ScarletRose: Substantially quicker here, too, in the US Midwest, since about 3-4 days ago.  Like many of you, I hesitated to speak up, fearing that it might just be some temporary phenomenon.

Of those of you who have had problems: did any of you make a note of the approximate date when our troubles began?  So many of the analyses and helpful suggestions only spoke of computer upgrades, ISPs, geographic locales, browser types...but lost in all of that was the starting date of our problems.  I'd have liked to look for a critical clue there...

Blindfold versions of Cylinder Chess, etc.!  Have just made a couple of moves--I hope I remembered things correctly...

Now on to Blindfold Backgammon...

Did anyone else encounter a temporary problem with incoming messages this morning?

I've got 2 in my Inbox that are undisplayable--no error messages...just blank screens.  They arrived about 20 minutes apart.  Messages since then have been fine.

I found this in the Help section:

http://brainking.com/en/Help?ht=70

I think autopass is available here, isn't it?

Can you help me?  On which page can I set that option?

Tigger: As you might know, there are some sites that allow you to review dice rolls after a game or series of games, showing what the actual distributions were--compared to the theoretical average values.  Neat stuff!  Sometimes I'll see that an opponent got more nice rolls than expected, but not so many that would clearly demonstrate some kind of cheating.  But those rolls and situations are painful...and they stand out in memory!

I think that in games involving dice (or in other games of imperfect information), very good players will combine a solid grasp of probabilities with an understanding of how those probabilities might unfold in play.  They'll do a better job of anticipating possibilities, and will tend to distribute their pieces in play so as to maximize positive outcomes and minimize bad outcomes.  I think that at times it can present the illusion that they're influencing rolls or getting access to hidden knowledge...

Pbarb2: You can also forward that kind of email to spoof@paypal.com, but do so without removing any of the message header or clicking on any links contained in the message you received.

Other financial organizations typically have a similar email box (spoof@ebay, abuse@bankofthewest.com, are some examples), where such spoofing attempts can be directed for quick investigation and disabling of the spoofing site(s).

I generally will forward such messages, even if I have no dealings whatsoever with the financial organization that the message "seems" to come from.  (I figure I'm doing a good deed that way.)  Remember that spoofers are usually just guessing which organizations people might have accounts with, so they'll tend to pick larger ones ( = better chances of their reaching actual customers, and perhaps getting somebody to respond and divulge personal information).