THE CULT OF NEGATIVITY

Looking back through the mists of time to when Guy originally asked me to write this column, I recall being asked what I would like it to be called. I chose “Up front” for two reasons. First, because knowing that the column was to appear at the back of the magazine, it amused me. Less of an afterthought, I hoped, and more of a splendid desert to round off the feast; the crème brûée of wargaming, there to amuse and titillate, but with an occasional ‘bombe gateau’ hurled in to shake things up a bit. In fact, it was the opportunity to hurl the odd hand grenade into the hobby that was my prime driver in agreeing to pick up my pen.

Richard Clarke

The name ‘Up Front’ was actually an indication of the fact that I intended to be entirely upfront about certain issues in the hobby, which I felt were having a negative impact or presenting us in a poor light. Back then, the issue of a greying hobby did not need to be talked about; it was pretty clear at most wargaming events that the hobby population was getting older, and the importance of attracting new blood was paramount. Despite that, we seemed capable of scoring some rather painful, but sadly predictable, own goals. Terms such as gatekeeper were being heard, as people who were initially inspired by the positives that wargaming has to offer, found their entry blocked because they were not a carbon copy of what had gone before.…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 132

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