Enter Your Reply

Joe, I haven't read your remarks yet so this isn't a response but rather a quoting of the other comments which I wanted to move from the Maorider Chess page (out of reverence for its new and starry light). It seems we both started a separate thread simultaneously.

[These are Abdul-Rahman Sibahi's remarks made around August 22, 2009, which I've moved for sake of not clouding Maorider Chess page with less relevant discussion:]

Abdul Rahman-Sibahi: I would like to say something . The CV Pages need to come out of the endless loop of theoretical discussions of values and arrays and kilometer-long comments saying absolutely the same thing as every kilometer-long comment before them . If they ever come out from this endless loop then it might actually become an interesting place again .

The problem is , the chess variant community was built around fun , finding fun , unique games and sticking to them , and playing the heck out of them . No one ever had plans to supercede Chess , or write a PhD thesis about Chess Variants . It's all about creating fun games , and playing them , which noone does any more . (Even though I admit , I didn't play any of my games extensively . I did play a game or two of some of them , however .)

Sorry about that , had to get it off my chest .

PS . Any particular reason most commentors don't break their comments into paragraphs ?

[These remarks sparked the following comments from an anonymous poster:]

An Observer: Agree. The endless, convoluted, self-serving ramblings of Duke, Gilman, Hutnik, et. al. have ruined what was once an interesting and fun website.

[Here is my response:]

I think a separate thread should have been created for comments about comments on the site. It's a shame to put such negativity under this heading. In my own experience, this site did not once have a golden age that has been lost, but it has only been growing richer with time and contributions, as most encyclopedic sites do.

You should take from it only what you like and appreciate, while leaving the rest for others.

Abdul-Rahman, you are very sorely missed by me. You made many good contributions. I took some time off (a mistake) but am back to playing a lot on Game Courier. Carlos Cetina and I recently enjoyed playing a game of your Queen of the Night Chess. We were both surprised by how nicely it worked.

Thanks for commenting on Maorider Chess.

I recently got a chuckle when I read your comment asking me to change some colors on a preset because you thought they looked hideous.

[Which earned another response from the anonymous poster:]

An Observer: Yes, I think the editors should move my comments that don't relate to Maorider chess, a game about which I have nothing bad to say. Not being a member and not wanting to be one, I can't start a thread of my own.

Yes, this website had a golden age when you could post ideas and not worry about having them hijacked and co-opted by the small number of self-aggrandizing individuals that now dominate the forum. The forum was once a much richer and relevant place.