Aganju: no, you loose nothing, whatever you purchase for example we'll use your 25% example, would extend your 6 months by one year and three months for a total of 21 months if you were to purchase a one year membership

6 (months left) + 1 year (membership purchased )+ 3 months (bonus) = 21 months

I don't understand how this works; let's say I still have 6 month of membership running, but I buy a new one now with the bonus. Do I not lose the still open six months, just to replace it with the bonus? If the bonus is 25%, I would actually lose on the whole thing?
More generally asked, what happenes if I buy membership while the current one is running? Anyone tried this?

Artful Dodger: Ok, thank you.

Mélusine: I believe you can. I've gotten red before and gifted it to others. ;)

Artful Dodger: I've got the red one today. Yesss.
I wonder if I can use a color for someone else; I mean to pay something to someone else with the color on my page ?

Gabriel Almeida:

RED CODE! RED CODE! RED CODE!

Yeah Fencer on the new bonus membership. It will be sporting to try and catch the 100%

Justaminute:

rabbitoid: You will be able to swop them for Euros soon.

The owner can, of course, but why should he bother? to enter a tournament so he can try to win more of them?
Hmmm, come to think of it, the same applies to me too. Maybe I should try to unload mine on ebay? :)

Bwild: There's no hope... if the owner can't get brains for himself, what can we do, simple "not-owning-members"?

Gabriel Almeida: yeah...ones lost, and the other six are out looking for it!! lol
j/k

rod03801:Fencer has... 7 brains! :) 

rod03801: Yes, I think that is right. I posted a question on this message board some time ago about getting brains. Some generous soul read my post and asked Fencer to transfer 30 brains to me. As far as I can tell, there is no other way that I could have gotten brains.

Marshmud: I would guess it's a case of someone asking Fencer to transfer some of their own brains to someone else, so that they can use them for the brain tourneys.

Aganju: How did you get a gift of brains? I didn't know that was possible. The last brain action (where you could get some free) was April 08. I think the brain system is disabled. The only members who have brains are those who bought them in the past or won a brain tournament.

I think I understand what he means. I also got a generous gift of 20 brains, and have entered 5 tournaments with them yet (I won 6 brains in one of them), so that leaves me with 1 brain, and four running tournaments. Or should I say ongoing tournaments; they are not running in any sense.
They are not even going well, but that is another topic.
But maybe around Christmas, one of them might end, and I might be able to join another one.

I asked that question before (and it resulted in the donation), but I'd really like to know - how do you get brains?
- you can win them (but only if you have some to risk)
- you can get them donated (thanks again, but that can't be the preferred way)
- you can buy other people memberships? not sure about that one?
- there is a page that claims you can get them for free if you complete some easy steps, but I could not find those easy steps (here it says 'By completing a simple process of easy tasks, you will be awarded with 20 Brains and you can start to explore all other possibilities with no actual investment. Please visit this page for details.'), but there is no simple process of easy tasks described?

ChaseWinstead: How's this? Brain Prize Tourney for Chase

I made a random Brain Tourney of the games I see on your profile that you play.

It really belongs on the Tourney board, so I'll put it there too.

I was given 30 brains some time ago, a kind gift from another. I'd like to use these brains to enter so prize tournaments, to increase my brains. However, even with the free gift this is very difficult to do. If I played backgammon or chess, maybe, but for the games I play, there don't seem to be many options.

Fencer, a while ago you had mentioned maybe another color code for memberships. Have you thought any more about that? This was your comment ( Well, I think we could make one more membership action with colour codes. Or something like that.)

Can somebody find a good estimate of the percentage of tournaments affected by this?

Mélusine: There are still a few players playing. And one of the slowest, as I said, is a person I really respect, good player and friend. So, this is nothing personal, and if he/she read this, I'm sure he/she'll understand!

Fencer: I have a good idea, how about.........i know, i will write to you rather than start a huge debate lol

Roberto Silva: I have a better solution than to rewrite the tournament system. It just takes some time to complete.

Fencer: "I don't think it's a critical issue when people can play unlimited number of tournaments"

True, but not everyone can - even those with paid subscriptions (knights and bishops) may be prevented from playing tournaments of a particular game for years.

coan.net: Yes, you are right. Either solution would require programming and testing, which I currently don't have time for. Anyway, I don't think it's a critical issue when people can play unlimited number of tournaments.

Roberto Silva: I agree it would be nice if the site could determine a winner of a section even before all games are done. Another idea would be to make it a way for a few "tournament masters" or something - people who understand tournament scoring could "mark" winners of a section so the next round could start before all the games are complete.

It would be some more "manual" work, but honestly it would be what - one or two tournament a week at the most that would need winners marked so the next round could start. (I would volunteer for the job.)

Of course both solutions would include additional site programming, but would be a nice addition to the site.

Thad: Indeed, it should be possible to start the next round once the section winners are mathematically decided, even if there are games left. I'm not sure how much of a trouble it would be to code that however...

Gabriel Almeida: In the tournament you site, the games that are unfinished *don't matter* for determining who will play in the next round, therefore it should be started already! Fencer, why do you allow this?

Gabriel Almeida: Your example is terrible !
If I was the last player to make my moves, sure, I would feel guilty.

Aganju:

This board is turning into my favorite board to read. I especially like one person's post here (who name I won't mention because of the potential harsh penalty)

I don't have any brains and with all the tourneys I play in, you'd think I'd have at least one (even the one in my head is questionable)

Let me tell you an example of what has been said here. This tournament. A lot of "pawn players" are waiting that it ends. Almost 3 years to play a 7 points cube gammon in groups of 4 or 5 players? It's obviously too much. And I know that players who haven't ended their games are great people. I'll say no names, but one of them is a great friend, a "clean and fair player", and I really respect and like him very much. But those pawns can't play any other tournament since January'2009! Some of them may be expecting to win it and the prize associated, and... nothing more than wait. (Listen to Waits music, BTW... eheh). This is "legal", but it's not understandable, in my opinion!

Gabriel Almeida: colors? You mean politically flavored colors like gas-chamber green, or blood red? Or just normal like purple or pink? Or racially incorrect, like black? Oops. I learned the politically correct term is now 'of color', like 'a man of color' or 'a hole of color' (formerly called a 'black hole')...

warning, the above statement might contain sarcastic or humorous references

Aganju: Yes, three times in the head! :)

Pedro Martínez: You can't mention names here?? Johnny, Jim, Jack! Do I get shot now? ;-)

I see. I'd count that as 'bought' in the wider meaning - you paid money, well knowing you get brains for it. - I endorse the idea, don't misunderstand me. Just wanted to hear potential alternatives.

Aganju: I checked my “Brains History” and it says I got my first 50 Brains for having purchased a Rook membership for a person whose name I cannot mention here because it is prohibited to mention names here under a harsh penalty.

Aganju: I must have won it somewhere…

Aganju: not counting the one in your head

Pedro Martínez: So how did you get your first brain?

Thom27: I have never bought myself a single Brain on this site – only bought them for others. Yet, you must understand that the Brains are used as an equivalent of money here, since we can purchase membership with them. That's why I don't think “20 free Brains for all” is such a good idea, at least not from the owner's point of view. However, making the users be able to purchase them, that's a whole different story.

Pedro Martínez: This is also a way, of course. I personally would not like it to buy brains instead of earning them by playing games, because playing is what this is all about. But every player is free to try to avoid bying them, or at least buy as few as possible.

Thom27: Wouldn't it be easier just to enable Brains purchasing again?

Gabriel Almeida: Yes! ATM it is difficult to get brains for a player who has 0 brains, like me. I participate in "pedros birthday tourney" and "not so random tournament", but to be realistic: it is unlikely that I will win any of them.

There might be a program like "20 free brains for all": one day soon all accounts are filled up to 20 brains, and newly created accounts from then on start with 20 brains.

Or: regularly (e.g. once a month) a free prize tournament starts automatically, where the first three players win some brains. It might be a random game tournament, so that there is a considerable luck factor in the choice of the game type against a specific opponent; there is always some game a particular player does not or barely know. And players having more than, say, 50 brains might be excluded from those tournaments, so that the "poor" players have better chances.

happyjuggler0: Hey, Fencer... we need more brains in the site! :)