Subscribing to the judge list is easy....just take and pass the judge test and then send in your paperwork and have
dcijudge@wizards.com subscribe you. But you can only subscribe if you're a judge. If you go to the Sideboard judges site, you can see the archives of the judge list, so you can see all the rants.
Apparenly, as happens every once in a while (about once a year, I'd guess), there is a general stirring that people are upset with the game of magic and they are quitting for whatever self-righteous reason they give.
Okay, I'm being a bit critical here, but the point is that people quit quite frequently without making a big to do about it, so when a to do is made, it's typically because someone voices a rant. The next thing you know, several other people are on the bandwagon.
Most recently, one of the judges voiced frustration with the judging program in general. He asked James Lee to post a treatise on what are good reasons vs. bad reasons to become a judge. Okay, I'm not sure if that's what he meant, but the point is that he asked James Lee to respond stating why he (James) felt judges should have motivation to judge.
Bottom line is that if you look for compensation, it's not there, so there has to be more and many judges feel like that is a load of crap, so they leave.
Not wanting that to be the only reason, this particular judge sited Madness and how he thought it was ruining Magic (I'm paraphrasing here) because it should have only been a blue mechanic and not in all colors.
More judges jumped up and shouted that Madness was too complicated because it allowed stupid complications like Circular Logic and Worldgorger Dragon, which is ironic because the Dragon has nothing to do with Madness, but the madness that ensues when 2 or more enter play at the same time is far from simple (figure it out if you dare).
So, are judges leaving because of Madness? Some claim that madness is too complicated and players are quitting, leaving them with no one left to judge.
Madness, as a rule, is complicated. Madness, as a concept, is not. We've all heard stories about some wierd, obscure card interaction where some player says, "...that's stupid. If that's really how it is, I'm just going to quit..." Usually when they lose a game because they didn't know the wierd interaction. It almost never causes this reaction unless the game is on the line.
If they want to leave the game for this reason, I don't think I can stop them. However, usually, it is something larger. If they really enjoyed the game, they wouldn't quit for one incident. There is a larger issue and Madness is perhaps the proverbial straw...
