OLD NEWS

16 July 1997

Everybody give RedFive a big-ass SMS welcome. Another Canadian joins the ranks...

14 July 1997

From the Boneheads R Us file...
I got the following message about a week ago after advertising on Dymite's Clan Complex, in which I said that SMS is recruiting and that more information is available in our "Joining" section:

I would like to be in your clan. Please E-Mail me back.

*sigh* In an unusual display of tolerance, I e-mailed this AOL user back, saying words to the effect of:

Check out membership requirements on our "Joining" page at http://www.tidalwave.net/~jake/sms/joining.htm.

What next? Why, this response:

The website that you gave me for signing up is just blank. Do I need a frames browser to view the page?

Dear God. And AOL users wonder why they have such a bad rap with the rest of the Net. Here's a clue: when you provide a service that bills itself as non-technical and user-friendly....what kind of users do you expect to attract?!? For every intelligent AOL user, there are about five bottom-feeders, I figure. Suffice it to say that this loser shouldn't expect the membership card in the mail any time soon. If he can't get the hang of a web browser that supports HTML features that have been around since 1995, I suspect that QuakeWorld would kick him straight in the ass.

13 July 1997

Thanks to LT's Ace and Heehee as well as EvilNun for showing up to practice last night. Despite connection problems and lag, I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all. Check out a screenshot and note the God-awful ping rate LT Ace has...

9 July 1997

Say "hi" to our newest member, Coerver, coming to us from Maryland.

Also, a thanks goes out to GreytWYTE who is currently working on the SMS skin.

6 July 1997

SMS has gone co-ed with the introduction of our first female member, EvilNun! EvilNun will be representing Clan Steel Maelstrom in the upcoming All-Female Quake Tourney.

13 June 1997

Was that your black cat I just ran over?

A couple of notes: first, welcome to new member Maniac who joins us today. Also, our old friend Dethquake is now known as S1nn. No word on whether the title "The Player Formerly Known As Dethquake" was ever an option.

4 June 1997

A big SMS welcome to MaxMouse, a new member who hails from Toronto. With the recent influx of Canadians, I think I'd better start putting up maple leaves around here... :D

Also, our old friend DethQuake has returned. Huzzah!

26 May 1997

Good practice tonight...thanks to LT's Ace and Taz for showing up.

In what seems to be like a non-stop cavalcade of real-world intervention, Dawg resigned from SMS...citing you-know-what.

Hey...I was watching the Discovery Channel today (motto: "when you really really need to see animals mating") and saw a story about Id on a program called "NextStep". Either the show itself was in reruns or they were way behind the power curve, because they mentioned that "reclusive Id co-founder and chief programming guru John Carmack avoided our cameras, busily working on the next Quake-related program, 'QuakeWorld'". The show didn't have anything interesting or new to say, although it was interesting to take a look inside Id. And hey...you know what? Those guys look like GEEKS! (And hey, as a software professional myself, I think I've seen my fair share of geeks...so I would know. I'm not only president of the geek club for men, I'm also a member....)

23 May 1997

There's lots of news to cover at once as I haven't been able to upload my new pages to my ISP recently, so I'll just summarize:

• Taz was the first to show up on the night of the 17th, shortly followed by HellTorn. Technical problems prevented an immediate duel between the two (it was 9:30pm by now, and we weren't planning on waiting for stragglers), and in the course of the next 30 minutes I lost both of them. P2 then showed up on the IRC channel, followed by LT Heehee. Still, no combat was possible, as Heehee and I were exempt from promotion. No other SMS members showed up that night, so as a result all three were promoted to Sergeant with the intent of battling it out on the next available weekend.
• Ok, well in the week since then, HellTorn and P2 have resigned...citing "real life" and a "lack of activity," respectively.
• Thus, Taz has now been promoted to Lieutenant. Considering he was the first person to show up for the contest, and a "if only one person shows up, he's THE MAN" rule was stated....how could such initiative not be rewarded?
• This weekend's practice will be delayed until Monday night at 9pm Eastern time. IRC Undernet, channel #sms.

17 May 1997

Tonight we meet to choose a new Lieutenant in a trial by fire. I've already outlined the conditions in an e-mail to all concerned....but once again, we shall meet on IRC (Undernet), channel #sms666 at 9pm Eastern time. Be there or be mocked.

In other news, my new Internet provider seems to be having problems with their mail server, so if you've sent me anything prior to 7pm Saturday, I haven't been able to read it. AAAARGH! My kingdom for a trouble-free ISP!

13 May 1997

The SMS roster has been trimmed even further due to the disappearance of three members (Khan, IR8 and Morbid) as well as some very unfortunate events in the lives of a couple of other members, Demogorgon and Lt. Dethquake. Best wishes go out to these last two gents, and we hope they have some time in the future to come back to the block and visit.

Best wishes also go out to Lt. Ace, who's going into the hospital to get his leg hacked at....and Lt. Orca who is flying to the land of the rising sun for a three-week stay.

8 May 1997

Rantage is back from his vacation/honeymoon in Cancun.

15 April 1997

Happy fucking tax day to all you American SMS members out there...

Well, we had a practice this weekend and things went....better than usual, from what I've been told. We've got some work to do on the organizational front, but the fact that some people showed up and participated is encouraging. Thanks to Heehee, Dawg, Taz and DethQuake for showing up and extra cheezy bonus brownie points to Ace and HellTorn who not only showed up but passed on some screenshots for the rest of the world to enjoy (see right)!

Because we've got a few new people in, I've uploaded the whole policy thing on rank structure in SMS. As I've said before, I hate rules & bullshit like this but there comes a point where there are just too many variables in the equation for somebody to "wing it."

11 April 1997

We're online at Tidalwave.net! If you're reading this message, you're already here. More features to be added...

Also, I've uploaded the list of Undernet IRC Servers for your reading pleasure.

10 April 1997

Welcome to three new members: Helltorn, Dawg, and Taz.

15 March 1997

Boba Fett has left SMS, citing a lack of time and interest in the real world. We wish him well in his digitally-remastered, special-edition acting career.

15 March 1997

"Custer had it easier" best described the mayhem and carnage that took place when SMS met The X-Tinction Agenda in battle. Clanmembers DethQuake, Reaperman, Ace and Rantage were on hand to witness what some called an "assraping." Fortunately for us, the EXA boys were quite civilized about the whole thing, given our abysmal ping times. The final score was somewhere around 160-6.

2 March 1997

Rantage is back, after a titanic battle with Real Life of Clan Obligations.

11 August 1997 http://www.tidalwave.net/~jake/sms/sms-news.htm