Nearly Sucked In Again
Today I joined the Origins Awards Task Force mailing list, hosted by Matt Forbeck. Its purpose is to recommend to the GAMA board changes to the Origins Awards.
I joined in a moment of optimism and zeal, forgetting the cardinal rule of GAMA, which is that it and all its endeavors serve only to siphon vital energy from more worthy projects. I wish this were not the case, and I apologize for thinking so to all my friends who believe otherwise, however, I don't believe I have ever seen anyone become involved in GAMA or the Academy who wouldn't, in the end, have been better served by putting the same amount of (usually considerable) effort into their own companies, game designs, or even personal lives.
Today, for example, I spent an hour or so making points to the list, responding to the points of others, and engaging in general discussion on the Origins Awards. Despair set in when I realized this was to be precisely the same discussion I participated in when I was on the Academy board in 1999, precisely the same discussion Nicole presumably presided over last year, precisely the same discussion that will apparently continue forever. I am not free from blame. I was right there, making those perpetual arguments. No one's mind will be changed, and even it if is, it will not make any difference, because someone will come along in a year or so and change everything back.
That hour or so would certainly have been better and more satisfyingly spent with nose to the grindstone, working on Whisper Lake, or the CSS for the graphic redesign of jefftidball.com (which I've finally had a good idea for), or pretty much whatever else.
If you are currently involved in, or have the urge to become involved in, either GAMA, the Academy, or the Origins Awards, I beg you to consider what else you might do with the same amount of time and energy.
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