Who was Derek Smart?
Molalla Attenborough
Jim Vieira
Bill Huffman
"Molalla Attenborough" <no...@noplaceever.net> wrote in message
news:3e71208d$0$47825$39ce...@news.twtelecom.net...
http://follies.werewolves.org/
Chris Simpson
MajorFreak
short version: He's a wannabe game developer who thought a book on
"how to SPAM people and make millions" was a manual on marketing a
poorly coded, buggy-as-hell, featureless but overhyped sci-fi space
sim.
(the only reason he's talked about so much in this USENET forum is
because of the last 4 words of the previous paragraph, not to mention
the fact his "how to SPAM" manual looks a bit like this:
Illogicians: A Proposed Taxonomy
With the advent of mass communication, it is now possible to isolate
and
systematically study the breed of (anti)intellectuals known as the
Illogicians.
Though illogic has had a long history, it has been poorly documented
--- a
glaring conceptual flaw we will attempt to redress. The richness of
Illogic is
such that an entire field could be composed from it.
Although we have used the Usenet as a major source for our research,
one will
find the taxonomy presented below has wide application in
communication, be it
idle gossip, CNN, or the Weekly World News. In addition, Illogic and
its
simulation may have major ramifications for artificial intelligence,
as it
provides insight into how human "reason" operates in reality.
For the novice who may not be able to identify an Illogician on sight,
they are
characterized by one or more of the traits listed below:
1. ARGUMENT AD NAUSEAM
The Illogician prefers arguments by assertion, rather than proof.
Repeated assertion makes the Illogician's position stronger, in
size.
E.g. "I'm right, I'm right, I'm right."
Also termed ARGUMENT IN NUMERUS REDUNDUS.
a. ARGUMENT EX ARGUMENT REDUNDUS
This argument can be carried out indirectly by making
references to another source which makes unproven
assertions.
E.g. "And this book says I'm right." and "It's
always been tradition.".
2. ARGUMENT AB IGNORAMUS
Counterarguments which point out inconsistencies in the
Illogician's stance are ignored. Since stating a position
makes it stronger, ignoring an opposing position will weaken
the opponent, according to the Illogicians.
Overgeneralization and stereotyping are related phenomena, as
they involve the elimination of troublesome instances which
disprove by their very existence the claim.
a. DISMISSAL CUM EXCRETIA
Similarly, opposing sources are to be dismissed offhand
as tripe.
E.g. "That's a load of crap."
C.f. ARGUMENT VIA SPUTO
3. ARGUMENT AB VACUUM
Defensibility of a position is irrelevant. Criticisms of the
Illogician's sources are unforgivable. The corollary to this
is
that sources should only be alluded to and never explicitly
stated
when at all possible. The Illogician's sources are
unimpeachable
as they are unreachable.
E.g. "It said so somewhere in the _New York Times_
recently."
C.f. ARGUMENT AB ORIGINE FICTIS
4. ARGUMENT VIA SPUTO
A stubborn opponent is best shouted down. The Illogician
must
have a good, healthy sense of vengefulness and
vindictiveness.
Personal attacks are developed as a fine art, much like mass
bombing.
E.g. The infamous _Saturday Night Live_ quip "Jane, you
ignorant slut".
Incorrectly called ARGUMENT AD HOMINEM and ungrammatically
ARGUMENT
VIA SPUTUM. Sometimes referred to as ARGUMENT VIA
VOCIFERATIONE.
5. REDUCTIO AD ABSTINENTIS
When the Illogician's position is no longer tenable, the
Illogician briefly withdraws into solitude in order to
reindoctrinate himself or herself. Once this is
accomplished,
the Illogician then resumes his or her original position
without doubt. Some Illogicians are on occasion unable to
ever
successfully complete reindoctrination.
6. ARGUMENT AB ORIGINE FICTIS
Sometimes, an Illogician will claim to speak on behalf of a
numberless group or legion (in general, a group of one
referred
to in the plural) in order to give a claim the appearance of
more defensibility.
E.g. "I speak for the Majority."
a. ARGUMENT EX NIHILO
Similarly, the Illogician may manufacture rumors or pass
along unfounded rumor in order to strengthen their
rhetorical stance. The nature of the rumor may also fit
into other categories of Illogical argument.
b. ARGUMENT EX DEO
Alternately, an Illogician may point to a higher
authority to back up their claims. Whether this
authority
actually agrees with the Illogician is irrelevant. This
stratagem is usually more effective if the authority is
credible to the audience, though this is not mandatory.
7. ARGUMENT AB ATTRIBUTO FABULA
The Illogician may (falsely) ascribe an untenable or
incredible
belief or attribute to an opposing group or person in order
to
discredit opposition.
E.g. "The Evil Empire is a bunch of atheistic
devil-worshippers." and "Joe believes the earth is
flat."
8. ARGUMENT EX TERRORI
The Illogician may attempt to invoke irrational fears and
beliefs known or suspected to be held by their audience. The
Illogician may raise the specter of an unlikely but fearful
scenario.
E.g. "Vote for this man and the streets will be filled with
drug-crazed criminals."
9. REDUCTIO AD EQUUM NON VIVENDUM
When an Illogician is losing a lengthy argument, the
Illogician
will declare the argument to be beating a dead horse, with
the
implication that he or she was actually winning the argument.
Some have said that that an argument is not over until both sides have
been
forced into REDUCTIO AD ABSTINENTUM. Of course, physical violence is
another means of ending an argument, though it creates problems of its
own.
See also the classic compendium on argumentative pedagogy _Total
Illogic in
30 Days_ by the British scholar Hiram H. Hoarfroast. Of particular
note is
the authoritative treatise on graceful transition from the ARGUMENT AB
VACUUM to the ARGUMENT AB ORIGINE FICTIS, i.e. PROCEDO AD POSTERIORUM,
first
elucidated by the reknowned Greek debater and philosopher Pompecles in
his
treatise on objective reality and how to subvert it. For comparison,
one
should also consult the Mann-Randroidt text _Objective Reality: I Want
It
My Way_, where they propose a theory to describe objective reality
entirely
in highly subjective, context-dependent terms and upon this premise
attempt
to demonstrate the superiority of their moral system to that of a
slug.
Copyright 1991, 1993, 1994.
Jim W. Lai and Cameron P. Shelley
Last revised May 17, 1994. Last formatted July 22, 1995.
Molalla Attenborough
Shingen036
>Date: 3/14/03 10:11 AM Central Standard Time
>Was he an author of classic games?
that subject is debatable... however.. he developed the game Battlecruiser
3000AD and Battlecruiser: Millenium, which are in fact the SAME game with
different graphics/and some different features...
as to it being a "classic", well that depends on who u ask, I'm sure Derek
would say it's the MOST classic spacesim, but it's prolly just the most
INFAMOUS/BUGGY spacesim..=P
Allan Parent
most buggy games of all time and suffered an estimated 75% return rate when
it hit the shelves. Later games in the BC3000 "series" are basically just
patches/graphic updates for the original game. Don't let anyone tell you
different.
Allan
"Molalla Attenborough" <no...@noplaceever.net> wrote in message
news:3e71ff08$0$66442$39ce...@news.twtelecom.net...
Molalla Attenborough
given the impression that he had passed away. Your site seems to indicate
that he wrote one recent game relatively unkown game and there is nothing I
can see about his mortality. So, I imagine I have been misled and that he is
neither:
a) A classic game designer
b) Dead.
Thanks for the link.
"Bill Huffman" <bhuf...@REMOVE-THISsan.rr.com> wrote in message
news:S5bca.2825$0r1.7...@twister.socal.rr.com...
Brad Martin
Come on Shin, i'm well known for being slow on the uptake, but surely
MA is a troll?
Do I win ten pounds?
br d
Allan Parent
Allan
"Molalla Attenborough" <no...@noplaceever.net> wrote in message
news:3e721b24$0$66451$39ce...@news.twtelecom.net...
Shingen036
>Date: 3/14/03 3:32 PM Central Standard Time
>Come on Shin, i'm well known for being slow on the uptake, but surely
>MA is a troll?
>
>Do I win ten pounds?
>
>br d
yeah.. prolly a troll, but what the hell... u can have your ten pounds anyhoo..
=P
Brad Martin
Great! I'm off to the lemonade shop!
br d
bp
<no...@noplaceever.net> wrote:
>a) A classic game designer
>b) Dead.
c) Elite black programmer
(his words not mine)
>Thanks for the link.
Bill Huffman
"MajorFreak" <bdu_maj...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8c6cbb0d.03031...@posting.google.com...
> "Molalla Attenborough" <no...@noplaceever.net> wrote in message
news:<3e71208d$0$47825$39ce...@news.twtelecom.net>...
>
> short version: He's a wannabe game developer who thought a book on
> "how to SPAM people and make millions" was a manual on marketing a
> poorly coded, buggy-as-hell, featureless but overhyped sci-fi space
> sim.
The fraud did claim to be working on a book at one point in time. He even lied
that he would name his alma mater in the book. He had the name of his book up on
his website for awhile. Sorry I forget the name but it was something like : "The
Making of Battlecruiser 3000ad, A Derek Smart Biography"
Bill Huffman
"Allan Parent" <all...@nospamforme.charter.net> wrote in message
news:v742lir...@corp.supernews.com...
> He was the author of one of the most *infamous* games. BC3000 was one of the
> most buggy games of all time and suffered an estimated 75% return rate when
> it hit the shelves. Later games in the BC3000 "series" are basically just
> patches/graphic updates for the original game. Don't let anyone tell you
> different.
I believe that Take 2 did one printing. That one printing was probably sold
three or four times over. What I think was very funny was that at this period of
time when there was no manual and people were complaining the the game wouldn't
run and that they didn't even know what the secret key combinations did which
command, Derek would sometimes go off on rants about how people cracking his
game so that they could play it without paying were going to be very sorry.
J.S.
"Jim Vieira" <Whipl...@wiDOT.rrDOT.com> wrote in message
news:gv9ca.1221$ug5.1...@twister.kc.rr.com...
> Well, Derek's just this guy, ya know?
>
>
He may not have two heads but his one head suuure is big. :)
J.S.
(mmm Pan galatic gargle blasters...)
MajorFreak
spider sense...tingling
JS
Not nearly as sorry as the people who *payed* to play it :p
Bret Ripley
@REMOVE-THISsan.rr.com says...
I thought it was something more along the lines of "Against All Odds:
etc etc".
Bret
bp
wrote:
>> The fraud did claim to be working on a book at one point in time
I'm still waiting for the movie!
Bill Huffman
"Bret Ripley" <rip...@olywa.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.18de4905e...@news2.olywa.net...
Yes, much better, something like "Against All Odds: the Making of Battlecruiser
3000ad". My suggestion was utterly ridiculous on the face of it because Derek
probably wouldn't be able to spell "biography".
pjl
calling themselves "Bill ", did cause
<Wklda.28904$0r1.5...@twister.socal.rr.com> to appear on my glass typewriter
and spake thus:
>
>>
>Yes, much better, something like "Against All Odds: the Making of Battlecruiser
>3000ad". My suggestion was utterly ridiculous on the face of it because Derek
>probably wouldn't be able to spell "biography".
>
If it's worth writing, it's worth reposting:
A blast from the past!
The last time DKS's book was mentioned.
From: PJL (meg_ma...@msn.com)
Subject: Re: Derek Smart - has his book been published ?
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
Date: 1998/11/25
Riboflavin wrote in message <73h3n3$dk4$1...@camel15.mindspring.com>...
:PJL wrote in message <73guvs$ph8$1...@phxtst22.phx1.aro.allied.com>...
:>virgo wrote in message <365B91...@andromeda.net>...
:>:Derek told us about his upcoming book 2 years ago. Any sight of it
:>yet?
:>
:>Do you mean the autobiography, or the Prima hint book for BC3k?
:>
:Oh, man, the autobiography. Remember? It was going to tell us what school he
:got his PhD from. Too bad it (like many other things from Derek) never
:materialized.
I just checked with a friend who works for a major NYC publishing house (I
can't tell you which one, but it begins with a I and ends in S).
He said the manuscript is supposed to be completed this weekend, the only
thing left is to pick a title. Here are a few that are being considered:
Thongs for the Memories
To Killfile a Mockingbird
In Code Blood
P is for Patch
Derekology:a modern guide to mental health
The Late, Great Planet Derek
Jurassic Patch
Fixpack 451
Mutiny on the Battlecruiser
A BattleCruiser Named Desire (this was shelved early, they didn't
want the book confused with the newsgroup serial adventure
story at http://members.aol.com/Peajayell/index.html)
The Newsgroups of Wrath
Citizen Brain
Patch 22
pjl
change $ to s to email
coming soon! the exciting conclusion to A Battlecruiser Named Desire!
http://www.geocities.com/dosferatu_pjl/ABCND.html
Lemming
>Lol! Yes, he has passed away in a professional sort of way :-)
That must be the first professional thing he's ever done.
--
Lemming
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrödinger's cat.
MajorFreak
heheheheh...*snicker*HIC! happy st.paddy's day!