ellieoop: it seems to me that pre 1 month ago a black rook would have a case for compensation. Ketchuplover suggestion is not unreasonable for the basis of the compensation.

I expect lifetime has been defined in the courts, plenty of companies offer lifetime guarantees. That definition will apply unless caveats exist which they did not before a month ago apparantly.

Fencer if you were in hosital for 6 months and the site was down for that time I would wish you a speedy and full recovery but would still expect to be compensated on your return by my membership being extended 6 months.

Fencer clearly you think buying Black rooks is illogical given your current plans. Would it not be better to remove this opyion all together? Language barriers might prevent some people understanding the warning.

Gabriel Almeida: While you are right there is no obligation to develop, I wonder what lifetime members feel about the site going on low maintenance. Mind you I doubt too many people have bought black rooks in the last few years if they have been reading the boards.

moistfinger: yes it can be addictive but i cant see how a turnbased site where you can play only 20 games at a time can be a serious problem.unless you spend hours on the site waiting for others to move. I can waste far more time playing one real time game than i do on brainking and turn base allows a quick in and out unlike real time. At least no money is involved here unlike some gambling sites so it is only time that is wasted.

And you are only playing three games anyway.

ThunderGr:
Is this the politics board?

Aganju:
McDonalds is an interesting analagy. In order to maintain its customer base it has changed and altered its product offering.
You can get salads and smoothies and all manner of healthy things that they did not offer in the past. They offer internet and even computers at some stores.They could have stayed with their original offering, pumped up the advertising but i expect they would lose market share to others who adapted to a changing market. Brainking has the same option change or stand still. Standing still will inevitably result in a loss of market share over time but it can live off its name for a number of years and probably be more profiable In the short term.
But i agree with you, whether burgers or boardgames the ultimate measure is can i get more for my bucks elsewhere? Or perhaps even if i like the burger i just get fed up with the same old same old and want something different even if it is no better.

Bwild:
even if it was 300 members that is an annual revenue of Euro 7000. Hardly cashing it in particularly for someone capable of creating a site as complex as brainking.

Aganju:
I agree Brainking is a great site but having been a member for 5 years I am getting a little bored with it as nothing changes. I only play on this site but I have looked around and sites like Goldtoken have improved hugely since I joined Brainking and I will probably try another site next time. I might decide Brainking is still the best and return after a year. but I might not.

ThunderGr:
Well said.

Dice Finger:
Always have time to expose hypocrisy.

Moist Cheater:

All very interesting but multi nics are against the rules of the site.

You wanted to delete DC? Then why do you have active games in both names. It doesn’t seem you are trying so hard.

And I just love this post:
moistfinger (hide)
all posts | show thread | link
Subject: Re: Tumble weed rolls through...
Dice Cheater: Yep, I second that.

Probably gave you a good laugh at the time, but makes you look a bit second rate now.

Dice Cheater: You don't go in for multi nicks by any chance.

Dice Cheater:
I have just got back from two weeks camping holiday with the family with limited internet access. I've just played a move in all my games. I would have lost them all with no holiday allowance. I want to win games by out playing ( or out lucking) my opponent not by time default. There is a life outside brainking.

Dice Cheater:
The first round of this argument was on 4th June. Round 2 kicks off on the 15th, 11 days later.

Rather ironic when the post was about slow play.

ThunderGr: Probably but I dont think that is current either. Most of the posts were to the chinese Chess board so the style and nature of the posts will be familiar to readers of that board.

435152:
Your stats are interesting.

33 games played in total and none current. The last game was played in 2009. Posts to boards, 103.

Complaining if you have an active interest in the site is one thing. But your stats don’t support that.

JerNYC:
I apologise for using the emotive term freeloader.

I was specifically attacking those individuals who try to get something for nothing, by complaining about people not moving fast enough, thereby enjoying increased benefits for themselves to the detriment of others.

If you play in an over the board chess tournament, for example, you don’t get your opponent complaining that you are not moving fast enough. If you play so slowly you run out of time you lose the game. It is the same here.

I was not attacking those who simply play their games and have the common sense to chose clock times that suit themselves, rather than expect others to adhere to there terms.

Again, I apologise for using the term which was overly emotional.

Aganju:
I do agree the tournament system is one of the weaker parts of Brainking, and it seems to be a case of the inmates running the asylum. The plus side is that you can create an endless variety of tournaments, but right now there is an endless list of the same tournament. Some sites simply set up a fixed number of tournaments each week, or there is only one open one at a time. I would prefer this as you would probably get more people entering each tournament if there was only 1 to enter. It does limit the variety on the time per move, clock type etc which is Brainking’s strength and well as its weakness.

ThunderGr:
I think this is a sensible proposal, 1 board that I can ignore if my blood pressure can't take it any more like the politics board.

ThunderGr:
I think posting to discussion boards should be a privilege of paying members only.
20 moves is an allowance for people to determine whether they want to join the site or not. If they want to spend years as non members playing only 20 moves then that is their decision. but I don’t see I should have to listen to their complaints that they are getting less than they want when they have paid nothing for it.

ThunderGr:
And yet we have to read endless posts from non paying members complaining about paying members playing too slowly. Time to fight back. Personally I think they contribute very little.

crosseyed:
I likewise get tired of hearing freeloaders whining.

beach: I assumed it was people joining lots of tournaments while still being a paying member and then becoming a pawn. If people start thousands of tournaments after becoming a pawn it seems like a strange thing for the "powers that be" not to care about.

The tournament page is a complete mess anyway. I assume this is why there are endless tournaments created by the same people? Making the change would tidy up the tournanment page as well I hope.

Carpe Diem: I think the point is to split seeded players. The second best starts at the bottom and so on. Wha it means is the best player always has white and the second best always black. Hardly fair in games where white has a big advantage.

happyjuggler0:
I think Carpe diem's point is correct. If your opponent is not timing out they are able to handle the number of games they have chosen to play. If you want them to play a move every day play games with a 1 day per move time limit.

Artful Dodger:
That is good advice. Pawns play a small number of games so every game matters to them and they sometimes begrudge a slow player taking up one of their slots. I am playing a lot of games at a 3-5 day per move rate but some at a 10-15 a move rate. I have about 200 games on the go and perhaps make 60- 100 moves a day. The point is the 10-15 moves a day game takes a week to get into my top 100 games if my opponent responds within 24 hours. I could of course reduce the number I am playing to 60-100 so I could move every day in every game but I want there to be games to play whenever I go onto the site. That’s why I pay a membership fee. Similarly if I am playing against a lot of slow players and I am not getting enough games I just increase the number of games I am playing.

I only see the rate of play being an issue for pawns (and admittedly knights) but as AD said the answer is don’t enter a tournament with a time limit you are not prepared to play. I’ve also heard people complaining a time limit is too fast, same applies.

computeropponen: To compare Crosseyed to yourself does her a disservice. She has completed 12600 games and made 234 posts of which 1 caused some friction with the powers that be. You have completed 39 games and made 154 posts most of which are complaints about the same tedious subjects.

Hrqls:
a draw cannot be claimed on this site, it can only be offered.
you have to agree on the draw to be performed

just decline the draw and continue the game while having a cheerful chat about the rules of a draw?

Actually not correct. Where normal rules of chess apply the game is draw when there is a three fold repetition of a position and a player claims it. The issue is that Brainking does not automatically recognise it (it would be very complex to programme I imagine) but the rules on the site advise you can appeal for arbitration. Ideally of course this is settled between the players.

Hrqls: I was the opponent in question. I actually think this is a matter for the chess board not the brainking board but no matter. The fact is that I offered a draw at the time we repeated the move for the third time (fourth actually). I didn't write a message saying that it was a three move repetition, I just assumed thisbeme was aware of the fact we had repeated three times and the game was a draw. My opponent then played on with a different move. I then repeated the draw offer advising acceptance was not optional and I would appeal to the arbitrator if he did not accept. I can only assume thisbeme did not notice the offer I made on the third repetition. I now realise brainking does not record draw offers on the moves visable to the players so I was unable to prove I had made the offer on the third repetition of position. My advise is write a message when are claiming a draw when you make a three move repetition so there is an audit trail in the event if a situation like this.

jadarite: All games have a notes function where you can write, for example, your intended next move. If your worry is that you will forget the move you intended between the first time you looked at the board and the second time you can write it there. A lot simpler than recoding brainking to allow for those with Alzheimer’s.

Pedro Martínez: You could extend that argument to why does anyone post anything to the Feature Request board. If I was voting for useful features, being able to change a posted move wouldn't get very far up my list.

happyjuggler0: Agreed. And the current situation is no different from letting go of your piece completes your move in competitive over the board games. Irrespective of whether your opponent is looking.

Bernice: I think Brainking is a great site, but given Fencer's posts that basically amount to "i don't care about Brainking anymore", anyone buying life membership now would need their head examining

crosseyed: Cant say that i am having any problems, but it seems to me a reasonable access speed is a reasonable expectation of any paid for web site irrespective of what the rules say.

Roberto Silva: Stats can be misleading. loop chess has a significant advantage to the player with the inititive (white). Never the less it is far from a forced win and a stronger black player can neutralise the advantage and go on to win.

rabbitoid:
Having just "won" about 20 games via timeout against the same opponent, I looked through the tournaments for new ones to enter and find the same opponent entered in many of them. This takes the fun out of tournaments, particularly the 4 player ones.

pedestrian: To fill tournaments the number of paying members is, I would suggest, a better measure than active members. It is also a lot easier to keep track of. Currently rooks 432, Knights 55 and Bishops 20.

Fencer: I had around 24 days left as a rook bought a red code and went up to 34 days three hours.

rabbitoid: You will be able to swop them for Euros soon.

thisbeme:
I don't agree that trying to win on time is pathetic, it is just part of the game. The same thing happens in over the board chess, if you have a half hour game or a longer game with the clocks going back to be completed in 15 mins it sometimes comes down to player with a technically won position being short of time and losing. Time management is part of the game on brainking and competitive over the board chess.

rabbitoid:
No idea how you play clowning backgammon but your post was very entertaining.