Originally Posted by Ender

Well calling DiscoDave a "BLE Founder" is a bit of a stretch...he was more of a help bitch for me when I wanted to sit back and enjoy the spoils of war.

Originally Posted by smor

All I know is you were gone when I got here and that's all that matters to me :P

Originally Posted by Ender

Well I think a little history lesson is necessary then! I know I've done this before, but most people (like me) are too lazy to look up old posts, and I just have a hankerin' for some typin' right now!

It all started in 2002. I decided to go to this LAN party in Lynwood (or maybe it was in Everett at the time, I can't remember). I had found it by utilizing my amazing search skills on the internet. I was a member of another forum (well I still am, and I still frequent there actually) called the GTF and I posted about my excitement about going to the LAN.

Well this guy on the board "claimed" he "lived nearby" and thought he would come to the LAN too. We had played some Warcraft III together as part of a larger effort with the forum members, so I figured he might not be a internet serial killer, but I wasn't sure. I never imagined he might be a gay robot (which, incidentally, wasn't discovered until years later by the venerable DZ). His name was DiscoDave.

Well the LAN was okay. Dave wanted to play this game called "Unreal Tournament" the whole time, which I was more than happy to just destroy him in over and over again.

I kinda got hooked on LAN parties, but I had a large disagreement with the LAN party host because he used to play a game called X-Wing vs TIE Fighter which completely bastardized the original games it was based off of. I knew I could never support such an individual, and I wasn't into driving that far once a month for a LAN party. I'm also a humble individual, but I thought I could probably have a cooler party too.

I had the first BLE in my garage in 2003. 6 guys made it, and we gamed hard and it was a blast. Dave and I had been hanging out a bit then - I tried to get him into hiking but he was pretty fat and it took a while. He came to the party and tried to talk to me about things he could do to help and make the LAN awesome, but I didn't want him cramping my style, so I said thanks but no thanks. I scheduled the next BLE for a month later.

I don't know how I did it, but I bought a ton of stuff and had another party renting a room at a hotel. A few more people showed up - some are still lurking around or very much involved (the azn, who intially came as an xbox halo gaymer, and itsmee) still. This party was awesome actually, and Dave really started begging to help out. Little did I know he had this grand scheme of becoming head of LAN party - see he had tried to start a LAN cafe once and failed miserably because, well, really he just needed my charisma and good looks to bring in customers.

He was begging so much I finally relented because I was tired of hearing it - it was like a whiny puppy wanting milk or something. So we then "jointly" planned the next LAN. I was building off of two wildly successful LANs and so had big plans for the 3rd. Bringing Dave on proved to be a mistake as the 3rd LAN was a near disaster. He repented of his mistakes by buying a nice (at the time) big switch to ease the problems we were having, but still, I fully blame him for ALL problems for this LAN.

I had to shorten his leash after that to prevent further problems, and for the next year with a new venue and enlisting some help from Ghrog, things went okay. Some of the more famous BLE's occurred at this time, as well as some of the more famous BLE-er's establishing their fame and famousness. DZ and Cody became big during this era. It was really because of my very tight controls on Dave. I kept him under wraps, just doing technical stuff and clean up duty, and then with DZ's help made him the butt of all the jokes. This helped increase LAN attendence and quality a great deal.

I started getting burned out though. I blame Dave for this too - originally I wanted a LAN every other month, or once a quarter, but Dave was insistent on once a month. Even though I kept him on a tight leash, he was trying to build his popularity and fame. He wanted control. His first foray had been a failure, so he had learned patience and was biding his time, but looking back now I can tell how he was chomping at the bit.

It just so happened I got an opportunity to move away from bham so I didn't have to cancel the LAN because of Dave, but this worked out to Dave's advantage - now the LAN would be his. I moved to Utah and Dave took over, and he nearly killed the wild success I had built. If it weren't for Dan, Cody, DZ, Ghrog and others, BLE would probably be dead, but Dave managed to keep it alive thanks to their help.

Just before I left we had gone to the first PAX LAN party. It had a few issues, and I had noted that our presence there had been a big help to it. I made the off and non-serious comment that we should run it for them the next year so it would be better. Dave took me seriously and somehow got in contact with Penny Arcade. We had a meeting with them but Dave invited those guys from that first LAN we went too. I wasn't going to work with someone who liked XvT, so the move to Utah provided a nice out without having to be confrontational. But Dave kept going with it and now look at him - he runs PAX's LAN operations as a job. I mean, he's getting paid for it. wtf.

He basically owes me for everything. I gave him BLE, I got him started with PAX, I got him his job. So he's not really a founder - more like I "founded" him. I don't know how he hasn't messed it up royally yet - maybe I was somehow able to teach him something through his thick gay robot skull through all that time working the LAN together, but he seems to be doing okay.

So there you go! Looking forward to the reunion tour!

Originally Posted by DiscoDave DumbGayRobotHead Editing Ender's Awesome Original Post of Truth

Well I think a little history lesson is necessary, only I need Dave to come in and fix my post because I have the memory of a self-centered fruit fly.

It all started in 2002. I decided to go to this LAN party in Lynwood (or maybe it was in Everett at the time, I can't remember). I had found it by utilizing my amazing search skills on the internet. I was a member of another forum (well I still am, and I still frequent there actually) called the GTF and I posted about my excitement about going to the LAN mostly because I heard that Internet celebrity DiscoDave was going to be there and had always wanted to meet him.

The LAN was pretty fun, although it wasn't all a fond memory...you see, my ego was hurt pretty bad. I thought I was pretty hot shit at Unreal Tournament and it wasn't until I played Dave that I realized where I stood in the world. To watch him dance around the map with well calculated rockets landing exactly where they needed to land at the precise moment they needed to land there was breath taking.

Despite my humiliation, I kinda got hooked on LAN parties and figured I should have one of my own....I'm also not a humble individual thus thought I could host the coolest lan party the world had ever known.

I had the first BLE in my garage in 2003. Dave came to the party and saw the disaster I had created and reluctantly agreed to help. He's basically the reason the BLE ever survived past one or two crappy parties in my garage. Man, he saved my butt...it's nuts to think that I ever thought I could run a lan party without his help.

Some of the ideas he had still makes my head spin...it was like he was always 1 step ahead of me. Things like the BB Gun contests, remote controlled car races, the air gun challenges...and the super amazing top secret prize...he added so much character to the event and I never would have been able to do any of that without his help. I set out to create the coolest lan party the world had ever known, and that objective was reached with BLE...only not by me. I mean, I helped, but it was really Dave that made it happen.

Over time I began to feel jealous of his talent...I knew he was bound for greatness, and everyone else knew it too. I grew tired of living in his shadow and knew that the only way I could ever do so would be to start over far, far away from Dave and his influence. So I fled to Utah.

I was hurt by BLE's continued success after I left, but it was expected. Every so often I'd stop by the forums and see all the fun people were having under his watch and shed a tear or two for what could have been if I would have stuck around him a little longer. It was a mistake...I've made many...some worse than this.

Just before I left we had gone to the first PAX LAN party. It was their first year and there were some kinks to be worked out, and it was obvious to everyone that Dave was the guy to fix it. Before he would ever talk to them, though, he insisted that he have my help. I don't know why he thought he needed me...perhaps it was just out of loyalty (he's a pretty good guy), but I agreed. That was before I told him I couldn't stick around...of course...just one of many examples of how I've tricked and deceived him over the years. Ultimately, though, my departure provided him with just the creative freedom needed to make the PAX PC room so awesome.

It's been an adventure knowing him. He's come a long way and I'm glad to have played such a tiny role in it...I often wish I could find that kind of success. But alas, the best thing I can ever realistically hope for is a day when we can work together on a new project. Until then all I have are memories of the best days of my life.

Originally Posted by Ender

uhhhhhhhh. Wow Dave. I mean, I know you're memory isn't the greatest and tad selective, but this is something different altogether. I better talk to DZ about your programming.

In the meantime, I will clean up my post that you edited. But here's what you wrote for further use - like making fun of you.

Or better yet - Ima just pummel your ass in Blur. Remember Mariokart? I do - wiping the floor with you EVERY GAME. Get ready for some Deja Vu sucka!

Originally Posted by Synrotta

Can I bring my PAX East snuggie??

Originally Posted by Ender

Well I think a little history lesson is necessary...