This is a great idea;but the price is a little rediculous. Since I play Gothic Chess almost exclusiveally;it would be a great help.

Dear Chessmaster1000, i removed you from my enemies, and I sent you a message. The reasons were clear and we will discuss them in a private way, not here.
But with the other points in your postings I agree with you.

Altough Schachmdmt you have me on your enemies list (for a very silly reason i can say), you spoke well. I joined this site for playing Chess and Backgammon but in the meanwhile i discovered Gothic Chess. And now i'm addicted to it.

Since i'm playing Chess many years like all of you, i guess, my analysis for the game has been huge and the surprises i have from the Chess game are getting smaller and smaller. And since G.C is something totally new, the areas we have to discover are endless, so this game is more fascinating than Chess right now.

I would like to thank Ed and Fencer for the same reasons, too. And while i don't know how many players would care for having Gothic Chess here,i do care and in fact it's a reason i'm being here.....So i would like Gothic Chess to continue be an available game here at Brainking.

In the subject I am using a statement of Walter and I think, this board should be only for Gothic Chess questions, but not others you discussed here. Please notice, that I am not interested in your damned fight in the last 100-200 postings!
But I am interested in performing Gothic Chess and building up an german speaking homepage about Gothic Chess. Since September, when I tried Gothic at first, it became more and more fascinating for me so that braining is getting my gothic chess playing board, not even chess (chess was the reason why i at first joined brainking).
So, I want to build up a german speaking homepage about gothic chess in the next future (at first i have to finish some other projects). If you want tto help me or to partipcate themes at this planned site please contact me at markus.nemetz@1000schoen.at
Another question: How many Gothic Ches Clubs are in Europe? Suppose not much, in Austria I suppose none. If any interested Austrian read this please contact me - it would be funny to build a club up.
Ant at last: I am thinking about ordering some boards and figures from gothicchess.org - so please if you are interested too please contact me - we can save money (Ed Trice offered a special prize) and shipping costs!

And at last: Thank you very much, Ed, for this game!!! And you, Fencer, for brainking at all!!!

Walter, WHY did you remove me as moderator?

It takes awhile to read 58 posts, but then it's only a few minutes. ThomasBarnes posted things he shouldn't have and is now banned. He had plenty of time to edit them and didn't. Thad is no longer a moderator. I made a mistake in choosing him over bwildman, and I can't undo it now. bwildman is no longer interested in being a moderator. Cerebro was mentioned to me by an opponent of mine in Gothic Chess. It turns out that I had played him a few months back and he seemed level headed, balanced, and liked to play Gothic Chess. I wrote him and asked if he'd like to try being a moderator on this discussion board. He said he'd give it a try. I'm impressed with him so far. He's done nothing and taken no actions as yet. Imagine that, all that power at his finger tips and he's touched no buttons! I think that's a good start and perhaps we'll have the moderator that some have been clammoring for. Just because someone disagrees with me doesn't mean they won't be a good moderator or that we can't work together. He's still studying the old posts and reading the current ones, I assume. After he does his research of the old files we'll work out some ground rules.

I might yet switch the MODE to "Approve all posts" as has been suggested in some recent posts. I think a really helpful option for Fencer to add to the moderator's toolbox would be one that allows certain users to be placed on approved messages only. It could be placed next to the Banned and Hidden users windows are. The way it's set up now, it's all or none. The overwhelming majority of posters cause no problems with their posts and add to the dialogue in the discussion boards. Those few that cause trouble really make it bad for everyone else. It forces the moderators to either put up with everything or completely restrict everything. Yes, banning the trouble makers will work, but not when some of the banned people have a vocal group of supporters that flame the board the moment that action is taken.

I'm going to post a lot less often or very rarely to this board for now on. That should allay the concerns of those that I worried when I carried on the other day. Someone, harley it is, mentioned making mistakes. I certainly have made some of late. This way of communicating is lots different than talking to someone face to face or on the telephone. I'm learning quick. Apparently this board has created a stir in other places, just from the sudden appearance of people that haven't posted here at all or in a long time.

This board is for Gothic Chess and related subjects. Patents in and of themselves are not what this board is about. Gothic Chess being unique in the respect that it is patented and the game itself has a history of how it came into being has caused the two subjects to come together in a clash of wills on the subject. Ed has a proprietary stake involved and feels he must guard it. Seeing how some companies have lost their trademark or patent from not doing so, it's hard to fault him for it. (Like the name, Aspirin, for example). Some of my posts about it have certainly shaken that up, especially when others have given their opinion on it that furthers the discussion against his ownership of it. Why he threatens lawsuits when all that we're doing is talking is beyond me, but that more or less is what all the recent commotion on this board has been about. Aside from this last post concerning my interpretation of recent events, I will no longer post about patents. I hope this helps with the flaming. And since I will rarely post at all from now on, I know it'll help. I will continue to moderate this board for the time being. I have mentioned to Fencer that I might step down from the job. I have more or less enjoyed the job, though it certainly has some drawbacks. In a week or two we'll see how it goes and I'll let you all know. I asked one other person yesterday if he'd like to try his hand at it. After I got home from work today, I had received two replies from him. The first said yes, he'd give it a go. The second one said he'd reconsidered and was turning it down. Perhaps the 53 messages between the two letters got him thinking? So it'll be Cerebro and I for the time being.

Thank you for your support and understanding,
Walter

EdTrice: This is not a place for repeating your worthless promises over and over. I am interested in a partnership with reliable and honest people, not you. And as I said before, I don't wish any more off-topic babble about hypothetical lawsuits, sponsors, investors and other funny stuff from your side. Take it, or leave the site.
And just to make it clear for other, I support opinions of Caissus, BIG BAD WOLF and similar ones.

It's very simple, if it doesn't have anything to do with a game that is being played and the moves/strategy of the game then delete it. You don't have to please anyone or worry about not pleasing anyone. This board should be about Gothic Chess here at this site. Let Ed deal with any further discussions on his patents or others deal with Ed at his site. Have conversations start off with "in game # "the strategic positioning or whatever, you catch my drift. You da man, keep it simple. The game could be mentioned in their Subject line. With people, you are dealing with a much more complex board than just 10X8 and the pieces. So, the simpler the rules are the better.

I forgot to mention one thing. The board did have rules posted in the past. I will look at those and if they are suitable, I will remind everyone of them. I don't mean to step in and take authority away from Thad and Walter. Any decisions will be made with their consent. Ideally we could arrive at a general concensus and balance the needs of the moderators and the contributors to this board, regardless of whether they are Brainrooks, Brainpawns, etc.

Hello everyone, I just logged on. I was away for about 6 hours and woke up to a nice surprise. 53 messages, most of which are useless personal attacks from one member to another. I will draft a proposed set of rules for posting and post them. One this is clear and that is that personal attackes from one member to another have to stop. Name calling (goose stepping ...), insults of all sorts, attacks on Walter, Ed and other members. We need a clear set of rules for hiding and banning members. I will work on this over the next few hours. On the one hand, I don't think it is good to remove free speech and become a discussion board Fascist moderator. At the same time, members have to show some respect for one another. I have to find a way to balance free speech, respect for others, and the interest in Gothic chess only. I will try my best to be impartial in all this. If anyone has any suggestions, please send them to me privately. Considering the way things are, I could do with some help.

That player was banned yesterday by Fencer due the suspicious circumstances of thier wins. So its old news LOL

anyone up for an easy win at gothic chess? send me an invite :o)

Could I suggest you remove the racist post by Thomas Barnes (3hrs ago) or edit it please

I respectfully disagree on that point, Thad. The loudest voices may want him removed, but many of the quiet readers would like for you to work together.
This may not work for you, but it could be worth a try... myself and NOT a floosie have an agreement that if one of us makes a decision like banning or hiding someone, the other person doesn't interfere. Co-moderators need to stand together, support and respect each other even if you don't necessarily agree with their every decision. Even if you only said "ok, I don't personally agree with that banning/hiding, but that was their decision and I stand by them". It would be much better than one of you banning someone, only for the other to come online and unban them. If you disagree so strongly, PM him. Calmly explain why you think its the wrong decision, then let him decide from there.

And you think it is good for prospective investers to read in reguards to ED??

This post was directed to Brumble's remark about being the best for Brainking.

redsales, you are right in thinking that there is a double standard going on of sorts. I am not moderating much of the language that is going on right now because I am too busy dealing with trying to get the situation with Walter resolved.

As soon as that is resolved, I will try to clean up some of the insulting posts that have eluded me recently. I can do a good job of moderating this board, if given the chance, but I cannot overcome all of the negativity/bickering/debate over Walter's position.

You are right, harley, but the overall problem here is more than just that. With the two of us as mods and the way this board goes with all the flareups, it is impossible to manage. The best solution in my opinion is for him to be removed. I am not saying this just because I think he was out of line with his patent posts, but for other reason too, the main one of which is that the voices of many other people are speaking and the overwhelming majority of them want him removed. Doing so would bring peace back to this board.

it is perfectly acceptable to express your opinion over the validity of a patent, even when in a conflict of interest. But you STILL think he should resign. Would that make the board any better? What about when (possibly fake) pawns call Caissus a goose stepping moron. Personal racist attack and not related to Goth at all. They don't even get a warning. Sounds like a double standard bordering on a vendetta to me.

Thad we all make mistakes. Its easy to get fired up about a subject once you start debating it, and you have to respect Walter for admitting the mistake and trying to make amends.
If the problem between you is just the patent thing, I'm sure you can easily work through that and have a better understanding afterwards.

Harley,

Thanks for the voice. Walter & I did have some disagreements at first. I think most of them were just misunderstandings. We exchanged some good PMs and I thought we were cool with each other, but then he got into it with Ed over the whole patent thing. As a poster, I didn't see it as a problem, but since he is a mod, he should have exercised better judgement. He went way over the line and even admits it himself in posts below. I think he should resign or be removed.

But trice, they are not my words - they are your own words...

Can dish it out, but can not take it. As soon as a lawsuit his way is mentioned, he runs. Typical Trice.

Bumble the forming of a lynch mob and making people take sides is the least effective way to make improvements. Harley sets rules for her DB and lets the chips fall where they may and people might get pissed for a bit (including me) but the bottom line is it works. Maybe tight rules firmly enforced would be the corrective that's needed.

OH NO - Trice lied about what I posted - EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. Going to be a Trice and call my lawyer and sue... Whaaaaaaaaa Whaaaaaaa Whaaaaaa

(sorry, that was my Trice impression)

Actually I don't remember saying his or anyone who does not play the game often opinion does not matter - just that fake pawn accounts should not.

And if you must know, the only reason I don't play Gothic Chess or offer that game in any of my "all game" tournament is that I don't know how much longer the game will be left on the site, and I don't want to be stuck in middle of games when it is removed, or have players stuck in my tournaments when the game is removed. As a side note, I am signed up for the Gothic Chess team tournament but is one of the less popular variants so probable will not start any time soon.

No, Ed, this board IS a concern of mine, harley, BBW and everyone else that wants the best for brainking. At the moment this board is a mess - a mess that is not good for prospective members to read. We are trying to resolve the situation.

Your own little kingdom :o)

You only want dedicated players?!

Discussion about patents, lawsuits, and moderators. :)

Thad, no disrespect to either of you, but since you ask for opinions... I think the only way for this board to 'come back under control' is for you and Walter to make some ground rules about how to run this board - preferably privately - and to stick to them. Right now people are taking advantage of you two not getting along. Instead of asking Walter to resign, work at creating a system that you both are happy with.

For what it's worth, I agree with BBW.

Ok, thanks for your thoughts BBW. If I can't get this situation resolved shortly, I suppose it will have to come to that. I will only switch to that as a last resort. Unfortunately, we are nearing that point.

Thad - you are not going to get too many more to post here - just look when Socks posted, he was jumped on right away.

My opinion to bring this board back under control - Change it so posts have to be approved for everyone. Then only approve post which deal with the subject of Gothic Chess.

Some pawn votes should count and some should not. It is easy to tell which are which. It just takes a few clicks.

1) If you are a true player here and haven't expressed an opinion, please do so.

2) If your account was just recently created, we will not count your vote, so please don't bother posting here. We have enough going on as is.


I would really like to see this board come back under control. I think the only way for that to happen is for Walter to resign as moderator (Fencer has basically told me that if Walter requests to be removed, it will be done). I have asked Walter to please step down.

I would like to continue to see everyone's opinions posted here for all to see.

Thad

Well looking at a couple of the pawn accounts, 2 were made withing the last week - one not even playing games.... so if you want to include fake pawn accounts in this "vote" of yours, then give me about an hour and I'll have 50 votes against this little vote of yours.

ThomasBarnes, I can vouch for smelly socks, he is not 'fake', he's just one of the many who read this board who normally choose not to post. Name calling won't help any situation.

Anyway even if you count the pawn accounts, 10 votes out of 11478 members isn't bad ;o)

As a Pawn, I admit we are not entitled to as many rights as paying members. In any case, maybe Fencer should just make moderating rules such that there is never any dispute as to who can ban who, who can become moderator etc. It's just too loose as it is now...

A good site should have a solid set of rules that everyone WILL follow or not be part of the site. I've written the main policy document for an Internet Relay Chat network in the past and, believe me, there are a LOT of things that need to be taken care of in that environment. In the end, IRC operators (like discussion board moderators here) have an effective tool to police an otherwise unmanageable mess...

Don't try to intimidate me.. Cas.. You are just man.. You ARE the weaker sex..

Nonsense..weak level,Scarlett.

I hear a hint of discrimination from you.. What.. you don't think pawns count??

What.. are you better than a pawn.. ?? Thomas has every right to his own opinion as well..

Geez!!

stinky socks looks fake you ask me. no interest in the game then he just shows up. fake. fake. fake. meanwhile the goose stepping moron from the country whose V1 rocket campaign bombed my grandparents back to the stone age jumps in.

I don't think he was defending Walter - he said the same thing I would have if he did not first - You can't really count the pawns votes - since it looks like they are just on the site to only vote (fake accounts). (not all pawns, but at least 2 there I seen.)

Plus Caissus has it right, all it takes is one vote to remove a Moderator - that is Fencer's. If it was votes of users, then Trice would have been removed from this site long ago.

you are insane.

It`s time to ban at last Thomas Barnes and to change the board to "Pawns must be approved"!

so stinky socks shows up to defend Walter out of the clear blue sky? something stinks in here. step down Walter.

I used to agree with you ted. I thought games within a match should be rated individually. But I have changed my thinking. Now, I can challenge someone that I am fairly confident I can beat to, say, a three wins match. If I stumble and make a boneheaded move, I might lose one game, but since only the entire match is rated, the loss does not appear in my ratings. Is this fair? Maybe not. But, since we all play under the same ratings rules, maybe it is. It should certainly encourage the top players who want to protect their ratings to play more, and that is a very good thing. I know of other gaming sites where that is a big problem. I'm sure that doesn't solve your problem, but maybe it softens the sting a little. ;-)

Exactly, Caissus.

Relevant is only one vote : Fencer`s!

At present in a match;no matter what the score of a match in progress,each player's ratings are unaffected. This I believe is highly unfair to both players as it makes a match of any lenghth rated as if it is only 1 game. If you win or lose a match by a score of 6-0 you recieve the same rating as if the score was 6-5. This is highly uninformative as to ones actual playing strength;since in the case of the 6-0 match the players were nowhere near as evenly matched as in the case of the 6-5 match. Rating each game would fix this flaw and encourage more people to play matches. At present I lead some of my matches by scores of 2-0 and trail some by 0-1,and in some cases I am even. Yet in no case does my profile reflect my actual won-loss record. I have actually won 12 lost 5 more games of gothic chess than my profile shows. Yet because I won one of those matches 4-0 and won another 2-1 and lost another 0-4 and am ahead in 3 matches 2-0;my rating doesn't show it.

You can discount the pawns for a start.

For removal of Walter we have

tedbarber
surdus
EdTrice
Chessmaster10
00
Thad
ChessCarpenter
CardinalFlight
fari
borz2
ScarletRose
ThomasBarnes

I count 10 votes am I missing anyone?