Um, as in other customers like me. See believe it or not people come here (who wisely never post) to see what's really happening with VS. No one tells my side. To listen to "the stalwarts" UDE hung the moon and will soon cure cancer. This is a kiss butt opportunity for practically all here. I know I am not the only one who has experienced the events I have discussed.

One way to betray the trust of good people is to say, lie to them for instance. Wow! Look at that! There IS set rotation and ban lists! Geeeeeeeee......

It must be terrible for you.

(Funny stuff, thanks.)

I propose switching to decaf. Seriously, don't you think you are taking this way to serious? Take a deep breath and relax.

This post pointing out the humor of Doc Jones' post combined with his sig in no supports xodarap, or acknowledges that xodarap's thinking rationally.

Yup. I'm taking it seriously. I usually do when in order to get my money a corporation LIES to my face. Take a deep breath and relax huh Doc? That's YOUR job. (As always.) "Physician, heal thyself."

Metagame has something that no other VS site on the web has; consistently good writing. Everything that goes up on that site is well written, no matter what its subject matter is. I can't stress how hard it is for me to read poor writing. If I find an article, even if it's about the most broken deck in the history of VS and how to play it, if it's written poorly there's a good chance I won't be able to finish it. So, Metagame already has that over other websites; their articles are always of the highest quality, writing-wise.

I'll admit that Metagame caters to the casual player a little more than the professional (or, wannabe professionals, as those who hate on the site seem to be,) but with Alex Brown and Shane Wiggans' recent columns that is starting to change. I think players all across the spectrum can find something on Metagame they enjoy, whether it be Michael Barnes' Breaking Ground articles, Alex Brown's sealed pack analyses, or just the tournament coverage and card previews.

As a side note, I think the original poster's point about pros never writing anything "meaningful" is a poor one. It's not the pros' job to do your homework for you and hand the best decklist for the format to you on a silver platter. If you're that determined to do well, you don't need pros telling you what you should and shouldn't be playing. Go out and test the format yourself; no one is obligated by some moral standard to give you tech they themselves worked hard to find and refine.

edit: I will not feed the trolls, I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls...

I swear I didn't mean to rattle your feathers, it's just that you are venting all this anger and I have read every post of yours on this thread and I honestly STILL don't know what your problem is. The crappy behavior of a couple of judges sucks, but there will always be those types everywhere in life unfortunately. I just don't get the jump in logic where you go from some local ass hat, to everyone at UDE is out to get you. There will be bumps in the road for everyone just hang on and make the best of it. "Physician, heal thyself."

Oh and kairos10 just spanked Doc Jones. :mad:

I'm not really understanding what these people are #####ing about. For one thing if it wasn't for metagame, we wouldn't know anything about the major events until well after they've happened. And the other thing is the writing is great. You don't get secret tech, but who the hell is going to give something like that up? The people writing these articles make thousands of dollars from playing this game. Why the hell would they spoil the chance to provide for themselves and thier families?
"Metagame put up 2 articles about sealed in one week" -- Big goddamn deal. There are so many strategies to sealed and draft that any info from pro players is gonna be good info.
I respect all of the regular metagame writers, and will commend you on your articles. I look forward to your insight each week, and will continue to defend you against the naysayers. Keep up the good work.

To the naysayers:
If you don't like it, write you own. I'd like to see what your experience in this game would look like in prose. And stop being so goddamn jealous.:grin:

Ok, let me explain something. This btw, applies to MTG as well. When someone sees a pro player's name attached to an article, the automatic assumption is that the pro player's expertise went into the article. If something seems off, it is either because A) The writer is doing a half-assed job or B) The writer is holding back something. If A is true, then my suggestion is....don't write. Don't waste our precious time and yours as well. And if B is true, well.....don't write! These is a reason that ESPN uses retired or out-of-action athletes as its analysts. Is Orestes Destrade even 1/1000th of a player Alex Rodriguez is? No, of course not. Yet, there he is, sitting in the ESPN studios, analyzing the Yankees performance! Why not A-Rod? Because he PLAYS FOR THE YANKEES, and cannot give a full, impartial analysis of them, no matter how much more qualified he is. If you won't write everything, then leave the writing to someone more qualified. Metagame pays you for your name, and people read your articles for your name. Either call your articles casual, or don't write at all. This has nothing to do with you personally, nor your writing style. This has to do with ethics of journalism. No one is ASKING for the hottest tech for the next PC, there just seems to be a bit of a conflict of interest. Not your fault for taking the gig, but perhaps UDE's fault for offering it to you without certain conditions.

And btw, even though I do have a Journalism degree and published articles, THAT is one of the reasons I don't write. I don't want to deal with the ethical issues, even if I could use the extra money. G-d knows, the Vsuniverse.com weekly contest thing is there for the taking.

No disrespect intended, either way. Be well!

TY, but one question....will they be written by someone impartial (as in someone who does not stand to win or lose money at the next PC based on the strategy he/she discusses)?

Hold on... must stop laughing... almost...


... okay.

:deep breaths:

Now. I must ask. Are you serious???

You are wrestling with the ethical dilemmas of writing about a Trading Card Game involving superheroes in colorful spandex?

Oh no... here I go again... must stop laughing...

There are ethical dilemmas involving EVERYTHING. If you steal a quarter from someone, it might seem silly to you to agonize over it...after all its just a quarter, right? Yet you've committed theft! Seems pretty serious from that point of view.

HOLY ####(poop)!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe what I'm reading.

This comment is not totaly without merit. Of course no one can reasonably expect a pro to divulge decks or tech their team is working on. At the same time there is no reason why these pros have to be the ones writing the tech articles. Overall I kinda agree with this sentiment. I would prefer a less skilled player being open than a great player hiding the best tech.

Anyway I would say that Pros are employed partly due to name recognition anyway. They are recognizable by the community.

With that said most of the people who wirte for meta game do a pretty good job. My favorite articles are the comic background stuff Kergy does. I like knowing the history behind the characters I play with.