kgenthe's Blog

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I started FJP two summers ago in order to help spur the community to evolve and to catch up with the communities of every other classic game system out there. It's been a rough ride since then, but the openness that we're finally starting to see now is the fruit of that hardship.

 

You're dead-on about how the community members need to try to understand and respects each others views. I've been trying to say that for years, but you put it much better than my nearly incoherent ramblings have over all of this time. A big kudos to you!

I don't know how I missed this yesterday, but this was an excellent read (albeit completely unexpected). I empathize () on everything stated above.

Well I've been working on it since yesterday, and when you "save as draft" it locks in the time code... I didn't post it till this morning.

 

Thank you both for responding, much appreciated. I really did pour my heart into this blog post, and it is one of the most passionate things I've written in a long time.

 

-Kris

Interesting reading, Kris.

 

While I agree with all three of your points, point 2 particularly interests me. The debug version of the Atari ST emulator Steem, with its Boiler Room debugger, has been a great aid to much of the productivity on that system over the last, well, it's quite a few years now. If the Jaguar had something similar - a highly accurate emulator with advanced features, put simply there would be a lot more going on than there is today. Let's hope subqmod continues to work on his emulator in the limited time he has available these days. Virtual Jaguar is also something to keep an eye on, Shamus posted news of a potential update a little while ago.

 

As for your throughts and feelings as a whole, you echo the thoughts of plenty of others I've had contact with over the last couple of years, albeit more often private contact and not in an open forum. People who genuinely enjoy their Jaguar want to see good things happen, but not at the expense of flame wars and dividing the community into factions. Time will tell - openness, the free sharing of information and discoveries and new releases both freely and for a fee - those things all have a positive impact. Many of the things you mention would do likewise.

 

It's good for the majority of Jaguar fans that the two major forums are now in a much healthier and positive phase of existence than they once were. If other more secret but active forums keep their actions internal/out of plain sight, I don't see that any real harm can be done - it keeps the majority of the community and the public perception of it in a much tidier and healthier place and thus somewhere outsiders may feel they want to participate without fear of a verbal beatdown. Maybe their secrecy and sense of belonging will help spur them on to be more productive, so maybe some good can still come of it. OTOH, radicalising an already small and diverse community, forcing people to comply or leave by the nearest exit, however well intentioned the conception of such a place... well, I can't see that having much legs.

 

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to work on a piece like this - progressive, informative and well conceived.

Well put together post! nice one, agree with you completely. I do believe a lot of the 'piracy' stuff is mainly aimed at trying to keep the price of games high, more feeding others pockets than helping the community. Although personally I would respect the wishes of someone if they put time into producing say a new game on cart but asked that it not be dumped and spread for free, as you say that is their wish and it is technically their IP to do with as they wish. Personally I prefer the free release of ROM/ISO backed onto a physical release of a cart for any who want them.

 

I hack at my jag for the kudos, the beer and the buzz. Hopefully this renaissance will make the place friendlier too, meaning I don't get sick of it and start playing wow instead.. again

Speaking as one who sells Jag stuff I can see and admire aspects from both sides.

Personally I like the interaction of a group of enthusiasts and being able to contribute since i am not a coder or hacker. However I do respect intellectual copyright, if someone has worked on something they MAY want something back for it. So we should respect that.

 

I also enjoy the new hardware hacks that come out for Jaguar, and look forward to a replacement for the CD.

 

Overall a well thought out and considered article, much better than some of the "guff" we have had in the past in JF2 and AA

 

Kudos to you Sir

 

Nick Harlow

Thank you everyone for the responses! And thank you everyone who responded privately as well (from both "sides"). I've had some really great conversations, and as @Nick has stated, it's nice to have a talk about the scene without a flame war erupting.

 

From what I can tell, during all of my "weaving and dodging" I've missed out on a lot of personal attacks and other ugliness. Many people are more or less done with the Jaguar, and others are done with certain individuals altogether. Thankfully, for the most part, I've managed to get by without anyone being too tough on me, and I hope that is the case for the majority of the Jaguar community.

 

On a personal note, I'll clarify a few things. I did say there is room in the community for everyone. However I do not believe there is room in the community for those that can't accept the fact that not everyone will agree with them. The person that has to berate everyone that does not follow his/her views doesn't have a place in the community. Thankfully, I am not a Mod/Admin or person with any authority, so this is thankfully not something I have to concern myself with

 

@Nick and @LinkoVitch bring up some great points regarding piracy as well. I generally do not download roms. But I have the financial ability to buy games and systems and play the real deal. Not everyone has that ability. Someone in Eastern Europe, South America, and other nooks of the world, have no real means to get ahold of real games and hardware at reasonable prices. And hence they rely on roms/emus to enjoy many classic games.

 

But I'm rambling. My personal view is that I do not want to take money out of someones pocket. Downloading Pier Solar, Madbodies, or a Goat Store release, affects someone's pocket book, and therefore I cannot in good conscience download them. However, something like Checkered Flag or Zool 2, which are past their profit cycles, I don't have a problem with. Sure it's still not legally sound, but it does pass my moral standards. And if it doesn't pass yours, that's fine too, just don't start calling me (or anyone) a "pirate" "troll" and other nonsense. Live and let live. But the piracy talks just takes us backwards, and not forwards.

 

Lastly, the "private" forum I referred to above is not JSII. JSII is a 7 year old forum and is public. Hope that clears that up.

 

Again, thank you to everyone that responded. It really is appreciated! Even though it is just a blog post from a quiet voice in the community, I hope it does have an impact in the community, even if it is just a small one.

 

Cheers

 

-Kris