Yes, yet another editorial on our beloved "scene," or lack
thereof. I'm sure the majority of you couldn't care less
about my opinion of the current situation, nor do you want
to hear anything I have to say at all. But regardless of
whose side I am on and regardless of what people think my
attitude is, I am quite aware of the arguements on both sides
and both sides are making completely valid points while at 
the same time digging their own graves with their behavior.

I will begin with the side I know best. The #nes Austnet/
NEScesity/Anti-NESFan side. What is going through their
minds? First of all, one thing this side wants to make
crystal clear is that we are all existing in a fantasy world,
our little corner of this hell known as the internet. This
side takes very little seriously, yet they have every reason
to act in such a manner. They're not getting paid. They're
not looking for popularity. They're doing what they're doing
because they enjoy it, and if people don't like it, so what?
The majority of this side takes pleasure in making the
experience of those on all other sides a living hell through
flooding, site parodies, ROM hacks, pinging, and forum & chat floods.
And why not? There are no circumstances, except maybe a
kline from Espernet which isn't about to make any of them
cry a river. The owners of NESFan could always sue those
who parody their site for copyright infringement, but do
you really think they'd go that far just so silence some
17 year old who's just dicking around?

Now the other side: the #nes Espernet/Anti-NEScesity/NESFan side.
This side consists of a large number of newbies, some
NESFan moderators/webmasters, NEScesity defectors, Pokemon/
Digimon fans, and WAY too many people 30 or older.
Before I go on, let me just say this: I am biased. VERY
biased. Anyway, who knows where the conflict started. Most
people believe it spawned from the issue of censorship
(i.e. the banning of several individuals from the NESFan
board for using profanity), some say it's because some
of the people from this faction think they know it all,
some say it's because NESFan and all those associated
with it are elitist. I really don't know. What I do know
is that these people find the NEScesity people vulgar,
distasteful, immature, and untalented (as far as web
pages go). Some would even go as far as saying that
the NEScesity people are not real NES fans (which is
complete nonsense; why else would they be around?).

Well, this IS an editorial, so I suppose sooner or later
I have to give my opinion. You know what I think? I have been
around a lot longer than a majority of people (and I say
this with the utmost humility) so I have seen the "scene"
evolve quite a few times, for the better and for the worst.
One thing I can honestly say is that there always was and
always will be two factions, and occasionally a third.
Someone is always saying the others are immature, someone
is always saying the others are elitist. The bottom line
is, there is always someone around to fuck things up,
and no one, EVER, is willing to take responsibility. I'm
not saying that any particular side is right. I'm quite
positive that I myself have cause quite a bit of mayhem
(NES, Fucker!, anyone? :D). But here in the "scene" and
also on the internet in general, we love pouring salt
on wounds. Until there is someone or something regulating
our activity on the internet like a police force would
regulate a town (which will NOT likely occur in our
lifetime), things will be the same. Frankly, I think of
it as a good thing. It keeps people on their feet and 
makes them push themselves to become better than everyone
else, effectively improving the quality of information
provided.

Well, that's it. END OF LINE.

	-Damien C. 1/24/2001 12:21 AM