It's ludicrous that people are acting that way. It's a freakin' game, for crying out loud.

Hmm. I think it's time to opt-out and stop playing, myself. I may be in the top 50 players (it's not hard, trust me), but who cares when they're idiots?

yea I'm not playing either it was fun too :(

I'm going to be removing both my blog and Kim's -- she didn't want to be included, anyway. Gotta check with her, first, but I suspect she'll be all for it.

I had no idea that was going on. I'm out.

Yep i'm outtie too...like Chey said it was fun too. Too bad idiots had to ruin it.

Yes, what would the "blogosphere" be without a little melodrama like this once in a while?

And is it me, or are blogger minions inherently abusive in the first place? Where does this "sic 'em!" shit come from, because it certainly seems to show up in a lot of places. Howard Rheingold talks about the Internet creating "Smart Mobs", but they sure do seem like "Dumb Mobs" to me.

i lost interest when the requirement for "claiming" my blog was pasting a big ugly linkback button on my site. i figured it was a little ridiculous that i might have to 'claim' my blog in the first place.

as for the "you're blog isn't you" thing--bullshyte it isn't me. i built the damn thing, pay for it each month, and write all the content. man, what weinies. i wish the owner of Astarra Designs hadn't been so burned. that really sucks.

So THAT's what Jilly (jadedju) was talking about... a ha. Well, since I registered with the beta version, would I have to register for the new one, too? I never played anyway... not that I'd want to, especially now.

I'm not saying what Eric said about the BS author to start this whole thing was the most brilliant thing I've ever heard, but the reaction to it has been way out of proportion. I just don't want any part of it.

Considering that blog-owning in the game was pretty meaningless, and that it never worked right anyway, I'm not bummed about opting out.

Investing was broken, too. I was at $97,000 after 10 days -- all I did was buy blogs at a P/E of 2.0-2.5. Obviously, the prices were low to start, but I was buying $15-$20 blogs as time went on in batches.

I won't miss it, the more I think about it.

I sucked at the game anyway myself. After reading all of this I don't think I want to be included in it either. It always amazes me how something that starts off as a mild amusement can blow up into such a big friggin' deal when someone's ego gets bruised.

I haven't done much with it, and had made the decision to not participate in the new version because there was a fee to get "special treatment" -- a better chance at trades in the first 12 hours if you were a member or some such nonsense. Whatever. I'm removing my link right now.

Sol, how many times can I say I love you? Thank you to everyone who is opening up their eyes to the hate and the misleading and stupidity of that dumb game.

well I liked the game but the bullying on both sides is what I don't want any part of. Damn why can't there ever be a game that bloggers can do with out drama?? :)

Maria is a friend. She sent out an e-mail last night about shutting her blog down. It pissed me off to no end that she felt it necessary to do this...that these assholes drove her to it.

After I replied to her e-mail (I even offered to host her on my server, if she wants to come back under a different domain), I removed the BS stuff from my blog, and then e-mailed them and politely asked to be removed.

Solonor, when I got an e-mail from BS saying that you'd been removed from the game...I knew exactly why. Thank you for supporting a friend!

Wow. This kind of thing is amazing in a very pathetic sort of way. Not the way you guys are responding, but the fact that it happened in the first place. I've not played BS much, but what little I have has been more of an exercise in frustration than fun.

I'm a bit torn, but I've come to look at a few of you as people I'd trust - people whose sites I've enjoyed and with whom I can empathize. This casts a serious shadow in the future of Blogshares, as far as I'm concerned.

I just want to say that all of this bashing the owner for what users are doing is ridiculous. I have spoken to the owner, and I highly doubt he would bully anyone, nor would he sick his friends after those who delist. I am sorry a blogger felt she was pressured into leaving blogging entirely, but I fail to see how Seyed is the cause. As for the racism incident, if anyone had made that kind of statement to or about me, connecting my intellect to my ethnicity, I would have felt equally offended, and he had every right to post about it on his site after the insult he had to endure in equally as public a forum.

If this makes me an outcast to those who I read often like Gretchen, Chey and so forth, so be it. I enjoy the game, even if I am not the highest ranked player, and have every intention to continue after it goes live. I do not understand what made this go so far, but it sickens me that the 'community' can so regularly become split so divisively. Chris Pirillo recently told me he thought blogs are the future. I have my doubts.

Geek... where is this "public place" that I said this in, that you keep lying about? I asked you this in the forum, where I crucified for it (my name and url given out, my friends called "nazis")... and you ignored it there too.

For the record, it was in the comments of my site. A comment I have apologized for twice privately, and publicly about 30 times already.

Spreading lies and rumors isn't helping anyone.

I haven't bashed Seyed and I don't think he's responsible for the trolls that gave folks who asked to be de-listed a hard time. I'm asking to be de-listed more because of the views he's expressed since this whole thing flared up.

I'm sorry, but I don't consider the fact that I ping weblogs.com as any kind of an automatic opt-in to be included in his game. His insistence that he doesn't have to provide a method of opting-out and he's only doing it to be nice directly contradicts my view on the subject. His tone in the last couple of news items convinced me that I didn't want to participate in this any longer.

I had a feeling something like this would eventually happen and I even teased Sol about it back when he first posted about Blogshares. The fact that some people take this "game" so seriously that they harass folks who don't want to be involved in it is enough reason for me not to be involved myself.

Eric, I have not checked that forum thread in a long time, and it is too late to go back and check now as Seyed has closed it. I apologize for demonizing you, I was simply frustrated that everywhere in this thread I see Seyed being attacked, and wanted to defend him. I do see comments as public, unless they are turned off for a post, and that is a view not likely to change. I apologize here for my comments saying you and your friends were Nazi's, but your comments that you and your friends would make Seyed regret his post gave of strong impressions of such.

As Seyed has asked this topic to be closed, and declared the matter settled between you two, I will keep it to myself, and not voice my opinions anymore about this, as long as the bashing of Seyed also stops. I respect many of the bloggers who have publicly bashed him, and hope they may see the settlement of this issue as closure, and leave it as such.

As for you, Eric, I publicly, and will do so on my blog if you wish, apologize to you for my comments on your site. I hope that any animosity that has grown can be overcome, and my comments above ignored as a reflection of what constant slamming of one person can make another do. At that, I consider this closed. If you want to continue this, please email me, the link is on my blog.

Between the idiots harrassing folks, and the attitude regarding pinging weblogs.com, I decided that this really was not worth the energy.

I have better ways to spend my time -- like, figuring out how to win a game in the SGCBL! 6-14???? MEEP!

No further apologies are necessary, Geek.
It's been a trying time for me, and I, for one, am glad it's all settled.

You are truly beyond awesome Sol!! {{{Hugs}}} There just are not words..... You guys are all wonderful!! There may be some bad trolls out there, but the good folks damn sure out number them!! :o)

Now I have to stop laughing over the title of this post!! You are a comic GENIUS Dude!!! When Memes Attack!!!!!!! LMAO!!!!!