sabbatical.  

I hope I am wrong, and if not, I hope a Phoenix springs from this effort of Grim's.

594 users active in the past 24 hours (2 members, 0 of whom are invisible, and 592 guests).
GrimFinger, walter

This was online today! So unless we are haunted by ghosts...

[quote='walter' pid='136252' dateline='1482916030']
594 users active in the past 24 hours (2 members, 0 of whom are invisible, and 592 guests).
GrimFinger, walter

This was online today! So unless we are haunted by ghosts...
[/quote]

It's probably bots (as in spambots), Walter, if I had to venture a guess.

It doesn't matter how many of those visit, as long as they don't post.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136235' dateline='1477267735']
Grim,

Did you receive the Alamaze article?  I can't find the email address you requested that submissions be sent to.  I sent it to three of your email accounts but didn't hear back.
[/quote]

I don't think that I did, but I'll check back through old e-mails. I got in the habit of not checking e-mails, a long while back. I think that I will set up a new e-mail account, just to not have to dig through spam.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136236' dateline='1477842248']
Has anyone heard from Charles in the last month or so?  I'm starting to get a bit concerned.  I understand if S&D is tied up, or something else has come up, but I've never seen him not respond to emails in the 10 or so years I've corresponded with him.  Hope everything is OK.
[/quote]

The problem isn't S&D. The problem is me. Holidays and a presidential election year have been big distractions for me.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136237' dateline='1478023456']
I don't want to be morbid and apologize if I'm mistaken, but this wasn't him, was it?

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greenvilleonline/obituary.aspx?n=charles-mosteller&pid=140645711
[/quote]

No apology necessary, but it isn't me. Fortunately.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136238' dateline='1478197540']
Oh God.  I sure hope not, but it sadly seems like it might be.  I'm embarrassed to say I am not sure what state Charles lived in, and he never went by "Jr.", and said he had named his son Titan.  52 sounds about right, self employed in telecommunications seems like a possibility.  In Dec 2014, he said he was feeling better, but didn't elaborate.

I'm praying this wasn't our Charles Mosteller.  Though I never met him in person, I consider him a friend and he did a lot for Alamaze, gratis.  And for all of the Play By Mail community.

Someone tell us he is ok.
[/quote]

Yep, I'm OK.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136239' dateline='1478205236']
I believe it's him. If it wasn't, I'm sure he would have posted a denial. I do know that Charles lived in South Carolina, which fits the obituary. As the family asked mourners to donate to a cancer institute in lieu of sending flowers, it's a fair bet that this Charles died of cancer.

Very sad and unexpected.
[/quote]

Avoid the betting, Bob.

Save the mourning, and keep writing. You have all of those ISBN numbers to make use of, after all.

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136240' dateline='1478213123']
Ohhh.  Damn.  I fear you are correct, Bob.  We have then lost one of the last champions of our hobby.
[/quote]

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

[quote='Angerak' pid='136241' dateline='1478633852']
Well, I'm going to say that the fellow in that obituary was not Charles - or somebody is playing with his Facebook account.  He changed his profile picture an hour ago, saying he was off to the polls...

I'm going to choose to believe that he's just 'gone silent' and is not actually 'gone'.
[/quote]

They say that your first instinct is usually the correct one.

Not really trying to go silent so much as I just plain get distracted - for long periods at a time. I tried to fire myself, a while back, but that didn't work, either.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136242' dateline='1478669141']
Well, if it's not him, then shame on him for not coming here himself, to his own forum, and putting the rumor to rest. At some point he has to decide, if he's still in a condition to decide, whether he wants to run a site and a forum, and publish a "magazine", and do it on a reasonable schedule, without going radio silent for weeks at a time. That's not fair to the handful who take his projects seriously and contribute to them.
[/quote]

Yes, shame on me. Then again, I didn't know that anyone was rumoring that I had died. 

As to schedules, we eliminated them. Remember?

I will say this, though, eliminating schedules is not a plus, and it clearly didn't help. The site and forum are maintained, whether I visit them or not, and that has been the case for several years on end. I could eliminate them, I suppose, but I'm not sure that that would actually benefit anyone. I tried to hand the site off, and the forum, and the magazine, previously, but that didn't work out, either, Bob.  Shame on me. There? Feel better, Bob? That won't fix anything, either, but I am  happy to oblige you. 

One thing that might actually help was that I deleted everyone from off of my Facebook friends list, except for two dead people) on December 26th, 2016. If I delete that account altogether, it will probably kill the PlayByMail.Net Facebook page. If I had to venture a guess, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will likely always prove problematic for me. 

In the time that I was absent, did you take a photo of some of that PBM stuff that you've got squirreled away, Bob? You had plenty of time, after all.

[quote='Angerak' pid='136243' dateline='1479051003']
I sent Charles a message on Facebook sever days ago.  The message does not show that he has seen it, but his profile pic changed again this morning.

I have no idea what's going on.
[/quote]

Hmmmmm.....I don't think that I got that message, if it was a private message. I may not have seen it. It could have went into that other box thing that Facebook uses.

[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136244' dateline='1479059201']
I haven't been able to find him on Facebook. Can you send me a link to his page? There's another Charles Mosteller on Facebook, most definitely alive, but that's not him.
[/quote]

I'm on there.....sort of.

I spend too much time on it, or was, anyway. My vices are many, Bob. If you would only let me borrow that halo of yours, then perhaps I could improve.

[quote='walter' pid='136247' dateline='1479718137']
[quote='BobMcLain' pid='136244' dateline='1479059201']
I haven't been able to find him on Facebook. Can you send me a link to his page? There's another Charles Mosteller on Facebook, most definitely alive, but that's not him.
[/quote]

Guys
please look at the date in the article:
 
Published in The Greenville News on Oct. 25, 2004

This is not our Grimmfinger...
[/quote]

Good eye, Walter.

For all of the talk about me, though, where have you been the last long while, Walter?

[quote='Rick McDowell' pid='136249' dateline='1480470534']
Just checking in for any update.

I fear i agree with Bob, this is not a sabbatical.  

I hope I am wrong, and if not, I hope a Phoenix springs from this effort of Grim's.
[/quote]

Honestly, Rick, you just never know.

Which sucks, I know, because knowing can be helpful. If you have any youth formula, then that might be a help to me. I will say that there's more than a little irony in individuals (more than one) who have said that PBM is dead to lament me disappearing from a hobby that they believe to be dead.

I didn't die (I appreciate the sentiment, fellows), but my cover artist's brother died. Perhaps I can rouse him.

OK, here's a status update on Issue #14 for the faithful who remain interested in such matters.

It looks like the point where I last left off on it had a number of articles already compiled. I don't know that I can get it completed prior to January 3rd, 2017, due to work and other commitments that just gobble up my free personal time. It appears that even with the long delay, some things expected never arrived, but the issue is still big enough to print. I will need to fill gaps and round up an ad or two, and maybe proof-read it a bit.

Maybe if I try real hard, I can publish it before the new year actually arrives.

I'll also ponder things, anew, and see if I can pull my head out of my ass, and get things back on track, as was the case with the first ten issues or so. At worse, we fail - Again!

OK, I got in touch with the cover artist. He'll draw me a front cover for Issue #14.

In the meantime, Bob and Rick can take turns giving me lashes from a whip.

Bob,

I went back and checked, and your article starts on page #42 of Issue #14.

The cover art for Issue #14 is on order. When I return home later tonight (Friday December 30th, 2016), barring any unforeseen intrusions into my free time, I will try to begin filling gaps in pages and to incorporate ads between articles. Not sure if I will even bother writing anything for Issue #14. Maybe I will. I don't know. We'll see if we can get it out the door sometime soon, over the next few days. There's never any certainty.

I have received the front cover art for Issue #14.

I had to take my son to the doctor, this morning (sore throat). I will be working on Issue #14, on and off, throughout the afternoon and evening.

The most likely date of publication for Issue #14 will be either today (01/03/2017), Saturday (01/07/2017), or Sunday (01/08/2017).

I posted a somewhat lengthy update over on the PlayByMail.Net Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/PlayByMail/posts/1406829009327543

Issue #14 of Suspense & Decision magazine is out, and available for downloading!

https://suspense-and-decision.com/Issue-14-Suspense&Decision-PBM-Magazine.pdf