So, that's done.

Another Holiday Give-Away come and gone; another holiday tradition
completed. I am not sad to say that I'm glad it's done. I mean, you
may have tired of all my many posts and endless blather over the past
25 days, but _I_ am the one who had to write it all! And the Christmas
Day give-aways are particularly exhausting, since I have to sneak them
into the few free moments I have each day while doing 'real life'
Christmas stuff.

[This year, though, at least I planned ahead a bit by writing
most of the posts ahead of time, so all I had to do was
copy-n-paste at the appropriate times.]

For those of you who got annoyed by the sheer volume of my posts,
though, I'm sure the quiet will be a welcome relief.

*

I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)

*

My goals for these give-aways have always been threefold. Firstly,
just to spread some cheer and warmth over the holidays, not only by
giving away gifts, but also just by providing a cheerful and fun
experience throughout December. Hence the jokes, the songs, the
general nonsense that hopefully brings a smile and makes the rest of
what can often be a very bleak and stressful month just a bit less
aggravating. How well that succeeded is debatable, but at least I
tried. 2024 wasn't that great a year (and 2025 looks like it will be
worse) so I had to make the effort.

My second goal was, of course, to benefit Usenet.

It should come to no surprise to anyone to learn that I am an earnest
believer in Usenet. It's one of the last truly free discussion
networks on the Internet; it's not designed to monetize your personal
data, or steal your content for AI farms, or advertise stuff to you,
or manipulate conversations to force an agenda. That sort of stuff
undoubtedly happens, but it's incidental to the purpose of the
network, and --without a single controlling agency-- it allows Usenet
a lot of freedom and openess that other forums --Facebook, Twitter,
Reddit, etc.-- lack. That freedom doesn't come without penalty (such
as spam, trolling and blatantly illegal content) but it's a unique
resource that I think deserves a continued place on the 'net. It's
format is also special: originating largely as an academic network,
it's a text-only forum where the discussion of ideas is paramount. It
originated as a way to disseminate long-term dialogues between groups
of people. It was where you went to WRITE, and not just make one line
'me too' comments. Usenet has obviously drifted considerably from that
ideal, but in a world where most forums are about pictures of what you
ate for dinner, 140-character replies or 60-second videos of people
twerking, it's still the closest we have anymore.

So the second goal of these silly give-aways is to make Usenet a
viable destination through the simple expedient of bribing people with
the lure of free games. The idea being, of course, that they COME for
the games and then some of them discover there's other worthwhile
content here and STAY to comment. And hey, as Epic Games has
discovered, bribery works! Comment counts go up dramatically in
December, and we've seen a slow rise in overall activity over the
years.

My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
drive to boost user- and post-count. But it's also why I always write
such long descriptions to each game I give away; I'm giving out meat
for you to all gnaw on. I'm baiting the hook so you can tell me my
conclusions are _wrong_. Because that's what I want; it's what Usenet
is about (I told you, I'm a fervent believer in this idealistic vision
of Usenet!): as a forum where people can discuss issues and introduce
one another to different points of view. And best of all if -- after I
spit on a game-- somebody convinces me to give it another chance and I
suddenly discover they were right!

[Also, since we can only really discuss games that we've
played, and by giving away games I also own, it allows others
to enter the discussion with me. Yes, I'm secretly tricking
you all into playing games I like so you can tell me why you
enjoyed -or didn't- my games. You're never going to get
a game from me that isn't in my library first;-)]

Oh, and that other reason I always say? You know, that line that this
is just a convenient way for me to clear out some old keys? Pure
bullshit. I have ways enough to otherwise make use of spare keys
should I desire. I've real-life friends enough that might want them,
or if I really were the sort, I could probably find a key-reseller to
take them off my hands and make myself a few bucks on the side.
Christmas cheer, usenet and the hope of inspiring discussion have
always been the motivators of these give-aways. Heck, the line about
these games all being spares is untrue too! A lot (not all, but many)
of these games were purpose-bought /just/ so I could give them away
during the holidays.

*

Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.

*

But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.

Not with Usenet (I'm sure this will disappoint some of my detractors)
but with these Holiday Give-Aways. Because I've decided that the 2024
c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away was my last one. It's why I decided
to go so big with this one. We had 70 games this time (okay, a few
less if you discount the duplicates, but its still a lot). I tried to
make this the biggest and most fun and memorable of the give-aways,
because I'd decided that it was going to be The End.

Well, for me anyway. Maybe somebody else will take up the banner and
lead the charge in 2025. And it's possible I'll still drop a game or
three next December. But I won't be doing any sort of Event like I've
been doing the past years.

Because, frankly, it's gotten just too exhausting for me to keep up.
It's been getting expensive too; I don't buy all these keys and those
I do purchase I never buy at full price, but it does add up. Over the
years, I've given away over 300 games and even on discount, that's a
some investment.

Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.

*

We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
you get the game. You know the drill.

*

So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
long, long time.

*

One last thing. A little boasting on my part; indulge me. I've done
this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
have I contributed?

------

112 Operator (x2) * 35MM (x2) * 911 Operator (x2) *

On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
>deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
>game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
>into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
>Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
>You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.

LOL Spalls. Yes, I am still here, still reading. I skipped the game at
the top. Someone else can have it.

>Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
>companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
>candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
>announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
>traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
>not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
>my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
>I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.

You do this better then Epic or GOG. You 'compete' with them just
fine. I will miss the giveaways of course, but that is totally fine.

>We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
>longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
>to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
>of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
>deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
>called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
>Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
>you get the game. You know the drill.

I will skip these two games but I will quote them here in case no one
else makes it this far down your post. ;)

>One last thing. A little boasting on my part; indulge me. I've done
>this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>have I contributed?

More then anyone else ever will, I am sure of that.

I grabbed "Metal Unit," as proof that I read every damned thing you say,
my fellow bloviator. Necessarily, I'm keeping this post brief.

And being a TOP POSTING BASTARD.

On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>
>So, that's done.
>
>Another Holiday Give-Away come and gone; another holiday tradition
>completed. I am not sad to say that I'm glad it's done. I mean, you
>may have tired of all my many posts and endless blather over the past
>25 days, but _I_ am the one who had to write it all! And the Christmas
>Day give-aways are particularly exhausting, since I have to sneak them
>into the few free moments I have each day while doing 'real life'
>Christmas stuff.
>
> [This year, though, at least I planned ahead a bit by writing
> most of the posts ahead of time, so all I had to do was
> copy-n-paste at the appropriate times.]
>
>For those of you who got annoyed by the sheer volume of my posts,
>though, I'm sure the quiet will be a welcome relief.
>
>
> *
>
>I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>
>
> *
>
>
>My goals for these give-aways have always been threefold. Firstly,
>just to spread some cheer and warmth over the holidays, not only by
>giving away gifts, but also just by providing a cheerful and fun
>experience throughout December. Hence the jokes, the songs, the
>general nonsense that hopefully brings a smile and makes the rest of
>what can often be a very bleak and stressful month just a bit less
>aggravating. How well that succeeded is debatable, but at least I
>tried. 2024 wasn't that great a year (and 2025 looks like it will be
>worse) so I had to make the effort.
>
>
>
>My second goal was, of course, to benefit Usenet.
>
>It should come to no surprise to anyone to learn that I am an earnest
>believer in Usenet. It's one of the last truly free discussion
>networks on the Internet; it's not designed to monetize your personal
>data, or steal your content for AI farms, or advertise stuff to you,
>or manipulate conversations to force an agenda. That sort of stuff
>undoubtedly happens, but it's incidental to the purpose of the
>network, and --without a single controlling agency-- it allows Usenet
>a lot of freedom and openess that other forums --Facebook, Twitter,
>Reddit, etc.-- lack. That freedom doesn't come without penalty (such
>as spam, trolling and blatantly illegal content) but it's a unique
>resource that I think deserves a continued place on the 'net. It's
>format is also special: originating largely as an academic network,
>it's a text-only forum where the discussion of ideas is paramount. It
>originated as a way to disseminate long-term dialogues between groups
>of people. It was where you went to WRITE, and not just make one line
>'me too' comments. Usenet has obviously drifted considerably from that
>ideal, but in a world where most forums are about pictures of what you
>ate for dinner, 140-character replies or 60-second videos of people
>twerking, it's still the closest we have anymore.
>
>So the second goal of these silly give-aways is to make Usenet a
>viable destination through the simple expedient of bribing people with
>the lure of free games. The idea being, of course, that they COME for
>the games and then some of them discover there's other worthwhile
>content here and STAY to comment. And hey, as Epic Games has
>discovered, bribery works! Comment counts go up dramatically in
>December, and we've seen a slow rise in overall activity over the
>years.
>
>
>
>My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>drive to boost user- and post-count. But it's also why I always write
>such long descriptions to each game I give away; I'm giving out meat
>for you to all gnaw on. I'm baiting the hook so you can tell me my
>conclusions are _wrong_. Because that's what I want; it's what Usenet
>is about (I told you, I'm a fervent believer in this idealistic vision
>of Usenet!): as a forum where people can discuss issues and introduce
>one another to different points of view. And best of all if -- after I
>spit on a game-- somebody convinces me to give it another chance and I
>suddenly discover they were right!
>
> [Also, since we can only really discuss games that we've
> played, and by giving away games I also own, it allows others
> to enter the discussion with me. Yes, I'm secretly tricking
> you all into playing games I like so you can tell me why you
> enjoyed -or didn't- my games. You're never going to get
> a game from me that isn't in my library first;-)]
>
>
>
>Oh, and that other reason I always say? You know, that line that this
>is just a convenient way for me to clear out some old keys? Pure
>bullshit. I have ways enough to otherwise make use of spare keys
>should I desire. I've real-life friends enough that might want them,
>or if I really were the sort, I could probably find a key-reseller to
>take them off my hands and make myself a few bucks on the side.
>Christmas cheer, usenet and the hope of inspiring discussion have
>always been the motivators of these give-aways. Heck, the line about
>these games all being spares is untrue too! A lot (not all, but many)
>of these games were purpose-bought /just/ so I could give them away
>during the holidays.
>
>
> *
>
>
>Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
>deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
>game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
>into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
>Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
>You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.
>
>
> *
>
>
>But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
>end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
>Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>
>Not with Usenet (I'm sure this will disappoint some of my detractors)
>but with these Holiday Give-Aways. Because I've decided that the 2024
>c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away was my last one. It's why I decided
>to go so big with this one. We had 70 games this time (okay, a few
>less if you discount the duplicates, but its still a lot). I tried to
>make this the biggest and most fun and memorable of the give-aways,
>because I'd decided that it was going to be The End.
>
>Well, for me anyway. Maybe somebody else will take up the banner and
>lead the charge in 2025. And it's possible I'll still drop a game or
>three next December. But I won't be doing any sort of Event like I've
>been doing the past years.
>
>Because, frankly, it's gotten just too exhausting for me to keep up.
>It's been getting expensive too; I don't buy all these keys and those
>I do purchase I never buy at full price, but it does add up. Over the
>years, I've given away over 300 games and even on discount, that's a
>some investment.
>
>Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
>companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
>candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
>announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
>traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
>not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
>my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
>I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.
>
>
> *
>
>
>We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
>longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
>to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
>of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
>deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
>called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
>Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
>you get the game. You know the drill.
>
> *
>
>
>So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
>little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
>one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
>hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
>more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
>this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
>find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
>long, long time.
>
> *
>
>
>One last thing. A little boasting on my part; indulge me. I've done
>this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>have I contributed?
>
> ------
>
>112 Operator (x2) * 35MM (x2) * 911 Operator (x2) *
>
>AER Memories of Old * Alien Breed Trilogy * Alien Rampage * Alien:
>Isolation * American Fugitive * American Truck Simulator * Amerzone:
>The Explorer’s Legacy * Amnesia Machine for Pigs * Amnesia Rebirth *
>Amnesia The Dark Descent * Ampersat * Ancestor's Legacy * Anomaly
>WarZone Earth (x2) * Anomaly Warzone Earth * Another World: 20th
>Anniversary Edition * Aquanox * Aquanox II - Revelation * Arcade
>Paradise * Arcade Spirits * Arcana Heart 3 Love Max * Arma 2 (w/
>British Armed Forces + Operation Arrowhead + PMC expansions) * Arma
>Gold Edition * Arma X Anniversary Edition * Arma: Cold War * Arma:
>Tactics * Arx Fatalis * Assassin's Creed Chroncles: China * Assassin's
>Creed I * Asterix & Obelix XXL Rolemastered *
>
>Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition * Baldurs Gate II Enhanced Edition *
>Batman: Arkham Origins * Battlemage * Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock *
>Beholder * Beholder 2 * Between the Stars * Binary Domain (+DLC) *
>Bionic Commando Rearmed (x2) * Blade of Darkness * Blades of Time
>Limited Edition * Book of Demons (x2) * Book of Demons * Borderlands
>GOTY * Broken Age * Broken Sword 2 * Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons *
>Bubble Ghost *
>
>Calico * Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth * Call of Juarez *
>Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (x2) * Callisto Protocol * Carrier Command:
>Gaea Mission * Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess * Chasm *
>Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena * Cities in Motion 2 *
>Cities Skylines w/ AfterDark DLC * Civilization V Complete *
>Commandos Collection (Commando 2, Commandos 3, Behind Enemy Lines,
>Beyond the Call of Duty) * Consortium (x2) * Control: Ultimate Edition
>* Convoy * Crying Suns * Crysis 2 Remastered * Crysis 3 Remastered *
>Crysis Remastered *
>
>Daemonsgate * Dark Souls III * Darkstone * Darkwood * Dead Island
>Definitive Edition * Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition * Dear Esther
>Landmark Edition * Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter * Deus Ex Mankind
>Divided * Devil Daggers * Disco Elysium The Final Cut * Dishonored *
>Dishonored: Definitive Ed * DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition * Divinity II -
>The Developer's Cut * DmC: Devil May Cry * Doom * Doom (2016) (x2) *
>Doom + Doom II (2024) * Doom 3 * Doom 64 * Doom Eternal (x2) * Doom II
>(x2) * Drakkhen * Draw Slasher * Drawful 2 * Dungeons II *
>
>ELEX * Enclave * Eternam * Eurotruck Simulator 2 * Evoland Legendary *
>
>F.E.A.R. 2 - Project Origin * F.E.A.R. 3 * Fallout 1 * Fallout 4 *
>Fallout 76 * Far Cry 3 * Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon * Final Station *
>Flashback * Front Mission Evolved * Fury Unleashed *
>
>Galactic Civilizations II Ultimate Edition * Gas Guzzlers Extreme *
>Ghostrunner * Going Under * Gotham Knights * Grey Goo Definitive
>Edition * GRID 2 (x2) * GRID 2019 (x2) * GRID Autosport * GRIP Combat
>Racing (x2) * Guts and Glory *
>
>Haegemonia Legions of Iron * Haegemonia The Solon Heritage *
>Haegemonia: Legions of Iron * Hard West * Hektor * Hellblade: Senua's
>Sacrifice * Hello Neighbor * Hero of the Kingdom II * Hocus Pocus (x2)
>* Homeworld Remastered Collection * Hostage: Rescue Mission * How to
>Survive 2 * Hunted: The Demon’s Forge *
>
>Insurgency * Internet Cafe Simulator * Iron Danger *
>
>Jurassic Park The Game * Just Cause 3 XXL Edition *
>
>Kerbal Space Program (x2) * King's Table - The Legend of Ragnarok *
>Kingdom Come: Deliverance – Royal Ed * Kingdom Two Crowns * Knights of
>Pen & Paper +1 Edition *
>
>Last Days of June * Lethal League * Lichdom * Life is Strange Complete
>Season 1 (x2) * Lord of the Rings - War In the North * Lorelai * Lost
>Planet 3 Complete Pack * Lust From Beyond - M Edition *
>
>Mad Max * Magicka 2 * Major Stryker (x2) * Marco Polo * Math Rescue
>(x2) * Max Payne 3 * Mega Man Legacy Collection * Men of War * Metal
>Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain * Metal Unit * Metro Exodus * Metro
>Exodus Enhanced * Middle-Earth: Shadow of War * Monaco * Monaco Whats
>Yours Is Mine * Mount & Blade Warband * Mystic Towers (x2) * Mystical
>*
>
>Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy * Nuclear Dawn *
>
>Oddworld Munch's Oddysee * Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus * Oddworld: Abe's
>Exodus * Oddworld: New N Tasty * Oddworld:Abe's Oddyssee * Oh Sir The
>Insult Generator * Orbital Racer * Outlast * Overlord * Overlord 2 *
>Overworld: Raising Hell Expansion *
>
>Paganitzu (x2) * Paganitzu * Papo & Yo * Parkan 2 * Pathfinder
>Kingmaker Enhanced Plus * Payday 2 * PGA Tour 2K21 * Poker Night 1 *
>Poker Night 2 * Postal 2 * Postal Redux * Prey (2017) (x2) * Project
>Highrise * Prophecy I - The Viking Child * Prototype 2 * Quake II *
>Quantum Break *
>
>Rage * Rage 2 * Rain World * Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015
>Edition * Realms of Chaos * Rebel Galaxy * Rebel Galaxy * Red Faction
>Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered * Remember Me * Remnants of Naezith * Resident
>Evil Revelations (x2) * Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 * Rime
>Chaos Control * Ring of Pain * Rise of the Triad * Risen 2 Dark Waters
>Gold Edition * Road Redemption * Ryse Son of Rome *
>
>Schein * Scribblenauts Unlimited * Shadowrun Dragonfall Directors Cut
>* Shadowrun Returns * Shadows: Awakening * Shark Attack Deathmatch 2 *
>Silence of the Sleep (x2) * Silent Age * Sinking Island * Skullgirls
>2nd Encore * Slain: Back From Hell * Slay the Spire * Sniper Elite III
>* Sniper Elite v2 * Soulblight * Space Hulk Ascension * SpaceCom *
>Spelunky * Spintires * Spyro Reignited * Stacking * STALKER: Clear Sky
>* STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl * Star Ruler * Star Wars Dark Forces
>Remaster * Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy * Star Wars Knights of
>the Old Republic (x2) * Star Wolves * Starship Troopers Terran Command
>* Strange Brigade * Strider (x3) * Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones *
>Styx: Master of Shadows * Styx: Shards of Darkness * Sunset Overdrive
>* Survivalist * Syberia * Syberia 3 * System Shock Remaster * System
>Shock 2 *
>
>Tails Noir (Backbone) * Take On Helicopters * The Amazing American
>Circus * The Ascent * The Long Dark (x2) * The Uncertain: Last Quiet
>Day * This War of Mine * Tomb Raider * Tomb Raider Anniversary * Tomb
>Raider Legend * Tomb Raider Underworld * Tooth and Tail * Two Worlds
>Velvet Edition *
>
>Valfaris (x2) * Vanishing of Ethan Carter * Vikings: Wolves of Midgard
>* Viscera Cleanup Detail *
>
>Wacky Wheels (x2) * Walking Dead Season 1 * Walking Dead: 400 Days *
>Walking Dead: Season 2 * Walking Dead: Michonne * Wandersong *
>Wargroove * Warhammer 40K: Battlesector * Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War
>GOTY (x2) * Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 * Warhammer End Times –
>Vermintide (x2) * Warhammer Quest * Warsaw * Wasteland (1984) * We
>Were Here Together * West of Dead * Wizard of Legend * Wizardry 8 *
>Wolfenstein: Youngblood * Word Rescue (x2) * Worms Rumble *
>
>X-Morph Defense Complete Pack * XCOM 2 (x2) * XCom Complete * Yoku's
>Island Express * You Suck At Parking Complete *
>
>Zombie Night Terror
>
> *
>
>
>And now, this is truly... The End.
>
>Ho-ho-ho, everybody!
>

On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:45:20 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>I grabbed "Metal Unit," as proof that I read every damned thing you say,
>my fellow bloviator. Necessarily, I'm keeping this post brief.

Anyone who read to the end of my diatribe deserves a game! You are
truly a noble and patient soul!

>And being a TOP POSTING BASTARD.

Also that ;-)

(Although I agree that putting any comment at the end of that overly
long post of mine would not have been a good idea either. Sometimes a
top-post is the only sane option, even if it is like nails on a
chalkboard to old fogeys like myself ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Thursday (GMT):
>
> So, that's done.
>
> Another Holiday Give-Away come and gone; another holiday tradition
> completed. I am not sad to say that I'm glad it's done. I mean, you
> may have tired of all my many posts and endless blather over the past
> 25 days, but _I_ am the one who had to write it all! And the Christmas
> Day give-aways are particularly exhausting, since I have to sneak them
> into the few free moments I have each day while doing 'real life'
> Christmas stuff.
>
> [This year, though, at least I planned ahead a bit by writing
> most of the posts ahead of time, so all I had to do was
> copy-n-paste at the appropriate times.]
>
> For those of you who got annoyed by the sheer volume of my posts,
> though, I'm sure the quiet will be a welcome relief.
>
>
> *
>
> I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
> to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
> right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
> adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
> you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
> There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>
>
> *
>
>
> My goals for these give-aways have always been threefold. Firstly,
> just to spread some cheer and warmth over the holidays, not only by
> giving away gifts, but also just by providing a cheerful and fun
> experience throughout December. Hence the jokes, the songs, the
> general nonsense that hopefully brings a smile and makes the rest of
> what can often be a very bleak and stressful month just a bit less
> aggravating. How well that succeeded is debatable, but at least I
> tried. 2024 wasn't that great a year (and 2025 looks like it will be
> worse) so I had to make the effort.
>
>
>
> My second goal was, of course, to benefit Usenet.
>
> It should come to no surprise to anyone to learn that I am an earnest
> believer in Usenet. It's one of the last truly free discussion
> networks on the Internet; it's not designed to monetize your personal
> data, or steal your content for AI farms, or advertise stuff to you,
> or manipulate conversations to force an agenda. That sort of stuff
> undoubtedly happens, but it's incidental to the purpose of the
> network, and --without a single controlling agency-- it allows Usenet
> a lot of freedom and openess that other forums --Facebook, Twitter,
> Reddit, etc.-- lack. That freedom doesn't come without penalty (such
> as spam, trolling and blatantly illegal content) but it's a unique
> resource that I think deserves a continued place on the 'net. It's
> format is also special: originating largely as an academic network,
> it's a text-only forum where the discussion of ideas is paramount. It
> originated as a way to disseminate long-term dialogues between groups
> of people. It was where you went to WRITE, and not just make one line
> 'me too' comments. Usenet has obviously drifted considerably from that
> ideal, but in a world where most forums are about pictures of what you
> ate for dinner, 140-character replies or 60-second videos of people
> twerking, it's still the closest we have anymore.
>
> So the second goal of these silly give-aways is to make Usenet a
> viable destination through the simple expedient of bribing people with
> the lure of free games. The idea being, of course, that they COME for
> the games and then some of them discover there's other worthwhile
> content here and STAY to comment. And hey, as Epic Games has
> discovered, bribery works! Comment counts go up dramatically in
> December, and we've seen a slow rise in overall activity over the
> years.
>
>
>
> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
> drive to boost user- and post-count. But it's also why I always write
> such long descriptions to each game I give away; I'm giving out meat
> for you to all gnaw on. I'm baiting the hook so you can tell me my
> conclusions are _wrong_. Because that's what I want; it's what Usenet
> is about (I told you, I'm a fervent believer in this idealistic vision
> of Usenet!): as a forum where people can discuss issues and introduce
> one another to different points of view. And best of all if -- after I
> spit on a game-- somebody convinces me to give it another chance and I
> suddenly discover they were right!
>
> [Also, since we can only really discuss games that we've
> played, and by giving away games I also own, it allows others
> to enter the discussion with me. Yes, I'm secretly tricking
> you all into playing games I like so you can tell me why you
> enjoyed -or didn't- my games. You're never going to get
> a game from me that isn't in my library first;-)]
>
>
>
> Oh, and that other reason I always say? You know, that line that this
> is just a convenient way for me to clear out some old keys? Pure
> bullshit. I have ways enough to otherwise make use of spare keys
> should I desire. I've real-life friends enough that might want them,
> or if I really were the sort, I could probably find a key-reseller to
> take them off my hands and make myself a few bucks on the side.
> Christmas cheer, usenet and the hope of inspiring discussion have
> always been the motivators of these give-aways. Heck, the line about
> these games all being spares is untrue too! A lot (not all, but many)
> of these games were purpose-bought /just/ so I could give them away
> during the holidays.
>
>
> *
>
>
> Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
> deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
> game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
> into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
> Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
> You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.
>
>
> *
>
>
> But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
> end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
> Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>
> Not with Usenet (I'm sure this will disappoint some of my detractors)
> but with these Holiday Give-Aways. Because I've decided that the 2024
> c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away was my last one. It's why I decided
> to go so big with this one. We had 70 games this time (okay, a few
> less if you discount the duplicates, but its still a lot). I tried to
> make this the biggest and most fun and memorable of the give-aways,
> because I'd decided that it was going to be The End.
>
> Well, for me anyway. Maybe somebody else will take up the banner and
> lead the charge in 2025. And it's possible I'll still drop a game or
> three next December. But I won't be doing any sort of Event like I've
> been doing the past years.
>
> Because, frankly, it's gotten just too exhausting for me to keep up.
> It's been getting expensive too; I don't buy all these keys and those
> I do purchase I never buy at full price, but it does add up. Over the
> years, I've given away over 300 games and even on discount, that's a
> some investment.
>
> Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
> companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
> candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
> announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
> traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
> not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
> my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
> I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.
>
>
> *
>
>
> We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
> longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
> to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
> of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
> deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
> called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
> Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
> you get the game. You know the drill.
>
> *
>
>
> So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
> little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
> one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
> hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
> more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
> this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
> find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
> long, long time.
>
> *
>
>
> One last thing. A little boasting on my part; indulge me. I've done
> this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
> out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
> have I contributed?
>
> ------
>
> 112 Operator (x2) * 35MM (x2) * 911 Operator (x2) *
>
> AER Memories of Old * Alien Breed Trilogy * Alien Rampage * Alien:
> Isolation * American Fugitive * American Truck Simulator * Amerzone:
> The Explorer’s Legacy * Amnesia Machine for Pigs * Amnesia Rebirth *
> Amnesia The Dark Descent * Ampersat * Ancestor's Legacy * Anomaly
> WarZone Earth (x2) * Anomaly Warzone Earth * Another World: 20th
> Anniversary Edition * Aquanox * Aquanox II - Revelation * Arcade
> Paradise * Arcade Spirits * Arcana Heart 3 Love Max * Arma 2 (w/
> British Armed Forces + Operation Arrowhead + PMC expansions) * Arma
> Gold Edition * Arma X Anniversary Edition * Arma: Cold War * Arma:
> Tactics * Arx Fatalis * Assassin's Creed Chroncles: China * Assassin's
> Creed I * Asterix & Obelix XXL Rolemastered *
>
> Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition * Baldurs Gate II Enhanced Edition *
> Batman: Arkham Origins * Battlemage * Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock *
> Beholder * Beholder 2 * Between the Stars * Binary Domain (+DLC) *
> Bionic Commando Rearmed (x2) * Blade of Darkness * Blades of Time
> Limited Edition * Book of Demons (x2) * Book of Demons * Borderlands
> GOTY * Broken Age * Broken Sword 2 * Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons *
> Bubble Ghost *
>
> Calico * Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth * Call of Juarez *
> Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (x2) * Callisto Protocol * Carrier Command:
> Gaea Mission * Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess * Chasm *
> Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena * Cities in Motion 2 *
> Cities Skylines w/ AfterDark DLC * Civilization V Complete *
> Commandos Collection (Commando 2, Commandos 3, Behind Enemy Lines,
> Beyond the Call of Duty) * Consortium (x2) * Control: Ultimate Edition
> * Convoy * Crying Suns * Crysis 2 Remastered * Crysis 3 Remastered *
> Crysis Remastered *
>
> Daemonsgate * Dark Souls III * Darkstone * Darkwood * Dead Island
> Definitive Edition * Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition * Dear Esther
> Landmark Edition * Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter * Deus Ex Mankind
> Divided * Devil Daggers * Disco Elysium The Final Cut * Dishonored *
> Dishonored: Definitive Ed * DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition * Divinity II -
> The Developer's Cut * DmC: Devil May Cry * Doom * Doom (2016) (x2) *
> Doom + Doom II (2024) * Doom 3 * Doom 64 * Doom Eternal (x2) * Doom II
> (x2) * Drakkhen * Draw Slasher * Drawful 2 * Dungeons II *
>
> ELEX * Enclave * Eternam * Eurotruck Simulator 2 * Evoland Legendary *
>
> F.E.A.R. 2 - Project Origin * F.E.A.R. 3 * Fallout 1 * Fallout 4 *
> Fallout 76 * Far Cry 3 * Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon * Final Station *
> Flashback * Front Mission Evolved * Fury Unleashed *
>
> Galactic Civilizations II Ultimate Edition * Gas Guzzlers Extreme *
> Ghostrunner * Going Under * Gotham Knights * Grey Goo Definitive
> Edition * GRID 2 (x2) * GRID 2019 (x2) * GRID Autosport * GRIP Combat
> Racing (x2) * Guts and Glory *
>
> Haegemonia Legions of Iron * Haegemonia The Solon Heritage *
> Haegemonia: Legions of Iron * Hard West * Hektor * Hellblade: Senua's
> Sacrifice * Hello Neighbor * Hero of the Kingdom II * Hocus Pocus (x2)
> * Homeworld Remastered Collection * Hostage: Rescue Mission * How to
> Survive 2 * Hunted: The Demon’s Forge *
>
> Insurgency * Internet Cafe Simulator * Iron Danger *
>
> Jurassic Park The Game * Just Cause 3 XXL Edition *
>
> Kerbal Space Program (x2) * King's Table - The Legend of Ragnarok *
> Kingdom Come: Deliverance – Royal Ed * Kingdom Two Crowns * Knights of
> Pen & Paper +1 Edition *
>
> Last Days of June * Lethal League * Lichdom * Life is Strange Complete
> Season 1 (x2) * Lord of the Rings - War In the North * Lorelai * Lost
> Planet 3 Complete Pack * Lust From Beyond - M Edition *
>
> Mad Max * Magicka 2 * Major Stryker (x2) * Marco Polo * Math Rescue
> (x2) * Max Payne 3 * Mega Man Legacy Collection * Men of War * Metal
> Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain * Metal Unit * Metro Exodus * Metro
> Exodus Enhanced * Middle-Earth: Shadow of War * Monaco * Monaco Whats
> Yours Is Mine * Mount & Blade Warband * Mystic Towers (x2) * Mystical
> *
>
> Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy * Nuclear Dawn *
>
> Oddworld Munch's Oddysee * Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus * Oddworld: Abe's
> Exodus * Oddworld: New N Tasty * Oddworld:Abe's Oddyssee * Oh Sir The
> Insult Generator * Orbital Racer * Outlast * Overlord * Overlord 2 *
> Overworld: Raising Hell Expansion *
>
> Paganitzu (x2) * Paganitzu * Papo & Yo * Parkan 2 * Pathfinder
> Kingmaker Enhanced Plus * Payday 2 * PGA Tour 2K21 * Poker Night 1 *
> Poker Night 2 * Postal 2 * Postal Redux * Prey (2017) (x2) * Project
> Highrise * Prophecy I - The Viking Child * Prototype 2 * Quake II *
> Quantum Break *
>
> Rage * Rage 2 * Rain World * Raptor: Call of The Shadows - 2015
> Edition * Realms of Chaos * Rebel Galaxy * Rebel Galaxy * Red Faction
> Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered * Remember Me * Remnants of Naezith * Resident
> Evil Revelations (x2) * Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1 * Rime
> Chaos Control * Ring of Pain * Rise of the Triad * Risen 2 Dark Waters
> Gold Edition * Road Redemption * Ryse Son of Rome *
>
> Schein * Scribblenauts Unlimited * Shadowrun Dragonfall Directors Cut
> * Shadowrun Returns * Shadows: Awakening * Shark Attack Deathmatch 2 *
> Silence of the Sleep (x2) * Silent Age * Sinking Island * Skullgirls
> 2nd Encore * Slain: Back From Hell * Slay the Spire * Sniper Elite III
> * Sniper Elite v2 * Soulblight * Space Hulk Ascension * SpaceCom *
> Spelunky * Spintires * Spyro Reignited * Stacking * STALKER: Clear Sky
> * STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl * Star Ruler * Star Wars Dark Forces
> Remaster * Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy * Star Wars Knights of
> the Old Republic (x2) * Star Wolves * Starship Troopers Terran Command
> * Strange Brigade * Strider (x3) * Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones *
> Styx: Master of Shadows * Styx: Shards of Darkness * Sunset Overdrive
> * Survivalist * Syberia * Syberia 3 * System Shock Remaster * System
> Shock 2 *
>
> Tails Noir (Backbone) * Take On Helicopters * The Amazing American
> Circus * The Ascent * The Long Dark (x2) * The Uncertain: Last Quiet
> Day * This War of Mine * Tomb Raider * Tomb Raider Anniversary * Tomb
> Raider Legend * Tomb Raider Underworld * Tooth and Tail * Two Worlds
> Velvet Edition *
>
> Valfaris (x2) * Vanishing of Ethan Carter * Vikings: Wolves of Midgard
> * Viscera Cleanup Detail *
>
> Wacky Wheels (x2) * Walking Dead Season 1 * Walking Dead: 400 Days *
> Walking Dead: Season 2 * Walking Dead: Michonne * Wandersong *
> Wargroove * Warhammer 40K: Battlesector * Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War
> GOTY (x2) * Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 * Warhammer End Times –
> Vermintide (x2) * Warhammer Quest * Warsaw * Wasteland (1984) * We
> Were Here Together * West of Dead * Wizard of Legend * Wizardry 8 *
> Wolfenstein: Youngblood * Word Rescue (x2) * Worms Rumble *
>
> X-Morph Defense Complete Pack * XCOM 2 (x2) * XCom Complete * Yoku's
> Island Express * You Suck At Parking Complete *
>
> Zombie Night Terror
>
> *
>
>
> And now, this is truly... The End.
>
> Ho-ho-ho, everybody!

Thank you, Spalls!!!!!!!!! :)

I tried to get Metal Unit, but someone beat me. Book of Demons was fun.
I actually finished it during and after its free weekend. I kept the low
resources game running in the background to see if I could finish it for
free. :D

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> So, that's done.

> Another Holiday Give-Away come and gone; another holiday tradition
> completed. I am not sad to say that I'm glad it's done. I mean, you
> may have tired of all my many posts and endless blather over the past
> 25 days, but _I_ am the one who had to write it all! And the Christmas
> Day give-aways are particularly exhausting, since I have to sneak them
> into the few free moments I have each day while doing 'real life'
> Christmas stuff.

> [This year, though, at least I planned ahead a bit by writing
> most of the posts ahead of time, so all I had to do was
> copy-n-paste at the appropriate times.]

> For those of you who got annoyed by the sheer volume of my posts,
> though, I'm sure the quiet will be a welcome relief.

> *

> I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
> to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
> right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
> adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
> you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
> There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)

> *

> My goals for these give-aways have always been threefold. Firstly,
> just to spread some cheer and warmth over the holidays, not only by
> giving away gifts, but also just by providing a cheerful and fun
> experience throughout December. Hence the jokes, the songs, the
> general nonsense that hopefully brings a smile and makes the rest of
> what can often be a very bleak and stressful month just a bit less
> aggravating. How well that succeeded is debatable, but at least I
> tried. 2024 wasn't that great a year (and 2025 looks like it will be
> worse) so I had to make the effort.

> My second goal was, of course, to benefit Usenet.

> It should come to no surprise to anyone to learn that I am an earnest
> believer in Usenet. It's one of the last truly free discussion
> networks on the Internet; it's not designed to monetize your personal
> data, or steal your content for AI farms, or advertise stuff to you,
> or manipulate conversations to force an agenda. That sort of stuff
> undoubtedly happens, but it's incidental to the purpose of the
> network, and --without a single controlling agency-- it allows Usenet
> a lot of freedom and openess that other forums --Facebook, Twitter,
> Reddit, etc.-- lack. That freedom doesn't come without penalty (such
> as spam, trolling and blatantly illegal content) but it's a unique
> resource that I think deserves a continued place on the 'net. It's
> format is also special: originating largely as an academic network,
> it's a text-only forum where the discussion of ideas is paramount. It
> originated as a way to disseminate long-term dialogues between groups
> of people. It was where you went to WRITE, and not just make one line
> 'me too' comments. Usenet has obviously drifted considerably from that
> ideal, but in a world where most forums are about pictures of what you
> ate for dinner, 140-character replies or 60-second videos of people
> twerking, it's still the closest we have anymore.

> So the second goal of these silly give-aways is to make Usenet a
> viable destination through the simple expedient of bribing people with
> the lure of free games. The idea being, of course, that they COME for
> the games and then some of them discover there's other worthwhile
> content here and STAY to comment. And hey, as Epic Games has
> discovered, bribery works! Comment counts go up dramatically in
> December, and we've seen a slow rise in overall activity over the
> years.

> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
> drive to boost user- and post-count. But it's also why I always write
> such long descriptions to each game I give away; I'm giving out meat
> for you to all gnaw on. I'm baiting the hook so you can tell me my
> conclusions are _wrong_. Because that's what I want; it's what Usenet
> is about (I told you, I'm a fervent believer in this idealistic vision
> of Usenet!): as a forum where people can discuss issues and introduce
> one another to different points of view. And best of all if -- after I
> spit on a game-- somebody convinces me to give it another chance and I
> suddenly discover they were right!

> [Also, since we can only really discuss games that we've
> played, and by giving away games I also own, it allows others
> to enter the discussion with me. Yes, I'm secretly tricking
> you all into playing games I like so you can tell me why you
> enjoyed -or didn't- my games. You're never going to get
> a game from me that isn't in my library first;-)]

> Oh, and that other reason I always say? You know, that line that this
> is just a convenient way for me to clear out some old keys? Pure
> bullshit. I have ways enough to otherwise make use of spare keys
> should I desire. I've real-life friends enough that might want them,
> or if I really were the sort, I could probably find a key-reseller to
> take them off my hands and make myself a few bucks on the side.
> Christmas cheer, usenet and the hope of inspiring discussion have
> always been the motivators of these give-aways. Heck, the line about
> these games all being spares is untrue too! A lot (not all, but many)
> of these games were purpose-bought /just/ so I could give them away
> during the holidays.

> *

> Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
> deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
> game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
> into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
> Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
> You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.

> *

> But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
> end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
> Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.

> Not with Usenet (I'm sure this will disappoint some of my detractors)
> but with these Holiday Give-Aways. Because I've decided that the 2024
> c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away was my last one. It's why I decided
> to go so big with this one. We had 70 games this time (okay, a few
> less if you discount the duplicates, but its still a lot). I tried to
> make this the biggest and most fun and memorable of the give-aways,
> because I'd decided that it was going to be The End.

> Well, for me anyway. Maybe somebody else will take up the banner and
> lead the charge in 2025. And it's possible I'll still drop a game or
> three next December. But I won't be doing any sort of Event like I've
> been doing the past years.

> Because, frankly, it's gotten just too exhausting for me to keep up.
> It's been getting expensive too; I don't buy all these keys and those
> I do purchase I never buy at full price, but it does add up. Over the
> years, I've given away over 300 games and even on discount, that's a
> some investment.

> Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
> companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
> candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
> announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
> traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
> not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
> my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
> I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.

> *

> We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
> longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
> to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
> of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
> deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
> called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
> Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
> you get the game. You know the drill.

On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
*
> I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
> to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
> right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
> adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
> you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
> There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>

Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
he'll probably appreciate them more than I.

I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
those, as well as this last one.

> My goals for these give-aways
....

All good goals.

> Oh, and that other reason I always say? You know, that line that this
> is just a convenient way for me to clear out some old keys? Pure
> bullshit. I have ways enough to otherwise make use of spare keys
> should I desire. I've real-life friends enough that might want them,
> or if I really were the sort, I could probably find a key-reseller to
> take them off my hands and make myself a few bucks on the side.
> Christmas cheer, usenet and the hope of inspiring discussion have
> always been the motivators of these give-aways. Heck, the line about
> these games all being spares is untrue too! A lot (not all, but many)
> of these games were purpose-bought /just/ so I could give them away
> during the holidays.

Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
like we will?

> Are you still here? My, you have endurance. That sort of thing
> deserves to be recognized. Here, for lasting this long, have a free
> game. It's not a very good one, no (there's a reason it didn't make it
> into the main give-away) but maybe somebody will want it. It's called
> Arcana Heart 3 Love Max and you can X500X redeem it GL2FR on Steam.
> You'll find the key 46GJH in the usual way.

I'll leave that for someone else.

> But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
> end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
> Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.

NOOOOOOO!!!!

> Plus, I'm not sure all the effort is NEEDED anymore. What with
> companies like Epic and Amazon and GOG throwing out free games like
> candy, it's getting hard for an individual to compete. Certainly, the
> announcements of all the freebies serve just as well to bolster
> traffic and inspire discussion as the handful of keys I have. So I'm
> not sure it's worth the bother. Maybe if the situation changes --or if
> my batteries recharge in a few years-- I'll reconsider, but for now
> I'm satisfied. The 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away is my last.

True, A lot of games came from Amazon which I have, the sole game I took
I didn't realize that was the case and I already had as I got too
excited to see a post early enough :( At least I managed to give one
game away as well, so it evens out. :)

> We're almost done. You've come so far; surely you can hang on a little
> longer? Look, I'll sweeten the pot. I'll throw in TWO more games just
> to convince you to keep on reading to the end. The first game is Book
> of Demons. It's a MG0NI hack-n-slash YYGFT but it uses W9W2P a
> deck-building mechanic so you can guess my opinion. The other game is
> called Metal Unit; it's WAP7V a retro GCLHW shooter KKQ99 platformer.
> Both games are, of course, available on Steam. Figure out the keys and
> you get the game. You know the drill.
>

Which I already have. Decent one of that type of game at least.

> So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
> little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
> one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
> hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
> more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
> this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
> find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
> long, long time.

Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
path organically.

> I've done
> this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
> out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
> have I contributed?

Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-

------
911 Operator
....

Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.

If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
if I can figure it out.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

>So, that's done.

Quite a list there Spalls! Very nice and thanks for all the fish.
(don't miss those two at the end!)

rms

Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> *
> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
> >

> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.

I won? :O

> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
> those, as well as this last one.

I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroups
often. :(

> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
> like we will?

Friends? What are those? ;)

> > But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
> > end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
> > Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.

> NOOOOOOO!!!!

BOOOOOO!!!! Maybe others will do the same. We all should do it for fun!

> > So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
> > little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
> > one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
> > hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
> > more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
> > this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
> > find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
> > long, long time.

> Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
> here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
> path organically.

Ditto.

> > I've done
> > this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
> > out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
> > have I contributed?

> Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
> quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-

> ------
> 911 Operator
> ...

> Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.

> If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
> if I can figure it out.

Sheesh. Who has time for that? ;)
--
"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." --John 12:26. We must serve Jesus. It had been 20 yrs. since Asia's tsunami on Boxing day after Xmas. :(
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
> >So, that's done.

> Quite a list there Spalls! Very nice and thanks for all the fish.
> (don't miss those two at the end!)

Ditto.
--
"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." --John 12:26. We must serve Jesus. It had been 20 yrs. since Asia's tsunami on Boxing day after Xmas. :(
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>drive to boost user- and post-count.

Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
Eternal September.

You're right about something though, it really is the last bastion of
free Internet speech. So creating awareness of it could be considered
a positive contribution to society. At least until the type of people
who show up make us wish for regulation :)

Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote at 00:18 this Friday (GMT):
> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>drive to boost user- and post-count.
>
> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
> Eternal September.
>
> You're right about something though, it really is the last bastion of
> free Internet speech. So creating awareness of it could be considered
> a positive contribution to society. At least until the type of people
> who show up make us wish for regulation :)

I don't think having a flood of new users would be as bad as another
Eternal September scenario, tbh.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 22:50 this Thursday (GMT):
> Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> *
>> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>> >
>
>> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
>> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
>> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
>
> I won? :O

Hey congrats!

>> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
>> those, as well as this last one.
>
> I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroups
> often. :(

I was just really bad at keeping up with it :P

>> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
>> like we will?
>
> Friends? What are those? ;)

You guys!

>> > But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
>> > end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
>> > Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>
>> NOOOOOOO!!!!
>
> BOOOOOO!!!! Maybe others will do the same. We all should do it for fun!
>
>
>> > So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
>> > little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
>> > one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
>> > hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
>> > more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
>> > this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
>> > find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
>> > long, long time.
>
>> Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
>> here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
>> path organically.
>
> Ditto.

Yeah

>> > I've done
>> > this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>> > out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>> > have I contributed?
>
>> Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
>> quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-
>
>> ------
>> 911 Operator
>> ...
>
>> Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.
>
>> If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
>> if I can figure it out.
>
> Sheesh. Who has time for that? ;)

--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 22:50 this Thursday (GMT):
> > Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> >> *
> >> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
> >> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
> >> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
> >> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
> >> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
> >> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
> >> >
> >
> >> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
> >> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
> >> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
> >
> > I won? :O

> Hey congrats!

What prize did I get? Another free computer game? ;)

> >> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
> >> those, as well as this last one.
> >
> > I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroup
> > often. :(

> I was just really bad at keeping up with it :P

Next time, buddy. :P

> >> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
> >> like we will?
> >
> > Friends? What are those? ;)

> You guys!

I thought we're fiends. ;)
--
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." --1 Corinthians 12:27. Slammy Thursday!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:30:03 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote at 00:18 this Friday (GMT):
>> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
>><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>>about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>>life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>>drive to boost user- and post-count.
>>
>> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
>> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
>> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
>> Eternal September.
>>
>> You're right about something though, it really is the last bastion of
>> free Internet speech. So creating awareness of it could be considered
>> a positive contribution to society. At least until the type of people
>> who show up make us wish for regulation :)
>
>
>I don't think having a flood of new users would be as bad as another
>Eternal September scenario, tbh.

It could be a lot worse, social media reach is much greater these days
than AOL signups.

Plus, don't underestimate the cognitive decline of society. After the
pandemic, such a huge portion of the population is now bat-shit-crazy
(literally perhaps), and the cognitive decline has been fueled by
social media.

So there are more people and also crazier people, and the trolls are
everywhere as opposed to a relatively small segment of the population
that were wanna-be-computer-nerd-hopefuls in the early 90s. The troll
of the early 90s was usually an incel that lived in their moms
basement, but these days the entire world population is well-practiced
in trolling.

On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 22:50:10 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> *
>> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>> >
>
>> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
>> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
>> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
>
>I won? :O
>
>
>> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
>> those, as well as this last one.
>
>I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroups
>often. :(
>
>
>> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
>> like we will?
>
>Friends? What are those? ;)
>
>
>> > But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
>> > end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
>> > Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>
>> NOOOOOOO!!!!
>
>BOOOOOO!!!! Maybe others will do the same. We all should do it for fun!
>
>
>> > So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
>> > little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
>> > one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
>> > hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
>> > more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
>> > this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
>> > find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
>> > long, long time.
>
>> Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
>> here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
>> path organically.
>
>Ditto.
>
>
>> > I've done
>> > this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>> > out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>> > have I contributed?
>
>> Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
>> quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-
>
>> ------
>> 911 Operator
>> ...
>
>> Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.
>
>> If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
>> if I can figure it out.

>Sheesh. Who has time for that? ;)

I certainly don't, and I probably have some of the most complete
records

Because, as you all know, I have a spreadsheet. In fact, I have
SPREADSHEETS, one for each of the give-aways, and on most of them I
marked down who got what (as best we could determine. Lurkers sniped a
lot of the games in the early years). But I'll be damned if I go
through all that info and compile it into a list cross-referenced with
each game. Just getting the total list of games was chore enough. ;-)

Speaking of lurkers... we did rather well this year with them, in
terms of the regulars grabbing most of the games before the Unseen Mob
grabbed them. I wonder why that is...

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

>On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 22:50:10 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>>Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> *
>>> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>>> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>>> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>>> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>>> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>>> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>>> >
>>
>>> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
>>> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
>>> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
>>
>>I won? :O
>>
>>
>>> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
>>> those, as well as this last one.
>>
>>I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroups
>>often. :(
>>
>>
>>> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
>>> like we will?
>>
>>Friends? What are those? ;)
>>
>>
>>> > But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
>>> > end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
>>> > Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>>
>>> NOOOOOOO!!!!
>>
>>BOOOOOO!!!! Maybe others will do the same. We all should do it for fun!
>>
>>
>>> > So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
>>> > little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
>>> > one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
>>> > hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
>>> > more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
>>> > this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
>>> > find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
>>> > long, long time.
>>
>>> Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
>>> here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
>>> path organically.
>>
>>Ditto.
>>
>>
>>> > I've done
>>> > this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>>> > out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>>> > have I contributed?
>>
>>> Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
>>> quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-
>>
>>> ------
>>> 911 Operator
>>> ...
>>
>>> Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.
>>
>>> If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
>>> if I can figure it out.
>
>>Sheesh. Who has time for that? ;)
>
>I certainly don't, and I probably have some of the most complete
>records
>
>Because, as you all know, I have a spreadsheet. In fact, I have
>SPREADSHEETS, one for each of the give-aways, and on most of them I
>marked down who got what (as best we could determine. Lurkers sniped a
>lot of the games in the early years). But I'll be damned if I go
>through all that info and compile it into a list cross-referenced with
>each game. Just getting the total list of games was chore enough. ;-)
>
>Speaking of lurkers... we did rather well this year with them, in
>terms of the regulars grabbing most of the games before the Unseen Mob
>grabbed them. I wonder why that is...

In my case it's cause I actually booted up agent several times a day to
check for posts, instead of just the once shortly after getting up.

Xocyll

On 12/27/2024 7:49 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 22:50:10 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>> Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> *
>>>> I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>>>> to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>>>> right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>>>> adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>>>> you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>>>> There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>>>>
>>
>>> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
>>> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
>>> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
>>
>> I won? :O
>>
>>
>>> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
>>> those, as well as this last one.
>>
>> I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroups
>> often. :(
>>
>>
>>> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
>>> like we will?
>>
>> Friends? What are those? ;)
>>
>>
>>>> But now we come to the real meat of this post, and not just my usual
>>>> end-of-year meanderings. Because I've come to make an ANNOUNCEMENT.
>>>> Because I'm here to inform you that I Am Done.
>>
>>> NOOOOOOO!!!!
>>
>> BOOOOOO!!!! Maybe others will do the same. We all should do it for fun!
>>
>>
>>>> So that's it. I hope you all had a marvelous holiday season. I hope my
>>>> little efforts went a way to making it better. I hope you got at least
>>>> one game you liked. I hope The Number got bigger for all of you. I
>>>> hope it encouraged all you regulars to stick with Usenet and post
>>>> more. I hope new users stumbled across this newsgroup and said, "hey,
>>>> this place looks cool; I think I'll stick around." And I hope we all
>>>> find games enough in common that we can talk about them together for a
>>>> long, long time.
>>
>>> Really yes, I generally appreciate the reviews (if I can call them that)
>>> here than anywhere else, and general freedom of usenet to wander off the
>>> path organically.
>>
>> Ditto.
>>
>>
>>>> I've done
>>>> this thing for ten years, ever since 2014. In that time, I've handed
>>>> out 337 keys. Here's the final tally. How many games in your library
>>>> have I contributed?
>>
>>> Quite a bit, though rms' giveaways perhaps surpassed yours in 2023 for
>>> quality and perhaps quantity of the ones I got. ];}-
>>
>>> ------
>>> 911 Operator
>>> ...
>>
>>> Oof, that's too many to go through let alone remember where I got.
>>
>>> If I get bored after this week I'll dig through usenet archives and see
>>> if I can figure it out.
>
>> Sheesh. Who has time for that? ;)
>
> I certainly don't, and I probably have some of the most complete
> records
>
> Because, as you all know, I have a spreadsheet. In fact, I have
> SPREADSHEETS, one for each of the give-aways, and on most of them I
> marked down who got what (as best we could determine. Lurkers sniped a
> lot of the games in the early years). But I'll be damned if I go
> through all that info and compile it into a list cross-referenced with
> each game. Just getting the total list of games was chore enough. ;-)
>
> Speaking of lurkers... we did rather well this year with them, in
> terms of the regulars grabbing most of the games before the Unseen Mob
> grabbed them. I wonder why that is...
>

I'm assuming that's the rhetorical question we both know the answer to.

Google isn't archiving/serving the groups anymore.

--
-Justisaur

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On 12/26/2024 4:18 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>> drive to boost user- and post-count.
>
> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
> Eternal September.

First Spalls has to make his YT videos appeal to the masses/algorithm so
that anyone sees them. That's the hard part.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
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^'

Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> >My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
> >about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
> >life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
> >drive to boost user- and post-count.

> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
> Eternal September.

> You're right about something though, it really is the last bastion of
> free Internet speech. So creating awareness of it could be considered
> a positive contribution to society. At least until the type of people
> who show up make us wish for regulation :)

Shhh! We don't talk about the fight, err comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
newsgroup club. ;)

--
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Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:

>On 12/26/2024 4:18 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:
>> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
>> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>> drive to boost user- and post-count.
>>
>> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
>> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
>> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
>> Eternal September.
>
>First Spalls has to make his YT videos appeal to the masses/algorithm so
>that anyone sees them. That's the hard part.

Funny cat video, + usenet ad.

Simple.

Xocyll

On Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:46 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On 12/26/2024 4:18 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:
>> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
>> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>> drive to boost user- and post-count.
>>
>> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
>> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
>> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
>> Eternal September.
>
>First Spalls has to make his YT videos appeal to the masses/algorithm so
>that anyone sees them. That's the hard part.

Not really, YT is chock full of shills who, for the right price are
always looking for "something different" to feature on their channel,
and with some slightly thoughtful investment on his part, he could
attract the audience he wants without having to get into the actual
video production and all of the exhausting crap that goes with that,
in which case he could "monitize the monitization", while
simultanously boosting the audience (and no doubt troll count) of
Usenet, as was his stated goal. He did comment on the expenses he had
incurred buying game keys to give away, imagine the return on
investments less squandered? ;)

On 12/27/2024 3:08 PM, Xocyll wrote:
> Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
> the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
>
>> On 12/26/2024 4:18 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:
>>> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
>>> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>>> about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>>> life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>>> drive to boost user- and post-count.
>>>
>>> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
>>> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
>>> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
>>> Eternal September.
>>
>> First Spalls has to make his YT videos appeal to the masses/algorithm so
>> that anyone sees them. That's the hard part.
>
> Funny cat video, + usenet ad.
>
> Simple.
>

Good point, I'd watch that.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
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^'

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 08:09 this Friday (GMT):
> candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 22:50 this Thursday (GMT):
>> > Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> On 12/26/2024 9:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> >> *
>> >> > I know I'm long winded, so in hopes that you hang around long enough
>> >> > to read the whole post, I'll throw you a bone and give you a free game
>> >> > right from the start. It's call Chasm; it's a VMLTA hack-n-slash
>> >> > adventure/platformer game of some sort. You can redeem the key (which
>> >> > you get in the DNND9 usual way, if you're eagle-eyed enough) on Steam.
>> >> > There; you got your treat.D5IJQ Now keep reading! ;-)
>> >> >
>> >
>> >> Maybe we need a lottery? I know that's a lot more work, Ant got most of
>> >> the games. On the other hand it sounds his financials aren't great and
>> >> he'll probably appreciate them more than I.
>> >
>> > I won? :O
>
>> Hey congrats!
>
> What prize did I get? Another free computer game? ;)

Maybe

>> >> I don't have as much time, I was out of town for 4 days so missed all
>> >> those, as well as this last one.
>> >
>> > I got busy the last few days so I couldn't check this awesome newsgroup
>> > often. :(
>
>> I was just really bad at keeping up with it :P
>
> Next time, buddy. :P

But there isn't a next time for a while :(

>> >> Real-life friends?! But will they worship at your alter of verbosity
>> >> like we will?
>> >
>> > Friends? What are those? ;)
>
>> You guys!
>
> I thought we're fiends. ;)

--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote at 15:40 this Friday (GMT):
> On Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:30:03 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>
>>Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote at 00:18 this Friday (GMT):
>>> On Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:54:15 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
>>><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>My third goal is more selfish. I come to CSIPGA because I want to talk
>>>>about games. What can I say; I like video games; it's a big part of my
>>>>life! But you can't have discussion if nobody else is here. Hence my
>>>>drive to boost user- and post-count.
>>>
>>> Easy solution there, just do a YT video or a FB post or something to
>>> create awareness about it if you want more users to join Usenet. It's
>>> a be-careful- what-you-wish-for scenario though, it could be another
>>> Eternal September.
>>>
>>> You're right about something though, it really is the last bastion of
>>> free Internet speech. So creating awareness of it could be considered
>>> a positive contribution to society. At least until the type of people
>>> who show up make us wish for regulation :)
>>
>>
>>I don't think having a flood of new users would be as bad as another
>>Eternal September scenario, tbh.
>
> It could be a lot worse, social media reach is much greater these days
> than AOL signups.
>
> Plus, don't underestimate the cognitive decline of society. After the
> pandemic, such a huge portion of the population is now bat-shit-crazy
> (literally perhaps), and the cognitive decline has been fueled by
> social media.
>
> So there are more people and also crazier people, and the trolls are
> everywhere as opposed to a relatively small segment of the population
> that were wanna-be-computer-nerd-hopefuls in the early 90s. The troll
> of the early 90s was usually an incel that lived in their moms
> basement, but these days the entire world population is well-practiced
> in trolling.

True, but I still think this area will stay as a niche.
--
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