How to deal with the issues raised in Ura's article.

R

Rando

Guest
One issue raised is the direction the CPA is to take. As I see it, there are two paths.

The first is as Casual Players against the rest of the Magic esablishment, which is what I understood the mission statement to be when I signed up. As someone pointed out, is there anything to fight for now? Is the Casual Player being catered to by Wizards? If so, can they do better? I belive that it is the casual player more then the pro or semi-pro player that lines WotC's pockets, simply because there are so many more of us. I don't care how much the purse for the pro-tour is, it is still my belief that we spend more on a whole.

The second direction the CPA can take is, as Ura said, as more of a social club. I think this is the natural direction the orginization has taken since it's inception. This direction, I'm sure, is fine with some members and not with others.

What do we do?

Now is the time for the members of the CPA to come together and decide the future of the CPA. Not to devalue the work and leadership of the founders, it should be rememered that they themselves are not the CPA, we all are. We then all must take the initiative.

I open this thread up as a forum for debate on the future of the CPA. Please let it be known what your stand is, and what you would like the future to be. Let us at least try to remain dignified and polite, and to keep our manners about us.

One last thing. Perhaps what is missing that could help to guide us is solid and unified leadership. We could, and this is only a sugestion, elect or appoint leaders to help to keep the CPA on one path that is agreed by all, or at least the majority of, it's members.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Just have less irrelevant/useless posts. It doesn't matter which way the CPA goes; I barely play Magic and I thought WOTC and DCI were doing a fine job, before and now. And a social club is fine, but not a dunce cap club. :)
 
D

DÛke

Guest
...I don't think so!

I know I will get many great negative reactions from this, but I don't care. Truth must be said, fair, and square. I don't know how much you people love the Off-Topic forum, but its confrontation time!

Why does the Off-Topic forum exist? Exactly to write what? "Off- topic" stuff? Why should a Magic sight have an Off-Topic forum? I don't understand; am I missing something? This CPA is for Magic: the Gathering, and that's what we're here for. Shouldn't we be somewhere else if want to talk about stuff like music, movies, TV shows, and all that non-Magic subjects? Why does it have to be here at the CPA?

Believe it or not, the Off-Topic forum does plenty for this sight, a negative plenty that is. It is not only encouraging spam, but also distracting the players from Magic. The Off-Topic is always the top forum; the forum that gets the most reaction and the most new threads, exactly why? A Magic sight should be about Magic; it doesn't need an excuse called the "Off-Topic" forum for those who don't have much to say. Those who spam, should be banned, not "rewarded" with their own "please keep on spamming" forum.

Whoever knew of a place that gives its audience what they please, no matter how terrible it is? I didn't know of any, until I collided with the CPA.

It goes for the Battle Arena. I don't see what's the big deal about it. In some ways, it's even much worse than the Off-Topic forum. Other than specially selected trivia and some of the Magic-related battles, I don't see why it is allowed to "battle", increasing your post count, distracting you from Magic, which, just like the Off-Topic area, has taken away your "Magic" time. Instead of writing that could help someone in the deck section, I'll just "battle", or talk about The Matrix in the Off-topic area! How would that be?

Disagree all you want, but the reason we don't have great articles, and the reason we have spam, is actually because of the Off-Topic area, which eventually teaches people to go off-topic in many threads, even in those not in the off-topical region.

Don't tell me how I'm "contradicting" my own acts. I already said DÛke will change, and time will prove it. Now, do you want to argue with this blindless truth, or would you like to contradict yourselves?
 
R

Rando

Guest
I will have to disagree on one point DUke. The CPA is not for Magic, it's for the casual players of Magic, and as such involves more then just the game itself, because we as a community are more diverse then just the game itself.

___________
I love balloons and puppy-dogs.
 
B

Baskil

Guest
Don't read it. It's that simple.
:rolleyes:

If you take away the off-topic area, this site will go the way of other Magic boards on the internet: Straight down the crapper.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Rando: Are you saying "pro" players aren't as diverse? ;)

When I read the mission statement and the original postings on the Dojo and subsequent replies, I don't see "other interests" as being included, at least not to the extent that it's the majority of topics under discussion. I read "casual" as solely referring to Magic.

Baskil: Straddling both sides of the fence, I would say ideally, if you look back at the posts before the Off-Topic forum was created, you would still find interesting and spirited discussions. If you could go even further back to the Dojo's old message boards where the Founders and others originated, you would still see many a spirited discussion about Magic (Anyone remember "The Art of Beatdown" and "The Art of Control" besides their author?).

The point is that I think there can still be intelligent discussion without the Off-Topic forum.

Having said that, I will continue to participate in it because it's there and as everyone should know by now, I blow air out of my mouth on almost any subject. But I will also continue to try to raise the class and level of discussion in there; saying "Well, people are going to do it so don't look" is like watching your neighborhood fall into decay and decline: if you care about it, you will get active about it (in whatever view you might hold, for or against).
 
B

Baskil

Guest
I've seen it on way to many boards. It's like a scab, if you keep picking at it, it will never heal properly. If you leave it alone, it will heal. This kind of thing goes in cycles, just give it time, police yourselves (don't spam and don't reply to spammers), and they will eventually fall off.
 
E

ErinPuff

Guest
but.. but I *have* to spam! Zhan's only got three less posts than me at the moment! :eek: ;)

ooookay..

I think the Off-Topic board is absolutely necessary. Even the most obsessive Magic player doesn't talk Magic 24/7. "Why doesn't he go somewhere ELSE to be off-topic?" you whine. Well, he may like the friends he has made through the Magic board and want to talk off-topic with them. The off-topic board also helps us get to know each other better.

heh.. gotta do my homework.. more later.. if I feel like it.
 
S

Sleepy

Guest
doesn't DÛke live in off-topic?:confused: I think we're a social club and we should stay that way!
 
A

Apollo

Guest
DUke, right now you are participating in a battle with Neo_Keo in the Battle Arena! How hypocritical is that?

Anyway, there is nothing wrong with the off-topic forum. I don't know of any other good message boards on the net. Here, I can talk about things with people that share the same interests as me.

I don't think the off-topic forum encourages off-topic posts in the other forums; in fact, it discourages them, because we have somewhere to talk about the political race (or whatever). We don't have to clutter up the other boards.
 
D

DÛke

Guest
...yeah? Well have you read the "battle"? It's not about "pushing" and/or "pulling", it has Magic substances in there. Magic players could read it, and actually relate it to Magic, and their favorite colors. I don't "punch", neither does Neo "kick".

Baskil,
Have a problem with the off-topic area?
Don't read it. It's that simple.
Click to expand...
True, true. Did you know though the other members strive for the Off-Topic forum? Meaning that their focus is fully corrupted. Instead of replying to a deck someone posted, they create non-Magic post about whatever.

The Off-Topic area must be abolished.
 
N

Neo_Keo

Guest
sayng that Duke is a hyprocryte by battling me in the Battle Forum is wrong. We relate Magic in this friendly entertaing battle to the bruise.

I mean me casting Ivory ,ask and fireballing Duke to him having Ravenous Rats chase me how is that not magic related?

as for the off topic section I think its a great place and for right now lets not look at the spamming. some people just need a place to relax and have fun once in a while ( or evryday) sur they post a lot and get their post counts way up. But is taht realy important I mean the "post count". I think the off topic forum is a place for peolpe to get to know each other.
The CPA like a Military Academy has rules, mission statements and goals. They have their places to practrice their drilings their commonads to study. They aso have places where the cadets can relax and just have fun.
 
C

Cateran Emperor

Guest
What to do about what? I see no problem, and not having a problem means we don't need a solution. Spam isn't usually what people think it is. Spam is posting something massively off topic in a thread. Anything even remotely on topic isn't spam. We have no need to do anything about it. Laissez-faire and all...
 
D

DÛke

Guest
I already said I have no problem with the Off-Topic area, and not the Battle Area, but seeing how some people get too “picky” about it, we should stop. It’s not our website, and we shouldn’t try to promote what ourselves need, but what the whole CPA community as a whole. What we’re doing is saying that “yeah, we should spam, although many other people dislike it”.

It’s totally selfish.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Baskil: I slightly disagree in that if you leave the spammers alone, they think it's okay and might, just might, encourage others to start. The ideal world would be just to ask them nicely to knock it off and if they were nice, reasonable people they would see they made an error and strive not to do it anymore.

If they were not so nice people and ignored the warnings, then unpleasant stuff can occur.

Everyone: I think people are automatically equating "spam = off-topic" and that's not so. As I, Zadok, and maybe others have said, it's more the "I've reached x posts" or "I'm bored" type posts; the posts just to post and have REALLY useless knowledge. Most of the Off-Topic stuff is okay, like music and political talk and how much of your brain is used and plugs for your cartoon of Mr. T and stuff.
 
B

Baskil

Guest
I really don't understand why people have their knickers in such tight knots about this. There's a very easy solution to this. If you don't like the off-topic forum, refrain from reading it. If you do like reading the off-topic forum, continue. If there's a problem with spamming (which I don't really see as a problem, but oh well), fight for stronger moderation. And if that doesn't solve anything, site ban the spammers.

I'm fairly certain that if the off-topic area and the battle arena go down, this board will be gone within a couple of months.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I'm fairly certain that if the off-topic area and the battle arena go down, this board will be gone within a couple of months
Click to expand...
I disagree but even if we lose a few people, is that really a Bad Thing? To me that says we just got rid of the people who babble a lot. I'd rather have the few that post intelligently than the lot that doesn't.
 
A

arhar

Guest
Originally posted by DÛke
...I don't think so!

I know I will get many great negative reactions from this, but I don't care. Truth must be said, fair, and square. I don't know how much you people love the Off-Topic forum, but its confrontation time!

Why does the Off-Topic forum exist? Exactly to write what? "Off- topic" stuff? Why should a Magic sight have an Off-Topic forum? I don't understand; am I missing something? This CPA is for Magic: the Gathering, and that's what we're here for. Shouldn't we be somewhere else if want to talk about stuff like music, movies, TV shows, and all that non-Magic subjects? Why does it have to be here at the CPA?

Believe it or not, the Off-Topic forum does plenty for this sight, a negative plenty that is. It is not only encouraging spam, but also distracting the players from Magic. The Off-Topic is always the top forum; the forum that gets the most reaction and the most new threads, exactly why? A Magic sight should be about Magic; it doesn't need an excuse called the "Off-Topic" forum for those who don't have much to say. Those who spam, should be banned, not "rewarded" with their own "please keep on spamming" forum.

Whoever knew of a place that gives its audience what they please, no matter how terrible it is? I didn't know of any, until I collided with the CPA.

It goes for the Battle Arena. I don't see what's the big deal about it. In some ways, it's even much worse than the Off-Topic forum. Other than specially selected trivia and some of the Magic-related battles, I don't see why it is allowed to "battle", increasing your post count, distracting you from Magic, which, just like the Off-Topic area, has taken away your "Magic" time. Instead of writing that could help someone in the deck section, I'll just "battle", or talk about The Matrix in the Off-topic area! How would that be?

Disagree all you want, but the reason we don't have great articles, and the reason we have spam, is actually because of the Off-Topic area, which eventually teaches people to go off-topic in many threads, even in those not in the off-topical region.

Don't tell me how I'm "contradicting" my own acts. I already said DÛke will change, and time will prove it. Now, do you want to argue with this blindless truth, or would you like to contradict yourselves?
Click to expand...

1) I can't believe this is coming from Duke

2) I definetely agree.

3) I can't believe Duke has said something relevant. Maybe he will change? ;)
 
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