Politics

Branik suspended Crossin Dixon's account(s?). Why? Apparently, she was rude. (Oh no, this again!)

I highly doubt that Crossin Dixon and I would be "friends" in real life because we have different views, but I understand that people feel strongly about things that I may feel the exact opposite about. I don't think politics are a good discussion for a game forum. That's my opinion. It is something that people feel very strongly about and can easily get fired up about. I don't bring up politics with strangers. Ever. I vote as I want, do my own research, and only offer my views if it is asked for. That's it. I'm very non-confrontational.

That being said, I want to address some things I read in that thread.

People had a lot of different opinions. Some love Obama, some love McCain. Pretty much ALL of them are doing what they think is right. In their heads, they think that what they have decided is the best. I commend everyone, no matter who they voted for, for taking them time to get out there and trying to make a difference.

As far as this black vs. biracial thing - it's learned folks. I had no idea that there was supposed to be a difference until I was taught that in elementary school. People were people to me. I always hated having to refer to someone as black or Asian because everyone is just human to me. Honestly, as soon as people stop pretending that they're different beyond what shade of foundation they need for their face we'll stop having these issues.

I think its also very likely that we have had a president with African blood before. I met a girl that is part black, part Native American, and part white and she looks like she just stepped off the boat from Scandinavia. A bunch of pasty white British people had a DNA test done and found out that they have close genetic ties with a family group in Africa. Branik herself is part Native American (as well as a few more people I work with) and they are all blindingly white. Every picture I saw of Branik (that she posted on her forums back in the day) screamed white. Then she posts this gem:

"You are obviously not a person of color.

We -are- our skin color to everyone around us. We -live- our skin color every day. Ever notice there's no biracial box to check on forms? We are what we live as. If our skin is not pristine white, we aren't white.

To every racist ***** out there we -are- colored I don't care what tone our skin is or how many of you want to define us as "biracial" or "breeds" when it suits you. They don't beat us half as hard just because we have a white ancestor or our skin is light.

The man is black.

You clearly know nothing about this topic so please just stay quiet."

Funny. The person she posted that for happened to be of "colored skin." Congrats, Branik! Open mouth - insert foot.

The other day I was walking around the city and saw a group of African-Americans calling some Somali immigrants "monkeys." This was because the Somali people were the color of freshly brewed coffee instead of coffee with cream. Branik's post reminded me of that. Also - get over yourself Branik. You can be proud of your ancestry, but stop acting like a racist. You said that this posted wasn't a person of color and couldn't understand their plight and you were wrong. What about women? They are considered a minority, shouldn't they be able to have an idea of what it's like to be "oppressed."

Ugh.

Can we just replace the word "black" with "exotic" when we talk about people? Obama is the most exotic president we've ever had, imho.

There! End of argument.

"Honestly? I don't care what color he is. That's really not why I voted for him. I wish people would stop making this about race." - a forums member

That's also my opinion. Obama didn't win "in spite" of being black, like Branik said, but rather that a large number of people have realized that human beings are all human, no matter where their ancestors came from, how dark there skin is genetically or artificially. Honestly, I've seen a bunch of white girls that had skin so dark you'd swear they had a parent from the heart of Africa, but it was tanning. I've also seen "black" girls so light that you mistaken them for a white girl. At least, I have that problem. I guess Branik has a special sense to smell the origins of people's families just by looking at them.

"I know y'all are starstruck" - CrossinDixon in reference to Obama

What she's saying is that, in her opinion, Obama is very charismatic and a talented politician (true) and she fears that once he's in office he won't be able to accomplish what he promised.


Oh! I LOVE this quote by Branik:

"If you were giving a description to the cops of a guy that shade of black that just robbed you, you'd say "he was black" not "he was biracial.""

The part that I love is how she uses the example of a robber being black instead of being non-racist and saying that the person was a hottie walking down the street.

However, I agree that this whole gay-marriage-ban stuff is absurd. Marriage started as secular, then became religious when the church wanted to control it, and has now become legal (ahem, religious still...) because the government wanted to... control it? If I had my way there would be no "legal" definition of "marriage." You can have households, just not a ceremonial marriage. I'm not saying that you can't have a marriage ceremony, but I don't think the government should have anything to do with people's love lives.

Here is an EXCELLENT quote from a forums user:

"This is what proves to me that this country is not ready for a black President: we all have to point out that he's black, get offended by people who try to diminish that fact, debate his ancestry, whatever. The day this country is really and truly ready for a black (or woman, or gay, or transsexual, or whatever minority you want) President is the day nobody even mentions that he's black; the day a President is a President regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc."

This person has it figured out!

At this time Crossin Dixon comes in and makes her final comment. It includes this sentence:

"There's 2 things in life that are pretty much too touchy to discuss without feelings getting hurt and tempers flaring...that's politics and religion."

She also has it figured out. Her feelings were crushed by this! This goes against what she believed and she has every right to be upset. How come Branik can lash out at the poster that she felt had no right to discuss the plight of people with slightly darker skin than Norwegian natives and Crossin Dixon not lash out about her country falling to shambles in front of her?

A reply from another poster:

"Furthermore, while politics and religion (and about a zillion other subjects) can get very touchy, it is imperative that they -are- discussed. No one should shy away from speaking their mind on such matters for fear that doing so will rouse the tempers and sensitivities of others. Discussion and debate of "sensitive" topics is an integral part of the governance of our country"

I hate to be the person to say it, but when you tell people your opinion when it is the exact opposite of something they feel strongly about, they're probably not going to like you. It's human nature. You have to learn how to present things in a calm, collected way. Despite my liberal ways, I can see where CrossinDixon was coming from. Her feelings were hurt, her temper flared, she got suspended, and her opinion was not swayed. If anything I feel that it helped her feel more strongly about her beliefs. There is a time and place for everything, including debate, but I don't think an online game forum is the place. It takes the fun out of the game.

Crossin Dixon also apologized for upsetting people (still suspended). Branik's reason?

"Crossin Dixon Cowgirl has been suspended from the game for being racist."

I don't think Branik really had the right to call that player racist when she herself is speaking some rather racist things.

CuttinDeep also posted some opinions that Branik didn't agree with and sparked her rage, but I don't feel like getting into that right now. Perhaps another day, if I remember.

Backup

It is a GOOD idea.

Demonmare's Reply She Wanted

I never questioned your intelligence. I never said you were a teenaged girl.

How am I not dealing with it well? I have yet to throw a hissy fit and close my blog because people on the internets are mean.

I also never called you young.

I never went into Branik's house. Like I mentioned before, her game is akin to her going out and putting up a booth in the town square. Her game is on the internet. She made it so everyone in the world can come and see it as well as talk to her.

We are all very aware that age doesn't mean maturity, but the part we have a problem with is just plain nastiness. Whether or not you are "right" doesn't mean you can ridicule people. You're supposed to try and use tact.

I mean, we're talking about a woman who told me, in her forum, that she bred dogs just to get puppies and she didn't show or work her dogs. Unfortunately, she has since destroyed all of this evidence. She is pretending to be some amazing mother figure to everyone, but she's not.

Sure, we can all tell she did a nice job with her game. We can all tell it is very time consuming. I know its her livelihood, but hard work can't change the fact that someone is mean.

I can't honestly tell why she thinks this blog could ever possible hurt her game. This was meant to discuss how her anger issues and foul language drops ER down a few notches. The only part of ER that sucks is Branik.

I don't care if she reads this blog, or if anyone reads this blog. Its been around since before I posted anything on her blog. I just post things that others are to scared to.

The reason why this is about Branik and not Jim is because Jim is rather quiet. I don't see him going to other forums and calling people a "cunt." I don't see him constantly ripping people a new one.

BTW, all those deleted posts you see are deleted by the people who wrote them. I can't help that some people chose to lie, but there is no way for me to prove that.

Branik has worked with customer oriented businesses for long enough that she should understand that people repeat questions. People ask dumb questions. People get mad and send you nasty letters. It happens. That's life. There is no way you can stop it from happening short of shutting down the business.

Being called a groupie isn't even being called a name. I wasn't using it in the derogatory sense.

"The term "groupie" is often used derogatorily, but also used casually and sometimes interchangeably with another word with dual connotations - junkie. E.g."My husband's the football junkie, but I'm a basketball groupie.""

I was using the last one, but you jumped to conclusion because you knew I didn't like Branik. I was using it with the definition of "fan."

If you took that the wrong way I will apologize.

I will also apologize for not replying to your comments sooner, since it appears to have upset you.

I also believe in doing things for myself. I put myself through college, worked since I was a teen, built my own computer, bought my car with money I saved up, do all of my car repairs myself, etc etc. My parents were never able to help me with anything. I had to deal with a war and my family being displaced because they were the wrong religion. We all have our own things to deal with, I understand that, and I applaud everyone who has pulled through.

All of that being said, can you really tell Branik, as her friend, that her public humiliation of Jim_Craig was called for?

This blog is as passionate as an Onion article. Its half a joke, half a sad look at a topic. If you think that I get fired up by any of this, you're mistaken. That's most of the reason why I never replied to you. It is a lot of writing and I just don't really care that much.

Again, for those of you who told me I should quit - I did quit. I quit so much I left Branik's blog. I left her alone, short of writing this. I met a bunch of people before I ever had a run in with her that felt the same way and even more afterwards. There are a bunch of people that want to be able to discuss this, but are afraid of being suspended or banned. This is rightly so!

If you don't like this blog, you are free to leave. There is a new game in the works that we will all go play. Those of you who love ER will still have it. It is silly to think a blog can end a game, even an Internet one. The only person that could possibly ruin it is Branik herself.

Guest Speaker Part Two

Hello Campers! It’s me, Ladybird again.

This message is for the Queen Bee herself, Branik.

I would just like to offer you my deepest, most heartfelt apologies. I never should have actually said positive things about your game. And I NEVER should have told people to actually try it. This was my mistake.

And I most CERTAINLY should have never posted them off of the game. No, you obviously wanted me to plaster them all across your bandwidth, and I have failed you. Again, I apologize. I grovel at your feet.

But you, you tried to be a good role model. You tried to teach me this lesson. Next time, I shall not fail you. I shall only write things that you seem to like, which I assume is the opposite of the positive things that you banned me for. I, misguided youth that I am, have learned a valuable lesson when it comes to human character.

Because I want you to know that I learned my lesson, and that I have decided to try and be as awesome and uplifting as you are, I have decided to file a complaint with the BBB in a completely mature fashion.

Hopefully this show of maturity will make you proud, as it is you, dear Branik, who has taught me such.

See you around!

This Keeps Getting Pushed Down

The AlmightyBeefy has written this polite comment:

"...things she's done in her past for the better of anyone and everything around her."

Ah yes, I forgot. Teaching people the many uses of swear words is indeed a great service.

"She worked her hind-end off and paid monetarily and in ways that you would never even know about to create this game just for people to play."

When we assume things like that Branik calls us an ass. I feel comfortable thinking that you're probably not. However, I KNOW how hard it is to code all of that and how much these things cost.

"The customer is always right" was a business mentality that was brought about because, in the not too distant past, businesses were ALL run how Bran runs hers. Monopoly. Branik has a monopoly on that particular type of horse sim and therefore can get away with a lot. When that happens you get a superiority and invincibility complex. Being humble used to be a virtue, but Branik won't hesitate before telling you how much of a genius and a gift from God she is.

"throw a temper tantrum in the emergency room because the headache that they've had for the past four days without even trying Aleve"

Jumping to conclusions again... how about the person who had a headache for three days, didn't try Aleve because it never works for them, and was told they had to flu. Then, a real doctor comes by and they have menengitis. Hmmm? Are they a PMSing bitch? Its called empathy. You step back and think what could have made this person upset.

"The customer service representative has no right to ask you to calm down or hang up on you when you get completely belligerent and cuss at them over the phone?"

As far as I'm concerned, the customer service representative has every right to hang up. BUT! The case we're talking about here is the customer service representative who calls you a bitch because you forgot to make sure something was plugged in. Sure, it was a mistake, but it doesn't warrant being called names. I've worked where you could kick a customer out for poor behavior, but you could NEVER stoop to their level.

"Treat others as you wish to be treated." - Branik said this once. We treated her exactly as she treated us and she had a breakdown. Explain that one. She's the one who can't take the crap back that she throws. She wants to tell people what to do, but not lead by example.

My username is exactly what it was in the game. Other people might be afraid of being harassed, which is legitimate. Branik and some others don't exactly hesitate before lynching people.

"you're obviously lacking in your mental capacity for learning and should have never bitched about E-R in the first place. Not Bran's fault your IQ is so low that chimps are more intelligent than you."

I bolded this statement because it is interesting. This is the type of behavior I'm talking about. Here you are, telling complete strangers that they are mentally retarded. Does that make you feel good about yourself? What are you trying to accomplish, other than inciting anger? You're sounding like a Branik Youth.

"change a grown ass woman"

We're not trying to change anyone? I don't understand why everyone is assuming we're attempting to change Bran. We're expressing our feelings. If you don't agree with us there IS a place for you. It's called Branik's blog.

"You are obviously really young, inexperienced about the world, and do have a lot of growing to do. Don't even bring up the fact of my age...I was raised completely different than you as I can tell from each and everyone one of your posts."

Its funny how you're calling us young, yet we're pretty much all older than you. You sound like your mimicking Branik now. Apparently we were raised to think that etiquette was the appropriate thing to consider using around strangers.

"Honestly, if you don't like something or someplace, just leave."

I did leave? In defense of other people - if you want to watch cable TV and there's only one cable TV company that provides the channel you want, you're going to go with them. People still play Branik's game because it has something they want, but if something else comes with that same thing they WILL leave.

"One other good point...you people have shown falsehoods against Branik and her game. I smell an easy lawsuit...and I bet mommy and daddy wouldn't like that, now would they? Court costs are really, really expensive!"

Sorry, everything I said is what I believe to be true. As far as law is concerned I'm fine. I've checked and I'm allowed to have an opinion. Freedom of Speech. People might remember it as a right that was guaranteed to US citizens. (Note that Freedom of Speech doesn't include swear words)

It is so sad that everyone who posts for Branik here sounds just like her. They use similar terminology and phrases. I sense a variation on Stockholm Syndrome.

Finally: "Oh yes, one point I forgot to mention...Bran's blog requires a log-in to read any of the material on it. So, the question is, where are the parents when that little 12, 13, or 14 year old signs up for it?"

That's a new occurance. What about all those 13 year olds that signed up for it BEFORE she changed that aspect? Nice of you to bring up a recent change an expect that to nullify everything she has done in the past.

Guest Speaker

I received this email from someone who wishes to remain anonymous. I thought her post (which she requested that I post here) was very mature and unbiased.

ER: An Opinion

By Ladybird

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy the game. I play it daily, love foaling season, and cheer when my pixilated ponies win an event (which, unfortunately, isn’t often). That being said, I do not plan on renewing my account come July.

Most of it is honestly just that I have my own business to run, and I can’t justify the time spent. Having a foreman and trainers is a drain on my account financially, and I can’t wake up every night at midnight to do ranch reports myself, so I don’t show as much as I should.

The economy is a bit harsh, as well. Prices are good, don’t get me wrong, but its very, very, very difficult for me to sell a horse that isn’t a well known breed, even if it has 8’s in the bottom. I usually just end up rehoming horses that don’t fit the bill quite right. This is also tough on the old pocket book.

It seems that the best way to get cash in the game is to win futurities. This doesn’t help when you can’t afford the nomination fee for every foal, and you don’t know quite enough to judge which one is worth it. Not to mention horses get injured quite often. I can understand working racehorses and the like getting injured fairly frequently, but foals shouldn’t be getting some of these injuries so often. I am horse stupid, I admit, but would a real foal get cracked hooves twice in a row from being halter trained?

Another thing I hear people bitch about a lot is pictures, but I disagree. I actually like the pictures. Granted, it’s a bit weird that my Arabian looks exactly like my Miniature horse, but they actually bothered to color every single pattern in and I respect that kind of work. I wouldn’t mind more realistic pictures, but I’m not going to put it down for not being perfect.

I am a wee bit disappointed that breed bonuses got taken away, but it’s not like I win anyway, so that isn’t a big deal either.

Now, I highly enjoy the fact that death is now a part of the game. If I had a choice, I would have notification if the horse is going downhill so I could choose to euthanize it if I wanted, but I love this feature and that’s that.

Ok, this is what everyone who reads this blog really wants to read about, the illustrious owner of ER, Branik.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I don’t like her, but I am not going to sit here and nitpick her in public. It’s my private opinion. But how do I think about her management of the game?

Customer service. That’s a biggie. Now, my personal experience with her hasn’t been bad. I’ve sent in tickets, and they were answered within 24 hours, in a crisp, businesslike manner. You can’t exactly be overly polite with hundreds of questions to answer, and that’s fine. I don’t want to chat over tea, I just want an answer to my ticket and that’s exactly what I got. So my personal experience with ER customer service was good.

But as I can’t help but see, that hasn’t been the case for everybody. There have been accusations that tickets have been answered in vulgarity and rudeness. Although this is understandable (there ARE incredibly stupid questions, you know), I personally don’t feel this is acceptable. If I ran a game, and I got a stupid, rude, or purposefully inflammatory question, I would bitch about it to myself (out-loud, speaking, not typing it on the internet), and then type back a perfectly cheery response. Inflammatory people just want to cause trouble, and when you lash back they get what they want. It’s much more fun to put them on ice. And there are ALWAYS going to be stupid questions, which is why I personally would have a little set of stock answers (for example: Please see to the help files! LINK) that I could copy, paste, send, and be done with. It isn’t worth the stress. If you run a business, you need to act business like no matter how many dicks try to piss on you.

Now, rule breaking. Although I like the convicted cheater banner, I don’t like the idea of the news blotter. Sometimes, people make mistakes, we are only human. Shit happens. Dish out punishment, don’t put them in stocks and hand other players tomatoes. Its rude and uncalled for.

So, to my point!

ER isn’t a bad game. Branik had a good idea, and managed to put it together rather well. But her attitude has been off-putting for many players, and again that is unacceptable. Many of these players are children. Children need a role model, preferably one who is fair and unbiased, doesn’t use vulgarity, doesn’t belittle people, and someone they can look up to. Branik has apparently been this person for some players, and that is completely fine. I am glad that they have someone to talk to and confide in. BUT for the most part, its driving people away.

So should you play it? You can try it. It’s a fun game. Just watch where you tread.

Survey

This survey is for everyone! You can either email it or make a comment. ALL of the questions are optional, but I will bold the ones I'm most interested in.

Age
What horse sims have you played?
What would you like to see in a horse sim?
What do you dislike the most from horse sims?
What is your favorite part of horse sims?
How much time do you usually (or used to) spend on horse sims?
Would you be interested in free beta testing?
Any additional suggestions or concerns

Staying on Topic

Branik made a post in her blog dealing with those masses of deleted posts. Well, there was one. I took out one post because it had nothing to do with the topic, had a lot of spelling errors, and didn't offer anything to the conversation. I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was pretty much just saying "screw you guys."

The other post that has gone missing... I dunno about that one. I made a comment about that one, so I'm at a loss. Anyway, I never got to vote. :( Why didn't I get to vote on the color names?

Wee

Branik finally decided to mention my very own blog. Unfortunately, she's too big of a wuss to post it here. Darn. At least I have even more of my own people now. Thanks Branik! I couldn't have gotten this out to as many of the right people without your help.

Anyone want to know the types of characters that Branik builds? Here's a post from one of her groupies.

"LOVE IT!!!! don’t know what else to say, but I LOOOOVE It!!!
Cannot wait to hear of the first lynching. ha ha ha, aren’t I evil? yes the Police Blotter would totally satisfy my NEED TO KNOW (gotta keep that gossipy old lady within me at bay) personality."

Hmmmmm... That's all I got to say.

Note to Branik Followers: This blog is perfectly legal. If Branik can have opinions, I can, too. Everything I post in here is what I believe to be true. Branik can talk all that she wants. If she can decide that someone is a worthless cunt I can decide that her dogs suck.

P.S. Bran - the person with the Huskies does exist, buuuuuuuuuut I have no reason to prove it to you.

Also: Anyone has time when they have employees. When you know computer scientists computer things are a bit easier. Also, did it ever occur to you that all of the work on the new horse sim is taking up some time? Hmmmm... seems to me I shouldn't be playing horse sims and wasting time on them when I'm making my own.

Since Branik was asking a bunch of questions on her blog, I can ask a bunch on mine. Why does Branik care what I write? Why does Branik care who I am? Why does Branik get so worked up by what I write? How come Branik gets worked up about certain things, but just laughs other stuff off? Is it because she gets upset when people are too close to the truth? Does she need anger management classes?

Its hard to tell, but honestly, I don't really care. I could care less who Branik is. As far as I'm concerned, Branik is a character on the internet. I'm just cross because I'm not satisfied by what she made. I also think she's the biggest e-hypocrite I've met.

"Is it a strategy to make me distrust everyone? Is she trying to make me believe that the entire planet hates me? Making someone feel that alone and hated could really cause someone to have a breakdown, and maybe even kill themselves. Why would someone want to do it then?"

Hey, I never said the entire planet hates you. I'm just saying that your current actions could lead you to live a lonely life. The best friends in life are the ones you go out and get coffee with (for the most part). What would you do if the internet was suddenly gone one day? What if you had to find another job that didn't deal with horse sims?

I was giving you a taste of what I was seeing behind your back and what I've seen happen to people over the years. Perhaps some anger management classes are in order, but I highly doubt you'd ever accept them. I mean, you laughed at one of the greatest human psychology books ever written. That has to say something about your character.

You also claim that you are a believer of "do unto other as you would have them do unto you" or whatever. When you come to terms with the fact that you have no problem bashing someone through the internet and then accept that people are going to be bashing you right back through the same manner I can't see there ever being a problem.

If you don't want to hear other people's opinions and rants, don't tell them your own. It is simple.

Continuation of Below

I think they're projecting things they don't like about Bran onto people who rock the boat in an effort to have their own actions "make sense."

The other thing I've noticed is that she has to one-up everyone. Someone was scared because of a tornado warning so she randomly drops by to tell everyone that she lived through "the worst tornado EVAR."

I'm also disgusted that she bred a half-dead dog and then whined how it wouldn't be able to have puppies. She apparently never heard of checking the health check before breeding. She's very lucky she didn't kill that poor animal. The parents of my best friend (since kindergarten) used to breed champion Siberian Huskies. She was horrified by the appearance and condition of Branik's dogs. She claims to have working lines, but she then claims that she can't work them because there's no demand for sled dogs in Ohio.

Sorry to break it to her, but chances are her dogs can't pull worth anything. She's breeding for appearance - like a conformation or show ring breeder. You can never tell how well and animal can perform until you test them. One of the all time best dressage stallions in the world (Ideaal) had HORRIBLE conformation, but was winning high end shows into his 20s.

That being said... she bred a senior, emaciated, female Siberian Husky that had a horrible mouth infection that caused her to DROOL and her mouth to smell like sewage, and was sad because the thing wouldn't have puppies.

On top of that, she sprays her dogs with a hose when they misbehave, expected two of them to return after they escaped (anyone with those dogs knows that they love to run and often times never be able to find their way home again), and got fined for missing vaccinations.

I have so much more I want to say, and such little time.

Help is on the way...

For those of you are are concerned about the lack of a game if Branik pulls her stunt again for more than a few hours:

Don't worry, there is a professional game in the works and its scheduled for release in winter. (tentative, like with all games)

This game will have more vivid imagery, more realistic colors, and more customization. It will also have a lot more on the nutrition and health ends, so be prepared to be amazed!

Chances are it will cost less, too.

I can't say too much more. It would spoil the surprise.

Branik's Latest Bitch Fit

Okay, so recently Branik had a run-in due to misinterpreting what was going on. The internet can do that, ya know. I'm going to post a loooooong novel sort of deal about it. Here is a legend of who is who.

Branik's posts are in red
Mine are in italic black
The Player is in green.
Other people are in blue

"I was thinking the other day about the work that goes into getting a real horse ready for the show ring. Depending on the discipline, several rules may apply independently.

I realize you are very strapped for time and may have very little to put any thought into this idea, but I just want to bring it up just in case.

In our customized pictures, would there maybe be a way to choose a short mane or braided main? And for the tails, is there anyway maybe we could add long cropped tails?

Just a thought. I am sorry if this is bothering you and thank you for your consideration."

Sounds like a reasonable question. Someone came up with a clever idea and was curious about the possibilities. Very polite/humble in my opinion.

"Impossible without coloring the necks on a whole set of images, doing new lineart, and creating sets of manes and tails."

Okay, that was "straight to the point." The funny part is, the admin never said whether or not they would do it, just that it'd be impossible without effort. I suppose the idea of admin putting forth any more effort than the bare minimum should be a hint that the answer is no. Either way, it was a very curt reply that comes across as somewhat degrading giving the work put in to the first message.

"I realized it would be difficult. It was just an idea. I am sorry if it offended you or made you angry. Thank you for your time, I will just shut up and play the game and not bother you good folks again."

This is the message that the admin and their groupies flipped out about. Apparently this is an attitude problem? I know quite a few people, and a lot of them would playfully/ cautiously use that reply to signal that they are, indeed, going to keep quiet from then on. I also get the impression that the person is a little nervous. They are in no way "upset" or "mean" in this message. The sad part is when you consider how much time they put into their messages only to be told, indirectly, that they will never be worth that same amount of time from Branik or Jim.

"Here’s yet another prime example of how I can’t win for losing. I answer why it is not feasible and I get shitty attitude. I’m so fed up with shitty people getting pissy at me. *reads again* What a bitch-a-rooni-dooni."

Here's what Branik had to say about this. I have some interesting realizations.
1) Branik repeats her own "catchphrases" or little series of words instead of coming up with new ones to break it up.
2) She likes to swear or use poor language: see shitty x2 and pissy x1 (note to Bran: you didn't even write that reply! How can they be getting pissy at YOU?)
3) "Bitch-a-rooni-dooni" What grade did you make it to? You sound like a little girl in elementary school. If you're going to whip out the swear words, don't toss in "kiddy swear." Its like calling somebody a "fucking liar" and they saying that they were responsible for "the poopie in the potty."
Anyway you look at it, Branik took offense for a message that wasn't even directed at her. Good job!

NOW! Let's see what's next, shall we?

"I think Jim just misunderstood your bluntness, that’s all."

First comment. It makes perfect sense, besides the fact that I didn't think the original player was getting worked up about anything.

"All I can say to that is “oh fucking bull.” What bluntness? It was just a fucking answer. Quit blaming EVERY FUCKING THING on -me- being blunt. That was just a God damned fucking plain answer.

That girl was just being snotty and rude and deserves a good backhand across the face."

Wow. Just wow. "A good backhand across the face." Looks like someone agrees with beating people. I thank God everyday that she doesn't reproduce, and I'm not even religious. Imagine how horribly messed up her children would end up?

I know that it might seem off that EVERYONE thinks she's blunt, but the reason behind that might be that well.... she's blunt. She's a very blunt person. She doesn't want to "beat around the bush." She wants to spend the least amount of time interacting with people while paying no mind to their feelings.

"And another thing, if being told simply something is impossible without a lot of work is “too blunt” for her delicate little senses, maybe she should take some midol for that raging case of PMS she must be suffering."

Um. WTF? I think Branik here is the one with "PMS" and is not projecting that onto others. Branik is the one flying off the handle, the player NEVER DID.

P.S. Branik NEVER WROTE THAT ADMIN REPLY. THOSE MESSAGES WERE NOT TO HER. She's taking all the credit, though. Funny ol' world, innit?

"Oh and this is me pissed off btw in case anyone is confused. I’m not the only one. Jim is pissed off at the attitude she snarked off too. His first words when he read her ticket were “Attitude much?”

Now anyone else want to lay the blame on me, and make excuses for some PMSing bitch being rude?"

Actually, I'm pretty sure this is Branik when the whole world doesn't agree with her. Does anyone (besides Bran and her slave, er, husband) think that the player's reply is deserving of the word "bitch?" Sounds like those two have other issues they need to vent before interacting with their customers.

"[quote]I realize you are very strapped for time and may have very little to put any thought into this idea, but I just want to bring it up just in case.[/quote]

You want to refer to me as the bitch??? You know, I added this part of my note into my original idea to convey to you that I had the idea that I know you already bleed for this game. I KNOW you work hard and I appreciate that. I already KNEW you were going to be strapped for time, so FORGIVE me if I thought it was ok to send a suggestion without getting my head snapped off."

Don't worry, Miss Player. You were doing fine. The reaction you got was unacceptable. There is nothing that you did that warranted being called a "bitch." Her quote was well placed. In her original message she made sure to let the admin know she was aware they were really busy. She just wanted to toss in a suggestion. That's all.

"You know Bran??? You ARE a scary domineering figure on the site just as the newbie accused you of being. I try very hard to stay out of your way and not say much so I dont get my head chewed off or suspended for saying the wrong thing."

Hahaha, so correct. Its funny how people let Branik know what they REALLY think of her when they're mad. The only other people that regularly comment could be counted on one hand. Those people are "groupies." They're going to agree with Bran until their blue in the face because that gets them in her "good" book. Brown-nosing much. It'll be sad when someone better comes along and they all leave ER sprawled out in the dust.

"I get a lot of enjoyment from this game, and this upsets me that you would put this up for all the world to see then call me a bitch for it. Raging PMS??? A good player gets a snarky response and I am the raging PMS bitch??? Thats not fair."

Yeeeeah. That's really wasn't fair. This player WAS a good player, but that doesn't matter to Branik! A long history of good behavior will never help you if you have a slip-up or two.

"But you know what, even though you have felt the need to publically hang me out to dry and make me an example, I am going to show you I am not a bitch. I am sorry Bran. There, here for all the world to see. I apologize to you for responding in the manner that I did. And, you wont ever hear another word out of me.

Again, I appreciate your time."

Yeah, Branik pretty much just used this poor girl as an example. Now she's going to be shunned and the game will most likely be ruined for her. For placing so much faith in the income ER generates, I'm surprised that this is so common. Eventually the player pool will run out and there will be more poor ratings than good ratings. Eventually everything that sucks about ER will catch up with it and it will die. 'Tis very sad for a pretty decent game.

Now! For Branik's reply!

“[quote]I realize you are very strapped for time and may have very little to put any thought into this idea, but I just want to bring it up just in case.[/quote]

You want to refer to me as the bitch??? You know, I added this part of my note into my original idea to convey to you that I had the idea that I know you already bleed for this game.”

And your fucking point is? ALL YOU WERE FUCKING TOLD WAS IT IS TOO MUCH WORK.

So what? She was told that you were to lazy and that's the end of it.

“I KNOW you work hard and I appreciate that.”

Bullshit you appreciate it. You’re fucking sitting there giving me shit because I don’t want to recolor a few thousand pictures.

Of course she knows how much work you put into it since that's all you whine about. She's still not giving you shit for not wanted to recolor. If she's giving shit for anything, its the reaction you had and they way you freaked out and had to point her out to your best buddies to lynch.

“I already KNEW you were going to be strapped for time, so FORGIVE me if I thought it was ok to send a suggestion without getting my head snapped off.”

THAT RIGHT THERE Proof positive that you were being a BITCH in your reply because YOU read that reply as snapping your head off.

You know if you can’t get a simple reply saying something is impossible because it is too much work without getting your petty little ass in a snit, you need to grow up or be in a mental institution.

Oh, so you weren't convinced she was being a bitch? You were bluffing and hoping she'd reply so you could point your finger and say "SEE!?" How childish. I think if anyone needs put away, it would be you. You're getting so personal in these replies. You probably wouldn't have an argument if you could call people names or make derogatory comments.

“You know Bran??? You ARE a scary domineering figure on the site just as the newbie accused you of being. I try very hard to stay out of your way and not say much so I dont get my head chewed off or suspended for saying the wrong thing.”

And this is WHY you assumed I had snapped your head off. You have a bias against me. I’ve never done anything to you, but you are seeing it in places it doesn’t exist because you have preconceived ideas about me.

And another fucking thing. If I’m so mother fucking scary that you’re pissing in your pants in fear, what the fuck possesses you to get shitty with me? Huh? If you’re living in mortal terror of big bad branik, why get shitty with her? That’s fucking stupid. No the truth is you’re fucking ragging and got shitty with me and now you’re trying to turn it around to make yourself into a victim. Get a life.

Where would one get these ideas, Ms Bran? Oh yeah, your interactions with your players. From just READING all of those posts and comments anyone would get that opinion of you. Not to mention it happens to be true. And another fucking thing. (I'm copying Branik, teehee!) Scary doesn't mean terrifying. You make people uneasy. You put them on edge. They aren't gonna pee themselves by looking at what you typed. "Ragging?" Okay. Now we all know that Branik is bleeding from her snatch, she can stop placing the blame on someone else. We KNOW. Its okay. Pretty much everyone is female. It happens to most all of us. Its NORMAL.

“I get a lot of enjoyment from this game, and this upsets me that you would put this up for all the world to see then call me a bitch for it.”

Yeah well sweetheart your shitty reply that I didn’t deserve upset me.

It wasn't for you, sweetheart.

“Raging PMS??? A good player gets a snarky response and I am the raging PMS bitch??? Thats not fair.”

You getting shitty with me wasn’t fair. And yes you are a raging PMS bitch because YOU did not get any snarky reply, but YOU got shitty with ME. YOU are NOT a good player.

Here we go with PMS again! Will it ever stop? This comment makes me wonder if ANYONE, outside of her minions, are considered good players.

“But you know what, even though you have felt the need to publically hang me out to dry and make me an example, I am going to show you I am not a bitch. I am sorry Bran. There, here for all the world to see. I apologize to you for responding in the manner that I did.”

And I bet you are so proud of your backhanded apology. Congratulations, you attack me further then act like you are so superior as to offer an “apology”. Well honey I don’t accept it. It is not a sincere apology because you felt you did wrong. You just posted that you felt justified in getting shitty with me. That means you are not sorry at all. You’re just saying the words, blowing smoke up my ass. I despise insincere bitches like you, trying to make yourselves look good with insincere bullshit.

Hahaha, she probably is sorry she ever brought it up. Actually, I can guarantee it. "Up the ass?" I wonder if these posts are codes for things that Branik likes. She called her honey. Maybe Branik has the hots for her? It would make sense seeing as she referred to the gay community as "us gays" and is married to a man.

“And, you wont ever hear another word out of me.”

I highly doubt that.

This translates from Bran-Language to "I will taunt you until you reply out of anger again."

“Again, I appreciate your time.”

No, you don’t."

Is she psychic now? Can she read minds? I thought she had autism or Assburgers or something that caused her to be unable to understand other human beings? I am so confused.

"And another fucking thing. You said “I try very hard to stay out of your way and not say much so I dont get my head chewed off or suspended for saying the wrong thing.”

So tell us all, are you fucking suspended? Speak up honey, tell the world. They can see what you said. They can see how long ago I read it. Did your ass get suspended for jumping down my throat?

You talk like you walk on eggshells, so terrified of accidentally setting me off and getting banned. I don’t know about where you come from, but where I’m from they don’t consider jumping down my throat and being a shitty bitch to me walking on eggshells. Your shitty attitude you copped with me was no accident. It was on purpose.

So speak up LOUD AND CLEAR. Tell EVERYONE HERE. You are trying to paint this picture of me as the big bad meanie that suspends people for saying things I don’t like.

ARE YOU FUCKING SUSPENDED BITCH?"

Oh, it appears Branik doesn't understand other humans. She claimed to only be fearful of being suspended. That's reasonable since you posted how proud you were that you suspended someone for wanted their money back because they misunderstood what they were getting, even though your Terms of Service talk about refunds. Hm. Anyway, most all of your players ARE walking on eggshells. Also - "And another fucking thing." Oops, she did it again.

"No suspensions. No fines. No in game punishment at all. That sure blows lots of holes in the big bad branik gonna get me shit that these shitty bitches spew, as usual."

So... that's a BAD player? You said she wasn't a good player.

"i use the admin account to answer tickets too. i was the one that answered your ticket not bran. (how rude is the reply now?) once you clean the egg off your face from spewing this bull shit you need to apologize to her and mean it."

I think Branik has a pretty tight leash on Jim. You can tell by that reply. Branik and Jim use a lot of the same phrases. Noted here is the "clean the egg off your face."

"Well now there’s some irony for you."

I'm confused with Branik's reply. Did she not know that she didn't make the reply? Why did it take so long for this fact to come out?

I never denied my own attitude in any of this. I am only human and unacustomed to the blunt short response.

"I dont deny my fault in any of this. But, I will say this, that in all of this, never once did I reach out with the hopes of making someone feel hated or ugly by something that I have said.

Forgive me Bran, if I have had the wrong impression about you all along. But please know, that in our environment, the only way we come to know anything about eachother is by what we say and do. Unfortunately, Bran, you have to, out of nessecity, spend a lot of time cracking down on people who try to undermine all that you do.

I do enjoy your game, I think that is fairly evident in my daily interactions and financial commitment to my accounts.

So, I am sorry, but wish you would try to understand, that like you, I am prone to misinterpretation and misunderstanding and I am only human. It is my hope though, that I never hurt anyone the same way I am hurting by calling them such disheartening names.

I am so very sorry for the trouble I have caused. Thank you to those who tried to calm the stormy waters here, and thank you to those who reached out to me when I just felt hated over something like this.

Bran, I would like to stay on with my horses and I thank you for not suspending me. I wont bother you again, this will be the last comment I make on your blog.

I never intended for things to get this ugly and honestly, I am at a loss for words at just how ugly it got."

So the players backs down. She pretty much just turns the other cheek and waits for Bran to slap that one, too.

Branik's reply #2!

“I am only human and unacustomed to the blunt short response.”

Blunt? Short? What did you expect, a freaking novel for an answer? Please share some enlightenment on just what answer would have been acceptable to you? Please specify exactly the problem with that answer. In detail please. Show us exactly what was wrong with it and don’t use the cop out “it was blunt.”

If you call up a local store and ask them how much Item X costs, and the person replies “y dollars” do you accuse them of snapping your head off? Do you accuse them of being blunt and short? Do you get shitty with them for being “too blunt” with you?

She might, Bran! Did you not read the part where she wasn't used to that? So what if it was blunt to her? Why are you so obsessed with your bluntness.

“But, I will say this, that in all of this, never once did I reach out with the hopes of making someone feel hated or ugly by something that I have said.”

Really? How was your nasty rude reply to support supposed to make me (and we know it was directed at me) feel? Warm and fuzzy? Appreciated? Respected?

No, it was supposed to make me feel bad. So yeah, go on feeling self righteous and superior there.

I still have trouble seeing how that reply was "nasty" or "rude." I guess its because I understand my fellow humans. I also can't see how that reply could ever make someone feel "bad." "I touched the velvet, but I didn't feel anything. I feel bad."

“But please know, that in our environment, the only way we come to know anything about eachother is by what we say and do.”

Please tell me what I ever did to deserve the nasty opinion of me you had that provoked you to get nasty when you didn’t like a reply you thought I wrote.

Oh dear, that would take forever. I'm hoping that this blog will show how people ahve been coming to that conclusion.

Who did I suspend because they accidentally said something that made me mad? Show me exactly what you base that accusation of me on. You say I am so domineering and scary that you were terrified to speak for fear I would unjustly ban you. Who did I do that to? Where is your justification for saying that about me? Show me the list of people I banned for personal reasons please.

You suspend people for disagreeing with you, Bran. Just because you call it "getting snarky" doesn't mean they are. Just like you make up names for horse colors. It doesn't change the real horse color, it just changes it in your mind.

“Bran, you have to, out of nessecity, spend a lot of time cracking down on people who try to undermine all that you do.”

So you just figure I’m “scary and domineering” because I enforce rules, and make the game a nice place for people like you to enjoy? Lovely. That inspires me to work hard.

Do you think police are meanies that you should cop an attitude with too?

Would you rather I let the riff raff stay without consequences to their actions? Shall I sit here and smile like a brainless moron while people go around having flame wars and cheating each other like they do on other games? Do you stop to think what it would be like if I didn’t do anything?

Hey, cops can be jerks, too! You wouldn't cop an attitude with one because they might just beat you or arrest you or something. The police are a million times scarier than Bran could ever be. This game is run like the old communist party. You have to be pals with the right people and make sure not to say anything to dangerous or you'll find yourself kidnapped and interrogated until you snap.

“So, I am sorry, but wish you would try to understand, that like you, I am prone to misinterpretation and misunderstanding and I am only human.”

I didn’t misinterpret anything. In fact I interpreted it exactly as it is. You had a bad attitude with me (when it wasn’t even me) because of your preconceived assumptions about me that were false.

I wish you would try to understand you got shitty with support because you are biased against me, and that is just wrong. That isn’t a pretty way to be.

Yay! Branik is cured of autism! She can now understand what people mean THROUGH THE INTERNET. She is more amazing than the average human!

“It is my hope though, that I never hurt anyone the same way I am hurting by calling them such disheartening names.”

You were hurtful for no reason. You know your message back to support was mean spirited. You were just looking for something to be upset about in those words because you don’t like me, and you assumed I wrote it.

It doesn’t matter what words you used, your sentiment about me was very clear, and it wasn’t kind. Do you think I go off cussing up a storm and being pissed off like this because something felt good? I’m pissed off and hurt and you dear caused it because you are not a nice person.

I... have no words. Branik is insane. That's all.

“Thank you to those who tried to calm the stormy waters here, and thank you to those who reached out to me when I just felt hated over something like this.”

Yes, by all means thank those that tried to put the blame on me, and make you feel better about your bad behavior. Ten bucks they have the same shitty opinion of me you have. Peas in a pod and all that. Talk about feeling hated.

I'm still laughing. I think Branik is some sort of paranoia issue.

“Bran, I would like to stay on with my horses and I thank you for not suspending me.”

I don’t give a flying fig what you do, but you probably should stay away from me because I don’t like you. As for not suspending you, wake up and get with reality. I don’t just run around suspending people willy nilly for fun. I’m not petty that way like you made me out to be. I suspend people for specific justifiable reasons. Not that you didn’t deserve it for your little snit fit. I would strongly suggest against you having any more moments of hostility toward support.

You're not proving your point, Branik.

A big reason for this blog was to dispel the myth that seems to surround me because of people like you. People that make it sound like I just get mad over something I misunderstand and go around banning people’s accounts willy nilly for no good reason. It is here so people can see what is actually happening. So they can see how Jekyll and Hyde people like you are treating me. You see if I had just quietly suspended you for your inappropriate behavior, all people knew about you was how nice you seemed. That would just feed the perception that I ban people that don’t deserve it. They’d have just whispered among themselves about how I suspended that poor nice girl, without ever knowing about your ‘other side.’

"Dispel the myth?" This does more to prove it. I'm sorry.

“I never intended for things to get this ugly and honestly, I am at a loss for words at just how ugly it got.”

Amazing. Did you think you could get nasty with me, and I’d just smile?

What did you intend to happen when you sent that rude reply? Were you hoping you could just abuse us at support without us saying anything? Think you could just take snotty shots off at us and we’d roll over for you? Customer is always right and all that shit?

Newsflash. I’m no ones whipping boy, and I don’t take abuse kindly. I don’t care how much you pay me."

If anyone has any idea where Branik is getting her ideas from, LET ME KNOW. I'm at a loss of her train of thought, and fear that all of these preconceived notions are true.

Oh well... nothing good can last forever!

Look Guys! Branik's post:

"Recently as I mentioned in the Eyeshine thread, I was rather unpleasantly treated by a fellow "Siberian" breeder. I use that term loosely.

Their kennel name sounded familiar to me, so I googled it to see if I knew who they were, and I went to their website. Man oh man do I. Their dogs look like crossbreds. All nondescript pet bloodlines for generation after generation. One of them I SWEAR I thought the dog was a Saluki from the headshot. I thought nothing of it since many Siberian owners have a dog of other breeds. I saw one that I thought was a bad GSD. That didn't stand out to me since they claim they train for Search and Rescue and family protection/guard dog. Then I realized. These are all supposed Siberians. I about crapped myself."

CrossinDixonRanch's post in another thread:

"The black and tans adults just don't look purebred to me, type wise. The 6th picture down, that dog has poor type if it's a purebred lab. Beautiful color though. I could have bought a brindle puppy around 4 years ago but was a bit leery of it, maybe I should have bought him. LOL! I love the brindle and black puppy."

Branik's reply to CDR:

"People say the same crap about purebred true hunting Labradors. Looks aren't a good indicator of purity of bloodline."

and

"And just so it is clear, accusing someone of purposely breeding bad dogs for color without a single shred of evidence to support this as fact is libel, and that is illegal.

Not one person here knows the reason that dog exists. CrossinDixon made an assumption just because the dog is a recessive color that cropped out, and insulted the people that bred the dog based on her stupidity. She has been given a 14 day ban from being able to post here because she did something illegal and didn't have the common decency to take it back and apologize when I pointed out she is wrong. Instead she got smart mouthed."

That being said: WTF? (PS According to Branik the F in LMFAO and WTF means "fat.")

The Game Owner(s) Strike Again!

So I ran across a thread today in Branik's game forum. Member Angels_Wings (with 948 posts and 12 karma btw) noticed something that had been overlooked and was ripped a new one for it.

Here is her post, all the bold text is my emphasis:

"i was just in the Trade Ya board where i saw that Jubadove was banned for asking for a Regular import in trade. but where i dont understand the fairness is why was she banned when a Mod asked for the same thing Earlier that same day and was not called out on it, in fact not even a mention about its inappropriateness , yet jubadove received a week long banning. i certainly am not saying that it was overlooked intentionally but would like to call attention to it."

So the OP noticed something that seemed unfair. Not a big surprise since Branik actually does pick favorites. By favorites I mean people that agree completely with her and avoid rocking the boat. The OP is sure to add that she isn't saying it was necessarily intentional. That means she is NOT saying it was favoritism. She's just bringing it to everyone's attention.

"jubadoves thread was started after 4 pm. perhaps because a mod was seen asking for the same items they felt it ok to ask for and seeing as they assume the "going rate" for it was 20k ( which is what The Mod was offering) it seems logical that this is the case. "

Yes, that's very logical as far as I'm concerned. I would be suspicious, too.

"im sorry if anyone feels like i am stepping on toes bringing this out but my sense of fairness just wasnt going to let this go right now."

Very polite and well-meaning imho. The OP saw something that concerned her and was questioning it. I would have, too.

Now! Do you think Branik has the common decency to approach this in a tactful manner? Let's see!

"Tacky.

Very tacky.

You got something to call me out on, you need to use contact us and talk to me one on one.

Now here's a little something that your mind likely didn't consider. I didn't see the other thread. Yeah imagine that. I didn't get through every single thread on the board.

In fact I have not read anything on that board since I installed it and Mashie moved everything to it. This morning the thread title "Imports" caught my eye from the main board index, where it shows the most recent thread posted to for each section. I clicked. I saw. Due to the DDoS attack it has taken me since 11 AM (now 1:15 PM) to post what I did, and get Jubadove's ban in place. I INTEND to go read the other threads now.

Now you can apologize for your insinuations of favoritism. I can't believe you would have the nerve to accuse ME of all people of not being fair in discipline. Disgusting."


Well, well, well... Who here is NOT surprised? That's right. No one is surprised?

Branik, if you want players to contact you one-on-one you need to stop using people as examples and calling them out. If you post in your own forum in such a personal manner you cease to be the mysterious administrator. You are now a common player no matter what title you present under your name. A forum is TOO PERSONAL.

Judging by Branik's reply she probably should have said something along the lines of "I see where you are concerned, but unfortunately I have not had a chance to get through all of the threads because of more dire circumstances. I plan on getting through all of then as soon as possible. Thank you for keeping an eye on things."


Of course, Branik has to flame everyone. Her tone is demeaning and hostile. She is creating an environment that causes anger. That is very unprofessional. Then again, Branik has never been known to be professional.

After all of that she asks for an apology for "accusing her of favoritism," which NEVER HAPPENED. She's paranoid and making things up in her head. She had the perfect opportunity to sets people's minds at ease, but she blew it. Big time.

Funny enough, her rarely seen slave... I mean husband comes to the rescue. Read on!

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TO MAKE THIS STATEMENT.
BRANIK IS ONLY ONE PERSON. maybe you people should notify support of things like this so it can be taken care of faster. oh by the way THE BUTTON IS RIGHT ON THE POST TO LET US KNOW ABOUT **I have a potty mouth** LIKE THIS WHEN YOU SEE IT."

Fake internet yelling with caps? Check. Swearing in a forum where swearing is filtered out? Check. Attacking on a personal level (example being the who the hell do you think you are)? Check. Not helping the situation at all? Double Check!

So apparently Branik DID find a good match. Who would have thought! I for one envisioned someone that was terrified for his life because he realized the woman he fell for was bat-shit insane. Guess not! I guess he just wanted a dominatrix.

Here are the next three posts:

"*coughs* I think we need to clone you, Branik.
And for the record, you are 100% fair 100% of the time." - poplarplace

"From the short time I have been on here , I for one, have not seen Bran or Bear show any partiality even to the admins and others who have been here for a while.

On another note, it is up to all of us to watch out for things like this and message support about it if we are not sure it is within the guidelines. Bran and Bear, you do a great job and make it much easier on all of us that I think sometimes we take you for granted. " - mom2ashley

"I agree. I've NEVER seen any partiality either. Don't know where that came from..." - poplarplace

Let me tell you girls... you are blind. You are so blind that you are brown-nosing so hard that shit's coming off your face. Why don't you give up, open your eyes, and realize your beloved fantasy world is probably going to collapse in on itself?

I am 100% positive you are both sweet, sweet, intelligent young ladies, but dropping to your knees and worshiping Branik as infalliable is not doing yourselves any justice. Stop curling into a little ball and whimpering every time that Branik raises her e-voice. Do yourselves a favor and stop selling yourselves short!

Why ER Sucks: A Novel

Okay, I'm a nerd. I'll admit it. I like video games, thick rimmed glasses, corporate coffee shops, and rock n' roll. I also think horsies are cute. Maybe it is a throwback to my childhood years where I wanted to have my very own horse, but was denied that because horses are pretty expensive. What I really mean by that is: horses are a rich person's hobby. If you're rich, you can have horses. If you're not... you're better off just taking lessons, a one-hour trail ride, or perhaps renting/ leasing.

Anyway, if I combine horses and the internet, I get horse sims. There are roughly a quarter of a million of these games available. Some are free, some cost money. All of them are made somewhat unprofessionally. There are a couple larger scale horse sims, but they're not online nor are they the subject of my discussion.

I'm a busy person, but I like to be lazy sometimes. Horse sims can be "fun" to fiddle around with occasionally. Its a game. Games are supposed to be fun. Genetics companies have already made not-fun genetics games. We use them in class. They're not fun.

However, being a nerd I am also interested in science. That means that I like somewhat accurate/ realistic horse sims. I searched for awhile and thought I found one. It was called SomeHorseGame.

There were a lot of things I liked about the game. There was genetic testing for horses, many breeds, accurate color inheritance, and it was easy. It pretty much required no thought and the colors were pleasant to look at.

After awhile, the game became less and less fun. Initially, I thought the game owner's boldness was a bit refreshing. It was nice that she wasn't taking crap from people, but it soon got to the point where I didn't see where she was coming from. It started to appear that she'd single people out, harass them until they lost their composure, and throw them to the dogs. It was sickening. It was horribly unprofessional.

She had a forum where people could talk. People who disagreed with her were disgraced. People who agreed with her appeared to be doing it to save their own skins. It was a hostile environment, and people have really cut back even posting there. Why? Its dangerous. If something gets your goat and the admin doesn't think its a valid opinion you would have to be prepared for someone telling you how stupid you were, how wrong you were, how uneducated and idiotic you were. You were a bitch, a cunt, a brat, useless to the world, and not deserving of being in "her majesty's presence." Proving her wrong was useless. She can erase posts, lie, and swear. ALL of her points were magically the best, not matter how many times they've been proven wrong. There is no use arguing.

Arguing in itself was a horrible idea. You had to debate, but she could attack. Her forums are the best example of a double standard I could see. If I was a game admin, I wouldn't have brought this stuff up in the first place. It would be my job to act professionally. I'm supposed to be an example, not an exception. In the end, it is still sickening.

Besides the game owner being a horrible human being, other things started to rear their ugly heads. Unlike many other horse sims I've played, you easily lose your information. You can lose all of your work. The game owner will make a change that completely nullifies everything you've done. This denies you the chance of any satisfaction related to hard work, careful planning, and lots of clicking. It makes all the time you've spend, all of the money you've spend, entirely wasted. Is that a fun game? No.

Don't get me wrong, updates are nice. Just not at the expense of the last few months of work. That is enough to turn many people away from a game.

In relation to changes and updates: If you're against numbers, and you eliminate them causing players to have to relearn how to play, don't go back around and ADD NEW ONES IN. My actual issue deals with eliminating the physical characteristic numbers and then adding in the COI. The COI is NOT something the normal person can just see. This is something that needs calculated. It is useless only going back three generations anyway. If the COI is still something that is definitely wanted then hide it and let people calculate it themselves. When I buy a horse, I don't see the COI of that animal tattooed on it's butt.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the colors. The colors are somewhat accurate with a few issues here and there, but the basic colors are fine. I have a problem with changing the names. People have gotten together and decided on names for champagne and pearl and changing the names to rather cheesy things like platinum and sesame is just silly.

So in summary:

Pros:
Game generated pictures - you can't upload your own (which is great!)
Somewhat realistic COLOR genetics
Simple and easy to play
Lots of hidden stats to be discovered

Cons:
Game Owner is the biggest bitch in the whole wide world
Color terminology is subject to the whims of the game owner
Frequent updates nullify work done by players
Frequent updates that provide useless information
NO free trial, you have to pay to see what the full game is like (even WoW doesn't do that)
Game is always "under construction"
Hostile forum environment

There is so much more to talk about and I'm sure I'll bring it up in due time.

Where do I start?

Honestly, since her blog opened yesterday Branik has posted so many times you need to go back a page. Goodness, gracious! Someone has emotional problems, huh?

Honestly, I highly doubt Branik has much more of a problem other than Histrionic Personality Disorder. A.K.A. Internet Attention Whore. She made a blog about running an online, browser-based, horse breeding simulation that's is HARDLY accurate. It's not like she posts every now and then about something really, ridiculous, she's getting mad about things that every small-scale game owner has to deal with. Sorry, honey, you're not special.

If your game was so special, why would anyone play another one? Frankly, it ISN'T hard. It's probably the easiest horse sim I've ever playing in my entire life. And that's saying a lot. I enjoy putting about the internet when I'm feeling like vegging out, which is often. I just started one that roughly a million times harder and appears just as genetically accurate, if not more so.

I'll break my thoughts down for you folks.

#1 Branik is histrionic. Here are some signs for your viewing pleasure:

"essential feature of the histrionic personality disorder is a pervasive and excessive pattern of emotionality and attention-seeking behavior"
Flipping out? Check. Whining non-stop? Check. Throwing tantrums? Check. Swearing around children? Double check.

"Women with HPD are described as self-centered, self-indulgent, and intensely dependent on others" Constantly on the internet, eh Bran? Gotta talk at people that you'll never meet? Can't find anyone else that will listen to you or care what you have to say? Every time you post its about how much of a genius you are, how hard your life is, and how far you've come. Every time anyone posts with their problem, you have to take one step further. Their dog died? Yours was murdered by your arch nemesis. Someone's car got a scratch? Yours was blown up by terrorists. Okay, I might be exaggerating with the examples, but that's basically what it sounds like. It is ALL about you.

"They are emotionally shallow and have difficulty understanding others or themselves in any depth" This one hits the nail on the head. Branik said herself that. Here's a cute Branik quote:

"The minute I would get comfortable at a place of employment, I'd get fired. I would always think I was finally getting along and it would just surprise me out of left field. I never saw it coming. Only once did I last at one company for more than two years and my career at that franchise was like a yo-yo. I was promoted and demoted and bounced from one store to another so often I often didn't know what job I was doing or where I was working from one day to the next.

Another thing that tended to take me off guard was finding out that people I worked with hated me. I would be going along thinking we got along good, and find out that they can't stand me. I will never grasp that kind of deceptive behavior, but man NTs are bad about it."

I don't want to quote too much, but I can if its requested. She basically goes around saying how she doesn't care/ understand other human being and how dumb they are. She's also a genius and not arrogant. Hmmm.

Here are some more! I don't have enough hours in the day to show evidence of all of them, but if you want it I WILL provide.

"Women with HPD may show inappropriate and intense anger"

"Excessive sensitivity to criticism or disapproval"

"Excessive dramatics with exaggerated displays of emotions"

"Constant seeking of reassurance or approval"

"A need to be the center of attention"

"Low tolerance for frustration or delayed gratification"

"Making rash decisions"

Honestly, I know nothing of Branik's personal relationships, and I'd rather never know. We've had hints and suggestions about it, especially the idea that a female player was showing the same actions as an "abusive ex." Uh... what? You're clinically insane.

The next post will be about the game itself.

Introductions!

Here's a new blog to discuss why ER sucks. Frankly, if you're here you think its lame. If you don't think ER is lame you shouldn't be here. You guys have your own blog.