If I might be so bold I'd like to sum up what Ive been reading and hearing
The running away with in a walk majority of people's
[opinion who have responded to the poll think that HELO isn't working as intended
Of said people they can be broken into three camps
1) The vast majority want a ranking system that
works
a) some have drank the kool aid and are ready to see it implemented they have faith that it
works
b) some have a glass full ready but want to know the flavor and they hope it
works
2) A minority of rather passionate people don't want any ranking system
a) since they are basically sick of this @#(! since they never seen one that
works
b) they just don't have a want for one no matter if it
works
3) A smattering of people want to keep the present system
a) They believe it can be made to
work
b) That it does
work
The operative word here is work of course.
We went into this endeavour with far more people then we ended up, and others were working on it before I helped pick it back up. I'd name names and give props but well I'm afraid to do this until they have a chance to evaluate things they may not want to be associated with any longer.
The expressed goal from the moment I became involved was to NOT pick anything without evaluating the systems. Initial reaction was that it was sound idea and we would knock that out in a month or two. Ooooops. It was tough going, people left and sometimes in a huff when we didn't do it their way, etc etc but honestly very little lasting damage was done to anyone involved and for the ovewhelming part it went well but occasionally there were the fun filled moments where you just K-N-O-W you've got the right answer and why won't these friggin chimps listen to me /blush.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
" border="0" alt="blush.gif" /> . It can and did effect us all but honestly I regard as some of the most fun Ive had doing some intellectual work that I'm not getting paid for in a long time.
In the past I've waffled all over the place from "no answer is better then the wrong one" to "give me some kind of measuring stick". I understand full well other's views. I'm under no delusions that today's hero is tomorrow's goat and the only defense is that we were as rigourous as we could be before bringing it to the community. Do sound research, talk with experts, pool talent, check your assumptions, build a robust application, check your model, check it against other systems.
Now that the cat is out of the bag there are other checks: check to make sure you've got a bullet proof explaination, check your enthusiasm so you don't run roughshod over others, check your temper as others will surely disagree and vehemently even before they've seen anything, and most importantly check your $#@!ing ego. Tbt I'm not really enjoying this bit right now, nor am I seeking any glory ( see the hero and goat comment ), and honestly I'd have rather just floated under the radar while this all happened. I'm stepping up now out of respect for the many who have been involved like Terra for a very long time but in particular the Mad Professor Sgt_Baker who is a right fine fellow indeed. I undertook this effort to hopefully make a welcome, positive impact on a game Ive played for years and also as a thank you to everyone, from Solap to my newest favorite rookie Olivedrab, who have made me feel so connected to this game.
OK that said the last $#@!ing thing I want is to make things worse since it's going to effect me profoundly so stop being a bunch of over opinionated, over dramatic, overly suspcious weenies and let us present the $#@!ing evidence before you kick down our sand castle
Thanks
David
If this doesn't get implemented I won't die over it.
^^^^
was I've
Swirly Thing Alert 
" border="0" alt="blush.gif" /> . It can and did effect us all but honestly I regard as some of the most fun Ive had doing some intellectual work that I'm not getting paid for in a long time.
