February 25, 2013

When is enough...enough?

Throwing in the towel
When is enough...enough?

I've been asking myself that quite a bit today as I fight off a massive headache caused by my self-appointed nemesis.  Over a significant portion of the last decade I have spent tens of thousands of dollars and countless man-hours helping support a game I really enjoyed and the company that produces it.

I don't know how many thousands of air miles I've flown taking at least two trips per year to attend game conventions or even just playtest materials.  Writing convention adventures and then running them because nobody else stepped up is one thing.  Paying to have this "privilege" is quite another.  I haven't done it to get a pat on the back (although that's happened), but I do it because I can.

I've enjoyed the friendships I've made over the years on the company forums and at these conventions.  We've vacationed with other forum members, attended a wedding, and come to think of many of them as good friends.

Unfortunately for me, I've been bullied by one particular forum member who has gotten away with it for a year now, mostly by claiming that he was the victim of bullying.....by me.  There has been a lot more to it, but the basic point is that these people I've come to consider my friends have allowed it to happen.  I get that there is a certain level of "put on your big-boy pants" and soldier on, but you can only hear that this is "the last time" so many times.

Things are not going to change and it is stupid for me to expect change to come from outside.  Change must come from within.

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