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Sorry about the lengthy nature of the next post on submitting a Chess Variant. Some of you, who I have emailed these instructions to, have already found them useful. If you are not about to post a chess variant you will probably just find the post cluttering up your screen. If I could have posted this and just had one line appear on the comments page I would have done that. Sorry once again.
I have now completed the file for the second update and am eager to send it for posting. Where should I post it, and should I send the Honeycomb one as well? Will sending them in a zip file help?
Talking about things that editors do, a year ago I sent an update to Honeycomb Chess, an old-style page, and it has yet to be posted. Is the address on the 'contact us' page out of date, or is there some way that non-editors can update their own old-style pages, or is it just that updating these pages is low on editors' priorities and it's better to send to a particular editor? I am planning to send an update to another page soon, and want to get that one to the right address too.
Hey, Fergus. A specific issue, of Charles' piece lists for example, was not the sole inspiration for the editorial, but rather an attitude I sense on occasion, and which has started to crop up again in various comments. I wanted to warn everyone before I felt obligated to act. This generally saves a lot of trouble in the medium and long run. As for the categorizing of submissions, well, the site might want to update a little. It wouldn't hurt. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to tackle it, though. Grin, my track record indicates I'm too easy.
Joe, the main issue here does not concern posting games. It is about posting pages that are more prescriptive than they are descriptive. This site is about providing people with information. It should not be about prescribing what names people should call pieces. If this is the personal interest of a contributor, and we post his pages, there needs to be a clear disclaimer that we, as a site, are not prescribing anything.
Every so often, we get discussions about what should, or more accurately, should not be allowed on these pages. As the person primarily responsible for what got posted and what got censored for the past 2-3 years, I am the one to whom you should direct your complaints [or compliments, although I know better ;-)] about what shows up here. My policies are few and simple. I push politeness and abstract strategy games. I oppose censorship. Simple ideals to state. Implementation is a bit more difficult; reality is far messier than the printed page. In practice, this means I will post anything that approaches chess and is written to a minimum standard. I will also delete comments that I feel have overstepped the boundaries of this site. This is a 'G' rated site - one for general audiences, including children. A certain level of civility needs to be maintained. To this end, I ask that all comments address the post and not the poster. Don't get personal. It only detracts from what you may be trying to say, and it will provoke a response if not curtailed. Having discussed censoring people's comments, let's move to censoring a page, whether a game, piece, or information page. It has been suggested that an editor might be more discriminating in choosing what to post or reject. The great bulk of what I've rejected has been poorly-written game pages. Consider some of what's made it onto the site; now imagine how bad something has to be to get rejected. People, you can do better. Rarely, I get an exact duplicate of a game I know is already posted. These people are always disappointed that their great idea is already online. I do, however, require something new and legible. Understandable - sometimes that's a judgment call. Worthwhile - that's always a judgment call. So why don't I make those calls? On what basis should I make them? There's either personal taste or some general principles. Personal taste? I started by designing 4D variants, then ran shatranj all the way out to 'Next Chess'. Recently I started a free-for-all with a game that uses leadership rules to structure multimove variants. Based on my designs, I'm prejudiced against boards smaller than 10x10, pieces that don't capture by replacement, en passant, castling, and any piece that moves more than 4 squares. You sure you want my tastes? That leaves general principles. What principles do I adopt that exclude games, pieces, or information pages? The same problems as above apply, although we reach them by a somewhat different direction. How do I exclude people? Well, to be fair, what's the purpose of the site? To celebrate chess and chess variants, and make them available to everyone. To me, this means the site is 'G' rated, and anything that approaches chess and is coherently put together should be made available. It's not like we don't have the room. I encourage creativity. Who knows what a person's next game will be like? 'So why don't I make those calls?' I do. You may not agree with the results. I encourage you to comment, civilly, on any page you like or dislike. That's why we have a rating system. People can learn from good feedback. People can't learn anything if the idea never sees the light of day. No one person can speak for everyone, I believe in allowing people to speak [politely] for themselves.
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