The Wild World of TB!

Since I have several blogs written that will be going up tonite and were written before the 'changes' at PB Nation, I simply wanted to take a few minutes and comment on the 'PB Nation cares about you, the scenario player' campaign that Ed is obviously gearing up.

First and foremost, it is about time that Ed decided that the "this is my site, if you don't like what I do or who I do it to then you can suck it" mentality doesn't work. Well the truth is he is still in that mode, but at least the appearance is that he cares and is willing to listen.

So much so that he indeed has 'given' scenario players the opportunity say 'whatever' they want, in effect creating a 'Small Talk' forum in the scenario paintball section. Now why would he do that? For several reason, first and foremost it is still a measure of control. If you back someone into a corner then they will fight to their last breath, if you leave them a way out, even if it isn't desirable then they will not go into 'fight to the last man' syndrome.

Then again it also may be a litmus test to see how much sway this and other situations have had on PB Nation. A testing of the market so to speak. Since as Ed has told person after person I am a nobody and no one cares if my team is at an event. As I was told by someone still on the inside (See I told you it wasn't Harb), the main reason my team name was added to the swear filter was to deny me and my 'cronies' any of the awesomeness that being on PBNation gives you. I mean the millions and I mean millions of the TB's and Thunderstruck's fans will not be able to come to our website because of the swear filter.

Several mods have tried to tell me I wanted to be a martyr and well that denotes that I would have to be dead in whatever universe I was a martyr in. PB Nation is not the end all or definition of anything in my realm of paintball. I am not going into the night, I am not going to stop playing, in fact I got more offers to play now that I stood up to PB Nation (but more about that later). I didn't choose to be a martyr, you guys chose to try and do it to me. To silence me in your realm, well sorry for you but I am not accountable in your realm now. See when I was allowed to post there, I had to follow the rules and such to be able to post there. I took my comments to my site and because I voiced an opinion on PB Nation somewhere else they chose to revoke my status there.

Is that their right? Sure it is, but it does upset paintball players to see that they are not allowed to say anything about PB Nation anywhere that people can read. In fact had Ed been as smart as too many people give him credit for he could have simply issued a press release stating that there were issues dating back years and that he was not truly aware of how bad it had become and he was instituting new policies for his mods and admins and encouraging everyone to post any thread that appears to be out of the norm no matter who slight and the mods and admins would make the call. He could have asked for community policing (maybe even 'deputizing' some in the scenario forums like hall monitors, no power but still responsible to help police) and involvement in it. That would have totally de-escalated anything I or 68 caliber posted.

In fact he could have answered the emails that I sent him or the phone calls and said you know TB I understand where you are coming from and I will do all I can to make it better. Will you help me do that? Will you talk to me and learn that I am not the evil monster that you think I am? I will talk to you like a man and you can talk to me like a man and we can either work together or at least agree that we disagree and move on.

Instead, Ed (as the apparent Alpha Male he thinks he is) chose to take me head on (and still is, don't let the new image fool you) and ban me, my teammates and even put my team name in the swear filter. It isn't a swear filter anymore, it is a content filter. It is where you go when Ed and co decide that you are no longer viable in their universe. Ed says that I am spreading lies. If they are lies Ed, they are YOUR words. I posted a direct quote from you both times and then I offered commentary to them. You don't like the commentary feel free to respond. But to try and treat me like the others that you and your ilk have done battle with over the years is a serious mistake on your part.

I will not create thousands of accounts and write spam bots to try and bring your servers to their knees. I have not engaged others to 'plead' my case. They have done that on their own, in fact I don't care to come back now. I think that the other members of my team should be re-instated since they did nothing but just be associated with me (unless you are wanting to call Nudi's charity questions the reason, but then that goes back to that whole 'cunt' episode. You know the one you apologized for, but then you banned her without a word. makes you wonder how sincere your apology was Ed.)I will simply just not go back and if people want to truly influence PB Nation, I would suggest the same. Don't take his bait and post in that silly thread.

Why not? Ed likes the drama, the traffic simply makes the site bigger. The more he stirs up, the more people go, the more people go, the more he can tell advertisers that he is the paintball site. You are creating the very attitude that he has about scenario paintball and the genre. He can call all this lies but the facts are pretty plain to see to people who can see when people try to manipulate others. You want to send a message? Do it with silence, not screaming at the top of your lungs. Let them have their universe.

As someone who has 'bought' their advertising for scenario games, that is worthless. As someone who as a promoter had to place their 30 something mods on a side, they are worthless. As a player facing them, they are worthless. As a player with the potential for them to be on my side, I traded them because they are worthless. As someone in this sport from a media stand point, they are something because they are easy to be hyped not because they are actually worth anything in scenario. I call it the 'Blue Crew Syndrome'. I love Blue to death and his crew works for him, but when you put Blue's Crew and the PB Nation mods on the same team, well when the sun sets you just lost 50+ people to booze and partying.

So forgive me Ed, if I have little to no respect for your or your mods playing ability on the scenario paintball field. Forgive me for not seeing the 'hordes' of people who you 'brought' to my games. Forgive me for not seeing where you add any value to the scenario realm. Not as a player, sponsor or even the media because in reality you are none of the above. You guys are the self made gods of your own paintball world and you think that BOS'ing someone sentences them to paintball death. Hordes of people have left PB Nation and went to other sites. You never knew it because you have lived in your ivory tower for far to long.

So you want to do the right thing, Ed? Put my teammates back on the PB Nation and leave them alone. You want to blame someone, you want to talk to me, you have my number, you have my email, you have every way to get in touch with me. Pump those balls up that you seem to have no issue saying that you have and call me. I'll take the call and you can yell and scream at me until you are blue in the face. But if you want to change my perception of you and your company then you might want to start with that. And if you truly don't care or if I truly don't matter, then it will not matter to you what the next stages of this battle will go to.

That is not a threat, Ed. Just in case you wanted to call it that, just a word of how I am and how I think.

As for the rest of the community, I will see you at www.pbfreedom.com. That place that Ed called and wanted me banned from while telling them that he didn't care if they looked like PB Nation because they would never amount to anything or take his business. Again, look to the past Ed. The SE goes to PB Junkie, the West Coast is primarily Special Ops, so all you have is the Midwest and NE there. Since the midwest for the most parts identifies alot with my thoughts and you have pissed the NE off with your attitude, who will be there in what is left of scenario talk? I agree in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king, however I have both of my eyes and they are wide open.