Nolan Bushnell Appointed to Atari Board

[Albert]

I think it's fantastic to see so many original Atari employees participating in this thread! I welcome everyone who's paid us a visit (Nolan, Ted, Owen, etc.) and hope some or all of you will stick around for a bit. While there has been plenty of friction, don't be too dissuaded as everyone who visits AtariAge on a regular basis obviously has love for Atari games, Atari history and the personalities responsible for bringing Atari to life.

 

It's certainly been a bumpy 25+ pages, but I think we've gotten to a point now where we can have a more productive conversation. It might be good to start a new thread so people don't have to wade through 26 pages of discussion to get to the current posts (with a link to this thread at the beginning for those who have a fair amount of time on their hands!)

 

..Al

[Cebus Capucinis]

and love for GOOFY QUESTIONS!

[Rik]

I'm trusting Albert that Nolan is really truly posting here.Should we all APOLOGIZE for any negative comments?maybe.But we all can't be chastised for doing so,many of us are going by what we read,and don't know Mr.Bushnell personally,which I'm sure he realizes

Edited April 27, 2010 by Rik

[Corby]

As long as Joe Cracker isn't in this thread we might be ok!!!

[Curt Vendel]

Really Curt? I would expect more from you. Should you not be setting an example here?

 

Its all been explained above. Its one thing to slip up from time to time Owen, but this was getting habitual and the attacks against Baer and others, it had to stop. Plus I did set an example of going all the way to the end to not only making sure that this wasn't another incident of something using Nolan's accounts and posting on his behalf, and for Nolan and I to have jumped onto a video conference together and hashing much of it out and he plans to be coming back as he wants to participate more in the forums.

 

That is Nolan BTW, and I am surprised at all these people attacking him. What is wrong with you people?

 

Owen, anyone can sign up with an account NolanB or OwenR, etc... and claim to be anyone...

 

He does not need to spend his time here answering anything, and for you guys to get all self righteous on him is BULL SHIT!

 

When someone is running around, taking credit for others work, glossing over past accounts and attacking others, that should be left unchecked I suppose.

 

I am surprised that he even answers you any more. I know after some of the comments above, I would not.

 

The world is full of surprises.

 

 

I will not get into the details of these arguments here (as someone who was there BTW) and maybe the facts are not 100%, but that is not a reason to be jerks here. By the way, game ideas at Atari were often discussed YEARS in advance of them actually being built, often put in notebooks, and I sat in many of those meetings and discussions (remember, I was hired in early 76) and it is quite possible Nolan sat in a meeting where a game like that was originally discussed and it got filed because the hardware was just not there to do it yet. But who cares, really?

 

So I guess the original dated notes, being dated AFTER he left don't really matter then?

 

Excuse my anger, but this is one of the most pathetic string I have read in a long time, and Curt, you should me moderating, not fanning flames.

 

Not my forum, I just post here. You can be angry, but you're coming to the party a little late, yesterday was the real anger pot, better late then never I suppose. Its not a matter of fanning the flames, its a matter of facts Owen, facts and correct facts, not campfire stories and flights of fancy, daydreams and delusions.... Sorry, but in the end its the facts.

 

I can assure you, I will not be answering any questions here until you guys get off your self-righteous butts.

 

Ummm, again you're coming a little late to the party Owen, everyone put their self-righteous party favors in the closet just before you got here. Its all over already Owen and in the end, you know what - a lot was learned by all about the corrections in history, some misconceptions and misunderstandings. I think the way Nolan and I left off, he's gonna stop the attacks and if he's unsure about a past event, he'll ask, no more misunderstandings, so this was actually good for everyone. Now I'm hoping he will work things out with Ralph Baer - that's got some work to be put into and I'm going to see what I can do insofar and some digging is concerned to help out the both of them.

 

So Owen, chillax dude, its all good... have a cookie! :-)

 

 

Curt

[ovalbugmann]

Sure Curt!, I hope Nolan does come back! , it would be cool. I don't want to fight with you, I just wish his visit could have been more dignified, is all.

 

I don't want to go back in this headache inducing thread but I was talking about your post directly after Ted confirmed his identity. The Ted you and Marty brought here? You still were making negative comments to Nolan questioning his identity, still!

 

OK Yes , I am acting like a giddy girl, because I wanted to have a nice conversation with Nolan maybe just ask a question or two...- you can understand I heard about him when I first got my light sixer in 1981 when I was like 14 years old, I have been hearing about Nolan my whole life and looked up to him,.. man. I thought it was really neat that he was here is all. It is a highlight of my time here on AA, regardless of all this.

 

Jess Ragan: Don't be an ass dude that's sick(and not the modern meaning of "sic")Don't be gay Jess.

[Curt Vendel]

Boy you guys just don't read do ya... I stated that I said directly to Nolan on the conference call that it still wasn't him in the original 48 or so posts and he didn't argue it or push back on it. Also, they weren't accusations, go back and read, they are correct with the exception of the Etak which I'm going to re-investigate, before you go posting crap like that, get things straight and make sure you see all of the posts because you missed all of the key ones that would've answered all of this.

 

 

Curt

 

 

 

 

Nolan will be back on here again, so relax and also everybody needs to chill out, he's a man, a regular guy, you don't have to be slobbering teen age girls lined up to try and touch one of the Jonas Brothers. He's a normal person, so calm yourselves down a bit.

 

 

Curt

 

you still doubted it even after Ted confirmed the identity.

 

Don't call me a knucklehead, I have not said any obscenitites but if you want to I can also. And don't be so damn arrogant Curt -Why do you go back and read your damn post after TED CONFIRMED HIS IDENTITY.

 

I blame you for fucking up my opportunity to converse with Nolan pleasently.

 

Hail Curtis, your never wrong aren't you.

 

Whatever man, I'm tired of the bitching and egoes here.(talk about Nolan having an ego)

But here is the thing. The people who worked with him don't seem to slamming him like you or your friend. One of the people working with him from 76 to 78 has said you are going over the line. You have no proof that the original posts were not Nolan, yet you have dogged determination to think otherwise. The fact that you will not even give this man that amount of decency speaks volumes about you. It speaks about a person who sees what he wants to see once his mind is made up. Of course you could definitely say the same thing about me as well, but I am not the one lobbing the hostile accusations.

[+jeremiahjt]

Really Curt? I would expect more from you. Should you not be setting an example here?

 

That is Nolan BTW, and I am surprised at all these people attacking him. What is wrong with you people?

He does not need to spend his time here answering anything, and for you guys to get all self righteous on him is BULL SHIT!

I am surprised that he even answers you any more. I know after some of the comments above, I would not.

 

I will not get into the details of these arguments here (as someone who was there BTW) and maybe the facts are not 100%, but that is not a reason to be jerks here. By the way, game ideas at Atari were often discussed YEARS in advance of them actually being built, often put in notebooks, and I sat in many of those meetings and discussions (remember, I was hired in early 76) and it is quite possible Nolan sat in a meeting where a game like that was originally discussed and it got filed because the hardware was just not there to do it yet. But who cares, really?

 

Excuse my anger, but this is one of the most pathetic string I have read in a long time, and Curt, you should me moderating, not fanning flames.

 

I can assure you, I will not be answering any questions here until you guys get off your self-righteous butts.

 

SIGH!

 

Signed - The real Owen Rubin - Or am I fake too? <-- Rhetorical question, please do not answer

 

 

Okay "FAKE NOLAN"

 

 

Then go back to your cut & paste and go down each and every statement posted and post "IN DETAIL" your rebuttals.

 

 

Curt

 

I've been following this thread since its creation but have stayed out of it because it didn't involve me and because I didn't feel like I had anything constructive to contribute, but I have to say that I agree 100% with this post. Granted, I don't (or at least didn't) know the history that some people around here have with Nolan Bushnell, but I found this thread to be nothing less than appalling. For a site that is dedicated to Atari fandom to talk about and then treat Nolan the way that many of you did shocked me, and I honestly will never think of some of you the same way again. The man is not a saint, but he was a huge part of Atari and we should all consider ourselves lucky that not only Nolan, but Ted Dabney and Owen Rubin all showed up to participate in the conversation. Under other circumstances, we would all be going nuts that folks like that showed up to chat with us. How sad that it had to be under these circumstances and that this is what they will all think of any time they see the name "Atari Age".

 

Chris

 

 

That is how I felt when I first started reading this thread. I had absolutely no intention of getting involved, but after 11 pages I got tired of the bias and hypocrisy of the anti-Nolan crowd. I didn't have the Atari history knowledge of some of the anti-Nolan crowd, but that didn't mean I couldn't pick out the tone of seeming hatred of many of the anti-Nolan posts. The bias was quite obvious when any time something good was said about Nolan then one of the anti-Nolan people would pop-up and claim that something was a lie, misrepresented, not really an accomplishment, or anything else they could say to paint Nolan in a bad light. Some people were just completely incapable of giving Nolan any credit outside of his "self promotion abilities" which really is a backhanded compliment at best.

[Jess Ragan]

Jess Ragan: Don't be an ass dude that's sick(and not the modern meaning of "sic")Don't be gay Jess.

 

You don't watch much South Park, do you?

 

Also, you guys are proving every negative stereotype about Atari collectors with this thread. I mean, seriously... the only thing missing are the butter posts. If these new posters really are Nolan Bushnell, Owen Rubin, and Ted Dabney Coleman or whatever, wouldn't you want them to take you seriously? Instead I'm seeing equal parts hostile skepticism and Beatlemania.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Jess Ragan

[homerwannabee]

Boy you guys just don't read do ya... I stated that I said directly to Nolan on the conference call that it still wasn't him in the original 48 or so posts and he didn't argue it or push back on it.

So you think because he does not answer back that this means anything. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe he did not want to get on the wrong foot starting a conversation? Why argue over something so petty? Really, this is extremely petty. And the fact that you can't see that, and your dogged insistence to not believe this guy on this extremely trivial issue says a lot. You even called the man as not being him to his face as a topic starter. Wow, can't you see that your insistence on believing that Nolan was not really Nolan in the beginning is totally destroying your credibility on this issue? There really is no reason for Nolan to have his son do this for him. None at all. It serves him no advantage. So why would this happen. None at all. Yet you keep up this belief that Nolan was not Nolan in his original posts.

 

And because of this, your info you got from others seems to be clouded with an agenda. Really if you can't see clearly on this very small issue, how can I expect you to see clearly on the larger issues?

[jaybird3rd]

So you think because he does not answer back that this means anything. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe he did not want to get on the wrong foot starting a conversation? Why argue over something so petty? Really, this is extremely petty. And the fact that you can't see that, and your dogged insistence to not believe this guy on this extremely trivial issue says a lot. You even called the man as not being him to his face as a topic starter. Wow, can't you see that your insistence on believing that Nolan was not really Nolan in the beginning is totally destroying your credibility on this issue? There really is no reason for Nolan to have his son do this for him. None at all. It serves him no advantage. So why would this happen. None at all. Yet you keep up this belief that Nolan was not Nolan in his original posts.

I think we've belabored that point enough. I still maintain that there's good reason to believe it wasn't Nolan (at least in the beginning), so it isn't just Curt making things up. But whether it was or not, those comments that were posted have been discussed and dealt with, so let's move forward.

[homerwannabee]

So you think because he does not answer back that this means anything. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe he did not want to get on the wrong foot starting a conversation? Why argue over something so petty? Really, this is extremely petty. And the fact that you can't see that, and your dogged insistence to not believe this guy on this extremely trivial issue says a lot. You even called the man as not being him to his face as a topic starter. Wow, can't you see that your insistence on believing that Nolan was not really Nolan in the beginning is totally destroying your credibility on this issue? There really is no reason for Nolan to have his son do this for him. None at all. It serves him no advantage. So why would this happen. None at all. Yet you keep up this belief that Nolan was not Nolan in his original posts.

I think we've belabored that point enough. I still maintain that there's good reason to believe it wasn't Nolan, so it isn't just Curt making things up. But whether it was or not, those comments that were posted have been discussed and dealt with, so let's move forward.

No because if you can't trust a man on something so trivial, it is impossible to move forward.

 

Edit: Except if the Administrator says differently. And since he has, I will not continue with this argument.

[hhwolfman]

Ted, Nolan Don't leave.

[Albert]

I think we've belabored that point enough. I still maintain that there's good reason to believe it wasn't Nolan, so it isn't just Curt making things up. But whether it was or not, those comments that were posted have been discussed and dealt with, so let's move forward.

I concur on both points.

 

..Al

[+Random Terrain]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

[homerwannabee]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

+1

[Cebus Capucinis]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

 

You and I are already posting in this thread.

[hhwolfman]

 

 

 

 

Nolan will be back on here again, so relax and also everybody needs to chill out, he's a man, a regular guy, you don't have to be slobbering teen age girls lined up to try and touch one of the Jonas Brothers. He's a normal person, so calm yourselves down a bit.

 

 

 

 

Ooo Ooo Do You think he liked my Avatar, I hope he saw the part where I said I loved him. Does my Hair look ok?

[+cvga]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

 

Sorry Scadoobie, only the cool people can see it.

[+Random Terrain]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

Sorry Scadoobie, only the cool people can see it.

It's 68 degrees in my room right now. Does that count?

[Curt Vendel]

I've been talking and emailiing with him regularly for over 12 years, I know his tone and wording and it wasn't him, and once we got on the phone his words and conversation were the regular way Nolan engages, so I even said that his original posts were not him and they are not, there are posts that are not correct, out of sync and just sound like someone getting unfamiliar info and coming back and posting - like not being able to remember his partner had two daughters, that just was so out of wack. So, I know him enough to make the statement. Then we talked, it is what it is.

 

 

Curt

 

Boy you guys just don't read do ya... I stated that I said directly to Nolan on the conference call that it still wasn't him in the original 48 or so posts and he didn't argue it or push back on it.

So you think because he does not answer back that this means anything. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe he did not want to get on the wrong foot starting a conversation? Why argue over something so petty? Really, this is extremely petty. And the fact that you can't see that, and your dogged insistence to not believe this guy on this extremely trivial issue says a lot. You even called the man as not being him to his face as a topic starter. Wow, can't you see that your insistence on believing that Nolan was not really Nolan in the beginning is totally destroying your credibility on this issue? There really is no reason for Nolan to have his son do this for him. None at all. It serves him no advantage. So why would this happen. None at all. Yet you keep up this belief that Nolan was not Nolan in his original posts.

 

And because of this, your info you got from others seems to be clouded with an agenda. Really if you can't see clearly on this very small issue, how can I expect you to see clearly on the larger issues?

Edited April 27, 2010 by Curt Vendel

[+cvga]

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

Sorry Scadoobie, only the cool people can see it.

It's 68 degrees in my room right now. Does that count?

We'll make an exception for you since that's as cool as you get

[+Psionic]

I've been talking and emailiing with him regularly for over 12 years, I know his tone and wording and it wasn't him, and once we got on the phone his words and conversation were the regular way Nolan engages, so I even said that his original posts were not him and they are not, there are posts that are not correct, out of sync and just sound like someone getting unfamiliar info and coming back and posting - like not being able to remember his partner had no daughters, that just was so out of wack. So, I know him enough to make the statement. Then we talked, it is what it is.

 

Curt

Exactly. And for the record, the real Nolan was able to give a rational explanation to my Missile Command criticism (something the online "NolanB" was unable to do).

 

All I can say at this point is that despite how things appear, more good will come of this incident than harm. A lot of things have been straightened out with Nolan behind the scenes, and he has indicated that he's interested in engaging the communtity and their questions more openly in the future. So everyone please stop whining/worrying/etc....Nolan will be back.

[ovalbugmann]

Jess: Yes I missed that South Park episode. I didn't used to like South Park too much, but I do now(and have for a few years) and I think it is really good! It's amazing the subject content of the episodes they do! Very funny!

 

Yeah, I'm crude and I have to watch my language here on AA, but I just didn't think talking about Nolan hosing everybody down with sperm was needed,...at the time. But I understand that you were just trying to bring some humor to the situation

 

@and yes I am an Atari freak and it is like BeetleMania to me! I saw the beginning of videogames, personally in the very early '80's.

 

 

So where is that new thread where the living legends can talk about cool Atari history?

 

Yes RT, this thread we should leave behind there's more bad than good here, I await the new Atari Royalty thread!

Edited April 27, 2010 by ovalbugmann

[rolenta]

And after all this, Nolan still connected with me on Linked-In today!