"I hesitate to write this because i believe any comments on the flame wars encourage them. On the other hand maybe the sad truth is that testosterone fueled anger is the strongest inspiration we have here. It was the TCA SNZ feud after all that was the seed for levels 1817-1819 which I like very much. But both of these guys have made it clear that they don't care about ruining the grid or trashing anything the rest of us are trying to do."

I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I do care, believe it or not. I can only apologize for losing my temper.

However, I'm disappointed that no one has ever objected to the multi-player pile-ons... Except MKC when he was the victim on level 600. This kind of dogpack behavior is common in cyberspace. It's depressing.

Really, I think there's a totally separate issue here. That issue is my lack of refined artistic skills. EHO has touched on this. If I go away, the overall technique of Gridcosm will improve. It'll be a prettier picture. I wonder if the content will improve.

"When a gridder gets pissed off at another gridder he or she challenges the other to a grid-off. If the challenge is accepted, a square is selected and reserved either randomly or by an admin. Both gridders produce a square to fit in the selected one and both are posted on SITO with no names attached. Then we vote say one vote for each Sitoid who has completed over 20 squares. The winner not only gets his or her square put in the grid but may also impose some sanctions on the loser. For example the loser could be banned for five levels or the winner could replace up to three of the losers subsequent squares. I think this would discourage pure shock level insults and encourage blending and artistry. But like i said it will never happen so in the meantime let's just ignore them both until they can play nice."

I've been shunned before elsewhere. However, it's hard to ignore someone who is uploading to a level. Shunning makes the level an unblendy patchwork.

Gridcosm is about cooperation. Voting or invitation-only uploading will make the creative atmosphere overly competitive. The result would probably resemble slick commercial art. It would look like tryouts for designing a video game.