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From Issue #15 April 25, 2013

Letters to the Editor

Characters, dice, and pinball.

By The Editor Twitter icon 

On “Choose Your Character

Mark:

This was by far the best article I’ve read on The Magazine yet. I’ve been a subscriber since the first issue. It was a raw and brutally honest look at issues of motherhood, employee/employer relations, and the fine art of patience.

We also appreciate that Amanda and Maria were part of this collaboration: Brianna formally asked their permission to share details that relate to their jobs and private lives. They and Brianna also worked together on the illustration at the top of the article.

Cindy:

I absolutely loved this piece! It may be the single best article published in The Magazine yet, and it’s definitely the first article about a game studio that’s ever made me think “wow, I’d love to work there.”

Also, I just wanted to say that I’m super impressed with the uptick in female contributors over the last several issues. I know you’ve been putting effort into a more even split, thank you :)

Thanks, Cindy. After we published “Gender Binder” and updated our Web site to include a Pitch link at the top right of every page (as part of adding Web subscriptions), the ratio of submissions by gender is nearly 1:1.

Paul:

Brianna Wu’s essay almost makes up for all your handwringing about lack of female contributors, because although it’s written from a female perspective, it’s about the choices/decisions we all have to make, from those that we learn (managing other people) to those we confront (children or not).

So please, fewer females & more Briannas.

Benjamin:

Wow! Great essay. Loved it loved it.

…but I have to know… who won the Mario Kart battle?!

Brianna was reluctant to disclose the winner because it was her! And thus none of her staff would win the $100 she staked. (She split up the money among the three employees mentioned in the article.) We agreed to hide the answer almost as an easter egg. It worked. Benjamin wrote again a few minutes later:

Never mind, just caught the footnote.

Nice move.

On “Roll for Initiative

Bonnie:

What a great article. I’m a really big fan of The Incomparable podcast so I’m familiar with Scott’s on-air personality, but didn’t realize what an introvert he is until I read this piece. I never would have guessed that he’s so shy as he’s so funny and engaging on the podcast. As a fellow introvert (I always answer “reading” to the question of favorite hobby), I applaud his bravery in sharing this story and also hope he writes more.

Ben:

I’ve been playing D&D for a long time but this is the first account I’ve been able to share with non-players in order to show what the game is all about. D&D can appear quite strange to the uninitiated, but Scott has done a fantastic job of pointing out the main purpose of the game: social interaction.

In a way, it reminds me of the days when console gaming was a multiplayer experience and friends would play a game in the same room (anyone remember 8-player Micro Machines on 4 Mega Drive control pads?) rather than in solitude save for a headset.

D&D is a great way of getting back to a more sociable time and allows for vital escapism at the end of a long week. I’ll definitely add my voice to Scott’s in recommending it as a way for making friends and handling social anxiety.

On “Pinball Wizards

Jeff:

My dad has had an Apollo 13 pinball machine in the basement since I was a little kid. I would say I’m good, not great (though I’m pretty great at foosball…), but this article made me sort of want to find a league.

This is exactly the reason I love reading The Magazine. I know it’s no longer officially “for geeks like us,” but it’s totally still “for geeks like me.” Thanks.

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You can purchase our complete archives, almost 300 articles, as a DRM-free ebook in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats. We ceased publication of new work on December 18, 2014.
You can purchase our complete archives, almost 300 articles, as a DRM-free ebook in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats.
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