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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 7</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><a href="../../2.15/feat/index.html" target="">Livin' 
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  theAntiELVIS explores the wild and wacky world that is Will Wright's <b>The Sims</b>, 
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  life where everyone is Swedish?&quot;</font></p>
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  Obscura</a></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">: Josh 
  Vasquez on <b>Omikron: The Nomad Soul</b>.</font></p>
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8">The 
          Community Summit</font></p>
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<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.15/">2.15: Livin' With The Sims</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.14/">2.14: To the Extreme</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.13/">2.13: Not Just a Passing Wind</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.12/">2.12: It's Not Easy Being Green</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.11/">2.11: Inside Origin Systems</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.10/">2.10: Game Networking 101</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.9/">2.9: Tell me a Story</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.8/">2.8: Anatomy of a Video Game</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.7/">2.7: 1999 loonygames Awards</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.6/">2.6: PC Fight Club</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.5/">2.5: Paul Steed '99</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.4/">2.4: Sounds From All Over</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.3/">2.3: Kicking Back with a Bear</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.2/">2.2: End of the Line</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.1/">2.1: American McGee's Alice</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.41/">----- Volume 1 -----</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.41/">1.41: Put a Little Love...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.40/">1.40: Game Programming...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.39/">1.39: More loonygames @ E3!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.38/">1.38: loonygames at E3!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.37/">1.37: The ReRuns Issue</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.36/">1.36: Inside Raven Software</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.35/">1.35: Waking Graeme Devine</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.34/">1.34: Writing the Game</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.33/">1.33: Totally Tribal</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.32/">1.32: Under His Skin</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.31/">1.31: The Glory of G.O.D.</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.30/">1.30: Chillin' w/Jason Hall</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.29/">1.29: Extreme Annihilation</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.28/">1.28: Adventures in ASCII</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.27/">1.27: Serious Brass Ones</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.26/">1.26: Two Programs...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.25/">1.25: The Unreal Cliffy B!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.24/">1.24: Gimme Your Money!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.23/">1.23: Old Crusty Gamers</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.22/">1.22: Bugs!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.21/">1.21: 2001</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.20/">1.20: Can't Please Everyone</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.19/">1.19: The Rise and Fall...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.18/">1.18: romuluSngan HoH!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.17/">1.17: A Very Geeky Christmas</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.16/">1.16: 5 Years of Doom!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.15/">1.15: Tune Up Your Game!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.14/">1.14: NT + Games = ???</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.13/">1.13: Blue and Levelord...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.12/">1.12: When It's Done!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.11/">1.11: Hangin' With John Romero!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.10/">1.10: Still Sick of Games</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.9/">1.9: Gettin' Odd with the loonies</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.8/">1.8: LAN Parties...</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.7/">1.7: The Community Summit</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.6/">1.6: DRAW Pardner!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.5/">1.5: Taking Aim at Paul Steed</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.4/">1.4: Play Where You Like!</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.3/">1.3: *Special Duke Issue*</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.2/">1.2: Are You Sick of Games?</option>
<option value="http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.1/">1.1: Chris Taylor Gets Some!</option>

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        <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">bwernicke</font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: 
          Agreed</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Next topic!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: I don't think 
          it's as important as you all make it sound</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: Touche 
          from Redwood. he has a point... look at his success without a domain</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: we've all 
          done it without a domain of our own at some point or another though</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: either hosting 
          by a site that has a good domain, or like i said before, by his own 
          ingenuity</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: And that throws 
          us back to the initial question of Joe Schmo...how does he do it without 
          the domain?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: he gets mentioned 
          regularly on big sites based on the work he does</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: ha....but 
          "stomped"</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: <a href="http://www.stomped.com">Stomped</a>? 
          </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: i think a 
          lot of redwood's success stems from his early involvement</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: heh I didn't 
          even think of that...<a href="http://redwood.stomped.com">redwood.stomped.com</a> 

          is hardly branding</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: Redwood, 
          true, but can anyone here remember sCary's old URLs? before hipnotic/ritual?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: quakehole.com? 
          </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: quakehole.com</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: I mean the 
          longer ones, but anyways ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: "<a href="http://www.stomped.com">Stomped</a>" 
          had branding.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: What do 
          they have besides Redwood?? Not much IMO</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: but I was 
          doing good on tamu.edu/~stm9233 :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: right because 
          you had early "market share" :P</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: The <a href="http://www.stomped.com">Stomped</a> 
          name has nothing to do with <b>Quake</b>, but it became synonymous with 
          <b>Quake</b> after a point.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: i mean... 
          <a href="http://redwood.stomped.com">redwood.stomped.com</a> is in a 
          simple format like a main domain would be</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: with as many 
          people that mess it up, it's not so easy :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: we also run 
          <a href="http://gamegirlz.gamestats.com">gamegirlz.gamestats.com</a>, 
          which is easy format to type too </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>loonyboi</b>: well <a href=http://www.quake2.com">Quake2.com</a> 
          guys: how much of your initial traffic was a result of your domain? 
          </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>blitz</b>: <a href=http://www.quake2.com">Quake2.com</a> 
          got hits when nothing was even on the site, as soon as the domain name 
          was put up</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: heck, i was 
          nuqneH.org/aftershock. noone could spell it. and it worked out well</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: domain helps, 
          it almost adds legitimacy to a new site</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: agreed, 
          Paul</font></p>

        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: Joost...but 
          would it work now? Could a phenomonally successful site like aftershock 
          exist today?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: as long as 
          it's not on <a href="http://www.geocities.com">geocities</a>, it isn't 
          critical unless you plan on being a HUGE site like a host of course</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: I would have 
          agree with you there</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: hmm</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: ya</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: I feel that 
          it's the legitimacy that a domain brings more than anything that makes 
          it invaluable</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: honestly, 
          i think domains that host sites give themselves a little too much credit. 
          yah it's hard work and all, but if it wasn't for the hosted sites they'd 
          have to find another angle, and that'd be real tough </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: heh, it 
          takes alot more than a domain tho Chris, but I agree in principle</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: people bookmark 
          it after they follow the link and go to it with the bookmark. A short 
          name may help a bit but it isn't "the thing" that keeps a site from 
          being big</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Starting a 
          new brand is tough, but it's not impossible. If you're trying to broaden 
          an existing brand, then those domains become very important. But again, 
          look at "<a href="http://www.stomped.com">Stomped</a>." Built a brand 
          from scratch. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: I wasn't 
          saying a domain is all it takes, hell, lame TC groups such as ones I've 
          participated in can get domains ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: a domain isn't 
          going to give you instant success and hits, but I think it does help 
          identify you, and makes it easier for people to return to your site</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Yes. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: i building 
          up a brand can be tough if you're too popular. i see a bunch of sites 
          using the planet theme for one reason or another. albeit we weren't 
          the first to use it </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: lol, leeches 
          Joost, leeches :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: you mean 
          like a name change in the middle of a site's existence just because 
          they got a domain? </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: Like Quakeholio, 
          to Shugashack?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: A site can 
          weather a name change without any problem.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: interesting 
          question</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: a domain helps, 
          but choosing the community that your site supports is crucial, too. 
          i mean anyone who starts a big site today dedicated to the <b>Quake</b> 
          community has a 99.9999999% chance of failing (rough estimate ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: it can be 
          weathered but it's tough for sure</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: would we 
          relaunch <a href="http://www.ritualistic.com">ritualistic</a> as planetsin? 
          probably not now</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: We changed 
          names 3 times without any major problems</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: exactly</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: depends if 
          it's before or after the release of a game, and if you can keep dns 
          for the old urls</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: it's not 
          too tough to start a new brand</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo:</b> As long as 
          you still control your old domain/name...</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: a complete 
          name change is harder to weather but something like Blue's Quake Rag 
          to <a href="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's News</a> is much easier 
          to do because you still have that unique identifier </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>blitz</b>: at some point 
          <a href="http://www.quake2.com">quake2.com</a> will have to change names 
          if it swithces its content</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: but of course, 
          Fargo/Joost :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: joost: and 
          when you can't do that it becomes a problem</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: yah, and we 
          dread that day ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Then you should 
          rethink your strategy. ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: that's when 
          you take hostages to get control of the old doman ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: How do you 
          find people you can trust to staff a website? I'm sure everyone's had 
          problems with people not doing what they were supposed to, backing out, 
          etc. Any ideas? Is there ANY way to successfully judge someone's character 
          over the internet?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Invite them 
          to a LAN party.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: not really 
          over the internet</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: heh, not 
          over the internet :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: Bobbi, character 
          doesn't always show whether they can get the job done. Some of my closest 
          friends online who seemed perfect for job X, never were</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: you've just 
          gotta hope you pick a winner ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: the only way 
          is to see them work long term. see how they interact</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: Bobbi, 
          no way, recruiting is the toughest job there is</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: Long-term commitments 
          really show what a person can do.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: So all you 
          do is hope you have the right people?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: we have seen 
          good people on irc too</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: you can 
          know the person and it won't help you find the right people</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: have people 
          start small and weed them out early</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>loonyboi</b>: 3/4s of 
          loonygames' staff are personal friends of mine. or relatives. ;) </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: Bobbi: We 
          no longer take "staff members", we have our core group of 5, and other 
          people we have as our community.. they contribute on a weekly basis 
          </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>blitz</b>: most people 
          lose steam within two weeks</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: Bobbi, just 
          go through a few dozen of them ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: exactly</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: it's VERY 
          hard to find dedication</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: after a 
          couple years you find the right handful</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: it's real 
          easy to find staff members </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: NetGuy: Bingo!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: but then they 
          all lose their drive after a couple of weeks </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: true</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: first you see 
          that they are an alright person, then you find out they run some site, 
          you check it out, see how long it has been up and if it has been consistent</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: Idoru, nothing 
          is fool proof</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: chris, true</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Bobbi</b>: Would you all 
          say something about what they think this community of our is, and where 
          we're going? :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>loonyboi</b>: Well...I 
          think the community has come a long way. We started really small, and 
          now we're in the middle of growing pains. It's going to be interesting 
          to see what happens (from my perspective) since the larger sites are 
          only going to get bigger, and the small ones are well...going to align 
          with bigger sites, or disappear</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Aurora</b>: I think the 
          community is a good thing. I have never met a nicer group of people 
          who share the same love of games that I do. I still think, however, 
          that it is too competitive,and too commercialized. I know I enjoyed 
          it more when we were having *fun*. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>blitz</b>: I think I would 
          have to second Aurora there</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>bwernicke</b>: For established 
          sites, things could not be better right now. Those trying to get into 
          it now, are a bit late, and will need to create compelling content on 
          a consistant basis to keep people coming back. I believe the web gaming 
          scence will be alot like todays business world. Competing sites merging 
          to make bigger sites, more quality content, which in turn will broaden 
          their fan base. Those sites that actually have stamina as Fargo mentioned 
          earlier.</font></p>
        <p> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>ChrisDay</b>: I think 
          this community appears to be headed in the right direction, once again, 
          after some detours in the last year or so. I see large sites continuing 
          to grow larger, while a few smaller sites will break through with hard 
          work. There will still be those who feel that we're a group of elitist 
          bastards because they don't break through, but as long as the fun remains 
          foremost in minds of webmasters, it will become a better community </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Fargo</b>: The PC market 
          is growing, the Internet market is growing, games are becoming more 
          popular, especially among adults. Nothing but growth in the future. 
          And that's gonna scare or offend some people but it's really exciting 
          to me -- It means sites who want to remain central to the community 
          have to keep changing and offering more and managing things better. 
          Every two years there's going to be a big phase shift. <a href="http://www.planetquake.com">PlanetQuake</a> 
          overtook <a href="http://www.gamespot.com">GameSpot</a> during the first 
          one. Now it' s because we're in the middle of a second shift. As Monolith's 
          commitment to the gaming community shows, we're entering into a new 
          phase with developers. A pretty exciting time for everyone. :)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Idoru</b>: Aurora hit 
          it on the head. I have made a slew of new friends that share similiar 
          interests in gaming. I am also fortunate to be a part of one of the 
          larger hosting sites and Ihave to say if it wasn't for the community 
          and how much fun it has been that oppertunity would never have been 
          available. I have to say I like the direction it is going. At least 
          for now. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>jschuur</b>: i think we're 
          slowing reaching a point where 'fan sites' are being recognized as a 
          valid medium and are getting the kind of recognition they deserve. some 
          amonunt of consolidation and commercialization is inevitable, but in 
          the end the masses will still have plenty of sources of information 
          to build their own opinion. recognition by the traditional print media 
          and developers/publishers that is</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>NetGuy</b>: I agree with 
          loonyboi, in that it has definitely come a long way. There's no doubt 
          that it has hit a few snags and bumps a long the way, but it's basically 
          growing healthier. It's ironic that something which started as simply 
          a fan hobby has grown into such a money-minded state. If anything I 
          would like to see more support from software companies, not just to 
          established sites but to everyone who is interested in their product. 
          Things aren't the way they used to be, i dunno if that's a good thing 
          or not, only time will tell ;)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>QuakeGod</b>: I think 
          that the "community" is falling apart. It just seems that everyone is 
          out for their own gain (fame and fortune I guess) and could care less 
          about the so-called "community" that used to be but just isnt there 
          anymore. People aren't seeing it as being about games anymore I think, 
          but about profit.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Redwood</b>: The community 
          is going to get more diluted in size with more people becoming more 
          dedicated to a certain game as good ones come out. What will be left 
          are the core, dedicated fans and the new people that have just discovered 
          the game/community. The core people have to expect change though and 
          accpt it (i.e. <b>Unreal</b> community/disappearing websites is NOT 
          how the reaction should be). I see it being harder to get a small site 
          noticed</font></p>
        <p> 
          <center>
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        <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Thanks to everyone 
          who attended, I think some important points were made, and hopefully 
          everyone who reads this will learn a little something.</font></i></p>
        <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> Check back 
          here in six months, for loonygames issue 30. We’ll do a followup roundtable 
          with the same people, and see if everything they predicted was right!</font></i></p>
        <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In the meantime, 
          drop by our <a href="../../../feedback.1">feedback</a> page and let us know what 
          <b>you</b> think about the issues discussed here. This is meant to be 
          an ongoing discussion...not simply a one-time read. We've talked plenty...it's 
          your turn now.</font></i></p>
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    <td><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
      Illustration &copy; 1998 Mike Sanzone.This interview is &copy; 1998 Stephanie 
      Bergman &amp; its participants. All other content is &copy; 1998 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
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