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PostPosted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:48 am 
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this being said, I have joined the club recently (dec 2011), coming from a French wargaming club (where I was one administrator) because I had trouble finding opponent there. My first priority here is gaming and finding opponents but when I compare the 2 clubs, I feel that politics has a much bigger part here than in my previous club and this concerns me a bit.

To tell you the truth, I have read once the club rules and that's it, but I can see endless talks about rule 2.1.5.16.1.64.256.2 to see if it is properly written or not. I personally don't care. And I am not the only one, I have had an argument recently with one of my opponent about 2 regiments's move and told him he shouldn't have done it according to the club rules. though a high rank officer, he confessed to me he had never read them ...

But I care when I see 2 of my brigade commanders (friendly and good players) having trouble to find an opponent
I care when I see that there is a club wide tournament running (RBCT) since last August and that in 9 months, only 17 different players from one side (18 from the other side) have participated so far. I think it is very low considering the number of active members. the commitment is not big though (some battles proposed last less than 10 turns).

I know that real life has priority and command positions take a LOT of personal time but 10 turns of a small battle is a very small commitment over a period of 2 months and I am puzzled to see that among the Cabinet or the Army commanders less than 1/3 of these officers have participated so far
again , no misinterpretation please, I am not accusing anyone, , I am just surprised.
My concern as a new member is rather to understand if there is some sort of boredom for the game among the club leaders who may have to spend more time on the club rules than gaming ?

Any thought on all this ?
thanks


MG Chatain,

I find the minutia of rules clarifications a bit tedious myself, it is one of the duties of the cabinet and has to be put up with from time to time. It doesn’t bring in new members or encourage more battles but often times a situation has arisen and there needs to be a clarification to avoid issues in the future.

The clubs North-South structure is kind of a two edged sword, it gives the club a unique dichotomy but can also add to the politicizing within the membership. I put up with the latter because I enjoy the former.

Finding opponents continues to be an issue, few years ago it was no USA players now it seems there are no CSA players. A lot of folks often find like minded players and continue to play within the same group of friends, this tends to keep those players out of tournaments and the general pool of opponents.
I always seem to meet people I wouldn’t otherwise play through tournaments and I try to play in one or two each year, currently in an AoG and an ANV tourney. I know myself that while I have 5 or 6 games going it may take me several months to finish a 30 or 40 turn game, during that time I’m not taking on any other games and often I’ve planned my next game before the last has ended and so I don’t go to the “Opponent Finder” as often as I used to.
We are not a ladder club so the level of competition and tourney participation may not be as strong as in other such clubs. Bringing in new members and encouraging the current membership to participate more are both important issues and I certainly don’t have all the answers, these are things that all of us need to work on and I invite suggestions and ideas.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:02 am 
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What is your opinion on one side or the other creating rules that are contradictory to standing Club Rules? Should each side be allowed separate rules or should we all be governed in the same manner?




G. Blake,

Both the USA and CSA are ACWGC members, just as the individual armies within each group may have different formulas to accomplish the same administrative objectives I see no issue with the USA and CSA going about their day to day operations in their own fashion as long as they adhere to the same guiding rules of the ACWGC.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:43 pm 
Thanks for your replies thus far, sir!

I think I only have one more question to ask - and I think this may interest many in the Club.


Where do you see the ACWGC in five years? Also, what can we, not just the Cabinet/President but ALL the Members, do to help the Club?


Thanks in advance for your input and best of luck in the election!


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:44 pm 
General Weir,
Bob,

Thank you for your prompt reply, Sir! <salute>

I would like to ask you what your feelings are about allowing Club Members to have both a Union and a Confederate profile within the Club? Perhaps this might be a part of the solution for those members of the club (on one side or the other) that are having difficulty finding opponents?

I believe that individual Club Members should have the FREEDOM to play from either side or both sides of the Club in an unrestricted fashion. If I get on my Playstation to play Medal of Honor... I can choose to play an Axis profile or an Allied profile. Why can't we do this is the ACWGC? When I go to Burger King... I shouldn't have to buy a Whopper every time I visit. Maybe I want to have the Crispy Chicken sandwich this time. I believe that Club Members are being forced into a single option (burgers only) based upon their initial recruitment into the Club. Are you open to a change in this area? If not, why not?

I would also like to ask you if you feel the average Club Member has a voice within the Cabinet?

I've grown accustomed to hearing the following canned response from Cabinet members when people want to propose changes within the Club. "Why don't you write up a proposal that would spell out how the entire thing would work and submit it to the Cabinet and see what happens?"

I have submitted proposals and I NEVER see what happens because the proposals are discussed behind closed doors and I have no idea of what the arguments for and against those proposals are. Then latter on I get notice that the proposal was either passed or rejected and that is all I hear. I have absolutely no idea if a rejected proposal could have been passed with some minor modifications or tweaks.

If you make a presentation in the business world... you are in the video conference room to present your ideas, to explain them and to hear the arguments for and against them. And then a decision is made by the powers to be. That is not happening in the ACWGC. That is why this election for a Club President is so vitally important to me. I want to ensure that our new Club President will represent the Club Membership and just not his own military group. I want a Club President who will not simply be a Chairperson who counts up the votes and declares that this proposal passes with a 3 to 2 vote. I want a Club President that will fight to make sure that the individual Club Member has a voice and that their voice will be heard whether he agrees with the proposal being brought before the Cabinet or not.

As you can see... I'm rather passionate about the subject. I mean no disrespect to you or any current or past Cabinet Member. I apologize if it sounds like that. I am simply stating that I would like to see some changes within the Club and feel that to follow things as they have been done over the past 10 years would be a disservice to our fine Club.

Your thoughts, Sir...


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:53 am 
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Well said sir, I would expect anyone who is willing to run for office would have the good of the whole in mind and not have leanings to the left or the right, but to be a straight shooter, right down the middle. Good luck to both of you gentlemen you have equally good qualities and it should be a good fight. With this in mind and in the spirit of good electioneering I trust the voters allowed is an even split i.e. 20 Union 20 Confederate as everything is then above board and beyond suggestions of foul play. I trust that makes sense and nobody is offended by this.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:29 pm 
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Thanks Mark for your answer.
I am not entirely satisfied though (and the same with Mark's answer), so I will give it another try.

I understand what you say about participation of officers which comes and goes. You are right but the trouble is that a new coming officer who won't be able to find an opponent (or enough opponents) will probably leave the club very soon. and it is also the case for veterans (I know what i am talking about, that is exactly what I did with my previous club which I left after 10 years because I couldnot find enough games). and I am not satisfied to read that it is just coming and going.

The promotion of gaming, of making sure every officer plays what he wants to play, from the old timers to the new and discreet youngster should be one of the main goal (if not the main goal) of the club leaders.
but I could not find any mention in your original statement or answers.

I also have the feeling that the current cabinet/leaders have slightly forgotten about this and that running and ruling the club has become more important than promoting gaming within.
No disrespect at all. I am perfectly aware that personal commitment is really high within the club leaders and I thank them for this. It is just that the club (as an entity) appears to me to be the ultimate goal and that the promotion of gaming is just one task among others, as important as making sure the club rules are correctly written.
I would hope the priorities of the next president and cabinet will slightly comes back towards the promotion of gaming as we shouldn't forget that this is a wargaming club and that the ruling should IMHO come second or third in the TO DO lists ...

One specific example : Tournaments within the club are a good way to promote gaming.
I am so surprised for a club that is so well structured with so many internal rules that there isn't a topic which makes the list of the current ongoing tournament.
I made my own which is probably not correct :
RBCT
AotS seasonal maneuvers
Gator alley / Hancock division match
CSA Brigade Honors
Lt cup
there used to be a commandan'st Cup also but I feel it has been abandonned.
why isn't there somewhere a list for them and the way to apply?

When I joined the club 15 months ago, I was ready to take on 10 games in parallel and participate to any tournament ongoing. I was just amazed that except the Lt's Cup, I could find no info about the current actions ... I did find my games, but what about a new officer coming in to see what's going on here and unable to find information. some officers might ask. some will just go.

why isn't it also in the cabinet TO DO list to make sure that there ain't too many tournaments or maneuvers going on in parallel ?
Last year, the AotC had talks with the AotM for a divisional tournament. we had to cancel because there was not enough players on the rebel side. Apparently there was some CSA maneuvers which already occupied a lot of officers. If we had known about it, we would have postponed the idea. It is just amazing that there is no club wide communication about all these actions just to let the members know about them, give ideas to others etc ...

I would appreciate to read your thoughts about the promotion of gaming within the club and its position in the cabinet's list of priorities and your opinon about tournament handling.
Thanks

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:30 pm 
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Where do you see the ACWGC in five years? Also, what can we, not just the Cabinet/President but ALL the Members, do to help the Club?


Gen. Blake,

I have no doubt the club will still be around in five years, how healthy it will be will have a lot to do with if and when the HPS games are unlocked and what new games are released that fit the club profile. Both could spark new interest and new membership. I do feel that without new games we are slowly going to become obsolete as operating systems evolve.

Members can become more involved, post on the forums with items that interest you, it’s a good way to find other members to connect with, set up games within your division or army, challenge other groups. The club is what the members make it, we have an excellent venue of communication through the various forums, there are great army web sites and the club DoR has made record keeping/retrieval a breeze and the various games the club recognizes have a huge variety of scenarios and campaigns to keep the experience interesting.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:42 pm 
Robert wrote:
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Where do you see the ACWGC in five years? Also, what can we, not just the Cabinet/President but ALL the Members, do to help the Club?


Gen. Blake,

I have no doubt the club will still be around in five years, how healthy it will be will have a lot to do with if and when the HPS games are unlocked and what new games are released that fit the club profile. Both could spark new interest and new membership. I do feel that without new games we are slowly going to become obsolete as operating systems evolve.

Members can become more involved, post on the forums with items that interest you, it’s a good way to find other members to connect with, set up games within your division or army, challenge other groups. The club is what the members make it, we have an excellent venue of communication through the various forums, there are great army web sites and the club DoR has made record keeping/retrieval a breeze and the various games the club recognizes have a huge variety of scenarios and campaigns to keep the experience interesting.


Well-written, sir. Finding one's passion in the Club is always fun. For me - it is the forums! I love the interactions. For others it is website creations, or administrative duties, others tournaments, and still others it's strictly gaming. Some have multiple interests. Finding and participating in what makes you happy is paramount to any member's long-term place in the Club. Encouraging them to find that place and to meet up with like-minded people is also key. Let us hope the Club will always be a meeting place where people can find positive interactions and experiences.


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:14 pm 
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I would like to ask you what your feelings are about allowing Club Members to have both a Union and a Confederate profile within the Club? Perhaps this might be a part of the solution for those members of the club (on one side or the other) that are having difficulty finding opponents?

I believe that individual Club Members should have the FREEDOM to play from either side or both sides of the Club in an unrestricted fashion. If I get on my Playstation to play Medal of Honor... I can choose to play an Axis profile or an Allied profile. Why can't we do this is the ACWGC? When I go to Burger King... I shouldn't have to buy a Whopper every time I visit. Maybe I want to have the Crispy Chicken sandwich this time. I believe that Club Members are being forced into a single option (burgers only) based upon their initial recruitment into the Club. Are you open to a change in this area? If not, why not? etc.....


Roger,

There are no club restrictions against a member playing either CSA or USA in a game scenario, you can be a member of the AotM and play as the union side in a battle or maneuver, you could play the same scenario as either side and still get the same credit for the game played. There’s a long standing tournament practice of playing mirror matches where you play the same opponent in two games one as a ‘Whopper’ the other as ‘Crispy Chicken’ so those option’s have always been available to you.
While there is a difference between battle points and maneuver points you still receive the battle points if your opponent is from the other ‘side’. Perhaps a reevaluation of the battle-maneuver points may be warranted to even out the points awarded.

I do have trouble with the idea of one person having two club profiles, mainly because it creates additional work for the admin folks who keep track of army web sites and awards etc. and because of possible abuses such as registering games against ones self to rack up points, having both profiles the member would never play a maneuver and just the general confusion it might cause with other members as to just who they were playing.
The only option I can envision is creating a separate ‘side’ or army that would be neither USA or CSA, although it is sure to create complications working it out within the current setup of the DoR and to be honest so far you haven't shown me any actual value to having such a group.
I think there would have to be enough interest in such an organization to make it worth pursuing, perhaps you could setup a forum poll to see just how much interest there is.

I’m open to suggestions about other options to bring proposals to the cabinet, while the current system is adequate I’m sure there could be improvements. I also agree the cabinet needs to do a better job of relaying information on decisions back to the membership and being more inclusive in those decisions. The use of the forum poll option might be a way for the cabinet to gage membership opinions Just as a point of note the cabinet does not ‘meet’ per say, a discussion can take place over a period of several days to weeks as the members are often not online at the same time or can’t be online on a daily basis.

As I stated before I see the president as the cabinet chairperson, as such it would be the president’s duty to keep the cabinet responsive to the general membership and to those that submit proposals, but the cabinet is a representative body of the club, they are elected to make decisions and then present them to the members. It’s not always easy to get seven cabinet members to agree, if every issue was presented to the entire membership for discussion or modification there’s a good chance nothing would be accomplished.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:21 pm 
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Well said sir, I would expect anyone who is willing to run for office would have the good of the whole in mind and not have leanings to the left or the right, but to be a straight shooter, right down the middle. Good luck to both of you gentlemen you have equally good qualities and it should be a good fight. With this in mind and in the spirit of good electioneering I trust the voters allowed is an even split i.e. 20 Union 20 Confederate as everything is then above board and beyond suggestions of foul play. I trust that makes sense and nobody is offended by this.


BGen. Lynn,

All officers in good standing regardless of rank or affiliation can vote in the upcoming presidential election.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:59 pm 
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I would hope the priorities of the next president and cabinet will slightly comes back towards the promotion of gaming as we shouldn't forget that this is a wargaming club and that the ruling should IMHO come second or third in the TO DO lists ...


MGen. Chatain,

You raise some very good points about tournaments, their promotion and tracking within the club. The club requires major tournaments to be sanctioned by the cabinet, these could easily be posted as a sticky on the Opponents Finder or M/D or on it’s own thread like The Red Badge of Courage has been. Keeping track of the minor tourneys or maneuvers that go on within armies or theaters might not be as easy but I think if there was a place where they could posted it would encourage the folks running them to do so.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 3:32 pm 
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Thanks to those of you who participated in the campaign thread. While I would have liked to see more members submitting questions and comments we did get some very good questions and I hope our answers have helped you make a decision about who to will cast your vote for.

Thanks also to Gen. Mark Nelms for an honorable campaign and I wish him the best of luck in the coming election.

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