[PnP] A Question For Anyone Who Might Know (Richard Snider, perhaps???)

[Burton Choinski]

The last Richard emailed on the list it seemed like he was really  
involved with stuff.  Its entirely possible that he has not been  
checking the list in recent months.

On Sep 30, 2009, at 10:16 PM, Phineas Cromwell wrote:

> Scott, thanks for the response. Like I mentioned in an earlier e- 
> mail, I ALWAYS make it a point to respond to people who e-mail me,  
> at least as soon as is reasonably possible (and for me that is  
> practically always within a number of hours); I feel not doing so  
> is, well, to be a jerk-ass. But that's just me. If someone indicates  
> that they are busy, I hang back for a while.
>
> Like I said earlier, I've sent Mr. Snider about 4 or so e-mails over  
> the past year (i.e., roughly a year, almost). He has not bothered to  
> show me the respect of responding in any way, shape, or form.
>
> Why? Does he HAVE TO? Absolutely not. Of course not. However, what  
> is the point on including yourself on a special-interest mailing  
> list of fellow enthusiasts and displaying some kind of apparent  
> quasi-elitist aloofness? I have priorities in my life as well, and  
> one of them is showing common courtesy.
>
> I feel my question to Mr. Snider is a legitimate one. Maybe he feels  
> it is not. For the past 20+ years I have practically revered the guy  
> for doing what he did: creating a fantasy roleplaying game that, to  
> this day, represents a level of aesthetics that is possessed by a  
> handful of RPGs. Now, the more he apparently chooses to disregard my  
> respect for him and my great interest in the work he created, the  
> more I am losing that long-time respect.
>
> Now, is all this THAT SERIOUS. No, and yes. Why do we play FRPGs?  
> Why do we bother to want to have our names on the mailing list.  
> Because its important to us, in its own way. I feel that a year is  
> more than enough time for at least one, simple little response. I  
> mean, hell, if he e-mails me and says "F*** Off!!!", at least that  
> would be something of an acknowledgment. But, apparently, I am a  
> meaningless peon. (Actually, I am a peon, just not a MEANINGLESS one).
>
> For the era that Powers And Perils belongs to, it bears some rich  
> conceptual depth. It stands alongside Tekumel, Jorune, Talislanta  
> (at least, according to me, for various idiosyncratic reasons). Now,  
> Richard included some relatively rare features in his game,  
> including some names of creatures that were technically 'deep' for  
> the time. The only popular FRPG book that comes close, to my  
> knowledge, was the 1st Edition AD&D Fiend Folio (with, for example,  
> the Pennanngalan). Mr. Snider includes strains from Celtic/Gaelic  
> mythology, as well as 'Semitic'/Mesopotamian. This kind of material  
> interests me. And all I want to know from him is from what SOURCE  
> text did he derive the term 'AKHKHARU'. Thats all. No muss, no  
> fuss;just a simple question. I would just like to know the source of  
> his research so that I can delve into that direction myself. Thats  
> all.
>
> The term AKHKHARU is exceedingly rare in the ETYMOLOGY sense. Sure,  
> there are a zillion hits on Google, but that almost entirely amounts  
> to two categories of usage: first, many people are using it as a  
> nickname, or as a name of a title of their work. Second, it occurs  
> as a vague definition as 'Sumerian vampire' cut-and-pasted about a  
> million times, everyone just re-re-quoting each other. The scant  
> third category of occurence is people on blogs trying to ACTUALLY  
> FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DAMN WORD ACTUALLY MEANS IN A TRUE ETYMOLOGY  
> SENSE. Its not enough to read that it supposedly means 'vampire'. I  
> need a SOURCE TEXT to confirm this. And given the fact that Mr.  
> Snider included this term in his game about 30 (THIRTY!) YEARS AGO  
> leads me to think that he derived it from a knowledgeable source.  
> All I want to know is what that source was. Thats it.
>
> I like being on the Powers And Perils Mailing List. I respect  
> everyone on it for wanting to be associated with a classic fantasy  
> roleplaying game that transcends the woefully pathetic D20 malaise  
> (dont get me started). Now, with that, I respect privacy and the  
> priorities and busy-ness of everyone. But, about a year has passed,  
> and I have received no response from Mr. Snider. I'm not trying to  
> sound like I'm whining about this, but I'm just a little perplexed  
> and a little disappointed. Like I said, I've respected Mr. Snider  
> for decades, and I've admired his work. Maybe he doesnt have the  
> time, I dont know. The thing is, its been quite a few months. And I  
> would never just blow off a fellow enthusiast, especially one who  
> has iterated respect and admiration for me.
>
> So, my question still stands: what is the point of being on a list,  
> displaying your name and e-mail and impressive credentials, but  
> behaving like you only respond to some implied quasi-elitist,  
> exclusive inner circle of members on that list who meet certain  
> unspecified merit criteria? Thats kind of melodramatic, I know. But  
> it almost seems like thats the case. I mean, do I have to post a  
> thousand times before I'm worthy of a simple response? Do I have to  
> contribute House Rules that appear on the site, just to become 'a  
> member' of the club that gets a simple e-mail?
>
> Anyway, thanks again Scott Adams for the reply. You always reply and  
> I give you credit for that.
> _______________________________________________
> pnp mailing list
> pnp at abroere.xs4all.nl
> http://abroere.xs4all.nl/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pnp