General Sports Roleplaying Questions (OOC)

[Nephara]

Would-be internet detectives on #nssport tend to be kicked out of it swiftly. It's pretty self-monitoring.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

If you're that privacy-concerned that you don't want your IP showing, use a free VPN like TunnelBear. TunnelBear in particular doesn't store any data on users, making it pretty much impossible for anyone to trace it back to you, though I wouldn't advise using it to send a bomb threat over IRC or anything like that. Unlike TOR, it does not have viruses or anything like that. I use it occasionally to access geoblocked content and I've never had issues. And as a note to any mods who might be viewing this, it's completely legal and blocks illegal file sharing ports, so I'm not violating any forum rules by posting this.

[Commerce Heights]

I’ve been on #nssport and its predecessors for eleven years and to my knowledge, no user has ever been harmed in any way as a result of disclosing their IP address. But services such as IRCCloud exist which can be used to connect without disclosing your own IP address.

I’m also not sure how having all of your idle chatter immortalized on a searchable public forum would be less revealing than a transient IRC connection.

[Vaugania]

In my opinion, the primary benefit of a chat thread is that it would provide an alternative to #nssport. I don't understand the sudden concern for a chat thread "dividing" NS Sports when we are already divided in many ways (newbies versus veterans, AO versus Rushmore versus Esportiva versus the rest, WC participants versus non-WC participants, #nssport regulars versus everybody else, etc.).

An alternative to #nssport is particularly important, when we consider that #nssport is hosted on EsperNet, an IRC server that refuses to allow IP hiding (therefore, requiring every user's IP address to be revealed publicly). Therefore, I don't see why the existence of #nssport is of any relevance here, to what is basically a moderation discussion. Isn't publicly revealing another user's IP address in violation of site rules? If so, why would the mod team, as a whole, want to tacitly endorse the use of an off-site chat room that publicly reveal the IP addresses of NS users when it is possible to relocate the functionality of said privacy-invading chat room onto the forums?

I don't think that a lot of those divides are actually things that prevent certain groups from associating with one another. As far as the regions, there is of course some friendly competition, but for the most part, we all get along quite swimmingly. And you will see a newbie/veteran divide anywhere. If the new people stick around and show that they have something to offer, then they are often welcomed with open arms. Also, I don't see much of a divide between #nssport regulars and everyone else. I'm certainly not a regular on #nssport, but I don't think that that has had any sort of impact on my interactions with those who do regularly use the channel.

I think the concern here is that those who frequent the chat thread could be seen as spammy or even juvenile. As CH said:

I don’t think anything good would come of a thread which is explicitly designed to cultivate posts that would be considered spam anywhere else in the forum.

.

[Starblaydia]

I'm not going to sticky an individual event discussion thread, regardless of the scale of the event.

Why, then, is the World Cup announcements thread stickied?

I asked for it, and the mods evidently agreed with whatever reasons I had for asking for it at the time.

[Commerce Heights]

Why, then, is the World Cup announcements thread stickied?

A fair question that I've often wondered about myself. I could pedantically point out that it's an announcement thread rather than a discussion thread, but that still doesn't get around the fact that we have an event-specific sticky.

The true answer is "I don't know".

That’s a fair answer.

I think it happened before I became a mod, and inertia means that I've never done anything about it.

Then I’ll ask that you do something about it.

[Eura]

I’ve been on #nssport and its predecessors for eleven years and to my knowledge, no user has ever been harmed in any way as a result of disclosing their IP address. But services such as IRCCloud exist which can be used to connect without disclosing your own IP address.

I’m also not sure how having all of your idle chatter immortalized on a searchable public forum would be less revealing than a transient IRC connection.

Yes, I'm not sure why everyone fears being doxxed by nssport all of a sudden. What are we going to, mail you threats about not putting your player in a domestic scorination review?

Anyway, I'm in favour of this. I need a place for the lesser mortals grumblings to gather while I grace the WCDT with my obviously unmatched expertise and grace. Though, in all seriousness, if its going to be like an NS Sport TET then maybe it isn't the best idea.

[New Drakonika (Ancient)]

Anyway, I'm in favour of this. I need a place for the lesser mortals grumblings to gather while I grace the WCDT with my obviously unmatched expertise and grace. Though, in all seriousness, if its going to be like an NS Sport TET then maybe it isn't the best idea.

NS Sports TET is a scary thought, and if it does happen, I'll probably be out of here at the drop of a hat.

[Yttribia]

Anyway, I'm in favour of this. I need a place for the lesser mortals grumblings to gather while I grace the WCDT with my obviously unmatched expertise and grace. Though, in all seriousness, if its going to be like an NS Sport TET then maybe it isn't the best idea.

NS Sports TET is a scary thought, and if it does happen, I'll probably be out of here at the drop of a hat.

Sure, I'm against the idea of an NS Sport TET, but would you really want to leave the game because of a single thread? You could, hypothetically, avoid it, if you choose not to get involved with the hypothetical thread.

Besides, we already have #nssport, and even if you still are worried (you shouldn't, mind you, for the reasons stated by previous users), there always is IRCcloud, which masks your IP address.

[Starblaydia]

An NS Sports 'Chat' TET will:

• Take some useful discussions about the WC away from the WCDT.
• Be a place of scum and villainy, etc. where "noobs" continue to stay as noobs, rather than grow up and become "users" like the rest of us.
• Be a post-count/last-post increasing game for those that care about such things (see above).
• Probably require more policing than the threads we currently have.

So, in essence: please don't.

[Buyan]

I have a vague idea about a character roleplay, but I haven't got a clue whether it would

a - work
b - belong here in 'NS Sports' or in 'Nationstates'

The main idea would be that the RP is located in a sports betting pub in an unnamed city in an unnamed nation. In said pub, all can enter a character (of their nationality or not) who would be able to converse about what happens ICly in NS Sports as an IC sports fan. As the bookmaker, during interesting stages of tournaments, I set up 'bet options' - of course all with fake money - that could be placed and can be a base for RPing. Any pointers?

[San Jose Guayabal]

I have a vague idea about a character roleplay, but I haven't got a clue whether it would

a - work
b - belong here in 'NS Sports' or in 'Nationstates'

The main idea would be that the RP is located in a sports betting pub in an unnamed city in an unnamed nation. In said pub, all can enter a character (of their nationality or not) who would be able to converse about what happens ICly in NS Sports as an IC sports fan. As the bookmaker, during interesting stages of tournaments, I set up 'bet options' - of course all with fake money - that could be placed and can be a base for RPing. Any pointers?

I second that motion

[Apox]

I have a vague idea about a character roleplay, but I haven't got a clue whether it would

a - work
b - belong here in 'NS Sports' or in 'Nationstates'

The main idea would be that the RP is located in a sports betting pub in an unnamed city in an unnamed nation. In said pub, all can enter a character (of their nationality or not) who would be able to converse about what happens ICly in NS Sports as an IC sports fan. As the bookmaker, during interesting stages of tournaments, I set up 'bet options' - of course all with fake money - that could be placed and can be a base for RPing. Any pointers?

I see no reason why it couldn't work. Would this be based on a specific tournament? Or just NS Sports in general? If it was for a specific tourney then it could definitely go in this forum in the IC thread. If it was in general, well that would be more complex as to whether it would go here or in "Nationstates"

[Neu Engollon]

I have a vague idea about a character roleplay, but I haven't got a clue whether it would

a - work
b - belong here in 'NS Sports' or in 'Nationstates'

The main idea would be that the RP is located in a sports betting pub in an unnamed city in an unnamed nation. In said pub, all can enter a character (of their nationality or not) who would be able to converse about what happens ICly in NS Sports as an IC sports fan. As the bookmaker, during interesting stages of tournaments, I set up 'bet options' - of course all with fake money - that could be placed and can be a base for RPing. Any pointers?

I like it. I like it a lot and its very original. I do my annual beer festival thing which is also a crossover type thread that combines elements of NS Sports, Nationstates and GE&T, and after much inquiry to mods and mentors, found out that I really had my pick of which forum to put it in. I went with Nationstates because of the heavy character base.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

Apparently there's an NS Sport reddit, but it's set to private. Perhaps it should be unprivatized if peoples are going to use it? https://www.reddit.com/r/nssport

[Dragomerian Islands]

How do I get someone interested in my sports league, The Dragon's League?

Link to thread is for reference.

[Osarius]

How do I get someone interested in my sports league, The Dragon's League?

Link to thread is for reference.

Well, the IC information is good, and I admire your enthusiasm, but I can see a few things that will limit interest among regulars here:
1. You haven't specified how you'll be scoring (or "scorinating" as we say around these parts) these events. That's a big one here. Regulars will want to know how you'll be doing that, and...
2. How will RP affect results?
3. There's also no schedule information, or anything like that. Like... how often will you post results, for example?

Other than that, it's likely a reputation thing. This looks like a pretty ambitious project for a relative newcomer to NS sports, so a lot of regulars will be thinking "will this guy stick around?", "can we trust him?" and so on. So normally, you'll get the recommendation that you start small and work your way up to a bigger, more ambitious event like this.

If you can give information on how you intend to scorinate this (incidentally, there are established scorinators available suitable for all of those events) and how frequently etc etc, you might have a better shot at getting sign ups.

Good luck!

[Dragomerian Islands]

How do I get someone interested in my sports league, The Dragon's League?

Link to thread is for reference.

Well, the IC information is good, and I admire your enthusiasm, but I can see a few things that will limit interest among regulars here:
1. You haven't specified how you'll be scoring (or "scorinating" as we say around these parts) these events. That's a big one here. Regulars will want to know how you'll be doing that, and...
2. How will RP affect results?
3. There's also no schedule information, or anything like that. Like... how often will you post results, for example?

Other than that, it's likely a reputation thing. This looks like a pretty ambitious project for a relative newcomer to NS sports, so a lot of regulars will be thinking "will this guy stick around?", "can we trust him?" and so on. So normally, you'll get the recommendation that you start small and work your way up to a bigger, more ambitious event like this.

If you can give information on how you intend to scorinate this (incidentally, there are established scorinators available suitable for all of those events) and how frequently etc etc, you might have a better shot at getting sign ups.

Good luck!

1. I am actually working on a scoring formula that could be used.
2. Well, it would give the general outcome, but everything else can be RPed.
3. Well, once the sporting events are started, it would be updated almost daily or whenever applicable.

I will be sticking around. When I start something, I always finish it.

SCORING: I shall be using a long formula that will decide the score based on prior experience in sports, their current win-loss ratio and other factors, including the RPed athletes themselves. Once a formula is finished, I will post it. (I am not one to trust pre-made scorinators)

[Nephara]

SCORING: I shall be using a long formula that will decide the score based on prior experience in sports, their current win-loss ratio and other factors, including the RPed athletes themselves. Once a formula is finished, I will post it. (I am not one to trust pre-made scorinators)

While there's nothing wrong with making something new, people are going to trust the scorinators that have been working for the forum for literal real-life years, made by trusted veterans of the site, more than any new formula. For precedent, you can look at the resistance to one of the recent World Cups - changes were made to the formula that worked out on paper, but there were a lot of strange or random results and we've not returned to the changed formula since (rightly or wrongly, I couldn't say).

[Dragomerian Islands]

While there's nothing wrong with making something new, people are going to trust the scorinators that have been working for the forum for literal real-life years, made by trusted veterans of the site, more than any new formula. For precedent, you can look at the resistance to one of the recent World Cups - changes were made to the formula that worked out on paper, but there were a lot of strange or random results and we've not returned to the changed formula since (rightly or wrongly, I couldn't say).

Ok, it is just that a lot of the operations of a scorinator is a randomizing function that can come up with, shall I say, shitty unrealistic results.

My formula would rely on a strict and unchanging series of variables that would be determined by the experience of the RPed players, the win-loss ratio of the team, the experience of he team, ect. This formula would rely only on hard numbers instead of randomized numbers. I would also allow it to allow the RPers decide who wins if the formula shows their results as being within a curtain window of each other.

[Osarius]

This formula would rely only on hard numbers instead of randomized numbers. I would also allow it to allow the RPers decide who wins if the formula shows their results as being within a curtain window of each other.

While this can work, it will likely meet with resistance here.
One of the key things in NS Sports is that randomness plays a part in results as well as RP and the rank/skill/ability of the competitors.
If the best RPer always won (which is effectively what will happen if there is no random component) then it's not as compelling, and may as well just be a writing competition.

What are your problems with the existing scorinators, exactly? I personally don't have any issues with them, but if you do, it might be possible to tweak the way you use them (style modifiers, ranks etc) to get more desirable results.

Or, what do you have so far for your formula? People are more likely to accept it if they can inspect and critique it, see where potential flaws are etc etc.

[Dragomerian Islands]

This formula would rely only on hard numbers instead of randomized numbers. I would also allow it to allow the RPers decide who wins if the formula shows their results as being within a curtain window of each other.

While this can work, it will likely meet with resistance here.
One of the key things in NS Sports is that randomness plays a part in results as well as RP and the rank/skill/ability of the competitors.
If the best RPer always won (which is effectively what will happen if there is no random component) then it's not as compelling, and may as well just be a writing competition.

What are your problems with the existing scorinators, exactly? I personally don't have any issues with them, but if you do, it might be possible to tweak the way you use them (style modifiers, ranks etc) to get more desirable results.

Or, what do you have so far for your formula? People are more likely to accept it if they can inspect and critique it, see where potential flaws are etc etc.

Well, that is why there would be statistics used, not RP writing ability.

Also, my issue would be something like:
Team A has a very high win to loss ratio and has not lost a game for 20 games strait. Suddenly, a new team this year called Team B has a high loss-win ratio and after the scorinator is used Team B somehow wins.

I will publish the formula once it is finished, so that it can be critiqued.

[Osarius]

Also, my issue would be something like:
Team A has a very high win to loss ratio and has not lost a game for 20 games strait. Suddenly, a new team this year called Team B has a high loss-win ratio and after the scorinator is used Team B somehow wins.

But that happens in real life. The best team doesn't always win. I don't see the problem.

[Nephara]

While this can work, it will likely meet with resistance here.
One of the key things in NS Sports is that randomness plays a part in results as well as RP and the rank/skill/ability of the competitors.
If the best RPer always won (which is effectively what will happen if there is no random component) then it's not as compelling, and may as well just be a writing competition.

What are your problems with the existing scorinators, exactly? I personally don't have any issues with them, but if you do, it might be possible to tweak the way you use them (style modifiers, ranks etc) to get more desirable results.

Or, what do you have so far for your formula? People are more likely to accept it if they can inspect and critique it, see where potential flaws are etc etc.

Well, that is why there would be statistics used, not RP writing ability.

Also, my issue would be something like:
Team A has a very high win to loss ratio and has not lost a game for 20 games strait. Suddenly, a new team this year called Team B has a high loss-win ratio and after the scorinator is used Team B somehow wins.

But that happens in real life? Reducing randomness is one thing, but eliminating it entirely rather destroys the point. Upsets happen, and they're compelling.

[Dragomerian Islands]

Well, that is why there would be statistics used, not RP writing ability.

Also, my issue would be something like:
Team A has a very high win to loss ratio and has not lost a game for 20 games strait. Suddenly, a new team this year called Team B has a high loss-win ratio and after the scorinator is used Team B somehow wins.

But that happens in real life? Reducing randomness is one thing, but eliminating it entirely rather destroys the point. Upsets happen, and they're compelling.

And that is why I also use a Error factor, so that if the teams are within a curtain error margin, the underdog could actually win.