wikichess extra goodies but why

  

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Normajean Yates    (2009-05-23)
wikichess: extra goodies! but why ..

If you access wikichess *without* logging in; you will see the following extra goodies:

1. '... or enter a line' [below which is a form to enter an opening line for search]

2. 'Or find an opening in the chess openings directory.' [link to chess openings directory]

3.'Openings most analyzed :' [at present:] Traxler counter-attack, Latvian gambit, Kingston defense [all hypertext links]

These goodies are excellent! But Thib. has forgotten to make them available if you are logged-in. Thib, please rectify! (Or is there a reason why you have to be logged-out to access these? I can't think of any...)


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-25 21:59:28)
wikichess: extra goodies

I did not forget, it was just stupid from me :) You're right, I'll change that soon...


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-26 12:31:32)
Thib. - best wishes for site in these ..

.. recession times.Improvements, to-do lists etc. can wait if necessary.

I fell in love with the site at first sight - such a classy approach - not like some of the garish american sites.

So I hope that in these times of recession, there is no serious cash flow problems you are facing... I am sure all of us want this site to live long!

Again I say; improvements, to-do lists etc. can wait if necessary: please concentrate on cash flow [if there is a serious problem there] -- that is the practical thing to do. This site is excellent as it is now!

Again, best wishes to Thibault the person, and may ficgs live long!


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-26 17:30:46)
Thanks :)

There's no problem with to-do lists.. actually it is just absolutely necessary.. I can't think about everything. I still have many things to improve, this year I developped much more the "other side" of the site and this was very exciting, I learnt a lot while doing this.. that will be useful for future improvements and it brings more and more visitors [the current statistics are about +10% every week for a few months (that's good :))] on the server (I try to redirect as many as potential players as possible here).

Speaking of the server, I'm not afraid of crisis or whatever, the statistics are just better and better now, that helps the site to distribute Epoints (potential money) prizes. Almost nobody claims for real money prizes but that's the finality (to distribute money prizes in free tournaments).. There are plenty of "successful" sites on the internet that offer money prizes (or costly services) for free but all of them are built on unrealistic views IMO, so they implode or cheat in a way as soon as they encounter success. Most of us know about the Facebook case that still lose money. FICGS grew very slowly during 2 or 3 years but IMO it was based on realistic views so don't worry, the site will survive after both of us, I'll take care of that :)


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-27 05:02:24)
Thank you Thib: and I am so relieved!

First, about the 'thank you' to Thib.: that is for responding :) Now, to business:

>Thib said: Speaking of the server, I'm not afraid of crisis or whatever, the statistics are just better and better now..

I am so relieved! Seriously.

>Thib. said: FICGS grew very slowly during 2 or 3 years but IMO it was based on realistic views..

Exactly! That was one of the first things I noticed when I discovered this site (early June last year, I think) - I phoned my partner [she and I were in different countries on that day; coincidentally, this month also..] - told her this site *will* survive, and chess.com will *not* survive [too much money wasted by Eric of chess.com even then] - [It was only in in May last year that I had noticed chess.com in its present incarnation (earlier it did *not* offer chess-*playing*, it was a chess-reference-material site only)

(My partner doesn't play chess but of course one doesn't have to be a chess-player to be interested in issues like this!)

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(beginning of digression about chess.com (as a contrasting example):)
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well chess.com has *technically speaking* survived; but there is a graded level of paying members [silver-gold-diamond-platinum-what not] - each year paying membership has to be renewed [I am a free member there; I don't play games there now except on special request :) ] -- and..

Guess what, chess.com in a few months intoduced a system that gave a *playing advantage* to paying members: the more expensive grade you are in, the greater the paying advantage. So, as far as correspondence chess is concerned, can chess.com be now considered a chess site?

(In fact I posted a thread there last year suggesting that they should introduce auction: at any time any of the opponents in a game can bid to win a game. [even if they have lone K against K+Q+Q+R :}] - then if opponent doesn't make a bigger bid then the bidder wins the game. Minimum bid € 20,00 :) (chess.com is a US site ;) )There was some heated discussion over it.. Eric (the site owner - he is a decent chap, all said and done) prudently stayed away from that discussion :)

I posted in various threads there also directly saying that chess.com is probably the only *chess* site where the more you pay, the greater advantage you have in a *game*. Is that chess?

None of the above is defamatory: it is obviously true for anyone to check - and clearly Erik silently agrees - well good luck to him...

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(end of digression about chess.com)
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>Thib. said: so don't worry, the site will survive after both of us, I'll take care of that :)

:)
I am sure now that you will :) (but not because both of us will suddenly die tomorrow, I hope ;))



Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-27 23:17:28)
FICGS & chess.com

The example of chess.com is very interesting, I looked at this site (from time to time) growing very fastly, most probably because of investments for good SEO (search engines optimisation) - to start with the domain name - but it still looks like a MFA (Made For Adsense) website even if I'm sure that Eric made good work to offer plenty of services related to chess. Well, I did not check it for a while...

Speaking of auction at chess.com, that's a funny idea and I just wonder why I did not think about a system where you can bet some epoints at any time in any game... maybe I'll think about that, but that's not really important (the very large majority of players do not play for money but for the love of games only).


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-28 03:40:31)
Thib, my auction suggestion was sarcasm!

Thib. please read it again (the part where I suggested auction at chess.com - or you can loook at my thread on this there - it is called 'the best chess money can buy' ;)

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/the-best-chess-money-can-buy

(I am not sure whether the link works for members only or for everyone; anyway free membership is a 5-minute process..)

That was sarcasm! I meant this: suppose you are left with K+Q v K. Sure win for you, no? At least you can't lose, even on time (insuff. material) ? Now my sarcastic suggestion was that: opponent bids €20 for the game, now if you cannot bid higher then opponent *wins* the game automatically!

Of course I thought until yesterday that no chess site will offer *that* kind of auction! but you said:

>Speaking of auction at chess.com, that's a funny idea and I just wonder why I did not think about a system where you can bet some epoints at any time in any game...

Surely *you* don't want *that* kind of auction here, do you? ;)


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-28 04:27:19)
BTW:

I see that I must have later changed the amount (in that chess.com thread) from €20 to US$200 (on the principle of 'only one sarcasm at a time)... [on chess.com one can change the past, with no traces of change left; *unlike* in wikipedia where it is there in 'edit history'; but *like* in George orwell's book '1984' ;)]


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-28 19:27:25)
Sarcasm :)

Of course it was a sarcasm, that's why it is funny :) .. the idea it gave me was quite different though, it is just like silver games.. nothing to do with "to buy a result".


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-29 07:06:25)
oh ok then :)

oh ok then :)


Wilhelm Schuett    (2009-06-15 00:17:05)
I can't contribute

Wikichess is called open chess repertoire project. But I'm not allowed to contribute.


Normajean Yates    (2009-06-15 00:47:48)
Wilhelm, there is a rating bar...

There is a rating bar [relative to the last modifier] So I am not allowed to contribute to many lines either! And it makes eminent sense! I *don't* want to be allowed to erase a 2600+'s opinion and substitute mine!

But uncharted territory is always open - just try: you *can* contribute in uncharted territory! That is, you an always create a new wikichess entry. And the *creator* of an entry can always modify it later: creators are exempted from the rating bar.