Roll Call

[Midnight Rider]

I only posted this here because it's always been the red-headed stepchild of the Bull Board. Even the spambots ignore it.

Who still reads this here heap?  Please respond with an affirmative if ye are still around.

[TGOTT]

Just about, though I am starting a Red Bull Roshambull version soon

[Midnight Rider]

Good to see ye, Heyes.  You're about the best of all the fake players.  I'm not sayin' I'd want to ride with you, but I'd damn sure you trust you to outfit the troops before we ride into battle.

I wish ye luck on your Red Bull Roshamble version.  As it is, I'm runnin' a signal check just to see how many of the old reg'lars are still hereabouts.  It sure is queer that the first person to respond was a damned online player.  I ain't superstitious (though I do suffer from mild OCD,) but I sure do reckon that's a sign of things to come.

Anybody else hereabouts?

[Master Roshambollah]

If you want the data, all you have to do is ask, Rider...

The current sorry state of the Bull Board weighs heavy on my heart.  To every thing there is a season, I suppose, and change is inevitable. Still, there are times where the best weapon against uncertainty is information. 

I have also wondered the same thing, Rider:  how many of the Old Guard are still around?  How many of the new players are still interested?

I have my resources - ones which even Al Thorn might covet - and was able to find the following information about who still uses this forum; who we've lost, and who's still around.

There are many great players who never frequent the Bull Board.  It has been years since we've seen the likes of Geir the Viking, the Reverend Roshambo, or even Yanis, the Street RPS Legend. Non-competitive Bull Boarders like Helliose Zastro, Al Thorn and Fisted Sophist haven't been seen in the better part of a year.  Here, however, is who's still showing up on the regular.

Since late 2010, we still see activity from such greats as R. Cohrs (last here on 12/20,) Martin Burley (12/8,) and newcomer Peter Paper (12/18).  My former apprentice, Franklint, was last here on 11/30, probably because we haven't offered the future of the sport anything better.

On to more recent regulars.  The wily C. Urbanus was last active on January 5th of this year.  Within the last week, there are seven known names who have visited the board:  Sean "Wicked Fingers" Sears, James "TGOTT" Heyes, Maxamillion, Jef Hallestone, custardchuk, the Midnight Rider and myself. I don't know what kind of pot you're trying to stir, Rider, but if you're looking for a coup, I'd start with the "Dirty Dozen" mentioned in the last two paragraphs (interestingly enough, I watched the classic movie "The Dirty Dozen" just earlier today.  Coincidence?)

Why is there so much spam on the board? Why is the serious RPS researcher left to backchannel discourse?  Here are another few names that haven't been around since sometime in 2010:  Grady (last here on 7/2,) Chad Leatherstep (3/18,) James Hagherty (11/15.)  That's pretty much the heads of janitorial, discipline, and IT.  Also notable are the last appearances of Brad Fox (8/24) and bullAdmin (3/8 of 2010.)  There's no one running the ship.

The number of "newbie" accounts active since the start of 2011, most with either one or zero posts and most assuredly all spambots:  well over 10,000.

[R Cohrs]

Yo.  Still around, but most of the activity seems to be taking place on Facebook.  Since I already talk to the same people here as there, I guess I just kind of got lazy about posting here.  See lots of interesting RPS related things in my journies frequently, so it's kind of a shame.  But yeah, still sift through the pages frequently enough.

[custardchuk]

No surprises that even spambots won't touch this thread......(if we could just harness martin's x factor we might still win this war)

I'm still tilting at windmills down here on behalf of RPSOZ, however we are feeling more and more isolated. I will be travelling to New Zealand in two weeks for a conference with our most isolated counterparts, RPSNZ, to discuss, amongst other things, the state of the game.

This crisis meeting stems from my, and RPSNZ's representative, martinburley's, experience after the dust settled from the 2010 Australian Championships.

For those that don't know, (without wishing to waste too much space) burley travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand to Canberra, Australia, to represent NZ and was refused a game: and I travelled from Darwin to Canberra to watch the new Australian Champion crowned and awarded the trip to the World Championships. History shows that we, martin and I, and every other competitor who put themselves up, including the Australian Champion, were wasting our, and their, money and time, chasing something that WRPSS had promised, but couldn't deliver, that being; a chance to be World Champion.

This is more a statement of fact than a whinge and RPSOZ, at least, and potentially RPSNZ, (though I can't speak for them) accept isolation as the norm and anything else as a bonus.

I do though, have a complaint. And that is the hijacking of the Bullboard.

I predicted, three years ago, that Facebook was taking what the BB was, ( a means of staying in contact with like minded people) and potentially making it easier to do that. Whether that means it has "dumbed it down" is a moot point. My experience is that it has broadened the catchment and it is still catching like-minded people in the bycatch. In the meantime the BB is catching nothing but rubbish and and no-one is interested in trawling through mountains of rubbish to find a pearl.

My vote is to close down the BB, clean it, and to consign it to history. And then for WRPSS or in lieu of WRPSS, for someone with time and passion,(and hopefully with WRPSS blessing/ assistance/ goodwill) to bring us into the year 2011.

That's my view.

regards
custardchuk

[Franklint]

It's a sorry state of affairs, to be sure.

I can certainly see the merit in closing down the Bullboard, and replacing it with Facebook as the principal competitive communication medium. However, I do not see this as being the way to progress. Indeed, were this to happen, I would doubtless feel a void inside me that would be difficult to fill. Although the Bullboard is currently largely inactive, I and others still feel a strong sense of comfort from knowing it is here. Kind of like my grandmother.

As I see it, the problem with switching exclusively to Facebook as the WRPSS meeting area is that it lacks individuality; every man and his dog uses Facebook, and has the ability to join groups and Roshambull tournaments. Maintaining a dedicated forum system demonstrates that we are not just a small group of misfits. In fact, by keeping the forum going, we will remain at the pinnacle of competitive sport. If you don't believe me, Google just about any sport or game, and tack "forum" on the end of your search. Most searches will reveal at least one message board, just like this one, where fans, hobbyists and professional players discuss strategy, history and any number of topics. Do we really want to be in the same category as "non-forum" sports, like extreme ironing? (http://www.extremeironing.com/)

To that end, the solution I propose is a review of the forum system. If the spam can be defeated, I believe that the forum holds a strong chance of once again becoming popular and current. The Rider's decision to post this roll call in the "inactive" Ladder Tournament section has been met with a sudden surge of spam therein from our resident bots; it seems that wherever we go, they follow. They will give us no peace until they are comprehensively banished. It is no fun to trawl through countless sale threads trying to find some RPS-related information. This is largely what turns me and, presumably, other members, off posting. I can only reminisce about the glory days, where a dozen new RPS threads would pop up every week and be met with critique and augmentation.

"It's all very well to talk about reviewing the forum system. But how???", I hear you feverishly type (discerning the specific characters was difficult). Although I have suggested a method in the past, no one seems to want to face up and adopt my ideas. Friends, now is the time. By installing a simple CAPTCHA for each new post, we could completely cut out automated messages, at the small cost of each member spending a few seconds typing some characters into a text field. I would recommend Google's reCAPTCHA (http://www.google.com/recaptcha/whyrecaptcha), as it is easy to install, completely free, and helps to digitise old books. I encourage the current administrator (whoever it may be; Brad Fox? Who knows around here?) to utilise the system and restore the Bullboard's raw functionality. I would be happy to install reCAPTCHA, or advise on how to do this. When the spambots are unable to post here anymore, they may very well stop trying, allowing us to remove the CAPTCHA requirement from new posts.

To clear up the board entirely, though, more work must be done. The thousands upon thousands of false accounts and posts must be culled. As the current administrator seems unable to find the time to frequently pursue this goal, I propose the appointment of a new lead janitor. This should be someone prepared to spend time erasing all the useless accounts. Although I would be happy to take on this role myself, I nominate martinburley (should he accept), as he is a member in good standing and knows about computers and crap.

It would be a shame to lose such an important landmark of our successes, and I hope that, for 2011, we find a way to bring back the Bullboard's usefulness, rather than condemn it to an eternity of solitude. If anything, it should become a historical snapshot only when it is enjoying high levels of activity. Not just get sick and die. That's no fun.

As per the roll call, I'm here, and will continue checking the Bullboard periodically as long as I am allowed and able (although my former Master is correct. You should all be committed to fixing the Bullboard so I can continue the tradition when you retire). This member of the Old Guard hasn't given up just yet.

Cheers,
Franklint

[custardchuk]

I believe that if you want to get rich in ten years from now, you should open a drive-in movie theatre.
The BB is still 20 years short.
Which means someone will have to run it a loss till then.
Congratulations Will.

[custardchuk]

On reflection:

If it is as simple as the upstart says, then why wouldn't we do it?

What do we lose that ain't already gone?

[Master Roshambollah]

bump

[C. Urbanus]

I'm not sure why you bumped this Rosh. It's the least important thread on this board.

[Maxamillion]

i confirm i am still here & pleased to see a cleaned upboard.

Franklint framed it well.

So where do we start?

[Maxamillion]

Thanks again to Rosh & the team of cleaners we have a usable board again.

I think we could do with another Roll Call.

perhaps not all there sometimes but I can be the starter for 1.

Max