There's a helpful feature on other BG sites which shouldn't be too hard to implement.  Normally the dice appear in a certain order, and the first checker you click on is moved the number of points shown on the first die.  Here, if you want to move the second die first, it is necessary to first click on "swap dice".  The requested feature is this:  If you click on a checker and it cannot be moved the number of points shown on the first die, then it is moved the number of points shown on the second die instead (if possible).  It's surprising how many clicks this would save.

Thanks!

Would it be possible to have a list of "favorite smileys" so I don't have to search through 11 pages of them to find the one I want every time?  Thanks!

WellyWales: You could try paying attention :-)

gambler104: That would be great. I have asked for that in the past.

alanback: Still the same problem in "edit" also.

Fencer: I uninstalled all the versions of Firefox on my computer (there were three!) and reinstalled 2.0. I still have the problem that I don't see a box when I click on "reply" in rich text mode. When I switched to plain text, I got the box.

I find that the message boards aren't working properly with Firefox 2.0.  When I click on "reply", the page refreshes but no message box appears.  I have to click on "box" to get the message box.  In addition, when I want to edit my own previous message, when I click on "edit" no message box appears.

alanback:  Another feature from DailyGammon which might be a bit more difficult to program, and which also reduces the need to swap dice, involves entering from the bar.   A player who must move his piece from the bar is not required to do this as his first move, as long as he does it during the current turn.  For example, I have a piece on the bar and the dice are 5-2.  I could enter with either the 5 or the 2, but I prefer to enter with the 2 and use the 5 elsewhere.  DG allows me to move the 5 first, after which the only permitted move will be to bring the piece on the bar in with the 2.  This does not effectively violate the rule requiring the piece to be entered from the bar before any other move is made, because the two moves are unrelated.

On Dailygammon, as here, the server presumes that you intend to play the first (left-hand) die first.  However, if you click on a piece that cannot move the number of points shown on the first die (e.g. because the destination point is blocked), then it automatically moves the second die instead.  (Mechanically this is accomplished by inserting a link on the board for the second die when the first die is blocked, rather than inserting no link as is done here.)  This saves a lot of "swap dice" clicks.  Could that be implemented here? 

Mousetrap:  Good luck :-)

Mousetrap:  Well, you have basically two options.  One is to insist the problem is on the server side and never get your icon uploaded.  Or, you can try to solve it on your side.  Try re-saving the file in one of the other accepted formats (e.g. gif) and uploading that file.  Or convert it to another kind of .jpg (e.g. by changing the level of compression, size, etc.) and make sure it is re-saved as a jpg before uploading.

pauloaguia:  No, I see now it apparently can't be done.  I was working from memory (having no waiting games) so I couldn't check the screen before posting.  Looks like you can only change the default setting for one of the two boxes, the other by default will always be set for "next game".  I don't find it burdensome to pick a game off the drop-down list, but then I almost always just play them in the order they come up.

However, the left hand menu always includes a link to the Main Page, so I don't see the problem even now.

unikum:  Aren't there two buttons  (Unless you have no more waiting games)?  You can set one to stay and one to go to the main page, by default.

It would be nice to see a list of a player's top BKRs when viewing his or her profile page.

It would be useful to be able to save your favorite settings for game invitations.  For example, I usually invite people to play backgammon matches with the doubling cube, and a time limit of 3 days with standard vacations.  It would be nice to be able to make a string of invitations without having to change those settings.  Alternatively, the system could save the last settings used.

nightmagic:  I couldn't agree with you more, even if I knew what the heck you are saying.

tonyh:  I'm actually indifferent to the system, except to the extent it causes me inconveniences such as the refusal of players to resign lost games.  However, this is not the only reason players refuse to resign I am sure.  Some make a point of stretching games out long after they are decided, presumably in the hope the opponent will eventually encounter some personal misfortune that causes them to time out.

http://brainking.com/en/ShowGame?g=1024577

grenv:  Well, I have to say I have seen many forms of behavior that I considered more rude than that.  No doubt it is generally rude (bad sportsmanship) to hold an opponent hostage when you have clearly lost.  However, everything changes in the light of circumstances, and since Fencer has chosen to implement this silly action point system, IMHO a player cannot be faulted for collecting them in whatever way he chooses.

grenv:  Some people like to have choices :)

grenv:  In backgammon, you might have to go back as many as four screens if there were no "cancel move" button.

Walter Montego:  I think skip was asking for a link in the invitation itself.  I don't remember whether there is a message link in invitations, as there is in message board posts.  

King Reza: Love your photo, very topical :)

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to see a statistic that would tell you the average time it takes a player to move, from the time the move appears on his move list to the time he submits a move?

*Edited to remove names

wetware: I'm a tax lawyer not an IP lawyer. However, I am certain that websites may not use trademarks without permission of the trademark owner, which means paying a royalty. Some elements of a game may be patented or copyrighted also. This is why you don't see a proliferation of trademarked games on the Web, and why they are available generally only through paying sites.

Summertop: If the unrated player can enter a tournament, then he will have the opportunity to play against rated players. Some tournaments do allow unrated players to enter, and rated opponents cannot refuse to play.

gogul: Why would you want to hide the first 25 games? What is different about them, aside from the fact they were played first? I don't think it's appropriate to assume that a player is inexperienced in his first 25 games, at least not if it is a game that is played elsewhere. If that is the case, then the first 25 games should be no different from the last 25 games.

mctrivia: For backgammon and other games with a luck factor, the minimum number of games should be much higher, not less than 100.

Walter Montego: Not so. That board could be considered to correspond to the BrainKing.com board -- for general comments on backgammon. I was referring to a specific feature requests board. The main purpose would be so I don't have to keep reading feature requests for things like Ponds and Super Intergalactic Go.

I'd like to see a separate feature requests page for backgammon only, since that's the only game I'm interested in

Marfitalu: One faced die? Must be a boring game if everyone always rolls a 1. Is it in the form of a moebius strip?

BIG BAD WOLF: That's what I thought. It explains why my opponent's listed available days have not been reduced while he is on scheduled vacation.

Does the "Vacation Days Left" on the profile page include vacation days that are scheduled in the future, or have those already been subtracted?

Summertop: Since you are a rook, you should have a link to hide or close it.

That's a term that usually means anything the speaker approves of.

grenv: Might disagree with you as to certain forms of Buddhism. However, you're right that religion in general is not worth debating. I would like to see a discussion of spirituality, however

رضا: Not sure why you would want to have the oldest messages on top, but I've got nothing against giving you that option :-)

WhiteTower: You can't call it Yahtzee because that is a registered trademark . . . but you can call it yacht, etc.

I just noticed the little dot next to the names of tournaments in which I'm already signed up -- bravo!

playBunny: True, but I think it would be an improvement to the normal functioning of the site to go "back" to the actual page one arrived from, rather than to a different page. If I wanted to go back to a generic "Tournaments" page, I could do so in one click off the left hand menu.

When I search for tournaments in a particular game, such as backgammon, I click through the tournament screen and the game screen in order to join. Then I click "back to the list of game types" and "back to the list of tournaments." It would be nice, when I have previously searched for tournaments of a particular type, if the system would remember those settings and take me back to the search page showing only the type of tournaments I searched for. In that way I would not have to perform the search repeatedly to join several tournaments of the same type.

playBunny: I should have said a topic of some delicacy!

Walter Montego: I'm not a Pawn, but I consider my daily movements a matter of some delicacy ;-)

Fencer: What about allowing tournament creators (or anyone) to make "mailing lists" for private messages?

TC: I also agree, in Race and Crowded it can sometimes be critically important whether the pieces on the bar have remained there since the start of the game, or were sent there during play. This is because those that were sent back must re-enter before another piece can be moved, which is not the case with those that have been on the bar since the beginning.

Walter Montego: No offense meant, old chum, just playing. Maybe a good compromise would be "Taurus Froglet" with the question whether the reference is astrological or vehicular left intentionally vague. Remember, a good compromise leaves all sides unhappy . . .

Walter Montego: Pendantic: Like, or in the manner of, a pendant; swinging. Often mistaken for "Pedantic" by myopic misanthropes

Well, perhaps more like calling a giraffe a biped.

KotDB: You misunderstand me. I am as mathematically pedantic as anyone, and I have the BS in math to prove it. I believe strongly in using the right term, especially when the wrong term is misleading. As you have already pointed out, some players might be misled into thinking that the north and south poles are adjacent to each other!

The only thing that disturbed me in the string of messages was that Luke made it clear he did not care at all about the name of the game as a feature of BrainKing, discussion of which is the sole purpose of this message board. He only wanted us to call a torus a torus for the sake of mathematical purity. While mathematical purity matters much to him (and to you and me), it has nothing to do with the purpose of this board!

playBunny: Easiest game in the world, you don't have to know anything to play

Luke Skywalker: If you're only concerned with mathematical correctness, then you're off topic :-)