Barnstormers is BAAAAAAACK !!!

I believe that the main rule change that Cristano and I would both favor would be to have divisions rivals known prior to the finals draft. Also were I to assume responsibility for the tour, Nev has agreed to help, although out of the limelight.

I would probably seek to avoid having two 100M events in favor of adding a 120M event, although I don't feel that strongly about it. As far as styles of play go, mine is universal, so that point is moot. I prefer live drafts, as they reduce the amount of luck relative to autodrafts, but apart from the finals don't care enough either way to change things. Problem with live drafts is too many players get to see the results and thus copy the better managers. Kind of like the Star Tournaments where there is almost slavish adherence to average pick numbers during their live drafts. Almost all of my active leagues are 100M or 80M with a smattering of 140M and only one or two 200M+, so I don't care much for higher cap leagues any more. Too small a manager pool- a rotating group of about 40 people -- most of whom aren't that challenging to begin with and the live drafts allow folks to pinpoint my player preferences, subsequently appropriating them as their own. That gets old fast.

One thing I would also want to implement would be to eliminate the extra bonuses for making the playoffs etc. 'The points you receive for a given league are exactly the number of wins you accumulate during the regular season + playoff wins.

Like any other change I would make, the bias is always in reducing luck and rewarding skill.

I'm not a big fan of the last three spots in the finals being determined by the winners of semifinal leagues, however, I recognize that the community strongly favors that format so I would not tamper with it.

So the hen house would not be guarded by a fox but rather by a pair of Kangals neither of whom give a rat's ass about how badly the company treats the tour steward as long as they meet my terms and conditions. We know that SOM only sees customers as a source of revenue and thus don't expect any changes in how they deal with us. They have behaved badly toward their base for the 40+ years I have been using their product and I will treat them accordingly and will deal with them only from a position of strength. Professionally, I supervise social workers and psychologists and have a very egalitarian management style, seeking maximum empowerment for the folks I am responsible for. But if I am dealing with intractable jerks, which SOM surely qualifies as, my approach is purely "my way or the highway." If they are foolish enough to squander 15K in tour revenue each year, then screw them. They need us more than we need them. I don't plan to offer my services to SOM unless it is clear that the tour's demise is imminent and no one else steps up. More concretely, if nothing is resolved by two weeks after the current season finishes, then and only then will I initiate any contact with SOM.

Yes and most of those rule changes favor the experienced player. As I've mentioned before, we are (were) trying to attract ALL PLAYERS experienced or not to the tour. Granted 160 players and not even half of them will advance to even the semi-finals, but I believe that even those newbies all had a good time and enjoyed the challenge. Some of them may have even got better and learned a thing or two.

You made my point exactly that your proposed changes all favor the Druids and the Nevs. Most likely you would wind up with less than 100 players. And a good guess on who likes to do live drafts is clearly evident that when given a choice of live draft in the 200 mil event, we did once get 3 leagues - last year we only got two. Only the sharks like the live draft and requiring it would be painful to those that don't or have never done one or that don't even understand it.


Clearly it's not "an event for all" in your vision.

SOM may find that "it's better than nothing" to turn it over to you but it will never have the magic and open arms that it had before.

Hey, how come if you have an 'egalitarian management style', why don't you let us vote for changes prior than them being made like everything else??!!

Just wondering...
Sincerely,
Delivery Boy...

PS, OK you don't see my name up there campaigning to take over the Barnstormers. Maybe I should! In fact, why aren't there more players out there wanting to run the tournament... All I would want is a direct line to somebody who I can take some sort of action. Yeah, I might be a pest, but I would be ignored if I allow myself to be ignored. NOT!!!!

So Ricky, do you allow concrete statements to interfere with your preexisting notions or is reading comprehension just a skill that you never developed? I stated clearly that although I personally prefer live drafts as a test of skill I don't care enough to change the format from what it currently is nor would I change the present semifinal format. I proposed three changes, getting rid of arbitrary playoff bonuses, having managers know their divisions before the finals draft begins and possibly adding a 120M event rather than having two 100M events. No doubt that would reduce community participation by 40% as you claim.

But after reading the last two posts, I have a new plan. Let community participation in the Barnstormer's be reduced to zero, as per your plan. RIP indeed.

Rick,
You should be GLAD Bruce is interested, despite your differences or prickly attitudes toward one another. Frankly, I think it's because YOU BOTH give a damn about this Game, and making it better, let alone seeing the Tourney survive!

I for one amd glad to see you and Le Druid in rational conversation regarding Barnstormer survival ... and it's also heartening to know the Nevster is lurking about ... if only for the moment like those weird shadow beings from Babylon 5. I'd say that's a Shoe-In for a great Tournament -- you, he, and Bruce a all quality human beings. I would trust any one of the 3 of you to do a good job with this Tourney or anything else. The debate is about the Tourney, keeping it going or not, let alone acknowledging all the work the Tourney commissioner had to do for it.

What are some of the nuts and bolts, Rick, that your successor(s) must do or know that might not be obvious, even to the most experienced amongst us? Who did the overall player standings? You or someone at Strat HQ? It seemed automated. Did you also prepare the annual schedule and post & revise it as needed? Who provided the credits to open each of the 12 or so leagues in each Round? You? Strat? How many of your Barnstormer Board members will help with a transition? Can they count on you for advice and support during a hand-over?

Lastly, anyone know how to pin down the elusive Strat HQ contact that Moose said eluded him all these years. That still astounds me ... unless Moose was trying to sue her or something!
Jon

So Ricky, do you allow concrete statements to interfere with your preexisting notions or is reading comprehension just a skill that you never developed? I stated clearly that although I personally prefer live drafts as a test of skill I don't care enough to change the format from what it currently is nor would I change the present semifinal format. I proposed three changes, getting rid of arbitrary playoff bonuses, having managers know their divisions before the finals draft begins and possibly adding a 120M event rather than having two 100M events. No doubt that would reduce community participation by 40% as you claim.

But after reading the last two posts, I have a new plan. Let community participation in the Barnstormer's be reduced to zero, as per your plan. RIP indeed.

Come on, Bruce. Exercise that still waters run deep listening power you have, even if it means letting Rick vent a bit as he's frankly put up with a lot of crap over the years. I am glad he threw up this Thread ... if he hadn't, would we have just let the Tourney die with nary a whimper of complaint or comment??

The Druid is clearly a legend in his own mind, with an ego larger than Lake Michigan
A classic example of why I quit the STAR tournaments many years ago (you know, when THEY won it was because they were supposed to win, when I won it was because of luck).
In fact, I was planning to enter the BS again this year, entirely because of him. Oh, I probably wouldn't win, but at least I would add to the field of players competent enough to "get lucky".

So long Moose.
I haven't played barnstormers for years either.
For the few years that I did, I know you put in a lot of time.
Thanks much.
Yet another guy from the Vegas get togethers is gone.

dan

I know I hardly ever post on the boards any more, but I wanted to say a few things given how much I have enjoyed the tour over the years (even though I couldn't play in it this year):

1. Thanks Moose for all of your hard work. You had an enormously underappreciated task and you did it more than admirably;

2. Going forward, I believe that the management of the tour, if it happens at all, should be committee based and not rest with just one person; and

3. I only live 20-25 minutes from Strat's headquarters. Would everyone like me to actually go there and stick a live human being in front of them to hopefully force them to discuss the enumerable issues we have with the Tour (and perhaps online Strat in general)?

Nev already did that 7 years ago, sat down with HAL himself. Good luck with that plan.