Lamby: OK ... but it seems that you are behind the times.

chessmec: you are joking right? Goverments are building up databases on what games I play? No wonder they miss the important stuff. I notice you are not on cloak, so it must have been a joke.

chessmec: I couldnt disagree more! Tell me, have a look at my games, tell me, where do I live, how old am I, how much do I weigh, my political view point, my religious beliefs, whether I own pets etc etc etc etc etc
Will will find out NOTHING, unless I choose to tell you! :o)

grenv: I think it must have been a joke! If governments wanted to source information from a game site (doubtful!) I very much doubt 'cloak mode' would be much protection! LOL :oD

Lamby: why does anyone need to hide on a games site?

The question is, why does anyone feel the urge to peek? And don't give me the argument of "finding out whether someone is actively playing me" - I've refuted that argument already. You cannot determine whether I'm actively playing you based on the last page I viewed - so what makes you think you're entitled to know?

AbigailII: But we knew by default. You had to go ou of your way to find and activate cloak. So you had to have a reason for doing it didn't you?

grenv: Here, here!!! :o)

grenv: So you had to have a reason for doing it didn't you?

Indeed. I don't like it being watched.

AbigailII: lol. I didn't see anything.

AbigailII: I could perfectly understand if you were taking a shower, but youre only playing a game on a computer! Im sorry but I really dont see the need for cloak at all, and thats just my opinion, ofcourse you are entitled to yours :o)

Lamby: youre only playing a game on a computer!

Indeed. So, why the urge to know? It's only playing a game on the computer, and you're getting all worked up if someone actives cloak.

AbigailII: its already been answered...and Im not in the slightest bit worked up, just airing my opinion in a very relaxed manner :oD lol

It's actually really simple:

If you don't see a need to use the cloak feature: Don't use it.

If you do see a need to use the cloak feature: Use it.

I'm not sure why so many are making it so hard.

I played a game against one of the "cloak people"..was stuck in the bar, no autopass to use..couldnt check if he was planning to continue playing or not..had to wait...golf on TV..should i leave or should we finish the game?....is ridicolous correct spelling grenv?

Andersp: Suppose you were playing me, and I wasn't using "cloak". It says the last page I visited was the feature requests board. Does that mean I won't make a move against you in the next 30 seconds? BK won't show what's in my other tabs, or what's reachable with my back button. Or suppose the last page I visited was your game. How do you know I will actually make a move, or just decided that it's enough for today and that I went to bed?

If you plan to make a move it says "Playing game A vs A"....uncloak and try, you might like it :)

Andersp: Please, do not suggest people to uncloak. It's too dangerous! We might see what they are doing............

Chessmaster1000: sorry..wont do it again

Andersp: Actually it's only useful for players that play a few games. Those that play hundreds a once it's hard to keep up with and I don't find the last action feature useful for them at all.

lol i totally support the move of cloaked users not being able to view the uncloaked people, why should they see what we're doing if they don't want us to see them?

grenv: I agree, but sometimes you are involved in an interesting game and am undecided if you want to sit and finish it or not..then its nice to know if your opponent is still "hot" or is leaving.

Andersp:
If I have made quite a few moves on a game and my opponent is one who always moves if they see me moving, all I have to do is say good night in the message. I have done this for years. You generally get to know your opponents if you play the same people over and over again I find that if they are going to leave they will normally tell me goodnight. Other opponents just make one move and I know they are not going to move again.

Seems to me that some people fail consistently to understand other peoples viewpoints or, if the viewpoint is explained simply ignore it - because they like to demonstrate their ignorance and intolerance.

If someone expresses a reason to use cloak mode and you don't share that reasoning, that does not make the reason invalid.

Some people have said that cloak mode gives them a sense of security. "What security? How security?" goes up the cry. "Prove it."

That's missing the point. If someone says they feel more secure being cloaked then that in itself is enough. Respect it. Who are you to tell them that they are wrong to feel that way?

playBunny: If you scroll down you can see that today's "cloakdiscussion" started by one of the cloaked people (Plaintiger) who complained ..(or to use your wording "cried") that he cant see us uncloaked.

Is this the right room for an argument?

Andersp: Finally, something we can agree on! All we can do now is pray... (and wonder if Bush is behind the whole thing)

Andersp: Nice move. I'd say that's checkmate!

Andersp: If you plan to make a move

If my move is 'planned', that is, between selecting the move and hitting the send button, all you need to do is wait for a full second, and it's your move. Easy, isn't?

Lamby said:

... if you hide yourself, explain why should you still have the privilege of seeing what others, who aren't hidden, are doing?

why shouldn't i? because the cloak option exists, and it's there for anyone and everyone to use it, those people who choose to be cloaked should be cloaked, and those who choose not to be cloaked should not be cloaked. it seems perfectly clear and simple to me: the user controls their own visibility - period. end of story. what is so difficult to understand about that?

Besides it's been said so many times, why does anyone need to hide on a games site?

no-one needs to. but they might want to. because, for example, they're not in the mood to chat, and so don't want to be accountable to someone who, if they see that person online, will expect them to chat and be all civil and nicey-nice.

that's really what it comes down to: accountability and a sense of obligation. a person might find themselves able to pop in quick and move on their games at a time at which they told another player they wouldn't be around, and so want to do that without feeling obligated to account for their presence here, or to chat when they don't have the inclination or the time.

it's an option to maintain a certain level of privacy. if you hate and resent privacy as it seems so many people on this site do, then don't seek it out. but you have no right to begrudge it to those who don't hate it.

Cheers for the sizable message area Fencer, it helps alot

plaintiger: it would be very interesting to discuss this problem deeper, but i think this board is the wrong place for that. let us continue this discussion in another board.

frolind: starting all those games at once might be a problem for pawns .. or people who have too many games going on already .. they might now want to have 3 games added for every (2 player) final they are in

at the moment it would be very nice to me .. because i am in some finals which will probably last until i am on holiday (we are in the first game of a 3 win match) .. and i will probably have to use some vacation days ..

so personally right now i would favor starting those games at once ... but generally i see more problems with it than i see advantages

Andersp: Your argument is fundamentally flawed. The cloak mode is not going to tell you any such thing (whether or not your opponent is going to leave). Many people are on broadband (or unlimited dial up connections like myself) and stay signed into BrainKing for hours. It doesn't mean they are playing. I often go out of the house and leave the computer running. This this makes the case for using Cloak mode even stronger.

Anyway, I still can't see any difference in cloak mode. I can still see when people are on line and when they last logged in so why can't you?

Should I create a "Cloak" discussion board?

Fencer: would that be a board where only cloaked people can post ? and uncloaked people cannot see whats happening ? ;)

Fencer: yes, filip. please do that. would be interesting in all languages. Privacy and cloak will cause never ending discussions.

Hrqls: I wasn't really thinking about tournaments when I gave the suggestion. In non-turnament games you can start if you have x or more available slots, and the number of games will never increase during the match - only decrease. So the limited number of game slots shouldn't be a problem.

For tournaments it could start as many games as possible within the membership limit, and fill it up as game spots becomes available.
Or simply limit the feature in tournaments to certain membership levels.

Btw., the suggestion is meant as an option when creating the match, not as a replacement of the good old way.

frolind: ah ok :)

last week i discovered you can already start more than one game at once with the same opponent ... but those will count as separate games .. not as a single match ..

i can see the value of this addition you propose :)

plaintiger: my last word on this, especially on this board......yes absolutely you can choose to use the cloak option, I totally agree that's up to you entirely, but if you do then don't moan that you can't see what others are doing! They can't see you, you then can't see them....fairs fair!!! :o)

Bottom line - whatever you choose, I can see everything.

Fencer: LOL :oD and so you should!!!

Lamby: Was going to post that post myself, now i dont need it, thanks :)
I have no intention to continue this "discussion" either and no intention to try to explain what I can see when i play an opponent who is on line and uncloaked, someone said my argument was flawed so it seems as this someone knows better than me what I can see

Andersp: someone said my argument was flawed so it seems as this someone knows better than me what I can see

Noone was claiming to know better on you can see. The argument was about could conclude from what you saw.

fencer, does the DB keep track of amount of time logged into BK and if so, could we have a top 10 list please?

Backoff: No, it doesn't. It's not easy to determine with a stateless type of connection.

true, I was just wondering how much of my life I've spent on here lol.

In my eyes it is a great feature for several reason,and is not manditory therefor everyone has the option and i can name several reasons why it's a great feature,on those notes,i do see alot of people using it.

Keep up the good work Fencer,on building in my eyes the best gamesite on the internet.
:o)
The futures so bright i have to wear these.

I Posted these on the pond board, but figured I should post them here also so they don't get lost.

FIRST REQUEST: When playing a pond, it is easy to tell the difference between a pond and a dark pond since in dark everything is hidden.

But I notice currently the only difference in the rain is the little "name" with a green dot near the top.

Is there a way you can make it look a little more different - possible put a green outline around the running players list so it will be easier to tell something is different (Like is done with all the chess variants so you can quickly tell what you are playing by the outline color)

SECOND REQUEST: How about a rule change - when only 2 players are left, only the lowest bid player will fall, leaving the highest bid to win the game. This way there will hopefully be less ties/no winners.

BIG BAD WOLF: Better yet, with 2 players left, whoever has the most points wins. Why play another round?

grenv:Yes on a tournament basis,3 rounds on a final overall point tally at the end (would make for a very interesting 3rd round finish)