In Reply to: Re: This site posted by pcdaniel on September 26, 2000 at 19:34:57:
I have never done this in the forum, but our game last night really raised my ire.
I can understand your frustration about Won, I had TD'ed there for 2 years and no one was more pissed than me when they booted Cases from the site. However to complain about an integral part of the game, a part that is not just sheer stupidity like the idiotic "random dice generators" these sites use, but rather a strategic element that will allow a skilled opponent to sway the game in his or her favor, and is used in virtually every version of backgammon that you will find, is either just a major lack of knowledge or lunacy. There are plenty of sites around that enable you to "turn off" the cube. Some of those sites might be an option for you. If you want a list I will be more than happy to give it to you.
Another point, and honestly one that has always bewildered me, is regarding the competetive nature of the ladder. Don't 99.9% of the people that are on the ladder want to climb to the top of it ? If you have friends that you play with on a regular basis then you cant use the excuse that I have so often heard,"if i'm not on the ladder then i can't get a match", well if thats the case maybe your friends are the things that need to be changed. If my friends told me the only way they would play me is based on whether I joined some competitive ranking system, when all I wanted to do was have fun, I would be looking for new friends. I am on the ladder because I believe my ability to play is slightly above average and I want to play others with similar skills. I want to be ranked among my peers. I want to fight my way up to the top of the ladder and prove that my ability to play better than most is not just talk, but is measurable and quantified by my skill rating and my postion on the ladder. Am I competetive, darn skippy I am. Will I play casual backgammon players, sure will and I always like to meet nice new players. Do I want them on the ladder if they don't take their playing seriously.. NOPE !! They can stick to the casual/beginner/friendly rooms and players that are always on every site. Respect my decision to play in an enviornment that is conducive to competition and playing the way the game was meant to be played, and I will be more than happy to respect yours to play the game in whatever form you wish and with every Tom, Dick and Harry that will leave the table halfway through the match because they realize they are losing.
To my knowledge the chisi rooms are still up at Won, you simply can't play Cases ladder matches there. Most of the people that I have gotten to know in backgammon are still playing there. They have found ways to circumvent Wons' STUPID policy to banish Cases from their site. They have made their choice to stay, and I have made mine to find another site. I have found no sites that come even close to the ease of navigation or the overall quality of the Won site, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna go back to someplace that so obviously doesn't want me there. Gaim Tjat has made it clear through their actions that they welcome Cases and it's players. It might not be comperable to Won, but you always have the freedom to choose where you want to play.
Why stay on an "inadequate site" ?
Won is but a mouseclick away.
Sorry if I come off sounding like a jerk, I'm really not. Feel free to ask some of the chisi players that are playing on GT that know me, like AuntBug and Nan. It's just that when you sit there and complain about the use of the cube during our match, and in here, it really bothers me. Want a simple solution, play one point matches. Not many Cases players will because one game is not a true measure of how well you play, and they dont want to give up rungs to someone that is simply lucky or getting a ton of doubles. I will though, if I can't play long and can only get in one or two games, I don't have a problem with it. I want to play everyone on the ladder, thats why I joined it. I want to see how I stack up against everyone else, if the only way I can play against a particular opponent that I havent challenged before is to play one point then so be it. I'm just hoping they are on the ladder for the same reason, to see how they stack up against me.
Scooby