Nobody likes SPAM. Well, we can't speak for the stuff in a can, but we do know that nobody likes e-mail SPAM. We want you all to know that we do not intentionally SPAM you--we think SPAM is annoying too. That being said, if you feel you're getting SPAMed by us, we apologize, it's not something we control manually, it's something YOU control.

If you consider getting e-mail alerts about activity on your Hobzob account SPAM, you just need to change the settings on your account. Hobzob functions just like Facebook; when you sign up, you are automatically registered to recieve e-mail alerts and just like on Facebook, you have to unsubscribe from these alerts if you don't want them. Some people like them if they don't always have time to get to Hobzob so they can still see what's going on. Others, prefer to not get alerts and just see what's new when they actually get to the site. It doesn't bother us one way or the other which you prefer, but we do care if you feel that you're getting SPAMed by us. To stop receiving e-mail alerts, all you have to do is:

1. Click "edit account" in the gray box under your profile picture on your workbench.

2. Scroll down until you see the zip code box. Under the zip code box are two smaller boxes that have check marks in them.

3. Read those options by those boxes and choose weather or not you want them to apply to you. If you don't want to receive e-mail alerts about activity on your Hobzob account, simply uncheck the first box--it's that easy. The second box you can uncheck will unsubscribe you from our weekly newsletters.

4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click "update/save changes."

If you choose to stop receiving e-mail alerts, it should solve your "SPAM" problem. If at any time you change your mind, you can always begin to receive e-mail alerts again by re-checking those boxes.

As far as messages that you receive in your in-box on Hobzob from groups you belong to, we cannot control those messages (unless they're coming from one of our groups, but we make sure we don't send them often). We just thought we'd pass along those helpful tips so nobody feels like they're getting SPAMed by anyone on the site because that's definitely not our intention. If you still feel like you're getting SPAMed please contact us to help you resolve the issue.

Thanks to all our members, we love having you here and we want to make sure Hobzob is a pleasant place for you to spend your time!

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Sorry for our absence last week, things were a little crazy!

You think you know the whole to this picture? Paste the link in the comments section and we'll be the judge of that!

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Hey Hobzobbers!

Starting off, we'd like to congratulate Bear on winning February's challenge contest. He'll receive a free one year subscription to Hi-Torque's R/C Car Magazine courtesy of...well, R/C Car Magazine!

March's contest is really fun and easy, it's called "Comment and Win." We've posted three different pictures in an album on the Official Hobzob Contest Group (http://contests.hobzob.com) page. All you have to do is write the caption for one or all of the pictures in the comment section. There will be one winner for each caption/picture.

What do you win you ask? A $30 Visa gift card sponsored by Woodland Scenics, Bob Smith Industries or Southern Hobby Supply.

You have until March 21 to write your comments (as many as you like for each one, but as separate comments). The winner will be announced on March 29.

Some of the pictures we found on Hobzob, others we found on Google, hope you enjoy them, they made us smile!

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I found this blog post recently of a guy who decided to go all out and make his game room the sort of environment we’ve all wanted to play in. It is amazing what he has done. There are stain glass windows, a portcullis, and a weapons rack. I’m not sure if this level of obsession is healthy, but it is definitely something I can get behind.

http://www.ac...ic.php?t=8714

The only complaint I have is that the weapons and some of the decorations were props from the 1st D&D movie. While I love D&D I was never able to get behind the movie. Maybe I’m suffering from a little geek snobbery, but the movie felt more patronizing than genuine. It’s too bad he couldn’t have hired a couple SCA guys to make the weapons for him. Considering that my gaming rooms have always consisted of a folding table and those cheap plastic chairs you buy at Wal-Mart, I'm not sure I have much room to comment.

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Think you know the whole to this picture? Post the link in the comments section and we'll be the judge of that!

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Post the link to the full picture if you know it!

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Take a quick journey with me. Think back to your most memorable pen and paper RPG experiences. Is there a common theme? If you are like me the most enjoyable role playing events have been when the game took you some place creatively that you were not expecting to go. Your best memories revolve around plot, not rules.

I’ve often wondered. If our best experiences involve character, plot, and storytelling, why are games so focused on rules? The true uniqueness of pen and paper is that it is free form, and open ended. Unlike computer RPG’s pen and paper is limited only by the aggregate imagination of the people in the group.

With this in mind my friend introduced me to the game The Pool.

http://www.sc...l-an-inde-RPG

An important thing to understand is that the rulebook for The Pool is only 4 pages long so the average rules lawyer will want to pass on playing it. I’ve pulled out the concepts that most intrigue me.

+ There are no attributes and skills. Your character is created by you writing a story. You only get 50 words.

+ There are no experience points. Instead you get 15 new words to add to your story. Let’s say I’m playing a barbarian named Tog who is trying to avenge the death of his father. At the end of a scene I am awarded my 15 words to add to my story. I add “Tog fought as a gladiator in the city Thorne, where he won commoners love and adoration.” (Using your name in your story doesn’t count as a word, for those of you double checking me). If our group happens to visits Throne in the future Tog will be treated as an ex-gladiator there, and receive the pro’s and con’s that go with it.

+ The Monologue of Victory. You really need to read the rules to understand exactly what this is. In short it allows a player who has won a die roll (i.e. conflict) to take over the story for a few minutes. The player must abide by the established fact and tone of the current story, but otherwise may add new elements or take things in different directions.

In summary, The Pool takes the best from pen and paper RPG’s, adds a healthy dose of improve, and creates something completely fresh and new. If any of you have tried this game I would love to hear how it worked out.

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Post a link to the comments if you think you know the whole picture. Maybe we were a little trickier this time.

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I had a friend who spent a 1 ½ years of a 3 year sentence in a maximum security prision. He used to write me with horror stories as he really was not the type to flourish in such an environment. One time I asked him what he did all day to keep his mind occupied and his head low. His response? D&D from breakfast until dinner, and Vampire The Masquerade until lights out. I have to admit, hearing that I thought to myself that maybe prison wouldn't be so bad.

Until I read this article :

D&D banned at Wis. prison because it promotes gang activity

http://blogs....anned_wis.php

From the article:

“Your life will have nothing to do with D&D magic if you are behind bars in one Wisconsin prison. Why you ask? The role-playing game promotes gang activity. Ah yes, should have known those D&D kids were up to something bigger than monster figurines and not having real friends. “

What I find interesting is the idea that the game promotes Gang Activity. Later in the article it states that D&D has been banned since 2004. This makes me wonder if Gang Activity at the Prison has been down since then. If D&D causes Gang Activity and D&D is banned, then it follows that Gang Activity should decrease. Something tells me the Gangs at that prison are still flourishing.

I think we all know the truth about what is going on here. The warden is smart enough to look at the nerdy guys playing D&D and realize they are not hard-core gangbangers. Instead this is just a new manifestation of the (very old) idea that D&D promotes Satanism. So why doesn’t the warden ban D&D on that premises? One freedom that is protected in prisons, is the freedom of religion. You are allowed to freely worship Satan if that is your religion.

Kevin Singer, an inmate at the prison has sued to try to get his D&D books back. Unfortunately I think he took the wrong stance in his law suit. His claim was that it infringed upon his First Amendment rights. He may have had better luck claiming it was a religious issue, that he was a Satanist, and "playing D&D", aka "Worshiping", was an important part of his expression of his religious beliefs.

The moral of this story is that if you are going to commit a crime, don't do it in Wisconsin.

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It would appear that we've been too easy on you all...

If you think you know where this picture is located on the site, post the link. Also let us know if you'd like to see these photo hunts more often (Monday and Wednesday?).

Happy Hunting (photo hunting that is...)!

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