If <Tab> or <Stone> are serious about leaving the site, let them state so clearly.>

Were be it that that same standard applied to User: bobcrisp (where is that guy when you don't need him?!).

* * * * *

<What I liked about <PB> was that he never complained about the imminent demise of the site,>

Clearly, you weren't paying attention. He did, just not as vociferously as some. But he apparently knew the end was coming(*), and that it was too late for him to do much beyond accept the state of affairs as they are.

(*) At the time, I thought just <CG>'s, to tell the truth.

* * * * *

<For all the (in)valuable efforts for which [<stone>] and <Tab> are regularly praised, they have an alarming tendency to act like spoilt children. If you volunteer for a task, do it professionally or not at all.>

I take these laments and tears are mostly an implicit recognition of just how valuable and essential <Stone> and <Tab> were.

But neither volunteered for anything they didn't deliver on, as far as I'm concerned.

Sure, you've essentially signed up for a long-term daily commitment to <CG> by taking on the daily-pun. But show me where <Tab> or <Stone> committed to something they didn't deliver on.

To be specific - let's take this:

FIDE Candidates (2022)

I'm glad to see somebody has updated it to R11. But was this <stone>'s job? - No. He did it because <CG>'s treatment was, well, just plain spotty (or, more accurately, soddy).

Time after time under the current regime, <CG> is way behind, and in a pure reactive mode. Unacceptable to us all, but especially to its paying customers.

Besides, why should <Stone>, or <Tab>, be responsible for the running of the site's daily functions? They're biographers mostly - doing the slow-cooking work behind the scenes - not the display window of the site.

Where are <Susan>, <Cassio>, <steven>, or even <beatgiant> or even <Missy!> herself?

The Candidates are essential, certainly more than a daily pun. How many years are we into the new "ownership" by now?

Yet the very basics are still just getting screwed up.

* * * * *

Oh, and I forgot to add the following to my list from the other day:

• Chessbookie.

I never used it, but I know it had a goodly number of fans.

.

I agree. Though it's a sad realization.

* * * * *

A few more items that <CG> is no longer regularly attending (minor though some may be):

• <Chess Bookie>.
• <Opening Explorer> updates
• <Zipfile> versions of db games.
• <Edward Winter> auto-links.
• Various help pages - including FAQ.

* * * * *

Aside - despite the name, this is an homage account, and it has no direct affiliation with <Stonehenge> whatsoever.

Z readers should know that I don't represent him, or speak for him in anyway.

Nor do I know his plans, though I can read the writing on the wall:

User: stonehenge

https://web.archive.org/web/2012031...

<fake z>

Nice one!

I had the pleasure of meeting <The Albertan> shortly after he joined. I can affirm that he never once made a post that was not a link to a chess news story.

Personally, I think he has been working too hard. I am very grateful for his contributions.

If he was getting burnt out, he should be free to take some time off. He is never fired. We love him.

On another note.....to all of you who miss Sargon so much, he was, in my opinion and the court of law, an arrogant ,worthless, stealing ,lying employee,
who now has a federal court injunction against him, a permanent injunction.

and he humiliated CG internationally in his pipe dream ( literally) of taking over the site.

Even Daniel did not trust him.

And Z...whilst you have valid criticisms, and I appreciate them all, I cannot help but feeling a nihilistic negativity that is far from benign.

We are hiring a new techie, Pete.

Also, we concurred that the posting guidelines will remain as always, but in Rogoff there will be none enforced.

LOL Thank you.

His homepage send-off indicates he’s fed up with management: <CG is dead until it gets bought by a third party.>

<to all of you who miss Sargon so much, he was, in my opinion and the court of law, an arrogant ,worthless, stealing ,lying employee,
who now has a federal court injunction against him, a permanent injunction. and he humiliated CG internationally in his pipe dream ( literally) of taking over the site. Even Daniel did not trust him.>

TMI. We get it; <hewhoisnottobenamed> sucked.

<Steve…bereavement> <…new techie, Pete.>

Keep staff stuff discreet. You told us to respect Steve's personal tragedy. As for Pete, introduce him after he's proved his worth.

<we concurred that the posting guidelines will remain as always, but in Rogoff there will be none enforced.>

Open season at Rogoff. Nothing that the ignore feature can’t handle.

However, and I mentioned this recently; esp. if it’s to be a free for all, I agree with Daniel’s solution: keep it from appearing in the <Recent Kibitzing> list. That shields new CG registrants from the shock.

*There are kids checking the site out. They don’t need to see that garbage.*

<I am open to opinions. :)>

Straight up: manage this site more professionally. I know that’s brutal, but I have a lot of experience in this area. Stop airing drama. Post simple, concise explanations for recent goings-on. Stay above the fray. Explain how/when/&why things will improve. Tell us why there are no live games, and what the plan is for bringing them back; why tournaments don't get updated in a timely manner; on and on etc. Fix things. Make this place better.

You will find a lot of patience in your community if you consistently communicate what's happening and there are visible signs of progress.

This is in an effort to not pollute the entire site, especially on tournaments pages and so forth. I am open to opinions. :)>

That seems fair enough. The main problem that keeps happening over and over again, is the moderators abusing their privileges, banning people along political lines and stifling free speech. Therefore, I think the guidelines should be like the Constitution. The Constitution limits the government, not the people, and I think the guidelines should limit the moderators, not the posters - since admin abuse is the recurring problem.

By the way, <Susan>, <George Wallace> is suspended for 168 hours for not being politically correct. He's like a political prisoner in a Cuban jail cell. Why is he still banned?

(He asked me to ask you...)

Regarding the website - I think the main thing is you need competent techies who can handle website speed, recovering from a hack, troubleshooting bugs much more quickly and so on. If you keep hiring people, eventually you will find the right person, and get better at hiring them too.

Other than that, I think the website is pretty much better than ever. It's on an upward trajectory and everyone should be positive about it. Don't listen to <Jessica Tunafish Queen> because, although she is a true believer and has good intentions, and contributes tremendously to this site, she is a negative thinker and tends to magnify little problems into what she thinks are big problems.

Here's another idea. Maybe instead of all the complainers coming to this page to complain, you should have a support ticket kind of system. If someone has a recommendation or there is a bug, then fill out the support ticket. Then you don't need to have all the complainers, like <Zanzibar>, poo-pooing the site with all kinds of nasty, negative comments, and you don't need to deal with all the butthurt.

I'll tell you what - if this was my site, I'd kill this page like yesterday. No way would I allow all the nattering nabobs of negativism to create the impression that this site is terrible, going downhill, and all of that. No way.

Shades of <AJ>! They exchange emails regularly :D

<Susan> See that negativity from <BP>? In one post he lambasts <jessicafischerqueen>, <saffuna>, and <Zanzibar>.

That is not the user to listen to or give control to.

Don't be a sucker.

He's been fantasizing about making this "mistake" for a long time.

<stonehenge: Just yesterday I was fantasizing about merging Rogoff with NN and thus hopefully deleting all the kibitzing :)>

Biographer Bistro (kibitz #21954)

And the reason he's hiding isn't because he deleted the Rogoff. It's because he got caught abusing his admin privileges, when he banned <GW> for 168 hours for not being PC. That's why he's hiding.

If he did that, using NN, then it would look obvious, so he devised a way to make it look more plausibly deniable - he "mistyped" Rogoff as Rogof - oh shucks, well, it was just a mistake!

Funny how it happened to the Rogoff page.
Funny how he knew this would delete the kibitzes. Funny how he fantasized about it last year.

He encourages you to start a lawsuit. Just what CG needs, eh? No.

That's impossible.

I'm the diversity this site needs.

If he did that, using NN, then it would look obvious, so he devised a way to make it look more plausibly deniable - he "mistyped" Rogoff as Rogof - oh shucks, well, it was just a mistake!>