Written by Gerrardfo on July 01, 2007
I do one of these articles every year, but this scenario is different for me. I should probably have this as a news post, but for the sake of tradition I'll try for a decent-length article, minus the unnecessary thoughts.
It's unbelievably difficult to summarize the events of the past six months. We facilitated the release of several GO versions (jb). We implemented changes in the team system (Laplie). We had some database issues. We held another banner contest, which will be reviewed in mid-July after the administrators finish another task that I'll reveal later (Neo). We had a run-in with language. We had a staff member leave (nico).
In the past I spent nearly a page reminiscing about those sorts of events. I don't have the luxury of knowing too much about the events this time around. The last several months have been a blur to me; real life had piled up an enormous stack of paperwork, and I was unable to play more than a couple games of magic with nico during those months. However, of the times we did play, they were mostly to test out GO or check the connection of an mws server. That's not a very exhilarating experience, I shall let you know.
But, I suppose I did become an IRCop, which is simply awesome. Yet, the higher you are, the more responsibilities you must endure. Certain issues have troubled me incessantly for a while, and I'm not in an optimal condition when facing such problems. I would not know where to start if I was to expound upon the laundry list of complaints with which I've dealt during the last six months; we'd have to categorize them first. Don't squander your time imagining what I woke up to some mornings; it's not pleasant.
All small talk aside, with nico approaching a leave from his position, we have an opening in the judge director slot. Shyft- is also preoccupied with his family, so he is in pseudo-hibernation. Wildcard is a rare sight these days, as is the ever-busy Koen since his company had a merger.
Yes, nico will still be around on the league, but not from the same position. Instead of serving as your neighborhood badass judge director, he will be participating from the player perspective. Additionally, he is kind enough to host a mws server 24/7 and help jb test GO. Perhaps his leave is overstated; he is still a co-owner of magic-league. He will announce the new judge director in a few days.
I did not have the time to hold any polls or surveys recently. It's understandable that I've had to focus much of my available hours toward non-league issues. I anticipate that the first response to this article will be: "ZOMG he hasnt (trust me, the user will forget the apostrophe) been online 4ever (yes, punctuated with a number)!" I will be back in all channels (not just two or three) online shortly after I handle some pertinent problems. Please be patient; it's never too much to ask.
Usually I'd have figured out something else to mention that makes the article relevant to magic. So, per custom: "dredge k thx gg." Type two is unexciting; what format do people want us to add if it's viable on Magic Workstation/GO? Does anybody have a cool format for a trial?
However, I have not been able to participate in a competitive (I'm mostly relaxed if I am to play nowadays) game of magic in…a year. Last August I determined that I didn't feel like being "serious" about magic anymore because it wasn't my passion. I've engaged in very few matches since then, most of which have been in "other" or were induced by nico.
I'm also unhappy about the behavior on the league. Niknight and I have had to life-ban several users recently; please don't be the next one. I don't enjoy sitting awake at two in the morning erasing spam comments from articles. I'm sure nobody would love that job. Sure, each and every user, judge, operator and administrator has screwed up before (whether it's a minor, unintentional mistake or a severe, intended mistake), but we're trying to improve. But, what can we do? Tightening rules doesn't work and being too apathetic toward the rules annoys users. So, with few other options, I'll EXPLAIN the rules.
No colors: Colors are meant for league purposes and announcing tournaments only. I can understand if a script screws up once or twice, but I do not accept consistent color flooding. Users should also consider the color palette of their fellow players; certain colors are painful to read.
Advertising (once every thirty minutes): In 2005 and early 2006, the main channel (in my perspective) was overwhelmed with advertising every three minutes for a channel. Magic-league could be compared to commercial-heavy radio. We'd host a tournament, four or twenty advertisements would flood the screen, and if we were lucky another tournament would be started.
No caps: Typing in all caps is distracting and does not add to the discussion. Plain and simple, it's not productive and is unnecessary (boils down to keeping a better environment).
Offensive language: I'll repeat it once again: we house players of all ages, races and genders. Don't be an impolite jerk and slander other users with racism and insults.
Flooding: Trust me: we can read/see what you're saying the first time. It doesn't make you look better; in fact, it sheds a light of rudeness onto you. More than one user is trying to type at once. It's not about having your name as number one on StatServ. However, if it does turn into a mere pissing (flooding) contest of sorts, we can always remove StatServ from the channel.
Time Extensions: This clarification is for judges as well: when a player asks for an extension, review it then, not at the end of the round. The scenario in which you'd have to grant an extension at the end of the round is if there was stalling on the final turn to prevent a player from untapping and winning, or in the final few minutes to slow down an opponent. Judges: do not tell players that you'll review an extension at the end of the round; sometimes that never happens. Players: ask for an extension when the time arises, not ten or twenty minutes after a ruling.
Those are the rules that come to my mind first. If there are any other rules that need explaining that aren't the time rule, feel free to comment on this article, and I or another judge/higher will attempt to answer to the best of our ability. Yes, there will be a judge test reset within a few weeks (thus the task I mentioned earlier is writing new questions), so please study/practice/not cheat. The test is becoming progressively easier, but it is not a cake-walk for everyone. Laplie shouldn't have to remind users to not rush to take and fail the test every time he resets the test; silly mistakes when you're on the bubble are painful, especially in a time when we need more judges. Learn from your mistakes and good luck. Aside from that, happy birthday to me, and have a pleasant day everyone.
-Gerrardfo
Erebus- on 2007-07-01 23:06 MST Happy birthday Gfo
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thedarkness on 2007-07-01 23:17 MST Happy birthday man. :) And I seriously hope some of the people who read this actually take it to heart for a change.
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Meldethar on 2007-07-02 00:29 MST Happy b-day. Glad to see the league shaping up again. Maybe I'll come back like I used to be.
oh, and 3rd
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Ro on 2007-07-02 01:22 MST We're gonna party like it's ya birthday
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RiQuSP on 2007-07-02 03:28 MST Happy SuperSweetSixteen !
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Goji on 2007-07-02 03:41 MST Happy Birthday Love
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nasa on 2007-07-02 08:59 MST i think wiley should take nico's place
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darksigma on 2007-07-02 09:00 MST Happy birthday Gfo!!
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mufl0n on 2007-07-02 09:28 MST ZOMG he hasnt been online 4ever!
(just for you,although i am not first,i hope that counts)
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Shagrath on 2007-07-02 11:19 MST i vote for Rodry, Wiley and Roarix to be admins.
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ant900 on 2007-07-02 12:47 MST happy B-Day man, I hope your job here gets easier
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DESTRUCTOR on 2007-07-02 13:02 MST happy birthday man, nice to see you writting again, keep up the good work
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mufl0n on 2007-07-02 13:18 MST I vote for blackdragon9 to be leader of the world
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leonin5 on 2007-07-02 13:19 MST happy birthday buddy! best friends forever!
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Rawrer on 2007-07-02 13:32 MST happy birthday, and I will try to use better condoms next time :(
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kendiggy on 2007-07-02 15:18 MST Happy Birthday, GFO. You know what would be a cool format to play if we could somehow implement it into Apprentice or GO? Mental Magic. I'm no programmer, so I couldn't tell you how to do it, but you're a pretty smart guy, I'm sure you could figure it out!
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darksigma on 2007-07-02 15:21 MST Btw Gerrardfo, you should start teaching the judges how to rule taking into account the current board state....
Cause almost all of them suck in that situation.
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Eliminator on 2007-07-02 16:03 MST Um, no one rules taking into account the current board situation, because you don't know what could happen in the future.
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MistyFatDog on 2007-07-02 16:08 MST not only that but there are barely ever any j2's on either... hint hint<<<<<
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niknight on 2007-07-02 18:02 MST Sigma: Judges are taught specifically to NOT rule based on board position. This is done for several reasons, not the least of which are that board state is not always the best determination of how the game would end (see also combo), and it gives incentive to players who are holding a tenuous lead on the board to try to error out the programs.
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TheDarkMan on 2007-07-02 19:04 MST I think sigma means that cards in play affect the ruling question...
And I would have taken the judge test a few weeks ago, but now I got a full-time summer job, and I don't really have time anymore. I had been studying, too, so I was fairly confident.
Maybe some other time.
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Vlada on 2007-07-02 19:56 MST deleted for reasons of stupidity - nik
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Dapug on 2007-07-02 22:30 MST Is Lamex still working on the new site?
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kobisjeruk on 2007-07-03 00:51 MST no new news about site = down every once in awhile? i know its not m-l fault but pls shed some light on the matter, ty
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darksigma on 2007-07-03 08:05 MST Who's talking about how the game will end? I mean if for example a guy has board advantage and makes mistakes to go to judges to lost time that must be taken into account. And I've experienced situations like that in which the judges just didnt care.
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WildCard on 2007-07-06 22:03 MST what about little 'ol me?
