Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dashofpepper and Hulksmash Join Forces!

Greetings, hello, and salutations!

Dashofpepper here.

I've never been the kind to write a blog, keep a journal, or report on my current mood or the music I'm listening to - and now isn't going to be the start of it!

For the last couple of years, I've dedicated myself to publishing tactical articles, army advice, and picture intensive battle reports on http://www.dakkadakka.com/. Battle Reports...ahh...near and dear to my heart. The best way to help educate players playing your army, or wanting to play the same army is to SHOW them what you do. Or at least, for those of us who are visual players...that's the best way to learn.

I stopped writing battle reports a year ago. It always turned out the same - I'd spent hours and hours uploading pictures, meticulously trying to recreate the battle, posting my thoughts, what my opponent was thinking, what happened during the game, what strategies I was using...and post an epic-length battle report that anyone could sit down and look at from beginning to end and actually KNOW exactly what happened and why during the game. And after all that effort, the result was usually a couple people going berzerk, trolling my threads, flaming me into oblivion, and making a general nuisance out of themselves - which of course distracted me from the REST of everyone getting enjoyment out of my writings, learning from them, and following up with questions about how to utilize things I did, or clarifications on certain tactics. That isn't to say that I believe everyone who disagrees with me has nothing worthwhile to say, but there is a chasm between intelligent disagreement and personal attacks.

A year later, having forgotten why I stopped writing them in the first place, I took another stab at battle reports! After a 5-0 Performance at the Alamo GT, I spent every minute of my free time after work for the following week preparing battle reports about the event. Approximately 20 hours of work later, all five battle reports were up! Drama ensues.

Dakka's #1 rule involves not being rude. After Sarigar showed up in one of my Battle Reports with a mix of poison, spinning facts, and outright lies, I didn't think that it was particularly rude to point out he was malicious, a truly bad person, and contributed negatively to the greater good of planet Earth. I didn't call him names, I just noted that he was a bad person. Its true, so I didn't think twice about it.

Such things *are* apparently rude, and after my post got deleted and his smear campaign in my thread continued unmolested, with the "Mod Alert" button being repeatedly mashed to no avail, I tried a lighter version of the same information in my own defense. And...banned.

So! That was cathartic. Here I am, glad to have a friend like Hulksmash, and planning on continuing my exploration of the tactical capabilities of underdog armies in the relative peace and quiet of his blog. Battle Reports will go here too, when I figure out how to link them, explore the commands here (not sure if this uses regular HTML or something else).

And best of all - instead of having to either respond to trolls and feed them, or ignore them and let them smear crap on my face unmolested...I can delete them!

That's not to say that I brook no argument - because I certainly believe that an argument here and a debate there adds a flavorful dash of pepper into a conversation - which is the devil's advocacy explanation for how my name came to be in the first place. I like to spice things up! But here...I can write, post pictures, and continue my campaign to improve the tactical capabilities of 40k gamers in peace.

I can't even express how comforting it is to know that what I write won't devolve into drama, flames, and personal attacks when I actually have the power to delete unconstructive or malicious posting. On the other hand, it could be that no one *reads* Hulksmash's blog, and the name Dashofpepper will fade into obscurity until one day I'm just "Justin" at events, and only faint memories of the cat with the lime hat still remain.

Either way, I find myself quite content. So depending on when you're reading this, I'm either still banned, or have been unbanned and you linked to this from a piece of content on Dakka or somewhere else on the internet. While I will still write 40k related content, it will be completely here. I will link my articles and other stuff wherever is appropriate for folks to read, but won't engage in any sort of discussion in that thread aside from bumping an article from time to time. Feel free to post a comment - I get an e-mail when I have them, and I answer questions and comments regularly. If you need to ask a question, drop a comment in one of my articles, or send us an e-mail!

38 comments:

Krisken said...

Ahhh, so that is what happened. Shame you got banned at Dakka as I was enjoying the detailed battle reports. You suggested I not feed the troll and then proceeded to give him a big fat plate. ;)

Look forward to reading your posts here though. I hope to see that Necron battle report!

Atreides said...

imagine a person who is incacable of feeling pain, and is efectively invincible. now imagine that person called your mum a bad name. you Dash, are the kind of person who would continue to hit this person over the head (despite it having no effect) for literally the rest of your life, as long as he continued calling your mother a diseased troll-like entity.

dont get me at all wrong, i am looking forward to the battle reports and hearing your thoughts, because when you write about 40k, you do so very well.

however, when you go off on one about some bullshit drama that happened god knows how long ago, god knows where, and involving god knows whos mothers, aunties, and other unspecified troll-like entities, most of us just zone out, because we really, really dont care.

if you have to, just say "since i got banned from Dakka, i havent felt like writing battle reports".

once again, looking forward to the good stuff, but for all our sakes, maybe try and keep the drama to a minimum? please?

Bully said...

Atreides I hope you realise what that might have just led to lol ...

Looking forward to the BR's dash - I've enjoyed a lot of your stuff and have to say having been through the teething stages of bullshit drama back in the old FPS gaming days on IRC etc ... I just zone out of forum comments most of the time after the first couple, so up until recently I was oblivious to this drama cloud that apparently follows your around lol.

Hope the first BR is up soon - gives me something to read @ work in the mornings!

BladeWalker said...

You guys are my favorite battle report and tactics guys, both Hulk and Dash take the time to respond to people and provide detailed reports. Please keep doing reports on here, I'm subscribed... it's Dakka's loss to ban a contributor instead of silencing the drama queens imho. Keep up the good work guys!

Dashofpepper said...

Well, the optimal solution would have been me on Dakka with moderator privileges over my own threads - that way I could write tactics and battle reports to my heart's content and just delete the posts of anyone showing up to start drama, troll, or flamebait.

That's my intent here. :)

Dashofpepper said...

Oh! And please click on the links here. =D Hulksmash added adsense, we're hoping that the few ads on here can stipend our tournament costs. =D

Sébastien said...

Keep us entertained on this blog, I will follow it closely.

A big fan here, and I mostly despise those that start a vendetta against you.

RiTides said...

I look forward to seeing some Battle Reports on here... I would come read them, certainly.

Monster Rain said...

I always thought a blog was more suitable for your style of commentary anyway. Good luck in your new venture.

It's a bummer you won't be posting your batreps on Dakka anymore though.

Josiah said...

Dashofpepper wrote:

"....and meticulously respond to the barrage of PMs that I'm always getting asking for advice, army critiques, opinions, etc."


Very true. You've responded to a lot of my PMs even though I ask about armies you don't play. I really appreciate a player of your level taking the time to respond to players who don't even attend tournaments regularly and are just seeking advice. Keep up the awesome batreps and great job at the GT.

I was out of town that day otherwise I would have probably gone and had a chance to meet you! :O Hopefully the docking for sportsmanship and some of the less than friendly players didn't put you off from coming back down to tournaments here in SA.
------------------------------------

Well that post above was one of my last posts on your alama gt thread. Sad you were banned man...I've loved all the comments and tactics and PMs you provided to help players. I know as I was on the receiving end on most of those. Your DE tactica greatly helped my friend to the point where I'm actually really scared of playing against him knowing you wrote the guide that has up'd his game to such a competitive level. He was already a great player to begin with, now he has your DE handbook :O

Anyways glad to see your moving onto a blog and actually am surprised you hadn't done so before hand earlier :P Now you have the power! BUAHAHAH!

Ghostin said...

This is the very reason I blog - the random assbanditry is much less of a factor. My personal opinion - from a play perspective - forums simply aren't worth the time, and they certainly aren't enjoyable to participate in. The signal to noise ratio isn't simply too high. Forums on hobby/modeling/painting are still pretty decent though. Looking forward to your posts.

Anonymous said...

Is it a perma ban? Or are you treating it like one? As in your account will come back online, but it doesn't matters since you can now post here?

Also, loved reading your battle reports, I usually avoided the argument posts, and just moved on to the next one lol

Dashofpepper said...

I will agree that the signal to noise ratio on a forum is always pretty bad. More often than is comfortable, I'll run into a 40k gamer in real life that says that they don't visit Dakka because there's nothing worth reading on it...and I put in a lot of effort to PUT things worth reading on the site.

I chose Dakka instead of a blog for two reasons - I already mentioned that blogs didn't appeal to me, and because I can reach more people through Dakka than I can through a blog - regardless of WHO the blog belongs to.

I was a bit angry at first. I sent Yakface an angry mail. His response was...basically that I need to ignore trolls and haters. I disagree. Humanity does not revolve around turning the other cheek. We don't succeed in life by letting people shit on us and letting them have free reign in maliciously interfering with our work. Anger turned into reflection, and I realized that while I'll reach less people here...the drama will also drop to zero. Because when a douchebag decides to explode vomit into my work, I can do something about it. I never start drama. But I do have a habit of getting tangled into it when someone starts it with me. Here, I control my own destiny. And what people say about it!

So for those of you who appreciate what I do, I appreciate your support. I'll keep posting and trying to bring good content, just somewhere else now. For those who don't appreciate what I do...well, hopefully they're too lazy to show up here. But if someone decides to start some shit here...I can delete it! =D Sounds like a win/win.

And finally...even if you don't have any interest in the House of Pancakes, or playing World of Tanks - I beg of you to click the ads and links around here. They put pennies into Hulksmash's bank account, and I'm appreciative of him letting me team up with him.

Christopher said...

So Dash, is this a permanent vacation from Dakka or just temporary?

Even if you don't post any more Battle Reports on Dakka, your presence will be missed in Tactica and YMDC.

Ozymandias

Dashofpepper said...

I wasn't permanently banned from Dakka. However, I've been suspended often enough - and always for the same reason (drama starts when I am trying to contribute content) - that I've realized that there ARE straws, and that there ARE camels, and this one was it.

Should I have written that Sarigar is malicious and evil? The only player in my entire 40k history against whom I'd rather pick up my models and leave than have to tolerate? Eh. Maybe not. Its true though. What I *do* know is that if me mashing the "Mod Alert" button had gotten his trollbait removed, I wouldn't have ever responded in the first place.

Different troll, same story as always.

thePhoenixThree said...

It's a shame to see your era on Dakka end like this. I've followed you since you first started posting on Tau, and used much of your advise on Tau, Orks, and DE to develop my armies.

Change isn't always a bad thing. I've appreciated both Dash's and Hulk's posts on Dakka and will continue to follow this blog.

Cheers!

Calypso2ts said...

I didn't even know Hulk had a blog, I have since bookmarked it and will checkup regularly. I have enjoyed both your insight on Dakka.

Mike Brandt; mvbrandt@gmail said...

If you're going to delete commentary you don't like, at least don't gloat over it.

<3 you though, JH

Dashofpepper said...

A small clarification is in order. Dissenting opinions are always welcome. Trolls are not.

Writing that I am useless, that Dakka is better off without me, predicting that my very presence is going to drive down Brad's readership is not a dissenting opinion. It is trolling. Writing that my meerschaum presence here is personally costing Hulksmah YOU as a reader is also pointless. Its quite easy to stay away from me. That's why this blog is so cool!

I'm not forced to sit here and tolerate useless pieces of gak (looking at you Bunker) write that kind of garbage and pretend that my existence is an affront to them. Get the message. Get lost.

Kevin said...

Dash, why can you call me a piece of shit but I can't post anything without you deleting it?

Is this how this blog is now going to be run?

I sincerely hope Brad is okay with this.

Calypso2ts said...

You are allowed to open your own blog to comment on what Dash or Hulk say in his Blog.

I did not see anyone call anyone else a 'pos' as you so eloquently put it.

As an aside I am looking forward to reading your necron reports. Also, based on feedback what is your thought on using the raiders for venoms again in the future (even if the model is not out yet)?

Zeelobby said...

On a side note, ignoring Bunkers whinefest, don't suppose you would consider posting battle reports on Warseer? I know its not 40k centered, but there are great communities for both 40k and fantasy. The Mods are also really great and in my opinion very fair when it comes to posting. Not that I won't come here if I have too, I just like the open forum feel. Keep up the good work!

Christopher said...

Seriously Bunker, do you have nothingelse to do but troll Dash?

If you don't want to read Dash's posts, then don't, it's that easy!

Ozymandias

Dashofpepper said...

Bunker, you can post here. However, I require you to be civil when you do it. Things like "Dakka is going to be better without you" I consider to be trolling. I do not have the ability to edit comments, only delete them. If someone writes three pages of good stuff and ends it with "Not that you'll listen because you're too stupid to recognize good advice...." Deleted. Keep it nice, keep it civil, don't make personal attacks against me, and you have free reign.

Josiah said...

@Dash: I don't know how to get a hold of you anymore since I can't PM on dakka anymore so I thought this would be the best way...correct me if I should be going somewhere else...

Could you do any sort of tactica or any advice for Tau? I know you use to play them but the environment has changed drastically and I'm unsure if they can even compete with todays top armies of SW, Mech IG, DE and GK. I really want to start a Tau army but as there is a huge lack of any reliable advice/tactica on the internet for competitive Tau I was wondering if I could get your help on them.

Similar to your DE and Necrons tactica. I know you haven't played them in a while but any advice would be helpful. I'm completely noob to them >_<

Hulksmash said...

Feel free Syypher to send it to the email address on the main page. I'll forward it to Dash. We're gonna get an email set-up for the blog sometime later this week to put up there so people can contact us and it helps add content.

@Dash

Welcome aboard buddy.

@Everyone

Opinions are always welcome here guys. Even ones that disagree. Tones don't register online though so take an extra second to make sure it's polite for Dash's threads since he has full control on his threads. On my threads don't sweat it. As long as you don't use something absolutely ridiculous it's all good :)

Dashofpepper said...

Syypher:

I probably won't do anything for Tau. There's a website...Advanced Tau Tactica? Might be worth a look. I ran foot-slogging Tau, believe in the "Onion" wrapping to keep them in the fight, and I don't see much in the new codices that would change it.

As for getting in touch with me - I'll make sure to check comments and respond - just like a thread on Dakka, minus the trolls.

Dashofpepper said...

GreySeerz:

My wife actually thinks that I should start my own 40k forum. =p That's a bit more work that I'd be willing to invest though. I've actually never been to Warseer, and quite like controlling my own destiny here. Less readership, but zero drama!

Anonymous said...

We'll be disappointed if you never come back to Dakka, but I think the blog format is a good one for you. Being able to just delete insults yourself instead of waiting minutes or hours for a mod to get to them may allow you to restrain yourself from flaming back.

Dunn911 said...

Cool, Hulksmash with a Dashofpepper. Best of luck to you two. I will definately be reading and watching this site.

Anonymous said...

WarOne here...

Just wanted to let you know that I will miss you over at the DerpaDerpa forums. :( I'm not a raving lunatic fan (at times I'm not a big fan of your attitude towards the game or the people), but I appreciated what you brought to the forums, investing it with good sense and insight.

Wanderlust said...

Well, Dakka loss, Hulksmash' gain.

I know that I've been grateful for the orkish insight, and based my 2k pts Ork army on your suggestions & comments.
So thanks for that, and the battlereports have been good reads too, even if the recent ones have been sorely lacking the orkish...flair.

AgentFoo said...

And there's my answer as to why Dash wasn't posting as much lately. Lame!

I will continue to read here instead.

Dashofpepper said...

Well, like I said - it isn't a permanent ban, but it is my longest to date. I think each suspension gets longer until you *DO* get permanently banned. I probably get suspended more than any other poster, and Yakface's email to me said that they watch me more closely than other posters because of the amount of attention and reports that my threads generate.

I told him that the ideal situation would be me as a moderator solely for the purposes of moderating my own content, which would would never fly. Here, I *can* moderate my own content. I have no interest in my content spinning out of control as people flame me, or derail my stuff.

At the end of the day, there is a saying about insanity being when you keep trying the same thing over and over expecting different results. It took me two years to get the hint. I am saddened that I will reach less people, but gladdened that I can now stop drama before it starts.

Last night my wife and I had a discussion about it - 12 hours after writing my first Necron battle report with a ludicrous 95 pictures that spanned 17 pages in Microsoft word (without the pictures), I still didn't have a single comment. Does lacking an audience for my work mean I will stop working? Time will tell. Then again, time will tell if I have an audience or not.

Zerodaimaru said...

Well Dakkas loss Dash. I've only just recently got into 40K and my first army was the Dark Eldar (which came out a few days before I went to pick up my first army unbeknownst to me) and I can honestly say one of the main reasons I'm winning or tieing more games then I lose is due to reading your threads on dakka.

The "tone" kinda rubbed me the wrong way sometimes (fixed by reading all your posts in Ben Stein's voice) but the advice was always excellent. I look forward to more of the same here.

Dashofpepper said...

I do have something of a monotone voice, and I am naturally softspoken - which is not to say that I don't remember how to use a command voice. I could do worse than Ben Stein.

Anonymous said...

"Last night my wife and I had a discussion about it - 12 hours after writing my first Necron battle report with a ludicrous 95 pictures that spanned 17 pages in Microsoft word (without the pictures), I still didn't have a single comment. Does lacking an audience for my work mean I will stop working? Time will tell. Then again, time will tell if I have an audience or not."

Did you notice the technical problem on that page? There's one comment, and it shows right in the middle, overlapping the text of turn 2. I have no idea why it's displaying that way, but it may have something to do with why you don't have more comments yet. Excellent report, BTW. Lots of great pics. One brief comment:

1. I agree that he should have assaulted your warrior squad in the corner with the deffcopta. Even if he wanted to shoot them to soften them up first, from the picture it seems like he should have been able to do that without any risk of losing the assault; he appears to have inexplicably only moved the copta a couple of inches onto the table instead of the full 12", which could have put it right behind your warrior unit and in range to assault whichever models were left.

Sovereign said...

Hey Dash,

Just wanted to say that over the past couple of months I've had the pleasure of reading your battle reports and your articles on Dakka, and am pleased to find you here on this site. I know that writing battle reports and tactical articles/guides is an enormous amount of work for little to no return. I'm sure you did it for your own personal reasons or to share your knowledge, but it still must've sucked to get mostly negative feedback.

Anyways, your advice and battle reports has really affirmed some of my ideas about how to play Dark Eldar competitively, and, even better, given me some new ideas to take into consideration. I have a pretty solid win rate against my casual group of friends (around 80% or so) but the win rate you have on the competitive scene really blows that outta the water XD.

I've played DE for the past nine years or so, and much like yourself, have really enjoyed the challenge of playing - and winning with - an underdog army. Just goes to show it's the general behind the army that is really responsible for the win.

Anyways, cheers and happy gaming. Thought I should give you some positive feedback since I really do appreciate it.

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