Hi guys,

My original intention was to post quite a comprehensive response to most of the questions, which could, hopefully, be helpful to at least some people. However, I didn't feel well during past days, so this is just a short summary:

As it was correctly mentioned there, BrainKing is no longer my top interest. Many things changed in my life since 2002 and I had to adapt to certain aspects that are not directly related to the site but still affect my free time. Furthermore, after 13 years, I am not as enthusiastic about board games as I used to be. But nobody needs to worry about turning off or deleting the site, unless some kind of really bad disaster happens, which is very unlikely in this part of the world. Membership fees are just a small portion of the income that BrainKing generates, so even if those who never stop complaining would finally decide to stop supporting us, the site would still remain profitable.

More info later. And Happy New Year.

Fencer:  Happy New Year!

beach: Happy New Year to you too.

Fencer: WOW! I guess this answers a lot of questions and concerns. As I first read this response it comes across as honest and yet sort of pompous.

First without the paying members the site would not sustain itself so dismissing our thoughts, suggestions, and concerns is not a good business model. If you do not respect your customers they will not respect you with their money and will tell others about the bad attitude of management which in turn means a dry up of potential new customers.

Second, if as the owner, you are not as enthusiastic about the games anymore and do not wish to make the business a priority then perhaps you should sellout or hand the responsibilities over to someone who would enthusiastically make the site all it can be.

Thirdly, Fencer is just collecting the money taken in and not willing to do what he can to please his customers. In any other business he would lose them and have to shut the doors. All businesses have to evolve and try to do better to attract new customers and yet hold on to the ones they already have.

Fourth and lastly, my membership runs through February 11th. As of this time, do to the fact in Fencer's own words, he doesn't need my paying membership to be profitable, I will not be renewing my membership. I have been here since close to the beginning, so doing this is not made in haste. I just wish to be valued as a customer and not made to be feel like someone who just giving the ownership a check they can cash each year.

Have a happy new year folks. I will be interested in what others have to say about Fencer's response to us.

Brian1971: I have a different perspective. I pay for what I get, and if its worth what I paid, I am fine with it.

Here some thought: if you go to McDonalds (or wherever you eat), you pay x$ for a burger, and the next time you pay the same again for the same burger. if the burgers are worth the x$ (for you), you come back and keep doing it. The same applies here. You pay 3$ a month for playing games, and the next month you pay 3$ again for playing the same games - if it is worth it for you.

Where does the idea come in that it *has to* continuously change and improve? (McDonald *does* continually decrease the size of their burgers, and increase their prices, but that's probably not the kind of change you are looking for). It is certainly a valid request, but understand that there is no such automatic obligation. It's offer and demand, and if you think the status quo is not worth 3$/month, that is your decision. Sorry to lose you as a player, though.

Brian1971:
If you do not respect your customers they will not respect you with their money and will tell others ...
Who says I do not respect customers? I keep the site up and running and everybody gets exactly who pays for. I don't remember that the Paid Membership page would ever contain anything about a guaranteed implementation of all suggestions. If somebody does not feel respected only because his idea of respecting customers is different, well, it's not my fault. Sorry.

perhaps you should sellout or hand the responsibilities over to someone who would enthusiastically make the site all it can be
Great idea, I could not agree more. Do you know someone who would take over and meant it seriously this time? It would be quite a change to negotiate with a normal and communicative person who is interested in purchasing the site.

Fencer is just collecting the money taken in and not willing to do what he can to please his customers
BrainKing is my site and I do everything related to it. Nobody is obliged to pay for anything. Whatever I collect, it is only my business what I do with that. If it is bad for business, it is only my problem. Period.

he doesn't need my paying membership to be profitable, I will not be renewing my membership
Everybody has this right. No hard feelings.

Brian1971: Brian, you have over 600 matches. Fencer doesn't delete matches when a game hoarder's membership runs out so you'll continue to feast for as long as you can string the matches out but you won't be able to add to the pile until you purchase a new membership.

You'll also be out of all fellowships, so do pass the Pub's Big Boss title to someone who can keep your fellowship alive. You're quite well ranked in various game types which suggests that you might take an interest in your prowess. If you enjoy the rating graphs as much as I do then you'll miss them, at least for a while.

Your decision to experience being a Pawn as a form of protest will not come without a cost. You're not handing merely handing a cheque over to Fencer every year, you're purchasing a level of service that you couldn't otherwise enjoy.

Brian1971: Damn man! Go and make a site from scratch equivalent to the one Fencer has made and then start making those statements. It pisses me off that people can be so arrogant without ever trying to be in the shoes of those they accuse.
Just like crosseyed, who arrogantly thinks she is qualified to judge other people's character over the forums "without starting an argument", you are way out of line here. For people like you two, there is absolutely absolutely no use for Fencer(or anyone else for that matter) to reply and state his mind, in my opinion. You only care to impose your views, not to understand the actual state of affairs.(In comparison, I am arguing over statements.I do not insult people over their character. Although I am certain that it is useless to point out the difference, since those not already interested in noticing, will ignore it anyway :P)

Happy New Year to everyone! I wish your choices lead you to happiness

playBunny: Thank you Playbunny for your comments. I have sent communication to my second in command to take over my fellowship if she so desires. I do have lots of matches right now as I have had a bunch of new tournaments begin. I normally keep around 300 matches.

As far as a protest thing, it is not form of protest. I was a pawn a long time before I begin paying for membership as I believed in the continued growth in Brainking and because management was dedicated to us as players. However based on Fencer's own words he is not enthusiastic or as dedicated to it anymore. So perhaps I was a bit too harsh in my reply, but it makes me upset when I have supported this site for years with my money and in the last couple of years nothing really new has happened here. Many will continue to be a paid member and support the site as is. That is fine for those people. I have a fixed income and a small amount of dollars to earmark for entertainment. Around $3 a month is not much, but when you have to pay for 6 or 12 months in advance, that is chunk of change that I cannot afford to out of my budget one month. I will more than likely play here daily as a pawn and will keep all my games going as smoothly as possible to prevent them from dragging on for weeks and months but I cannot support a site that is not dedicated to its consumers.

Aganju: Your McDonalds analogy is fair and that is why McDonalds does not get any of my money. LOL.

If you read my reply to Playbunny, I reason why I was a paying member for so long and why I have made the decision to stop after my current membership ends. I have nothing personal against Fencer. However, I as a consumer of anything, do not give my money to any business that does not do right by its employees or its customers. Maybe I expect more than the status quo. That is my right as it has been expressed. I just feel that management should be as dedicated to me as a customer as I am to them as the business owner. Happy New Year.

ThunderGr: You see me as arrogant. I just want to get the most for my entertainment dollars. Look at it as a fan to sports team. If you support a team but they constantly lose and are not dedicated to getting better, are you going to spend your money to buy tickets, pay for parking, concessions and merchandise to support the team? You may stay home and watch the games on TV but that doesnt cost you anything and the team doesnt benefit from it except for the TV contract deal they have. Fencer has said he is not enthusiastic about this anymore. That is fine. I am just not enthusiastic about supporting a site financially that does not want to be better. So I will continue to play for free and forego the other extras. Happy New year to you too.

Aganju:
McDonalds is an interesting analagy. In order to maintain its customer base it has changed and altered its product offering.
You can get salads and smoothies and all manner of healthy things that they did not offer in the past. They offer internet and even computers at some stores.They could have stayed with their original offering, pumped up the advertising but i expect they would lose market share to others who adapted to a changing market. Brainking has the same option change or stand still. Standing still will inevitably result in a loss of market share over time but it can live off its name for a number of years and probably be more profiable In the short term.
But i agree with you, whether burgers or boardgames the ultimate measure is can i get more for my bucks elsewhere? Or perhaps even if i like the burger i just get fed up with the same old same old and want something different even if it is no better.

Let us all stop fighting. Happy New Year to all.

Brian1971: I knew that my point would not reach you but whatever. Fencer's position is the same for quite some time now and this is known to everyone that cared to check the Forums. I am not on this site for as much time as you are but I know more about it than you, apparently. I have posted my opinion on Fencer's stance on this matter and it is available on the forums for anyone interested. That being said, expressing your opinion and accusing/belittling others without any consideration or thought, are two different things in my opinion. I never said I do not understand your frustration or discontent and you are not the first(or the last) to do so.
My problem is with the way you choose to express these things, as if you know everything about everything and everyone. I do not think I am qualified to judge people's characters and I have no idea if you are arrogant in general but the statements you have made on this particular matter, implicitly accusing Fencer of theft and trying to patronize him on the way he should run the site publicly, as if you have the skills to build and maintain the site as a programmer, analyst, administrator, owner and manager(yes, he fills all these roles), really disturbed me.

Brian1971: Fencer said, several years ago, that he was not as dedicated or enthusiastic. He also said then that the site could no longer be his priority. I must admit that I'm surprised that it comes as news to you.

You're right that a perceived lack of interest will result in the loss of paying members. There are gammoner Pawns here who would have gladly renewed their Rooks if their requests, you might even say pleas, had been answered. Sadly the impression has long been that the gammon variants, despite being collectively the site's most played games, have not been considered important enough to fix various issues. I forget the details but the Backgammon forum has plenty of words about them up until people gave up trying. And where is the AutoPass for Ludo? I think I've wished for it almost half a gazillion times!

Your perception that activity is dwindling is a correct one. Two years ago, in November 2013, I took a snapshot of the Running Games page. The number of started games was 53000. The November 2015 page showed 33750. Today it's 31150 (although that difference may well be seasonal). I did take a couple of snapshots several years before 2013. Unfortunately they got lost but I remember noting that the 2013 figure was definitely lower.

But it's not just BrainKing. DailyGammon has seen a decline in numbers and Pocket-Monkey struggles to fill its fast class of tournaments. The years have seen other sites and a whole new mobile market to entice people away.

With regard to memberships here, there are 52 Rooks, 10 Knights 5 Bishops and one Forever Knight showing for this year. That's a total value of 2367 Euro (assuming 12 months for the Rooks and Knights), and that Forever Knight will, by definition, contribute nothing next year and thereafter. I have to believe Fencer when he says that memberships are the least contributor to the site's profitability as that sum may well be gobbled up by the Internet Provider alone.

ThunderGr: I do not know everything. I never said I did. However I am just expressing my views which is not arrogant. Some people agree with me and some do not. I see other people's views and find they have some merit. I am not belittling anyone or accusing Fencer of theft. He is providing a service for the money he collects. However I remember a time when I started to paying for brainking there was much growth and excitement. I feel the last couple of years it has become stale and stagnant. For my money I am looking for more. That is not being arrogant, belittling or accusing someone of theft. It seems to me the only one who is belittling anyone is YOU. Anyone who feels as I do is called ARROGANT. Read some of my replies to others including you and you will see I am not arrogant or belittling, just expressing my feelings. Like I have said before, I enjoy playing here. If people are content with things remaining the same and want to renew memberships that is fine. However for me I expect more from the person cashing our membership fee checks. Nothing personal, just my opinion. Not trying to fight, just defending myself.

mctrivia: Happy new year.

playBunny: I thought there was an autopass in ludo now. that was the reason I gave up on mine. that and the extreme pain of parsing a site that could change at any time.

Brian1971: Whatever. Apparently you are not reading your own messages. Also, if you think that I am belittling you and you feel the need to "defend" yourself because of that then I assume you cannot understand mine.

Last but not least, I think that you have not checked around for how much memberships cost on other sites vs what they offer. Brainking offers the greatest variety over cost that exists on the net. And you can have the full package at the cost of nothing more than limitation on number of games. No one else offers that. I think that your answers only prove that your statements are based on misconception of things and not actual knowledge or research. You say you do not know everything but you certainly talk as if you do. I am not going to bother listing one by one all the points in your messages that prove my point. They are here for everyone to read.

Sometimes one needs to defend other times he needs to apologize. The most common form of arrogance is when one does the first when he needs to do the second. And I am not the one being offended here, please do not misunderstand. I am just someone who fails to mind his own business and keep his mouth shut when I think someone is being targeted out of line.

Anyway, I have spoken my mind and I feel at ease now. I do not think I can explain things any better than what I have done so far. I apologize for the sharp tone but it is in my character to treat people the way they treat others.

Cheers!

ThunderGr: I wondered when you would respond to my post about that I think you are arrogant. And I still think you are arrogant in all ways. For example when I played games with you. You were telling me how I should play games. I am sorry I am not blessed with your intelligence. But I do think you need to look up the word arrogant as you frequently use the word and sometimes use it in the wrong context.
However I do have to agree with you now that I do think Brian1971 recent post does come over as being arrogant.

crosseyed: I see. So, offering advise and stating one's opinion about games counts as arrogance for you. Thanks for letting me know, even if it is so much later than it should. I humbly apologize if I offended you when I thought we were having a friendly conversation. It was not my intention and rest assured it will never happen again. :)

Fencer: I am sorry you have not been feeling well. I hope you are feeling better now.
I know in the past I must have annoyed you with some of my posts but back then this site was not what I would call stable, with a blank white page and constantly being kicked out of the site.
Thankfully those days have gone and I am very happy playing games in this site. In fact I think this is the best site out of the four sites I play in. I don't have big expectations and I am happy with this site and the games I play in it.
I wish you a Happy New Year and hope that maybe one day in the future you might become more interested in your site.

ThunderGr: Apology accepted. However you did not offend me when telling me how I should play a game, it was that you annoyed me at the time. I don't take playing games as seriously as you and many other players do. I play for fun and sometimes to chat to people from all over the world in all walks of life, that what interests me.

I have learned that many people don't appreciate to be told about how they play and what was not a good move and what would have been better, etc., no matter if the advice is good or bad or wrong. I think it takes a certain mood to be open for critic (and I have times where I don't want any, no matter how well-meant and helpful).

So I generally don't offer any advice or comment unless asked to.

Even if I have to bite my tongue.

Aganju: I am glad you now except that some people do not want advice in playing games. We are all at different levels and some of us are not so clever and may never get to the top level. Don't bite the tongue too hard

Aganju: Heh heh. Me too. I've further found that even if you test the waters by asking whether advice would be appreciated, an affirmative answer is no guarantee of a good reception. I agree with you that biting the tongue is often less painful than getting the hand bitten.

Brian1971: Brian I understand your frustrations but I think you are expecting too much from this site. I know you do not have good health and spend a lot of time in here. But as far as most games sites go I think this one is the best in all ways. I would rather pay a membership than have limitations which would frustrate me. So do you think you are "cutting of your nose of to spite your face" by not renewing your membership? I was going to offer to pay for your membership next year when it runs out as I know you are on a limited budget. So come on folks let try and understand Brains frustrations.

2003-2009 ......... Thirteen mentions of words starting with "arrogan".
2010-2014 ......... None
2015 Jan-Nov .... None
December 2015 ............. Twenty four!!

playBunny:

crosseyed: Thanks for considering me crosseyed. However I am sure I am doing what is best for me. Besides I will still play here for free as I do not want to lose the friends I have gained here. I am available on facebook and play games on facebook too. Just send me a private message and I would be willing to become your facebook friend.

I am done fighting about this subject folks. I made my views known and have made my decision as it is clear that Fencer has made his. The site is going to remain status quo as he does not want to do anything else with it for now. Perhaps in the future he will change his mind and do more. If he does, I will then look into paying for a new membership. This discussion has taken an ugly tone. I am sorry to anyone who I may have offended as that was not the basis for my contention. However it goes to show the passion that the players here have for this site. All in all that in not a bad thing. Before I started playing here in November 2004, I played at itsyourturn.com and there was a bad vibe there at the time and through messages I read, i decided to try it out and have been here since. I hope in the near future there is some sort of balance to please those who are content with things the way they are and those who want some new features. God Bless everyone and happy new year.

playBunny: LOL...you have too much time on your hands. I thought I had but you take the cake. LOL.

Brian1971: Brian don't rush into anything just yet. Sleep on it so to speak. I used to play in IYT years ago and there was a lot of ill feeling in the discussion boards. I left the site and then I registered with Brainking. I have since gone back to IYT and apart from the discussion boards have disappeared there has been no change in the site. In fact I think it so dated. So you have to admit this site beats most other sitse in everyway.
I an serious about paying for your membership and ask that re- think about how you are feeling about things at present. I would rather see you in here as a paid member in 2016.

crosseyed: Again thanks for the offer. In the new year I have lots of stuff to do to try to fix my health issues if possible. I am seeing 2 specialists in January for an ultrasound blood flow exam and another for kidney trauma. Most likely getting a toe amputation early in the year as well. I am also taking on a church council spot in February and I will be the financial secretary. So I will have plenty help fill the void of not being a member in 2016. There are more important things than brainking. I lost sight of this temporarily. So things are good.

Brian1971: Okay if you say you have new things to deal with next year including health issues. So I have to respect your decision. But you won't lose face with me if you should decide to take my offer up of staying in Brainking as a paid member. I know I hate being limited in games sites if I am not a paid member.

Wow I just read the board!  People chill out!  Brainking is the best boardgame site compared to others I have seen.  Pay for a membership if you like what it offers, if you want to play as a pawn play as a pawn.  This is fencers site, he can do what he wishes with his site.  I probably play most of you as I play a lot and have been here a long time, and have made many friends here.  For 2016 can we just be happy.  Wishing everyone a happy New Year.

beach: Thank you Beach and Happy New Year to you.

I agree with Beach,play and chill,and have a Happy New Year and thank you Fencer !

I hope all Brainking players have an awesome 2016

Wouah ! Surprised to see a so livened up board today. Me, I like to read all your comments, whatever is your position.
I just want, for the 1st day of the year, to send my best wishes, health, success...
Happy new year to everyone !

Happy new year to all, and may you enjoy the games you play on here, and make it joyous for the ones on the other side of the board as well :-)

thanks to fencer for keeping this site up and running, and thanks to my opponents to offer me nice games :-)

Mélusine: Thank you and Happy New Year to you too.

Hrqls: Thank you and the same to you too.

ketchup in 2016

Only a couple of days left to ask your questions to speachless

http://brainking.com/en/Interviews?ht=35

furbster: What's the point of asking if he'll be speachless?

Roberto Silva:

the one

Roberto Silva:

She. Not He.

Aganju: Lies! Everybody knows there are no girls on the internet.