As good as this website is...as the saying goes: "You're only as strong as your weakest link"
The forums are the weakest link, and it doesn't matter what new "innovations", puzzles, ideas, etc. you implement. If the forums are allowed to stay the way they are, it makes the entire site look bad.
Hi Ron, thanks for the post about where stuff is ending up now.
Unfortunately, I, like many others, avoid Facebook like the bad virus it is so Carl's and Mike's posts/pics go unappreciated by some of us.
That being said, I understand and agree that this is what it has come to for this sub-forum. I have learned so much and have my own little mini collection because of the sub-forum. It is truly regrettable that chess.com does not deal with it better.
Hi Ron, thanks for the post about where stuff is ending up now.
Unfortunately, I, like many others, avoid Facebook like the bad virus it is so Carl's and Mike's posts/pics go unappreciated by some of us.
That being said, I understand and agree that this is what it has come to for this sub-forum. I have learned so much and have my own little mini collection because of the sub-forum. It is truly regrettable that chess.com does not deal with it better.
I have to agree with you regarding fb. But since i have grown daughters, and grandchildren. fb does serve a positive purpose.
Shame...I really like pics and discussions from members here but I can see why some might be put off by the antics of the few.
What are other chess-related forums that are active?
Personally,I have to give a huge thumbs up to Goodnight Mike,as he was the first to demonstrate how nice it is to have a carefully chosen chess set collection.Many other posters,who are complimentary and supportive of those who chose sets that they simply like! These are the people I admire and respect.
To knock something someone has spent money on(regardless of aesthetic accuracy) is flat out rude....but....I get a kick out of some of the dumb/thoughtless statements a particular poster had made.
Entertainment value....That's all,imo.
Don’t post here much anymore but I have to admit that Stauntonmaster/Chessopera comments are painful to read. He seems to like making pontifications about everything (many of which are wrong) but refuses to engage with anyone. His failure to post any pictures of the sets he claims to own makes me think maybe doesn’t own any (which by the way is no problem). I only own a few Chavet/Lardy sets but love to see others favourites, even, if I personally don’t care for them. Still there may be other issues at play so I don’t want to be too harsh.
Btw,as a curiosity only.......How can one be so sure the accused offensive poster is actually Stauntonmaster?
Btw,as a curiosity only.......How can one be so sure the accused offensive poster is actually Stauntonmaster?
I don't think we can be, but they certainly sound like a somewhat less manic version of stationmaster.
Btw,as a curiosity only.......How can one be so sure the accused offensive poster is actually Stauntonmaster?
Wiscmike has some kind of moderator capabilities and he can see the IP address of a poster. He told me this is the same in 3 identities where the first 2 were banned.
Also there are many things the same of all the posting styles.
The unfettered trolling drove me away. The group Mike and I run now has 6,000 members, the largest chess equipment group on Facebook, aside from vendors who have purchased bundles of members. We don't allow trolling or trolls. Lots of people exhibit lots of sets, and afford each other lots of respect. Not long ago we were running special weeks where people posted sets and clocks from particular areas. Latin American Week, Spanish Week, Soviet Week, and so on. It was really great. I'll post here on occasion, but the trolling here keeps popping up like Banquo's Ghost, and I have no use for it. It's an embarrassment.
The unfettered trolling drove me away. The group Mike and I run now has 6,000 members, the largest chess equipment group on Facebook, aside from vendors who have purchased bundles of members. We don't allow trolling or trolls. Lots of people exhibit lots of sets, and afford each other lots of respect. Not long ago we were running special weeks where people posted sets and clocks from particular areas. Latin American Week, Spanish Week, Soviet Week, and so on. It was really great. I'll post here on occasion, but the trolling here keeps popping up like Banquo's Ghost, and I have no use for it. It's an embarrassment.
Could you PM me the name of the fb group?
I'm glad to hear the group on Facebook has so many participants. That's terrific Cgrau.
I'm sad to miss out on it, but I refuse to use Facebook for a number of reasons. Would you ever consider a different platform?
Here's my idea....
WHAT IF we made a website for chess collectors. On this site would be a forum like Chess Books & Equipment, but with sub forums in that category. Some ideas:
etc. etc. etc.
But in addition, and perhaps most importantly, there could be a Classifieds section of the forum. I've seen this work really nicely with bicycles (another hobby of mine). There's a great forum called Paceline and another, Velocipede salon. Lively discussion, photos, and classifieds all in one place.
Or is going up against Facebook just a lost cause?
Since last year at about this time, I have witnessed a serious decline in both the number and quality of topics and photos in this forum.
It was not a coincidence that at this time Stauntonmaster, now known as Chessopera had been on here for about 1 month and was racking this forum with his extremely negative writings about Chess equipment and companies and people.
It was so bad that a good number of regular posters here either left completely or seriously reduced their participation on this forum.
A couple of fellows started a group on Facebook that still exists for Chess set Collectors and aficionados
One poster, Carl that owns Official Staunton, quit in disgust because the miscreant, Stauntonmaster/Chessopera, was making very negative statements, that were completely false by the way, about both the company and about Carl himself. He also has never put even one single picture of any Chess equipment even though he has raked and abused us all with many claims that are outrageously false and contrived. When we point out how wrong what he writes is, he claims we are trolls and agents for the companies. Once again, over 95% of what he writes is blatantly false and harmful to people.
There really is no need for anyone to personally attack anyone else on this forum.
I first came to this forum in November of 2014. The discussion was very vital and robust with a lot of pictures showing Chess pieces, boards and clocks.
Today, thanks to this Chessopera, we see nothing to extremely little of this. The guy is back as Chessopera continuing his statements and attacks on Chess pieces, companies and people. He was banned in the first 2 or 3 months of 2018. I have filed 2 complaints to the administration pointing out that since he has been banned 2 times already, they should ban him again. Chess.com has nothing to lose by banning this guy. He never pays for any kind of membership.
You do not need to worry about him posting his garbage in this thread because I have blocked him.
In the last few days, Carl has been posting pictures and things on Facebook that he used to post on this forum. He has put up some pictures of very nice Chess sets and such. We also see goodknightmike continually posting pictures of many sets that he owns and collects. Alas, this forum has nothing.
It is a shame that the administrators of Chess.com do not care about the quality of this forum and its content.
Ron , You made it very clear how a lot us feel over what has happen with the like's of The unfettered trolling ?
& how good threads get killed\ or become soulless by this kind of trolling !
Why blame Chessopera for it? Even this thread contains attacks on Carl for no reason and the on-going conflict between Carl and Alan, which culminated in a last post by Alan in which he said that he just didn't like Carl (the implication I took from that being that that was why he was always attacking him), contributed too. Stauntonmaster was just an annoying crazy person. Another factor is that there is just a limited amount of content and it has been moved to Facebook where some of its producers can control the audience better. In any case, I very much doubt that this forum is significant for the chess.com business, so its not going to get the level of gardening that the average level of craziness here requires.
Admittedly,I did forget to mention Chuck,as well as Jorge,who have been very helpful(and honest) to me,as I navigated myself to a nice little collection.
Eyechess....I do remember you being supportive of Stauntonmaster a while back,which I found surprising and disappointing,to be honest.
It was an NOJ thread,before Stauntonmaster became a well known contrarian.....He was continually knocking C.B. with vitriol and when I chimed in admitting the wonderful attributes of the NOJ stuff,but mentioning I had solved many of my own problems with C.B. and had overall good experiences with them......You decided to let me know it was an NOJ thread only....
I remember you not being too critical of him back then,as he liked the NOJ stuff,as you do.It surprised me(not really) that you did not tell him to shut up at that time....Hmm?
I'm glad to hear the group on Facebook has so many participants. That's terrific Cgrau.
I'm sad to miss out on it, but I refuse to use Facebook for a number of reasons. Would you ever consider a different platform?
Here's my idea....
WHAT IF we made a website for chess collectors. On this site would be a forum like Chess Books & Equipment, but with sub forums in that category. Some ideas:
etc. etc. etc.
But in addition, and perhaps most importantly, there could be a Classifieds section of the forum. I've seen this work really nicely with bicycles (another hobby of mine). There's a great forum called Paceline and another, Velocipede salon. Lively discussion, photos, and classifieds all in one place.
Or is going up against Facebook just a lost cause?
This sounds like a great idea! I too am a Facebook abstainer.
I have to add, despite the trolls, the knowledgeable and supportive members of this forum have created an incredible resource for information on chess equipment and books.
I have gotten an incredible amount of pleasure and knowledge from browsing the forum.
Thanks to you all...you know who you are!
strange how people get so hung up while the world just keeps turning and wow how can you hold on to such crap so long get over it move on play chess stop whining
I LOVE chess books!
I think the younger generation is soft and spongy and has a hard time with anything that is, well, hard and requires much effort. we live in the world of microwave, smart phone, instagram, linkedin, techno everything and total saturation. The attention span of the average person under about 30 Years Old these days is actually pretty pathetic.
so it is no surprise that chess books are on the decline. They would prefer an animated video with sound effects and frequent reinforcement that they are learning something. it is the generation that grew up with participation trophies.
Since last year at about this time, I have witnessed a serious decline in both the number and quality of topics and photos in this forum.
It was not a coincidence that at this time Stauntonmaster, now known as Chessopera had been on here for about 1 month and was racking this forum with his extremely negative writings about Chess equipment and companies and people.
It was so bad that a good number of regular posters here either left completely or seriously reduced their participation on this forum.
A couple of fellows started a group on Facebook that still exists for Chess set Collectors and aficionados
One poster, Carl that owns Official Staunton, quit in disgust because the miscreant, Stauntonmaster/Chessopera, was making very negative statements, that were completely false by the way, about both the company and about Carl himself. He also has never put even one single picture of any Chess equipment even though he has raked and abused us all with many claims that are outrageously false and contrived. When we point out how wrong what he writes is, he claims we are trolls and agents for the companies. Once again, over 95% of what he writes is blatantly false and harmful to people.
There really is no need for anyone to personally attack anyone else on this forum.
I first came to this forum in November of 2014. The discussion was very vital and robust with a lot of pictures showing Chess pieces, boards and clocks.
Today, thanks to this Chessopera, we see nothing to extremely little of this. The guy is back as Chessopera continuing his statements and attacks on Chess pieces, companies and people. He was banned in the first 2 or 3 months of 2018. I have filed 2 complaints to the administration pointing out that since he has been banned 2 times already, they should ban him again. Chess.com has nothing to lose by banning this guy. He never pays for any kind of membership.
You do not need to worry about him posting his garbage in this thread because I have blocked him.
In the last few days, Carl has been posting pictures and things on Facebook that he used to post on this forum. He has put up some pictures of very nice Chess sets and such. We also see goodknightmike continually posting pictures of many sets that he owns and collects. Alas, this forum has nothing.
It is a shame that the administrators of Chess.com do not care about the quality of this forum and its content.