I tested the new q&ak address a few weeks ago... it worked then, I tell you! Of course, it doesn't work now, which prolly threw a lot of yall for a loop. Sorry about that. Go back to mailing me at andrewk@rpgamer.com. Also, RPGamer has been having a few server problems, and that's thrown me for a loop. Sorry for the sporatic updates.

Q: How does RPGamer handle spoilers? I notice that with newer games you always put a warning before a spoiler, but with older games you dont, and then with games that are recent but not brand new you sometimes put spoiler warnings and sometimes you don't (Like FF7). Im curious on how you go about doing this. Im going through FFIVj right now and recently saw a spoiler in your Q&AK section with no warning, luckily however I was past that section in the game. I think that I as well as your other fans (Im a big fan of RPGamer) would apreciate a warning before all the spoilers in the Q&AK section as well as editorial sections and other fan contribution sections, and that some spoilers would not be very obvious in other sections of your page. I know that a lot of other readers of Q&AK are asking this same question, so please answer ASAP, so that I know longer worry about reading Q&AK and finding out that Squal from FF8 is realy a clone. :o)

AK: Here's the way I think about it: after a certain amount of time, stuff becomes "common knowledge" among most of the gaming crowd. Labelling every spoiler in every game would be more trouble than its worth, since only a handful of people would be affected by it. Are those handful ruined of a plot event? Yup. Of course, with newer games, the percentage of people affected by telling about a plot event goes up, so we're more careful about labels.

In the case of Final Fantasy VII, normally by this time I would quit calling the big spoiler "the spoiler," but there's a large PC audience that hasn't played it yet, as it just came out for the PC. I'd guess that by the end of the year, that spoiler will be tossed around openly.

In closing, think about it this way: in movie reviews for Titanic, critics often mentioned the fact that the ship sinks. It's assumed common knowledge that people know their history basics and know that just about everyone on the ship bit the icy dust. Yet I'm sure there were a few dimwits out there that were genuinely upset that the critics spoiled the movie for them. I seriously doubt they got an apology from the critic.

Q: I Do have a question. Why haven't you been updating your Q&AK Section everyday? When you started you did it every day. Now you don't even update weekly. What is the deal?

AK: Time is such a major factor in everything. Who has enough time to do everything they want? Very few people, I'd imagine. I'm one of them. I try to update Q&AK as often as possible, though. Hey! I just had an idea! I think I'll write a poem about time. This could be messy, I'll just sorta go with the flow. Bear with me here.

Where does time come from?
Where does time go?
A gentle water flow
Or a raging maelstrom?

Time is a precious item
We all covet it
It never seems to sit
Never a perfect fit
Just admit it.

Q: Hey Brian... Or Andy.. or whoever answers this! Is AndrewK really related to Famous wrestler and comedian andy kaufman? Now that that's over with, on to the real stuff. As a webmaster myself, I'm kinda worried that the bigwigs in RPG sites like squishing the competition. I run a site myself, and me and other users find that the Big flies take viewers away from us little guys. What's your opinion?

AK: Hey man, this is AK, I'm answering it. I'm not related to the famous Man on the Moon, but we do share similar names. He's Kaufman, I'm Kaufmann, though. At any rate, he was a good comedian, and R.E.M. wrote a great song about him, Man on the Moon. Give it a listen.

About part two of the question: as a gaming site, we're always striving to be the best out there. The Unofficial Squaresoft Home Page started out small, and became big. Other sites can do the same. As webmasters, what we try to do is make it so you, the reader, can get everything you want to know about RPGs from one place, and not have to visit a dozen sites. At the same time, we don't unfairly squash competition: anyone can sit down and make a good site, and keep it updated, and some day crush us.
But for the record, I hope that doesn't happen!

Q: Hey Andrew, I've been wondering something: I've been a fan of RPGamer for a long time, but one question has hung in my mind since the beginning . . . How the heck do you pronounce RPGamer? Is it ARE-PEE-GAMER, or ARE-PEE-GEE-AMER, or ARE-PEE-GEE-GAMER or what? Just curious. And did you enjoy your time off? I know some of us missed your witty personality. The "I can't pronounce this sites name" Mystery Man

AK: Man, we need a new site-FAQ. Arr-pee-gamer is how I do it, but if you wanna say "arr pee gee gamer", no one's gonna complain. It's all good.