Re: [Gamedevlists-brew] Gauging the vibe...

[Tom P. <bre...@ac...>]

FWIW, there are already a few invite-only, closed lists.
Chris Hecker started one. George Broussard started another.
Not only to keep out newbies & trolls and unproductive flaming
and oneupsmanship, but also in an industry where there's so
much proprietary information, it is a way for indies to share
info freely without worry.

I've heard of private file-sharing groups where the members
want to protect the network against attack by outsiders (e.g.
RIAA). They use a "sponsor" model where every new invitee is
sponsored by a member. If an invitee is banned from the network,
then the sponsor is also expelled, in order to provide strong
incentive -- not only on the sponsor's part, but the invitee
also is liable for his sponsor.

Obviously, we don't want or need such strong protection of
the list against newbies (although you can look at the BREW
forums as having been attacked by newbies, eh). I just bring
it up to put the openness of this list in perspective. This
list is not so closed.

E.g. I was invited to Broussard's Game Illuminati list by a
friend, and Broussard nixed the invite, saying that mobile
game developers were not hardcore enough for that group.
Members of that list are not even supposed to acknowledge
its existence, i.e. 1st rule of fight club.
--t