Mr. Smart is the Best Forum Poster [INTERNET HISTORY ITT]

[Goreschach]

What's the worst that could happen?


No, seriously. What do you all think is the worst that could happen because of this?

[Musashi]

Do it.

[Ollie]

For me the most fascinating aspect of this is despite the contradictions and inconsistencies, and the high probability that the motivation is self-serving duplicity rather than a genuine desire to make Alganon work people are impressed by the great man's honesty. There are many comments applauding his out-spoken honesty.

It's as if being rude about other professionals, airing dirty laundry in public engages an automatic reflex to consider a person honest quite divorced from any analysis of the facts. Click, whirr as Cialdini would say.

As consumers we are so inured to the oily sheen of non-committal corporate PR that the appearance of a character such as our good Dr. Dingleberry, who at a cursory glance appears to go against the grain and shoot from the hip, can at first seem like a breath of fresh air. "Good," we might think to ourselves. "Finally someone who speaks their mind."

Look past the shock and awe approach, and any goodwill generated by the feigned honesty quickly evaporates, exposing the sideshow antics within. Dr. Dmart is like the town drunk, ranting and raving at society and hurling abuse at random passers-by, while at the same time asking for handouts to fund his brave expedition to the liquor store.

Read any of his longer posts or the latest interview on Massively, and the sheer amount of self-contradiction, circumlocution and ardent back-pedalling is simply mind-boggling. None of this is really about Alganon; any and all corporate intrigue could have easily been kept in-house where it arguably belongs. Instead, we are witnessing another episode in the Serek Dmart Saga, the good doctor's self-authored legend of Bumble the Boy Wonder, who fights the evil corporate machine to protect the everyman and bring good games to the eagerly awaiting masses. I bet he believes it too.

And no, the irony of calling him immature while making fun of his name on a gaming forum is not lost on me. This is, after all, how the internet is played. 

[Ratman_tf]

I'm feeling like it's time I interviewed Mister Smart. What say you, peoples?

I think he gets enough attention. But do as you will. I'll read it if you get him to do it. 

[Koyasha]

As consumers we are so inured to the oily sheen of non-committal corporate PR that the appearance of a character such as our good Dr. Dingleberry, who at a cursory glance appears to go against the grain and shoot from the hip, can at first seem like a breath of fresh air. "Good," we might think to ourselves. "Finally someone who speaks their mind."

Look past the shock and awe approach, and any goodwill generated by the feigned honesty quickly evaporates, exposing the sideshow antics within. Dr. Dmart is like the town drunk, ranting and raving at society and hurling abuse at random passers-by, while at the same time asking for handouts to fund his brave expedition to the liquor store.

Read any of his longer posts or the latest interview on Massively, and the sheer amount of self-contradiction, circumlocution and ardent back-pedalling is simply mind-boggling. None of this is really about Alganon; any and all corporate intrigue could have easily been kept in-house where it arguably belongs. Instead, we are witnessing another episode in the Serek Dmart Saga, the good doctor's self-authored legend of Bumble the Boy Wonder, who fights the evil corporate machine to protect the everyman and bring good games to the eagerly awaiting masses. I bet he believes it too.

And no, the irony of calling him immature while making fun of his name on a gaming forum is not lost on me. This is, after all, how the internet is played.  

This would be why my previous statements were specifically contingent on everything he said at the time being true.  The increasing number of contradictions make me suspect otherwise at this point, which evaporates anything good I might have thought about it.  It's merely replacing one kind of BS for another, worse kind.

[Draegan]

The only way an interview would be awesome is if you can do it via Skype so you can hear the ego in his voice.

[sam, an eggplant]

On the contrary, he comes off much more reasonably in person and on the phone. Less confrontational and pompous. He's the product of decades of usenet flamewars, after all.

[Draegan]

Ah, but if you can get him to sound like he does on the internet, it will become epic.  Another internet rant at this point is redundant.

[Sky]

I'm feeling like it's time I interviewed Mister Smart. What say you, peoples?

Can you get the other guys, too? That would be 

[Goumindong]

Half the game-playing internet knows this but not, apparently, whoever is supervising the guys who have spent a couple of hundred mill on this and appear to be perfectly happy to continue.

1. They didn't spend a couple hundred mill on this.

2. Serek is one of those investors. That is how he got involved.

[jakonovski]

Incidentally, where does Monsieur Dmart keep getting the funding for all these weird ideas?

[Hutch]

I'm feeling like it's time I interviewed Mister Smart. What say you, peoples?

It'd be kind of a step down for you, I think.

I mean, Vanguard and WAR aren't shining paragons of MMOG development success, but McQuaid and Jacobs were both taken seriously at some point in their careers. The same has never been true of DS. He's an epic joke. No good can come of this.

[Cadaverine]

a round table post mortem with David Allen, and S-mart would pique my interest.  They could duke it out on pay-per-view.

[tazelbain]

I don't care about that, I want an interview with the guy responsible for hiring Dmart.  Did he lose a bet?  Was it grief hire?  WTF.

[Cadaverine]

Well, depending on the time of day that you read the thread, Allen himself brought S-mart in to help w/ Alganon.  On odd numbered hours, though, it was the investors that brought S-mart in to fix the mess Allen made.

[Ratman_tf]

Incidentally, where does Monsieur Dmart keep getting the funding for all these weird ideas?

I have no doubt that guys like Smart and McQuaid are really cool in person. They probably give off an energetic and driven vibe, and know how to talk to investors. It's a skill, and a useful one if you're starting a business. That kinda charmy chit chat that got portrayed in Tommy Boy.

After they get the money? That's when Dr Jekyll disappears.

Just my impression, of course.

[Soln]

well this is history in the making.  Push it to +1

[Fabricated]

It'd be worth it for the goof factor alone.

[Kamen]

I'm feeling like it's time I interviewed Mister Smart. What say you, peoples?

Before anyone asks, this is a man I'd actively try to AVOID interviewing.

Only took five days.

[schild]

I know, right. It's hard to want to actively take part in exorcising a demon. I had to warm up to the idea.

[Senses]

I believe that the Video Game Industry does the same thing the National Football League does in regard to coaches.  Its easier to hire someone who has been a complete failure in the bussiness for years rather than take a gamble on an unknown commodity like someone new.

[UnSub]

I believe that the Video Game Industry does the same thing the National Football League does in regard to coaches.  Its easier to hire someone who has been a complete failure in the bussiness for years rather than take a gamble on an unknown commodity like someone new.

DING!

For whatever it is worth, D-Sma has been around, independently producing games for quite a while now. Time gives credibility to whores, politicians and ugly buildings... and independent game developers.

[Xuri]

It's the same with corporation top-heads. No matter how many companies some of them drive into the ground, there seems to always be another corporation ready to throw money and positions of power their way.

[Kamen]

I know, right. It's hard to want to actively take part in exorcising a demon. I had to warm up to the idea.

Lol, sounds good.  I look forward to reading it.

[NowhereMan]

My dad has a good friend that literally makes his money by getting investment for and starting businesses, plowing in most of the initial cash and then spending the rest on fun stuff. Known him for about 13-15 years and he's started 5 or 6 companies in that time and spends the last year or so of business living very low key. But he manages to get investors and loans every time although it helps that his ideas tend to be pretty good. I guess Dmart's even more charming.

[Murgos]

I know people who have done 5 or 6 start ups.  After a while even failing starts to build up to a respectable pedigree and people are then willing to bet that you will get it right next time.  Even in failing you learn a lot of skills and gain a lot of contacts.

Remember that VC money is gambling and they expect to mostly lose.

[tkinnun0]

In all his recent interviews Dr. Unnameable keeps saying that David Allen approached him  to talk to the investors at QOL on his behalf and prior to this he had never heard of QOL and Alganon.  However when I was browsing his forums at 3000ADd he is telling another story.

Uhh, he's playing to the home crowd. You're basically SirBrusing his words because he didn't have "So when David Allen approached me, " before "That was the whole reason that I was in touch with QOL to begin with".

Sure, he might have an ulterior motive, but a smoking gun of that that post is not.

[sam, an eggplant]

Remember that VC money is gambling and they expect to mostly lose.

It's gambling like poker, not gambling like blackjack. With due diligence and sufficient diversification a significant amount of that risk can be mitigated. These guys just didn't do their homework.

[Murgos]

I wasn't defending Dmart or the VC choice in him.

I was replying to NowhereMan's incredulity at this dads friends ability to get VC funding.

[Fordel]

Question, what does VC actually stand for?

[ajax34i]

Venture Capitalist.  Investor.

[schild]

I know people who have done 5 or 6 start ups.  After a while even failing starts to build up to a respectable pedigree and people are then willing to bet that you will get it right next time.  Even in failing you learn a lot of skills and gain a lot of contacts.

Remember that VC money is gambling and they expect to mostly lose.

That said, most folks never win. Much like fat, it's easier to get fat when you already have fat. You're also more likely to lose once you start losing and more likely to win once you start winning.

Also, most folks are just failures. Period. There's no amount of further failure that will make them stop being a failure. Fail once, ok, maybe it was a fluke. Fail twice - completely - you didn't learn anything from the first time around.

[Murgos]

Uh, not turning a profit in a start-up does not mean total abject failure or that the succeeding attempts weren't improved over the initial.

I know people who recently attempted an ultra-low power supercomputer.  They sold a few of them but the market wasn't large enough at this moment, if things had gone slightly different, like say if the power issues of a couple of years ago had maintained, well they would be in the money hats.  But yet still they learned VAST amounts about working in the semiconductor industry and I am sure that when/if they start their next project there will be no shortage of VC funding even though this wasn't their first failed start-up.

But hey, you got a message board, you must be right.

[Stabs]

I know people who have done 5 or 6 start ups.  After a while even failing starts to build up to a respectable pedigree and people are then willing to bet that you will get it right next time.  Even in failing you learn a lot of skills and gain a lot of contacts.

Remember that VC money is gambling and they expect to mostly lose.

That said, most folks never win. Much like fat, it's easier to get fat when you already have fat. You're also more likely to lose once you start losing and more likely to win once you start winning.

Also, most folks are just failures. Period. There's no amount of further failure that will make them stop being a failure. Fail once, ok, maybe it was a fluke. Fail twice - completely - you didn't learn anything from the first time around.

Entrepreneur Robert Maxwell failed so many times with his early businesses that he was nicknamed the "Bouncing Czech" because of all his bankruptcies. He went on to become one of Britain's highest profile billionaires.

(After his death it emerged that not only did he not really have any money but that he had borrowed millions from his employees' pension funds. Still that was after his death, he was certainly a business success in his lifetime).

[Ollie]

So not only does it pay to be a fraud, all it really takes to be considered a success is to maintain a socially believable façade of competence while disguising the rotten practices within? My god, I think you've just explained the MMOG industry.