Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 15, 2003, 4:57 PM
I have to agree with sjustice (re: Dufus eliminated?) when he says that we owe a debt of gratitude to Dweebo & the others responsible for running this site & the tournaments. This is a lot of work with no pay.
Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 15, 2003, 7:10 PM
I don't think that anyone who uses this site isn't grateful for the work Peter Hewitt, Mark Mammel and some of the others have put into it. I certainly know I appreciate it. Several people have put a lot of time and effort into this place and it's wonderful that they haven't tried to demand money from people to use it. And, yes, it would be nice if folks said so a little more often.
But I don't think that means that people can't express opinions about what happens here either. I don't know what is going on with the Dufus situation. It does sound like he may have been trying to cheat the ratings system, and I trust that Peter Hewitt, Mark Mammel, Gary Barnes and Joe King wouldn't let personality conflicts or political infighting wreck what has been built here.
But, just the same, people don't need to pay to expect a little courtesy or fairness from others and when they complain about something that might look ugly, they shouldn't be told that they need to keep quiet, because thay haven't paid for anything.
I don't think that's a problem here yet, but I have seen things like this happen in other hobbyist communites and I get a little uncomfortable when the discussion starts steering towards, "Shush! Don't disagree with the big guys! They might start charging us or just shut the place down!"
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Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 15, 2003, 8:25 PM
I totally agree sandsquish.
I was thinking about making the same point, just because Gary, Mark and I put a lot of hard work into the site doesn't mean we can do whatever we want. I certainly do want people to question decisions made at the site. I would love it if everything about the site was open for review, and just about everything is (the site is free, everyone's games can be reviewed, the source code behind the site is even free).
Unfortunately, there will always be players who attempt to enhance their ratings and you can never completely stop them. And therefore some things must be secretive, such as the methods I use to determine if players are attempting to cheat the system, and some of the methods we use to determine tournament placement and seedings. By keeping a few secrets we are only trying to make a better, fairer system for the enjoyment of ALL players. The obvious result of keeping secrets is that players then can question why things are being done in a certain way and we can't necessarily tell them everything. Believe me that can be frustrating! I guess it boils down to players having to trust that we are making the correct decisions, and I thank the players who have posted comments saying basically that. I also thank players who posted comments asking why dufus was removed. Everyone has a right to know what policies are being used on the site. In hindsight, we (tournament directors) should have posted an annoucement to the site soon after we informed dufus of our decision. We will do a better job of communicating with all players in the future.
So, please everyone continue to enjoy the site, and continue to post comments, suggestions and criticisms to the forums. I also want to reiterate a point Gary has tried to make several times. Posts that are well thought out and make a point WILL be noticed and changes WILL be made if necessary (use this post from sandsquish as an example, excellent work!). Posts by players who are just venting or ranting will most likely be quickly read and ignored. Those players may have a good idea or point but it is probably lost in the clutter. So when you get upset about something on the site, take a few minutes, or hours, or days to cool off and compose an email to me, or a post on the forums that explains your point or problem in a clear manner.
In closing, I will never charge players or shut the place down!!
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Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 16, 2003, 4:29 AM
Here's my third cent:
Although I supported the tournament directors' decision blindly, I fully support the right of others to use the forum to question and criticize. Internet forums are much like letters to the editor in the newspaper: most folks gripe and complain and then gripe some more when they are moved to actually take the time to write. Those happy and grateful tend to be so quietly. When I disagree with someone, I try to state my case in a concise and logical manner. If critical posts, even the ones that are void of reason and filled with a crock pot full of emotion, are restricted, then I would be the first to complain. Indeed, the forum has never been more entertaining to read than in the last few days.
When I heard a player got kicked out of the tournament, my initial response was to trust the decision because I have no reason to question the motives of the people in charge of the site and tournament that I voluntarily entered. After reading the rationale for the action, my trust stands. Obviously, some heard the decision and automatically thought dufus was being unfairly treated by individuals who had something to gain by banning him. Indeed, just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not really out to get you, but I would find it refreshing to read a defense for dufus that has a little more depth than he's a really nice guy who innocently played against himself with multiple id's and accidently entered the tournament twice and is just being victimized by the pente police.
Is there a valid defense out there that can be written with some weight? I'd enjoy reading it. But, if all you can do is rant with knee-jerk reactions, that amuses me too. I support your right to express your opinion no matter how limited your capacity.
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From:
~THE BACK WOODS~
Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 16, 2003, 7:25 PM
Peter Hewitt / Dweebo / HERO!
I would like to take a minute to thank you for every thing you do for the pleasures of many Pente Addicts and new comers. This site is not only a great place to meat wonderful people at all levels of gaming skills, but also gains the attention of many people who may have never even heard of these types of board games into the wonderful work of Pente. Some of these players have since then become very skilled in the game or are progressively moving forwards in their level of play. I would think that because of this, in time your name would be mentioned whenever the history of Pente is being discussed, (although to many of us you will always be known as Dweebo ).
Thanks for every thing you do to keep this site the most recommendable Pente gaming site for all ages and levels of players on the Internet. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Wyatt R. / Vitals
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Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Jan 16, 2003, 9:55 PM
my RANTING and RAVING doesn"t in any way diminish my recognition of the finest real time pente site thats out there. please accept my thanks, dweebo, for a job well done!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: Appreciation of Dweebo et. al.
Posted:
Feb 6, 2003, 2:31 AM
I am sorry if my comment that we should be appreciative was interpreted to mean "don't disagree with the big guys". I was just saying what I said: we all owe a debt of gratitude.
to cool off and compose an email to me, or a post on the forums that explains your point or problem in a clear manner.