Useless fact of the day:

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down -- hence the expression "to get fired."

So what's this Gnug Hype thing ? I will tell you what it is: It's annoying ! Seriously, when we first started as Gnugs, we didn't think it would get anywhere near this big. Yes, I have to admit it, the Gnugs do enjoy a certain ammunt of attention. Enjoy can be the wrong word though, as it isn't all nice and happy happy joy joy. Inexplicably (heh, why, I'm baffled), we've managed to garner some sort of a following, and yes, all the Gnug friends is really what makes it worth while being a Gnug. But all the enemies and people that for some reason just have a thorn in the eye for us?

And then there's all the people that have a distorted view of it all. Now, nothing bad about Kyberneticist (he's just the latest example) who just posted on our msg board. But in the last lines of his post, he goes: "In fact, I am becoming more and more optimistic about succeeding at something few have managed to do. Defeat a gnug." (Nothing personal against Kyber here whatsoever, this is just a line that struck me.)

Like I said in my reply, reading this made me laugh, and sad at the same time. Because, I mean, seriously... We're just Gnugs, not some kind of Gods or immortals. "Ok, so let the guy think that we're a feat to beat and nearly unbeatable and blah blah". I could say that, live and let live. But I can't let something like that live when it gets out of proportion, and when it simply isn't true. It's a fact that Gnugs aren't unbeatable, and it's a fact that many have beaten us. There are many good and honorable players out there, and those are the ones which we prefer to play. Those happen to be the kind of players that don't go bragging and yelling about beating someone, be it a Gnug or anyone else. So while I could let Kyber keep thinking that we're unbeatable, I won't, because we aren't, and never were.

Personally, I think us Gnugs have always been pretty grounded, and not bragged too much out there in the TA community, and from our humble beginnings with the Gnug site which Gnug315 has poured alot of his energy into, with the occasional help and input from the rest of us, to a known and talked about site, due to the Gnug Tips for TA. Those tips were put up there for unselfish reasons, and we wanted to share all/some of the intruiging and interesting tricks, tactics and strategies with everyone out there. Why ? Because it would simply make it more interesting. It would cause people to be playing on much more equal terms, as it will when everyone knows all the tricks and tactics in a game, and it's not just a person winning because he happens to know something the other one doesn't. So some of the tips are concidered really dirty, and bug exploitations. But I won't even get into that, since it's a matter of interpretation on an individual level. Or one could ask CD and have them say what they think about it. (And subsequently patch it up.) Besides, if one doesn't like such tricks, then just stay away from such people who use them. Or, just make it no holds barred, and use all the tricks. As long as a game is played on equal terms, then fair is fair.

Now, The Gnugs are being treated as everything from the second coming of Christ, or Satan... We're thought of as a pest, plaguing the TA community by some, and by others, that group of simply unbeatable TA players. I would like to think that we're neither of those two.

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I truly believe that 2 of the best TA players in the world happen to be Gnugs, but this is a totally unbiased and objective view. And no, none of these 2 are me just so you know. Argue against that all you want whoever.

Now, I want to be the first to say that people can think what they want, and say what they feel, with responsibility. But when it's not true, or misunderstood, I feel that enough is enough. And I'm not just saying all this because I don't like being criticized (well, I don't, but I can take it), but being falsly criticized, misquoted and misjudged, then I feel I should say something.

The fact of the matter is that we haven't actively contributed to that reputation (the unbeatable thing) other than just playing TA. We didn't ask for any of this, and we sure as hell never went on to claim or state that we are/were unbeatable, or even remotely so, not at any point. And I say this without having asked any of the other Gnugs whether they've ever said anything like this, because I trust in them, and I know that they're all mature and sensible. Ok, so something might have slipped after having drunk too much foozberry juice, but never mind that.

So there you have it, and that's that.

Now another thing that we've gotten a lot of heat from is the TA:K "reviews" 315 and 725 posted on the site. The Gnug site, being our site, reflects our personal opinions on matters, and people as well as Gnugs ARE afterall allowed to have their own opinions, right ? And express them in a way that they like ? Well, perhaps not on all areas, mind you, but come on, this is about a game, and if you disagree with the opinions brought up about the game in question, then so be it, disagree and that's that. No need to go on some hating/flaming/whatever crusade against the entire Gnuggle. I got into that recently, about how people seem to let their opinion on One Gnug reflect upon the rest of the Gnugs. Like I said then: The Gnugs are all individual beings, different and alike in so many ways.

And the oh so well founded "theory" about the Gnugs supposedly hating TA:K because it's a new game, and then they can't be elite players anymore is simply groundless and purely speculative. TA:K is different than TA in so many ways, that I find it very understandable that so many TA'ers don't like TA:K at all. A few of the Gnugs do like it, and are playing it quite a bit these days. Making such assumptions is simply insulting. And mind you, "They" (whoever said it anyway) said "Elite", not us.

Another matter that seems to have turned many people into "Gnug-Bashers", is when they get kicked or banned from our IRC channel. I would claim that all the ops in #gnug are reasonable and mature people, and there will most likely always be a well-founded reason (or more) for having people kicked or banned. The channel is afterall our channel on IRC, and it's a place where we like to hang out with our friends. We're not there to take abuse and insults, or whatever. Ok, so sometimes things go awry between a person and another (say a Gnug, or an op in #gnug), and so that significant other has you kicked or banned. I would find that totally understandable. But I would also go as far as to say that if you've been kicked or banned from #gnug, it's almost quite certain that the fault was yours, and that you should look inside yourself and truly see what was done wrong in that particular situation.

The reason I allow myself to say this is because that most of the ops in #gnug are fair, reasonable, amicable, sensible, and all in all, pretty nice people, which usually don't go on kicking sprees without reason.

In #gnug, we do have a number of "Internal" rules and codes, such as the standards: no spamming, harassing, flooding, the works. And general rude/disrespectful behaviour is usually looked down upon. And hey, some people don't know that they're rude, or just behaving poorly. If you're meeting a lot of opposition, then you should look into yourself with a truly objective eye.

Ok, I think that's all for now.

Gnug215 - Tired of all the hostilities...