State of the Listserve Address



My fellow Star Wars players...first let me start out by explaining for those of you who don't know what the SW:CCG listserve is. It is a Discussion List dedicated solely to decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game. You may subscribe to it here if you would like. It is a great source for keeping up to date with current rulings put out by Juz and Mark Tutle answers your Star Wars:CCG related questions all day long. However, the Listserve is plagued with severe flaws. That is what this article is about. I have read this list on/off now for close to three years since becoming a Squadron Member, with some small breaks in-between. Once again I have been contemplating removing myself from the list for a couple of reasons. Why?

First off, Mark is constantly bombarded with the same questions day in and day out, "May I use a lightsaber to force drain in space?" Or "Can I Force drain with a lightsaber and battle in the same turn?" or "Is the holotable a battleground site?" UGH!!! Read the frikin Glossary and the Current Rulings before posting to the news-group. It might be easier for you, but not to us when you have to put up with 25 daily posts of questions that are easily answered if you simply looked a little.

Then we manage to have those posters that insist on discussing Off-Topic posts. Lets see, recent threads include: "The Clint Hays Fan Club" (Clint is a good guy, that I've had the pleasure of meeting and nothing against him), the storyline to TPM, or posting reports from opening up boxes (some-what off topic), etc....Ill admit that I will contribute maybe a box report every now and then, but not every time!! Again, wadding through 50 messages with [OT] in the topic is annoying.

Then lastly, we get some threads that just piss me off....by the whiners. Who are the whiners? Those are the posters that get it into their head that they actually have some bearing on the game and that those at Decipher actually listen to what they say. Lately one poster said something along the lines of, "It seems that Decipher listens to what goes on here." Referring to the HB errata and that of a couple others. Reality Check Time! NO Decipher doesn't listen to the list-serve they might read it, but they all sit back and laugh, like I do. They might actually look at the dream cards, in passing as they try to control themselves from laughing uncontrollable at some of the nonsense that filters into their mailbox. They make changes to the cards and rules because _THEY_ deem it necessary...not because you guys suggested it. And for those that think a sideboard is a good thing and something that Star Wars needs, I can't imagine what is going through the heads of the Game Designers down in Norfolk as they read that. Ill write more about my thoughts on sideboards later.

Even though the discussion list is moderated, and sometimes it certainly doesn't seem like it, I find the list boiling down into a moderated flame war between three or four well known Star Wars players. X person comments on a issue, Y then replies with, "Well, that deck blows chunks!" And that does it....then the comentary starts flying left/right & center, much to my dismay.

Mark and Juz need to honestly exercise less tolerance then they currently do. If that would happen I think that the list would benefit greatly. A banning of be it a week, month or even permanent, would lessen the crap that gets posted to the list. Perhaps a 3 or 4 stage warning system would be best. Currently I am a Forum Moderator on ISCABBS (Iowa State Computer Association Bulletin Board System) with well over 10000 logins and posts per day and we feel that the only way to cut down on the bunk that I have described is to have in place a system that properly defines order.

So if you read the discussion list or plan on it I suggest you take the steps that I recently have and step up a mail filter, and send all mails except those from Juz and Mark to the Trash Bin as there honestly isnt much to read of worth unless your wanting to have a good laugh for however long your willing to read the list for.

Alex Alcalde
Gold 31