Backgammon Online

20-Oct-2024
08:04 PST

You are fighting a battle you can’t win 😂

21-Oct-2024
00:38 PST

You know how disappointed I was with the big delay in the qualifying round and I had decided not to comment here, but....
What is this nonsense about a board of directors?
Can't it just be Inquisition?
I already suspect the debates that will occur to determine this "supreme judicial authority"... !!!!!!!

This tournament was designed to be a fast, friendly, fun game. Leoton is committed to administer, and quite adequately so far. Thank him abt that.
(** abt restrictions - the existing "Yellow card" is enough).

Participation in BBL is completely voluntary...so everyone evaluates their options before joining.
But if you do - be correct please.
Its easy!

21-Oct-2024
03:09 PST

It’s easy only for people who think not just about themselves, but about others as well, which is not the case here. Some people are certainly repeat offenders and seemingly don’t care. They don’t post here, do they 😂
As usual, a couple of bad apples will spoil a good thing.
And it’s not about the time zone or life getting in the way, which is understandable, it’s about commitment that certain individuals lack.

21-Oct-2024
05:27 PST

The problem is clearly with mentor777 in this case. My game against him in the group stage was glaringly the slowest. And now we are multiple rounds behind because of delays in games involving him. Doesn’t take much to spot the common theme. But he’s not reading these posts anyway so does it even matter?

21-Oct-2024
13:10 PST

Has any of you approached him by sending a message, either...

1) ...asking what the problem is?
2) ...asking if he would PLEASE take less time to move?
- or -
3) ...to ask for an ideal time to "meet" for multiple moves & quicker turns?

Because mentor777 doesn't read or post here in the forum, he may not even be aware of the negativity he is causing - as incredible as that may be. I have found a little politeness usually goes a long way on here.

Now, one more major point to consider - no matter how fast you play or that the tournament ends, they are only scheduled every two (2) months. Leoton invented the tournament, the graphics, links & macros - and manages it apart from ZooEscape while working & traveling full-time. That is all the time he can put into it for now.

I know that from asking him about separate or combined tournaments for Nackgammon and Acey-Deucey. Understanding all this, you can see how he is most kind, patient & selfless in how he runs the whole thing for your enjoyment (nothing else).

As such, it would be very difficult to coordinate with another person on here for help - and impossible to form & manage a "committee" as was suggested earlier.

21-Oct-2024
13:29 PST

He’s currently playing 105 games, and 10 of those started in September.
Obviously he doesn’t take to heart the spirit of the blitz tournament, and when we sign up for every tournament there’s a note there stating we agree to play fast. Asking him to PLEASE take less time to move? 😂
Sorry, this is not a daycare or elementary school.
Play fast or don’t enroll, simple, right?

21-Oct-2024
13:51 PST

Fellow BBL players - please don’t overreact here. I would like to defend Mentor777 here - I’ve been playing friendly games with him on the daily basis for years. He is always online in the morning hours and sometimes it doesn’t correlate well with his opponents’ availability. We all live in the different time zones. It happens. We are still playing really fast comparing to other tournaments here. Can we get even better in following the blitz nature of our league - absolutely. And as I said earlier, I am all for constructive feedback!

But we also a friendly league, let’s keep it this way and not point fingers or vent here… I am continuously checking the pace of the tournaments and contact the players privately if I see delays. I do prefer to do it on the 1-1 basis instead of engaging in public shaming… we are the friendly league first.

Also, after reading the latest messages here, I wanted to sincerely thank those of you who offered kind words of support, it is really appreciated!

22-Oct-2024
04:13 PST

Agreed but you are fighting a battle you cannot win  

Clearly, we would rather have quality over quantity but...

Stallers stall for a nefarious game strategy.

Daycare lol. I wonder if some fast players will stop signing up?

22-Oct-2024
06:45 PST

"I wonder if some fast players will stop signing up? "

I'm actually considering it. If enough fast players do it, even for one tournament, something might change. I know some players like Gem would argue we have to appreciate what we have (and that's the case here, Leoton has put a lot of thought and work into this), but sometimes one has to take a stand.

22-Oct-2024
07:51 PST

Ok, here is my $0.02 on the couple of posts above… if enough people stop signing up, something might change… like we just may not have the tournament.

While it’s absolutely everyone’s personal decision to sign up or not (I am all about free will!), I just can’t keep changing formats if we start losing a quorum. We have always had from 32 to 36 players and, based on experience, this looks to be the best participation range for the current format, which I believe has a very healthy balance of both group and elimination play.

So it’s pretty simple - if I can’t recruit at least 32 players for a given tournament, I’ll have to cancel it. If I can’t recruit at least 32 players next time again, I’ll assume that we either need a completely different format or we just close the league.

On a personal note, I do sincerely enjoy hosting this league and I hope we will continue having these tournaments for a long time!