Dear Members,
I would like to commence this topic by expressing my sincerely meant apologies. The tone of my post(s) yesterday was unnecessarily confrontational and thereby also unhelpful. (Foolme, I didn't mean to single you out intentionally, I am sorry for that.) I hope this will do.
Let's get to the to the purpose of this topic then. We do have a couple of very important matters that need a solution. We, the moderators, cannot solve them all by adding and twisting rules, for not all matters are simply black and white. We need all members of our community working together to make the atmosphere and the spirit of this site such, that everyone can enjoy the purpose and the reason of our existence: namely a place to play poker that we all love.
We need to realize as well that the very success that our site/community has had, in providing a place to play poker, means at the same time that it (the site) has grown in numbers. Think of it as a tight knit family of a few deciding to invite all members of their clan together (and wishing them all to live happily ever after). The distant cousins, aunts and uncles, in-laws and their families arrives. With the purest of intentions it is a sure thing that before the clan settles down to the new format, there will arise quite a few disputes and matters that require solutions, if this clan has any chance of survival. That is where we are at at this moment.
As far as the unruly new-comers here are concerned, we, the mods can deal with that fairly easy. Warn, muzzle and ban, depending on the transgression. We cannot, however, dictate to you all every single thing, nor should we. This is where we must, as community, to come together and think about this.
One of the greatest issues, that we struggle with, is what we call commonly the bingo-play. Why this is such a struggle is quite obvious really: this is not a black or white matter, hence opinions wary, no sensible rules can be drafted -- and most importantly; not everyone can be made happy whatever we do or say. So, it is up to us all to find a compromise that gives space for us all to belong here. In my mind it would be a tragedy if the opinion of one block would prevail over the other, resulting in the break-up of the clan. I hazard to say that most of you would agree on this with me.
Since we cannot have a one-size-fits-all solution, this is what we, the mods, have been pondering to do. Tables 1 to 4 would be bet limit tables (the amounts are yet undecided), we already have a pot limit holdem and a pot limit omaha table.
If one decides to play the said tables, then it would mean for the player, to play by the spirit of those tables. That entails not only that because one cannot go all-in that anything one does is ok. It is very simple to ruin a bet and pot limit game(s) as well by just maxing every single bet to the hilt -- hand or no hand. So, to do so, would be against the very intent of the spirit we try to create. Max bet with nuts is one thing, but you all understand the point I try to make.
The turbo tables on the other hand are a place to go and burn the chips at hearts content, as they now are as well. It certainly defeats the point of poker and makes mockery of the game in many regards, but as said, freedom to choose ones style of play cannot be dictated. It is the last remark that makes this issue so difficult to start with.
Suffice to say that there is a massive difference to limp in to a pot with a weak hand and hit on the flop -- or to go all-in with the same hand pre-flop, This distinction seems to have escaped the play(ers) at the turbos. Maybe, if we start to promote the concept and spirit of good play, even the turbo tables will modify the manner in which they operate. Yet, those are the tables where anything goes.
Alright, I hope to hear of your thoughts and ideas on this matter, so that we can keep our community pleasant and accessible for all people and all styles of play.
One final point. We, the moderators, are here to facilitate, the best we can, the smooth operating of our beloved site. We are not perfect, we are not robots. We do this in our free time, with no pay and no glory. We do this because we love this place, as do you all. Sometimes it is most welcome that we get criticized and lambasted by you, our lovable members. That makes us aware of the short-comings of ours and aware of the things we could improve.
Sometimes, however, it would be most welcome, if the response would be: I get it and I understand. No qualifications, no yes, but remarks. Just that.
I believe that was the case regarding the matter with maf and hovis. Hovis said from the start his action was done not by the book, but in the spirit of fairness, from the heart. There was no need to add or subtract a word on that. This is what I should have said from the beginning, but even I got my script mixed yesterday.
Our forum will always be a beautiful mad-house and unruly place. I love it for that very reason. I am not attempting to take that away by my remarks above. I hope you understand what I am saying here.
Lovingly as always,
FF/Jyri
P.S.: Ron bro, you do not make any sense in any language, that's why I love you....;-))
(Truly kidding only..please, do not shoot me) |