Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

Thanks for the concern, folks! I doubt I'm going to go utterly bonkers (more than usual, I mean). If you feel I've already overshared, skip the rest of this post.

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I've done my job as a telecommuter since 1995. With the benefit of 27 years of experience – something that relatively few telecommuters in the world have! – I can say with authority that long-term telecommuting (in my view, anything over six months) demands that one pay close attention to work-life balance. That's because one works where one eats where one sleeps where . . . and all that sameness inside four walls can cause a hybrid of cabin fever and professional burnout if you aren't careful.

Thus, the pandemic didn't mark a change in how or where I worked, as it did for so many others. I went into it with 25 years' training! But the associated lockdowns and curfews – and the negative social energy flowing from those, the fear of infectious disease, the economic effects, etc. – almost totally removed "life" from "work-life balance" for me. The Girl Genius Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game, the GURPS 2020 PDF Challenge, the GURPS Pyramid Scheme, the GURPS 2021 PDF Challenge, etc. on top of running my product line and being a writer . . . it consumed my life.

Right now, we have at least two more big projects like that in the wings, both of which involve me. I've run out of energy to handle special assignments on top of running my product line and being a writer . . . That energy comes from the "life" part of "work-life balance," and I was unable to bank very much of it these past two years.

Anyway, I'll recover and recharge, but thanks to those who understand that – to quote Burt Gummer – I'm "just doing what I can with what I got."

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

I hope most people know that GURPS is run by three people and duct tape. Rest well.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

Yeah, as a disabled shut in the last 10 years or so I was about the same. I felt it should have had no effect, but the suffering and stress on my friends leaked into me. And what little social interaction (physical rather than internet) was almost completely gone.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

Take your time to rest, everytime you need. I hope you get better soon.


I think most folks outside this forum still think GURPS is still run by half a dozen folks, working all fulltime only for GURPS. Which leads to problems because the fans want more than Dr. Kromm and his fellow comrades can give. Duct tape can only do so much as making a quick fix, but the damage is still their and needs repairs.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

Around here, people generally know that.

Blogs, Discord servers, other forums, etc. – not to mention madness like 4chan and Reddit – are full of people who believe that GURPS is a major part of SJ Games. A few seem to confuse the name of the game for that of the publisher, as evidenced by the many "GURPS should do X" comments, as if GURPS were its own entity and not just a small appendix to the general operations of SJ Games. Even the aware appear not to understand that we are no longer living in the market conditions of the 1980s or 1990s, and must scale down our efforts accordingly.

So, I do what I can to double-underline and boldface the reality of the situation: GURPS is a smallish product line of SJ Games, with one dedicated person (me . . . and I'm a contractor, not staff!), plus two staffers (Steven and Nikki) who work on it as well as other product lines. That's it, that's all. All the other creators are freelancers; in fact, technically, so am I.

Of course, the same misinformed people say things like "GURPS is on its last legs" or "GURPS is dead." Such remarks are equally out of touch with reality. The game is plenty alive and work proceeds afoot. It's just not the front-and-center focus of most of the company, the way it was in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

I'm sorry you're going through that, Rory.

Whatever one's reasons for working from home, there's a huge difference between "I work from home" and "all I do is work from home." The former implies I can sometimes not be working and sometimes not be home; the latter does not.

I'm quite sure the situation is less bad for pure introverts and/or workaholics, but I'm neither. I've always been highly extroverted. I was formerly a workaholic, but I got therapy for that. To me, staying home with nothing but work to do is a short walk to more therapy . . . I'm definitely "work to live" and not "live to work" by nature.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

Thank you. There's work to do, even if people don't see it yet. At any rate, I cannot afford not to work – I'm paid by the hour for work actually delivered. However, I'm definitely not caring if some of my weeks are closer to 30 hours than to 40.

I suspect you are correct. At the moment, the truth is closer to: "Sean is the only editor who actually knows the rules. Steven is the only project manager who actually has a handle on the contracts and schedules – and GURPS isn't the only thing he works on. Nikki is the only production staffer who really knows how to lay out GURPS books and proof GURPS style – and GURPS isn't the only thing she works on. And no, there's no money to hire someone else or put other staff on the case."

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

I must say that my experience has been that all three of you consistently do splendid jobs.

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

As you clearly know, it's all about recharging. I've spent time in the negative (as so many have), but the key is realising that's where you are (as so many have not). You know where you are, and we can all bloody well wait until you're where you need to be. And we will wait, because we love the work you do, and the bloke who does it!

Re: So, how great is Kromm anyway?
 

I know in general it's not acceptable in the forum to just say something like "I agree" or "ditto."

But in this case, I agree with everything the poster said. And I don't know any way to say what they said better. So, in this one case, I'm going to say, "ditto."