No one that has played backgammon on the Zone or has read
Auntie's and its forums could have missed what has become the most popular
event in the MSN Gaming Zone Backgammon area - The Zone Championship
Series. Reports from the field indicate that the behaviour
of the ZCS players has been extra-ordinarily cordial. Even discussions
posted about the ZCS on the "notorious" Auntie Zone forums have
been held to a higher standard!
Questions that come to my mind are why??? - Why has then been such
a success? and why has it brought the best out in people? And
probably just as in important, How did they get this to work on the
Zone? - which has its own record of bad-mouth, ill-tempered, unskilled
players)
What we do know, and what has been verified, is that the original idea
was suggested by a player named GentleGrizzly. Another player named trax120
saw the merit in the idea and started the arduous process of promoting
the idea and enlisting the aid of other players.
Many postings were made on the Auntie Zone's Players forum. Unfortunately,
a significant portion of the postings involved personal attacks against
other participants. There was a point where many people thought
the idea might die an untimely death. That's when Trax120 brought
in her secret weapons - Stan (ThePatron) and Peter (Plodd). It was
agreed that if this effort was to succeed, it would require that two of
the most respected players on the zone (ThePatron and Plodd) provide their
services as the tournament's directors.
Why did you agree to do it? What was your motivation? <Peter> I thought it was a great idea to get the best players
from around the zone together for a tournament. The tournament was
a good idea in danger of going nowhere through disputes over various aspects.
I thought that Stan and I had as good a shot as anyone bringing the idea
to fruition. I guess I felt it was an opportunity to help my fellow
Zoners or at least to add to the positive experience of playing backgammon
on the Zone <ThePatron> Despite the fact that I was very concerned that
whoever led this effort would be a target for a lot of the personal attacks,
I agreed to do it. And I was extremely pleased that Peter
also agreed. I was confident that Peter and I could get the tourney
put together.
Why were you so confident? <ThePatron> Peter is known as one of the best players here
and I had never heard anyone say anything but nice things about him.
I knew he had the respect of the fellow Zoners. <Plodd> Players that I respected also respected Stan's judgement
- so I was optimistic about how well we would work together.
How did you get started? what did you do first? <ThePatron> First, we started discussing interesting formats.
We both felt that getting a format posted as soon as possible was
job number one. <Plodd> We asked for discussion on Auntie's and got lots
of constructive suggestions. Once we had a first draft we posted
it and asked for feedback on it. <ThePatron> I think we were both a little nervous about what
responses we would get after the preliminary format was posted.
So what happened? what was the reaction to the first draft? <ThePatron> I was very pleased that the input from all the
posters was very positive. <Plodd> I was considerably heartened by how constructive
the suggestions and feedback were. We got no feedback that could be characterized
as abusive. Stan and I discussed and considered each suggested change
and decided whether or not it was for the better. <ThePatron> I think we both thought that we would get a lot
more constructive criticism and suggestions for changes than we did. I
believe the reason for this was that we had put a lot of work and thought
into what we originally posted.
What was the biggest change in your original design? <Plodd> We extended the length of the matches in later rounds.
I also think it was at this stage we introduced the concept of total
adjusted points (from the first two rounds) being used to determine
the final eight. And also the idea of the first 3 qualifiers in
the final eight getting their choice of opponent <ThePatron> I agree Peter, those were the biggest changes.
When we posted the revised format, as well as the rules and entry
criteria it was accepted overwhelmingly with very few additional changes
About Snowie - I understand there was some discussion about using
Snowie for the ZCS? <Plodd> Yes that was an excellent suggestion. For me,
this has been the most educational tourney I have ever played for one
reason only : the chance to see how Snowie ' marked' my matches. Without
that feedback, I would tend to just repeat my mistakes. <ThePatron> The idea of having Snowies run grew from just
doing the feature matches to Snowie-ing as many matches as possible. <Plodd> Also I know it has been very educational for many
other players and spectators who don't own Snowie. <ThePatron> That's when Don Boyer volunteered to head a Snowie
team and design a web page for the Snowied matches to be displayed. Don
recruited the assistance of Jim (HeyAbbot) to help him develop the web
page and together they have done an extraordinary job. Long after this
tourney is over, the web page will be an outstanding learning tool for
many, many players. <Plodd> So my thanks go to Don Boyer and his dedicated Snowie
team Barb (NRGIZD_BUNNY), Jim (HeyAbbot), Stan (ThePatron), Rob (FriedLiverAttack)
and anyone else who I may have omitted.
Was there any objection to using Snowie? <ThePatron> We gave everyone the option on their entry form
to decline to have their matches Snowied and posted with their names <ThePatron> I was extremely glad when not a person in the
field declined to have their matches posted. <Plodd> In the event, I think just 2 entrants opted for Snowie
anonymity and neither made the final field. <ThePatron> I think that is a credit to the quality and the
character of the field.
Speaking of ZCS, why the change in name? <ThePatron> I really don't know except that we both thought
that ZCS was a little catchier <Plodd> I thought that any tournament named Championship
of Zone ought to be an official Zone tourney. <ThePatron> And when we started talking about format, a championship
series, the name seemed to make sense to us.
How has Shelby been involved? <ThePatron> Shelby had already been approached about hosting
the tourney before I became involved. I thought it was a wonderful choice
as a host. <Plodd> Shelby offered to host at a very early stage. We
were delighted to accept. We drew on her knowledge and experience
in drafting the format and the rules. <ThePatron> She has been a huge asset for us. Her input,
advice and work has been extraordinary. <Plodd> The work she put into her website as well as her
hosting abilities really added to the success of this tourney. <Plodd> Several innovations I would like to mention :
Having a page where players can announce when they will be playing
makes it good for kibbitzers
Being able to click on a crosstable to go directly to the Snowied
analysis of that match (very neat!).
Doing the draw in public heightened the interest.
<ThePatron> I agree completely, the things that she has done
are wonderful and greatly appreciated by both us and all the players.
How much did the postings on the Auntie's ZCS forum play in developing
the tournament? <Plodd> They were essential <ThePatron> That site was crucial to getting this tourney
going and we were very thankful to have you, Corey, to provide it. <Plodd> If I can suck up to Corey for a moment...were it
not for the forum provided by Auntie's this tournament would not have
happened. <ThePatron> I remember asking you if it would be a possibility
by email. Within two hours it was done. I thought what service!!!! <Plodd> We needed the postings to see what players wanted
and to consider improvements and ideas that we would not have thought
of otherwise. <Plodd> Also it was the best way to get feedback to our draft
ideas. <ThePatron> It was and still is a very vital way to get feedback
on all our ideas and to distribute new and vital information. <Plodd> Also, Stan and I would like to thank all of the posters
on the ZCS page for their suggestions and feedback. They too were
vital to the process.
So what other communication was going on besides the forum posts? Email,
Phone calls, offers of free sex? threats, intimidations, blackmail, bribes? <ThePatron> LOL, all the good stuff, none of the bad. <Plodd> We were getting some private email, but as I pointed
out on Auntie's, we much preferred all submissions/lobbying be publicly
done via posting on Auntie's ZCS Forum. <ThePatron> In fact there were very few suggestions that
were not well thought out and communicated. <Plodd> I did get one email lobbying from a particular player
asking to be included...used the word please about 7 times. <ThePatron> We did exactly what we both committed to do.
We openly discussed with each other every suggestion, regardless of the
source and made decisions based on what we believed would benefit the
tournament as a whole.
How did you decide on the final 40? <Plodd> We posted our proposed eligibility rules, asked for
feedback, reconsidered in light of the feedback, and then posted the final
selection rules, and then we applied them. <ThePatron> It was very easy after we decided on the criteria
and posted it. We just followed our own rules. <Plodd> Of course when we decided on the rules and a field
of 40 we had little idea of how many entries we would attract... <Plodd> We had a great response with 73 entries and
applying the entry criteria as written resulted in quite a few talented
players not making the final cut. <ThePatron> In the spirit of the Zone Championship, we felt
it was imperative to have a very strong field. <Plodd> We did'nt get a single complaint about the way we
applied the rules. Well no one complained to me, anyway. <ThePatron> I believed we didn't get complaints because we
took a lot of time making sure we agreed on every selection.
Have you had to make any "director's calls" on special circumstances? <Plodd> Yes we applied Rule 14 to the case of one player
who had entered with a non-working email address. <Plodd> So neither we nor Shelby nor any of his opponents
could contact him. We eventually decided to substitute him with
the next eligible entrant. Rule 14? <Plodd> Rule 14 gives us the discretion to modify or add
to posted Rules should Directors and host agree it is appropriate. <ThePatron> When we made the final field selection the first
person out that didn't make the field was Yelnod. Two days before the
field was decided he and I played a match. He had me down and was
killing me when the dice changed and the cube was passed several times
and I won the match on sheer luck. If he had not played the match,
his rating would have qualified him for the tournament. I felt
like such a heel. <ThePatron> Then after a no show, Yelnod,
being next in line, got to play. I was very glad for him and it
soothed my conscience a lot.
How is it going so far? Any interesting stories? <ThePatron> The best story is that to my knowledge there
hasn't been a single major problem and I know we both want that to continue. <Plodd> I am pleased with the spectator interest its attracting.
I watched Zox v Sakura4 last night with 21 other kibbers <ThePatron> Then there was the story of Phil Simborg,
that just exemplified the spirit of the series.
(Auntie's Note - here is the text of ThePatron's original post)
Phil Simborg was playing ANGRYbuberi. Phil
was playing for a gammon and only had 3 checkers left on the board, the
cube was centered, and Angry rolled a nice joker and took off a checker.
Phil, of course, doubled instead of rolling it out. By mistake Angry took.
An obvious error with the mouse pointer. Angry typed oops and Phil said,
"I realize that was a mistake". They agreed to reseat and adjust the score
by resigning points to reflect the score as if Angry had dropped. It made
me proud to be a zoner! Such a high level of sportsmanship deserves special
recognition. We hope all will continue through out the ZCS. True sportsmanship,
such as this, brings honor to the game, the tournament and especially
to the players.
So where to from here? You guys gonna host another ZCS down the road? <Plodd> I would be delighted to co-direct another with Stan.
There are a number of issues, including how often the ZCS ought to
occur. And I am sure there are further improvements to be made. My
feeling is we will ask for feedback. <ThePatron> There seems to be a lot of interest in continuing
this on a semi-annual basis. <ThePatron> I will do just as I did in this initial event.
If asked, I would be happy to continue as long as Peter was agreeable. <Plodd> You guys seem to make a really good team, have you ever met in person,
or is your relationship purely electronic? <Plodd> Yes...It was a pleasure working with Stan. Could
have been a nightmare otherwise ! <ThePatron> It has been mostly electronic but we had one fairly
long phone conversation. <ThePatron> I hope we get to meet one day. It's always fun
to meet the people you enjoy on the zone.
Other than Shelby, has the Zone contacted you or offered any support for
this? <Plodd> No <ThePatron> Not a word from the zone, but I understand they
are aware of the tourney. <Plodd> Though we have had support from others who happen to
also host/sysop on Zone. <Plodd> And we were pleased that ZRatings cleaned the rating
list shortly before we had to select the field. Any closing remarks? <ThePatron> In closing I would like to say that it was a real
honor to be asked to co-direct this tourney with Peter. It has been a valuable
experience. <Plodd> Yes, I second that. <ThePatron> There are so many people who have put a lot of
work in this, from you, Don and his Snowie team, Shelby, everyone has been
great. <ThePatron> The spirit of this tournament is a credit to all
the hard working and very committed zoners who have made our task much easier.
Any comments or disagreements? Post them to my forum.
