Backgammon Online

18-May-2014
11:54 PDT

I agree with guthers.

Whilst I understand the idea I think this system goes against the spirit that of fair play on ZE. This system is being used to artificially inflate or deflate participants ratings thus affecting their standing in rankings alongside players who are not, nor wish to, take part in the system. The actions of a minority should not have an effect on all players on the site.

I would suggest to ZE admin that anyone misusing the cube should have their subscription cancelled and be banned.

20-May-2014
12:33 PDT

I'll play cube 16 games.

20-May-2014
21:52 PDT

@PH
It would hv been more thanking if u would hv asked ZE admins to improve ZE by introducing new things and increasing the interest of players  

chwaqasahmed (1850)
eurialo (1950+)
annamarina(1750)
bkhurgin(1825+)
Ahmed Arslan(1900+)
David Cool(2000+)
majid63(1800)
lordonny(1850)
TATUS-the-BEST(1900+)
maidann(1755)
ehsankatouzian(1800)
Steelerhead (1850)
eagle-tee(1900)
oldman69(1875+)
estorba(1900+)
nightking(1750)
splott(1850+)
professor86(2000)
richardp(2000+)

21-May-2014
08:10 PDT

Removing cheats from the site would improve ZE.

22-May-2014
23:30 PDT

I wasn't going to join this T until I saw this latest discussion. But nothing gets me going more than an internet bully who will type things from the comfort of their computer that they a would never have the courage to say to your face. Chwaq, you have done a marvelous job of creating and suggesting several new ideas for tourneys. Guthers had some concerns that were very thoughtfully presented which I respected and appreciated.

Unfortunately, there will always be a malcontent or two who never bother to use their energy to suggest something creative but would much rather spend their time pondering how they can tear down someone else's ideas and stir the pot. My advice to the > 20 players who have signed for this T so far, ignore internet bullies. However, if they continue with personal insults and name calling there is a proven remedy for that. Just ask Athena = Darthvader = Sideshowbob2012 = Nemesis999 = poiuyt (who were all the same person but all managed to get kicked off of ZE due to repetitive, petulant behavior).

Chwaq, I am looking forward to playing in your T. I couldn't care less about my own rating. If I did I wouldn't be teaching my kids to play this great board game via the school of hard knocks on ZE. But to player(s) who may be taking this game just a wee bit seriously and may be a little too sensitive about your own rating being lower than you would like, it seems to me that this T would give you a great opportunity to improve your rating by engaging in some friendly competition with some of the higher ranked players on ZE. If you don't want to play in this T, don't, but please use your energy to suggest an alternative that is positive and creative like Chwaq rather than be a Debbie Downer. Cheers!

23-May-2014
06:39 PDT

"But to player(s) who may be taking this game just a wee bit seriously and may be a little too sensitive about your own rating being lower than you would like, it seems to me that this T would give you a great opportunity to improve your rating by engaging in some friendly competition with some of the higher ranked players on ZE."

I'll just reiterate that this scheme will have exactly the opposite effect. If you regularly play higher rated players and agree to lose 10 points each time rather than the correctly calculated number, your rating will go down rapidly while you win the same proportion of games.

You may then even get fewer games from higher rated players who don't subscribe to this, who don't want to risk losing more than the fair number against players whose rating is now artificially low. And you talk about players taking the game a wee bit too seriously and too sensitive about ratings, yet still want to join a scheme to get more games against, presumably, those same players. Surely the ones who aren't so much bothered will happily play you anyway.

The best way to improve your game is to play against players rated slightly higher yourself, and beat them. There are also plenty of chances to play high ranked players in the many tournaments available.

I've already decided not to play any cube games other than as part of proper match-play, as it seems to be pointless the way ZE does it, but messing with their ratings system by doing this does seem wrong.

23-May-2014
06:45 PDT

An improvement on the site would be, unless ZE enable match play, to play standalone cube games with a separate bank of points with the ratings calculated regardless of whatever the cube shows at the end of the game. I might suggest this to them but this will probably be a waste of time.

23-May-2014
06:52 PDT

You defamitory comments have been reported to ZE.

23-May-2014
09:31 PDT

Defamitory (sic)? A wee bit dramatic aren't we my dear man   The only defamatory comments I have seen lately came from you when you called > 20 players 'cheats'. Try to offer up a better idea as a host of a future T instead of consistently being critical and disrespectful of T hosts and your fellow players in what appears to be a thinly veiled threat to intimidate them into not playing a T in a format your don't like. Careful, your comments are starting to sound an awful lot like Athena = Darthvader = Sideshowbob2012 = Nemesis999 = poiuyt.

Guthers - I could type a rebuttal response to your thoughtful posts but let's just leave it at that reasonable people often agree to disagree without being disagreeable. The good thing about all of these T's is that players always have the choice to play or not play based on the rules that the T host lays out before the T begins. Chwaq, as usual, has done an excellent job of laying out the rules for this particular format and you have decided not to play without disparaging Chwaq and/or your fellow players who have decided to accept his rules and play in his T. I respect that. Carry on my good man  

This will be my last comment on this matter at least in this forum. Looking forward to this T and seeing how it actually works! Good luck to everyone and thank you Chwaq for your current and past efforts to make the ZE site even more enjoyable! Cheers!

24-May-2014
05:45 PDT

I don't get why higher ranked players won't play against lower ranked players.

The rating system works such that, if you lose twice as many points against a lower rated player, you will beat them twice as often.

In fact, the cap of 10 points favours the stronger player when playing weaker opponents, because if I play a 1700 rated player, I will gain 7 points per game, and I will beat them 3 times out of 4, gaining 21 points. However, the 1 game out of 4 that I lose, I will lose 10 , therefore, statistically, I am up by 11 points by playing 4 games against players rated 250 points below me.