For the record

Thank You

Ken, thank you very much for coming onto this site to set the record straight. Its never a good thing when a certain member has to stoop to such a low level and falsely accuse anyone of horrible wrongdoings.

One's reputation should never be sullied indiscriminately.

Especially when it comes from such an unreliable source.

Thank You, Again


Joep

 

Flabergasted and sorry!

Ken

I know you asked us not to post or PM you but I feel compelled to. I am very conscious that I am a very regular poster on this forum and that the content of some of my posts can be a little left-field and that I contribute more than my fair share of "crud". If I have in any way contributed to you taking a break from the forum I am deeply sorry and will cease posting non-TBJ related topics immediately. If any other members of the forum have any opinions of my postings I ask you to PM me.

I am obsessed with TBJ and the worst thing that could happen is that this forum should be discontinued.

Sincerely

Reachy

 

Let's save it folks!

Looks to me like we are close to blowing the best blackjack tournament site on the Web. I agree we have been pushing things too far and indeed, we have crossed the line and yes, that includes me – guilty as charged. But it’s not too late to bring this site back to what it once was – what Ken Smith envisioned it to be. In order to do that everyone must cooperate. I have noticed a few irritations that Ken may or may not have in mind. Nor do I know if it’s in his line of thinking but I would like to air them none the less. Maybe I’m out of line in saying the following but so be it. I’m not trying to be policeman, just giving my thoughts. So, with that in mind, I propose we keep the following in mind when making posts:

1) This is not a BS site. It’s not to show off one’s wit. It’s not to pretend to be a different person. It’s not a place for one’s alter ego. It’s a place for tournament blackjack discussions. Nothing more, nothing less.

2) The “FREE FOR ALL” category is for posting “whatever”, including jokes. Don’t make other members wade through tons of “crud” in the categories intended for tournament blackjack discussion.

3) When starting a new thread, be careful that the beginning post fits the main category and that it relates to blackjack – preferably tournament blackjack.

4) When responding to a post, keep the response in line with the theme of the thread.

5) Don’t respond just to post a joke. A little humor is OK but it should flow with a good reason for responding.

6) Don’t respond to your own responses – what I mean is generally don’t have 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 responses in a row without another member responding in between. If you have something additional to say then use the “edit” feature to add to your response. The “edit” feature is available for a day or two after a post is made. Sometime 2 responses in a row by the same member is necessary and so be it, but most of the time it’s completely unnecessary and does nothing but add “crud”

7) If you make a bad post then use the “edit” feature to delete it. Clicking on “edit” brings up the option to “delete”. I don’t think you can delete the first post of a thread but you can still edit it.

8) Clean up avatars. Avatars are meant to display a “small” reflection of one’s self, image, or whatever. It can of course be humorous but keep it small and non distracting.

9) Clean up signatures. Keep them small and brief. I’ve seen signatures that take up a half of my computer screen. Now that’s ridicules. You want something personal but not overpowering. We know the person making the post, no need to advertise.

10) Don’t bring anything personal to the FORUM. You want to bicker, take it to the back ally. The vast majority of members are not interested.

11) Keep politics, religion, ethnic differences, nationality differences, etc. to yourself. Again, we are here to discuss blackjack tournaments. Nothing more, nothing less.

12) If you have nothing to say about blackjack tournaments, then say nothing at all. Your silence will be appreciated, your “crud” will not.

13) If you see a member “screwing off”, call him on it and make him stop. Better that than put this site in jeopardy.

14) And last: POST TO THE CALENDAR. This area is becoming near useless because of a lack of postings. It only takes a few minutes and does not have to contain all encompassing details. A few short pieces of information is all that is necessary. I see members talk about a tournament on the forum, and sometime that includes a change in the tournament, but nothing is posted on the CALENDAR. Tournament details get lost in a FORUM atmosphere. In the CALENDAR, all info is organized for easy recall as needed. It’s a great idea by Ken but it’s being under utilized by the members here. All you have to do is post 1 tournament, once in a while.

In closing (I’ve babbled long enough) I just want thank you all for listening. Now go to it and make this the best site on the web. Let’s not point any fingers, this only adds more “crud”. It can be done but only if all members do their part. Hey, it don’t cost anything and the benefits can be quite rewarding.

 

I agree with all of those guidelines. I'd add that coupled with self-regulation, there needs to be a moderator/administrator who starts indiscriminately blasting any posts that are inappropriate as quickly as possible when they occur. I'd support that 100%.

It may be a bit high maintenance for a short time but it will eventually eradicate most inappropriate posting. The hope is always that a site set up in service of a certain community such as this can be self-regulating, but that is probably not fully possible without a moderator taking on this task.

For what it's worth, I do enjoy the board as is and can make my way through the junk to find useful info, but it could be better and I can't say I disagree with Ken's statement one bit on the whole. I'm certain he did not set this up to be used the way it often is.

 

We must self regulate

Thanks sabrejack for your positive comments and suggestion. As you eluded to, having a "policeman" is high maintenance and, as I see it, it almost falls into the category of dictator. Self regulation can work if we all try. That was point #13 in my post:

13) If you see a member “screwing off”, call him on it and make him stop. Better that than put this site in jeopardy.​

If that doesn't work, totally ignore all his posts. He'll probably go away mad eventually, but at least he'll go away.

 

Message

Rick, I'm assuming that you're talking about when he mentioned that you messaged me asking how many people were in St Kitts.

Just to clear the air, a bunch of us were at dinner, the topic came up and I mentioned that you asked me that question via PM while we were eating.

That's all there really was to it.

 

To the back ally

DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT You guys want to fight: TAKE IT TO THE BACK ALLY
Or at least take it to the "FREE FOR ALL" so the rest of us can ignore it if we chose.

This site is for Blackjack Tournaments. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Toolman said...


We want more - much more

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOU GOTTA STOP BEFORE I HAVE AN ORGASM. No, don't stop. MORE --- MORE --- MORE

end quote

 

I'm tired of this Shit no matter who I piss off

Joep and Tex, we really don't care who screwed each of you personally, do Pm's or phone calls for your personal problems with each other, the election was last week, campaining and airing this publically is only for personal ego satisfaction and a burden for the rest of us.

Barney, fgk42 and reachy you each are relative new members and should remember that, this site is for discussion of Blackjack Tournament strategy and most of the discussion between you 3 should be done via PM as it seems personal dialogue, youtube is for video and film review fgk42, your films personally dominated this site for 3 to 4 weeks but I guess with only 6,000 members 1 member should be allowed to dominate.

 

Hmmmm

I clearly remember reading a post from Tex that accused Joep of reading PM's, and losing his moderator's priviledge. I don't see how anyone can expect Joe to not respond to that accusation here on the public forum, after all, he was accused of that on this forum...I'm happy to see that Ken posted the truth as to what did or did not happen...If one person would just zip the lip, then Joe wouldn't have to defend himself...however I won't hold my breath for that :sad:

 

I started surfing this site

several months ago - because I wanted info on bj tournaments and - hopefully - to gain some knowledge on strategy and play - except for the frequent 'brain teasers' on final hands bets and play - there is little relating to tournament strategy - and most of what is there is posted by the relative newbies -

I see nothing wrong with chatting ABOUT tournaments - and our experiences - that helps build community - and I see nothing wrong with some humor while we do it -

when politics inserts itself into our bj tourney world - it'll get talked about - maybe humorously - maybe seriously - but that's not inappropriate - we didn't put it there - the politicians did -

I do think at times we overload the site with stuff that is way away from bj tournaments - but often that is the stuff that the most frequent posters seem to enjoy - and have fun with -

if people want a site with massive bj tournament content - then that would be fine with me - that is what I was looking for - but someone needs to start posting it - with 6,000 members on this site - someone should be willing to talk about their tourneys and experiences and strategies and tactics - and how they approach the different situations in a round and what results - where is that? If that is what we want - then start posting it - don't just whine because it isn't there -

if we want a comprehensive, up to date calendar of tourneys - then POST them - I do - with all the tourneys I play - if we want strategy and tactics explored - then POST about your strategies and experiences - I have - so have a few others

We can make this site anything we want it to be - by posting what interests us - don't complain about what is there - if you're not posting about what interests you - and what you want to see - and posting about your own strategies, experiences, etc

 

Misguided post

Rando21,

I see you want to fill this thread with “crud”. That’s too bad. In keeping with my new attitude, I will not partake on this thread. I will however answer your misguided post in the “FREE FOR ALL” section.

 

My further thoughts:

I agree with almost everything that has been said in the proceeding posts. I am concerned however that some of the suggestions could lead to over-regulation which will kill this site as readily as any of the problems it would seek to address. If we cut out the banter and light-hearted posts the site will become dry and the “community” would not flourish. I agree that things have gone a little wild lately in-terms of “crud” postings and I personally have been conscious of that. I, for the most part, have tried to keep my crud in the free-for-all section, but have responded in kind when crud has appeared elsewhere. I hold my hands up to that and will cease to do so if I think it is inappropriate in the future.

It’s interesting that someone has mentioned alter-egos/alias’ on this site. I’ll be honest, I have an alias that I use to post strategy questions. I noticed that in the past few months that we were getting less and less tournament teasers and that general strategy questions were occasionally going unanswered. When they were responded to it was mostly by newbies like me anxious to test our mettle against the more seasoned players. I personally post my responses to the questions of other players hoping that a seasoned player would confirm that I was on the right track and if not point me in the right direction. Lately less and less of the seasoned players are doing that. I couldn’t figure out why this should be the case so I set up the alias to see whether I could generate more traffic in the strategy section and I’ve had some success. But not a great amount.

Specifically to respond to rookie789 as you have mentioned me by name, I apologise if my postings have affected your enjoyment of this site. That was never my intention. You’re right I do post a lot here but I hope that some of it adds value.

I think we have all had a wake up call and we would be stupid not to heed it. Let’s not go too far the other way though because that would be just as bad.

I too have decided to take a week off from posting here and wait for things cool down a bit. So my friends (for that is what I consider you to be) see you in a week.

Cheers

Reachy

 

Wow Monkey:

You said it, per cyber posts and misinterpertation.

But, I'm probably as dense as I am lost in variance.

Cause, I don't know, what the big to do was all about. And why was the current one any different than the last 1,000.

As far as content:

Other than possible calculations about UBT(and I repeat with the three variables going there making any difinitative "TRUTH" a myth) there isn't much more calculations one can say or do about old school tourneys.

Working the teasers and the "what would you do"s" and percentage plays is great. But in the long run you're looking at a one in a thousand circumstance.

You can Wong. You can use the Ken Smith strategies and ploys. Excellent stuff in so many ways. But, it's to a point that most seasoned tourney folks know it. And they do respond with either an answer or relative link to a newbie. So, we're in a holding pattern,(again, except for UBT, EBJ, lots of new ground.)

Holding pattern: No new strategy, formula, ploy. Do you go dead in a holding pattern? Or do you just start to throw stuff out there? Never know where something good may come from.

The community wants to interact on many levels and if there is no new ground breaking "law" then silliness prevails. The "family" has rules, but has fun.

And if someone is "attacked" they probably deserve it, or should be big enough to stand up to it for having brought up the reason for the attack.
And attack doesn't necessarily mean vehemence, disdain and disregard. It can also mean, "back up what you're saying."

So let the games, the discussion, the frivolity, hostility, the comraderie continue. Don't be afraid to express or vent.

I believe those above ingredients are what made this site unique, relevant and FUN.

 

Thanks Ken

I am glad to see Ken taking a strong stand on this issue. I believe in open debate. In the last months things have gone beyond that. We are now seeing the kinds of personal attacks and open warfare that have marred other previously valuable BJ sites. Hopefully, we will see this site regain its previous status. That will happen only when people take their personal issues to a different forum.

 

Amen

THAT SAYS IT ALL.

Thanks venture.

tgun