Ed Miller Resigned?

[Ed Miller]

I edited this post from its original form because I thought more about how I feel and some of my thoughts have clarified a bit. Just a heads-up to anyone who read both versions.

*******

Hi all,

Elaine is very mad, and what she says on her blog is what she says, not what I say. Not that I disagree with her totally or anything... just that we're two different people with two different perspectives.

I decided to step down for a couple reasons:

1. I was feeling crushed in general and decided I needed to spend more time working on the books and playing poker again. I haven't played poker much since I wrote SSHE two and a half years ago, and frankly I was feeling like a bit out of touch, writing about a game I didn't much play. I'm going to go back to what I got into poker for... playing and writing books.

2. Participating in the forums has become a major sap on my life. I used to enjoy it, but now I don't. It has made me very depressed over the last six months or so, and it eats a lot of my time. It's invaded my personal life in a way that's just not ok with me.

Just so it's clear, Elaine didn't in any way precipitate this decision. Based on the culture here, I know there will be rumors floating that demonize Elaine and paint her as a villan, but you all should know that those rumors will be 100% baseless and will bear no relation to what actually happened. Elaine never even hinted that I should make this decision.

It's one I made on my own. In fact, while Elaine and I had discussed the idea of me concentrating on books and playing before, I didn't even tell Elaine about my meeting with Mason until after the fact.

The blow-up over the weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, but I already knew that I wanted to make this decision, and mostly the only question was when.

This is not a protest on my part. This is a decision that's been on my mind for months now... a quality of life decision for me and Elaine.

And to be honest, I have no idea how to run a forum or build a community or whatever. I don't think I "know better" about how 2+2 should be run... in fact, that's quite it... I feel like books and playing are my areas of expertise, and I feel I strayed from my core competencies by dabbling in the forum, and I think that was an error. I got a little egoistic thinking I could save the world, so to speak, and then I realized that I was in over my head. So I made a difficult for me, but ultimately I think very positive for everyone, decision.

Having said that, I am very uncomfortable with some of the content on the forum... and much of it is the same content Elaine is uncomfortable with. This content, as well as the general tone and culture here, is largely what has gotten me down on participating. Frankly, I don't enjoy wading through misogyny, discussions of violence, graphic videos, and teems of know-it-all 19-year-old pricks with nasty quips and one-liners. It's not just in OOT... this culture permeates the forum these days. It makes me depressed.

I bear absolutely no ill-will toward Mason or Mat or anyone at 2+2. Overall my experience with 2+2 has been excellent, and I look forward to continue writing excellent books for 2+2. I hope everyone understands where I'm coming from.