1. I've given a number of REVIEW issues to the MAGWEB people to be posted on their site. As I write this, the most current issue on the site is dated August, 1998... which, I assume you'll agree, is not too current. Yet at the 1999 HISTORICON and FALL IN conventions, I turned over to MAGWEB a number of issues, ranging from September 1998, to June 1999. None of these have been posted yet. And why haven't any of the later issues been posted? Your guess is as good as mine. I can't seem to get a coherent answer. I note that the MAGWEB staff do their updating in regular fashion. Which magazines do they update first? LONE WARRIOR and MWAN and THE COURIER, and the like. These magazines are the money-makers for MAGWEB... each quarter, when MAGWEB sends out its checks to the participating magazines, these publications receive around $200 each. While little itty-bitties like the REVIEW have to be content with checks for 30 or 50 dollars. Dividend checks are based on the number of 'hits' a magazine receives for the quarter. By not updating an itty-bitty like the REVIEW, the REVIEW gets hit with a double-whammy. First, due to continued posting of the older issues, which everyone has already read, there's no new interest in the site... it doesn't attract new viewers. Second, by not keeping the posting up to date, preventing the REVIEW site from generating new readers, its 'hits' are reduced, and its income decreased. 2. A note on the non-responsive wargamer. At table-side, I've noted two types of players. First, there's the gamer who takes an active interest in what's going on (a pleasure to game with), and second, there's the comatose half-side of beef who simply sits there and must be continually prompted. For example, a typical conversation between me and the non-responsive player (NRP) would go like this: Me: Here's your 10-sided die. Your firing parameter starts with +8, OK? NRP: Yes. Me: And you're firing into woods, so the number is reduced by 1, making it ... ? NRP: Yes. Me: Making it ... ? NRP: Yes. Me: Well, it's now 7, but there's an additional +1 for heavy weapons, making it ... ? NRP: Yes. Me: Making it ... ? NRP: Yes. Me: Your number is now back up to 8. Now you've got to toss a die. Pick up the die. NRP: A 6-sided die or a 10-sided die? Me:I gave you a 10-sided die. There are no 6-sided dice in this game. Toss a 10-sided die. What number are you looking for? NRP: I'm not sure. Is it a 7? And this goes on and on. When I was younger, I thought that coaching these people would wake 'em up. Today, I'm not so sure. Back to PW Review November 1999 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com