Acute observers will note the addition of a link to a page of (gasp) a competitor: A Fresh Start.
The link leads to a public page from the A Fresh Start site, and represents the most comprehensive yet concise explanation of some mechanicals of IWON that I have seen. I would estimate it to be a must-read for newcomers to IWON. So, although I yearn to steal the content, instead I will simply link to it on their site. I have asked the leader of that team to acknowledge and approve the use of the link, and the coverage of the link by the article, and have received approval.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
TigerLadyJo Found!
It is official! Marie_Team_IWON posted today, January 16, that the November check is ours, and that IWON has contacted TigerLadyJo to dispose the check for 2nd place.
marie_team_iwon
Jan 16 09, 2:21 PM Just wanted to congratulate you on winning 2nd place in November! We were able to get in contact with tigerrladyjo recently and were finally able to make it official. Thanks for your patience through this and congrats on another big win! :)
That will help quiet the whisper campaign about the problems that Tigers has faced, for the largest problem has always been that whisper campaign from some of our competitors.
There are some who have played nice, and for one, ricaucoin comes to mind immediately. If I were not a Tiger, his team (Heavenly Angels) would appeal to me, largely because of ric.
This announcement will free the Tigers recruiting efforts by relieving them of the task of first disputing the blatant lie, that "TigerLady took off with the first check." That base & tired canard still confuses many of those we would wish to recruit, or at best, leaves them doubting, unwilling to commit to Tigers Against Diabetes. Sadly, although I possess copies of five or six different press releases supporting the delivery of that check to the ADA, in a variety of formats, there are none so far that I can post here to allow that truth to condemn the liars. That is why we need to ensure the widest possible publication of the news - and try to reach those who ignore all the IWON postings, in particular. Some IWONers keep their heads down, ignore everything - except the rumors and scandals that run in the game chats.
Further, we are relieved of the pall of uncertainty to which even our own players are prey. The need to make every move with contingencies accorded to all the possible outcomes of this hanging nuisance has been a dreadful weight, and a weight I gladly will shed. Perhaps the relief and joy will also shine in our recruiting, for this is a great relief. We are free now to move forward, with no issues pending, no hidden weight to slow us.
How do we move forward, then, and in what direction(s)?
Recruiting:
First, we need to spread the news. No Tiger should enter a game chat with "hello" as the greeting to the chat. "We found TigerLadyJo" would be a lot better. Or, credit where credit is due, "IWON found TigerLadyJo." Goodbye at departure should become "We found TigerLady, and we get the November check for the ADA!" If you like, go ahead and moon the crowd on the way out. Probably best that you refrained at entering. If asked, tell what you know: "The ADA got the first check, for September. TigerLadyJo is in contact with IWON & we understand that check has been sent to the ADA now."
Then proceed to recruit the crowd to join Tigers: we need help, and it is fair to say that, even if the crowd may include members of competitor teams. Let them know that you wish to focus on those who are not currently on charity teams - so that everyone can have a chance to let their coins support causes they believe in, causes that they would write a check to themselves when they could, but that this is their best chance to add a lot of zeros to the check, all for free. Remind them that it IS free - they still collect and spend the coins they win as they always have done, but that the team they choose to support also gets to count those coins in the competition to win one of the checks. Invite them to visit the blog - if you have the url available for copy & paste, that helps - but if not, simply have them google us. Either way - all one word, tigersagainstdiabetes, or "Tigers Against Diabetes". The blog shows up in both lists. Let them know that the first article is pointed at ALL new players, ALL new team players. No passwords, no restrictions on use of the material. [This way, you can both recruit for Tigers, and also for charity teams in general. It is important to add that note of having yourself made a reasoned choice among many worthy causes - an altruistic note, for the betterment of all, but with the head involved in deciding which team.]
If you find some good candidates among those whom you chat, it is OK to click their name in the player list, and add a note to their profile, too. Some may not yet know about the profile notes, but will eventually discover them. Others may be impressed by your follow-through, and come to the team page to check Tigers out. If not in the chat, then in any postings that follow, be sure to point the recruits to the team page as well as the blog.
Chat / Forum
No matter what we do in the January competition, this month should teach us a lesson or two.
Each month, the race gets faster.
Size is not everything.
Team unity is critical.
Size is still very important.
We cannot hope for any future wins unless we address those lessons. We have to get a lot better this month, if we are to have a shot at money this month. Then we have to get a LOT better with each passing week of the next month, to have a chance then.
We cannot rely on the same top-16 to carry us to victory, although I am sure they are trying. We cannot revive ALL the part-time or inactive players, either. So, we must - MUST - stop getting hammered by our competitors in recruiting. Some of them doubled our recruiting for this month so far. Those were the slow recruiters. Even Bell-Ringers grew as fast as we did, & they are not trying to recruit. If we are to succeed, recruiting becomes the first step. We have to hustle the game chats. We may need to spin a few on games we don't normally play, just to catch a different crowd, more players new to IWON. OK, they are not going to start as top-16 contenders, but we can manufacture top-16, with enough raw material. That is what the tips and the team-page competition accomplish for us.
More later.
marie_team_iwon
Jan 16 09, 2:21 PM Just wanted to congratulate you on winning 2nd place in November! We were able to get in contact with tigerrladyjo recently and were finally able to make it official. Thanks for your patience through this and congrats on another big win! :)
That will help quiet the whisper campaign about the problems that Tigers has faced, for the largest problem has always been that whisper campaign from some of our competitors.
There are some who have played nice, and for one, ricaucoin comes to mind immediately. If I were not a Tiger, his team (Heavenly Angels) would appeal to me, largely because of ric.
This announcement will free the Tigers recruiting efforts by relieving them of the task of first disputing the blatant lie, that "TigerLady took off with the first check." That base & tired canard still confuses many of those we would wish to recruit, or at best, leaves them doubting, unwilling to commit to Tigers Against Diabetes. Sadly, although I possess copies of five or six different press releases supporting the delivery of that check to the ADA, in a variety of formats, there are none so far that I can post here to allow that truth to condemn the liars. That is why we need to ensure the widest possible publication of the news - and try to reach those who ignore all the IWON postings, in particular. Some IWONers keep their heads down, ignore everything - except the rumors and scandals that run in the game chats.
Further, we are relieved of the pall of uncertainty to which even our own players are prey. The need to make every move with contingencies accorded to all the possible outcomes of this hanging nuisance has been a dreadful weight, and a weight I gladly will shed. Perhaps the relief and joy will also shine in our recruiting, for this is a great relief. We are free now to move forward, with no issues pending, no hidden weight to slow us.
How do we move forward, then, and in what direction(s)?
Recruiting:
First, we need to spread the news. No Tiger should enter a game chat with "hello" as the greeting to the chat. "We found TigerLadyJo" would be a lot better. Or, credit where credit is due, "IWON found TigerLadyJo." Goodbye at departure should become "We found TigerLady, and we get the November check for the ADA!" If you like, go ahead and moon the crowd on the way out. Probably best that you refrained at entering. If asked, tell what you know: "The ADA got the first check, for September. TigerLadyJo is in contact with IWON & we understand that check has been sent to the ADA now."
Then proceed to recruit the crowd to join Tigers: we need help, and it is fair to say that, even if the crowd may include members of competitor teams. Let them know that you wish to focus on those who are not currently on charity teams - so that everyone can have a chance to let their coins support causes they believe in, causes that they would write a check to themselves when they could, but that this is their best chance to add a lot of zeros to the check, all for free. Remind them that it IS free - they still collect and spend the coins they win as they always have done, but that the team they choose to support also gets to count those coins in the competition to win one of the checks. Invite them to visit the blog - if you have the url available for copy & paste, that helps - but if not, simply have them google us. Either way - all one word, tigersagainstdiabetes, or "Tigers Against Diabetes". The blog shows up in both lists. Let them know that the first article is pointed at ALL new players, ALL new team players. No passwords, no restrictions on use of the material. [This way, you can both recruit for Tigers, and also for charity teams in general. It is important to add that note of having yourself made a reasoned choice among many worthy causes - an altruistic note, for the betterment of all, but with the head involved in deciding which team.]
If you find some good candidates among those whom you chat, it is OK to click their name in the player list, and add a note to their profile, too. Some may not yet know about the profile notes, but will eventually discover them. Others may be impressed by your follow-through, and come to the team page to check Tigers out. If not in the chat, then in any postings that follow, be sure to point the recruits to the team page as well as the blog.
Chat / Forum
No matter what we do in the January competition, this month should teach us a lesson or two.
Each month, the race gets faster.
Size is not everything.
Team unity is critical.
Size is still very important.
We cannot hope for any future wins unless we address those lessons. We have to get a lot better this month, if we are to have a shot at money this month. Then we have to get a LOT better with each passing week of the next month, to have a chance then.
We cannot rely on the same top-16 to carry us to victory, although I am sure they are trying. We cannot revive ALL the part-time or inactive players, either. So, we must - MUST - stop getting hammered by our competitors in recruiting. Some of them doubled our recruiting for this month so far. Those were the slow recruiters. Even Bell-Ringers grew as fast as we did, & they are not trying to recruit. If we are to succeed, recruiting becomes the first step. We have to hustle the game chats. We may need to spin a few on games we don't normally play, just to catch a different crowd, more players new to IWON. OK, they are not going to start as top-16 contenders, but we can manufacture top-16, with enough raw material. That is what the tips and the team-page competition accomplish for us.
More later.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday Tigers Barndance Social
Friday night at 9:00 PM EST, the members of Tigers Against Diabetes are invited to a social event unparallelled on IWON - a barndance social at the Wild West Slots. We hope that all will attend. Strictly BYOB - there may be minors present, and public drunkenness is not encouraged in the presence of minors.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tigers Against Diabetes Gets Info
Hi Conley, I got your message- I don't know where Tigerladyjo is but if I hear I will be sure to pass along. As for the team, if we cannot contact the team creator after a certain amount of time we will work with the remaining team members to institute a new leader and award the prize.
Message dated Dec 09 08 06:23 PM
Although mostly, a denial that IWON knows any specifics, this is a crucial message for the team.
Please note that the author of the note is not named - I deleted the name from the message that I post here - although I believe (him) to be a Vice President of IWON - not of the mother Corporation.
There is much there to chew, and work on ourselves:
"after a certain amount of time" - certainly by Christmas, there must be some move by IWON with regard to any check due for November play.
"to institute a new leader" - (my) presumption is that the new leader would deal with IWON as would the original founder: with the right to make decisions for the team, the sole right to assign the check(s). The same plusses and minuses as the current setup, except that we then know where that leader is, at least for now.
"work with the remaining team members" - not clear to me, exactly how that would be done, since we as a team cannot reach more than a few of those members. Perhaps IWON would use the email addresses on file, to correspond with those members, and notify them of the right and need to participate? More likely, IWON would rely on the team page to serve notice, and solicit participation, just as might we, but with tools including the header information? If only the dozen who regularly visit the team page are included in the process, and in the decision, that is not exactly a team decision.
Message dated Dec 09 08 06:23 PM
Although mostly, a denial that IWON knows any specifics, this is a crucial message for the team.
Please note that the author of the note is not named - I deleted the name from the message that I post here - although I believe (him) to be a Vice President of IWON - not of the mother Corporation.
There is much there to chew, and work on ourselves:
"after a certain amount of time" - certainly by Christmas, there must be some move by IWON with regard to any check due for November play.
"to institute a new leader" - (my) presumption is that the new leader would deal with IWON as would the original founder: with the right to make decisions for the team, the sole right to assign the check(s). The same plusses and minuses as the current setup, except that we then know where that leader is, at least for now.
"work with the remaining team members" - not clear to me, exactly how that would be done, since we as a team cannot reach more than a few of those members. Perhaps IWON would use the email addresses on file, to correspond with those members, and notify them of the right and need to participate? More likely, IWON would rely on the team page to serve notice, and solicit participation, just as might we, but with tools including the header information? If only the dozen who regularly visit the team page are included in the process, and in the decision, that is not exactly a team decision.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Tigers' New Chat/Forum
As some have suspected, bubbles_71 & I are working to try to set up a team chat & forum. We intend to restrict membership to only current team members. bubbles_71 has graciously consented to run the chat, and to take care of security for us. 3 cheers for bubbles!
Among the things we want, is to make it easier than the Yahoo chat rooms are, to acquire membership, and log in. Yahoo insists that the user provide an email address, and some personal details; and endure a wait for processing, before receiving an email to allow access. Alas, we find the same to be true at Chatshack (the volunteers who are helping us set this up - thanks to bubbles - are affiliated with Chatshack.) However, at least with Chatshack, we may be able to bend that bar just a little, so that (if everything I envision works, and there are no unforeseen problems) we can easily manufacture exactly what Tigers need to get in.
The credentials required, would be only a current Tigers playername, and a mass password which we will provide, but which will need the member to reset it after entry. Recording of an email account will be strongly recommended, so that the team can communicate when necessary. However, that email record would not be enforced at least for now. Subsequently, that would be where team messages would go. Fairly simple, and many of the accounts can be done fairly fast. I estimate that I can do them almost as fast as I can copy&paste the playernames into position. Well, the rest of the process eats a couple of minutes per Tiger. If all is good, I can probably manufacture a couple hundred accounts per day, and bubbles may be able to help to make that faster. That would mean we hope that IWON stalls another 5 days, to allow us to be ready, before dropping a major choice on the team.
Possessing that much information, the player would approach the link (which we will provide, through IWON - most likely on the team page header), with the credentials to request entrance. Non-members and members alike, would see the Greeting screen with some assorted links, and a little text. Members would request admittance (we have not yet totally set the routine for that), and enter either the team chat, or the team forum - from each, the other is accessible. There is a picture gallery, so be sure to bring a current photo of yourself to post - or not, if you are ashamed to be seen with the rest of us. But you can.
The forum allows us to have a truly private place to post information, whether hints & tips for games, discussions of future plans, debates about team policies, or whatever we choose. I expect that, if not at first, ultimately, all Tigers will be able to post articles there, when they feel the urge. One of the first I will add, is the question of how to deal with IWON in regard to the check that they must soon deal with us about. Possibly that one leads to another article, proposing some sort of new leadership, interim or permanent, and whether we can induce IWON to accept a hydra-type beast, a leadership council, with perhaps, one member designated by that group to deal with the current & any future checks. I am almost sure that IWON will want the legal safeguard of having that single individual be the speaker for the check - but may be flexible as to other dealings between IWON & Tigers. Others might have the task of dealing with IWON help; of managing internal teamwork; of seeking opportunities for recruiting non-IWONers to join the site & hopefully, our team; or whatever that council determines. I have thus far located only three (3) team members willing AND able to assume posts in that council, so I feel we are at least one member shy of a complete set. There are several willing, who are not able; and probably many able, but not willing. We need both for that position.
The chat allows us to speak to one another as with the team page, but with some extra tools, should we choose to apply them. That is one place we could actually conduct a vote over three shifts, about some of the items we might discuss / debate / fight about in the forum.
Both the chat and the forum would be invisible to non-members finding the Greeting page - they would meet only the external links (the ADA, the blog, some other organizations). Members should see the Greeting page with an opportunity to sign in.
Much is unclear, until we actually have it running, and some members set up in accounts. I will update as I can.
*****UPDATE
We have a few more than 300 Tigers set up in the forum / chat now, & some have already visited the construction site, to change passwords, email acccounts, etc. The more who do that now, the better for them, and for the Team. A last-minute rush to get those details cleared up may strain the resources of this operation, if there are problems in the passwords assigned, or other problems. We should attempt to get as many through the logon and clean-up as possible, as early as possible. We may face an IWON deadline on some decisions that remain for now, pending.
The players with playernames beginning in a number, "A", & "B" are set. Half the "M"s are in, and some of the "L"s; the top 16 are all in; most of the active posters on the team page are included as well; the balance will follow as rapidly as we can. If you are not certain if you are in, the best way to find out is to try to log on periodically. See the Tigers team page for instructions.
One note for those attempting to log on: lowercase alpha characters. CAPS - upper case - will probably not work.
Another note: there is a function to allow mIRC entry to the chat. I do not know how, I do not know if it even works. But it is there. If not now, we will try it soon, and let you know - so if you are a mIRC-er, we have you covered. If you have already done the logon trial, and the cleanup, go ahead & try it for yourself.
Final note for this update: I am the dummy in this group. If there is a problem, I can probably fix your password. For more complex problems, see bubbles_71. She is usually on the forum / chat site when she is not on the team page. If there is something she does not know about the process, I have not yet discovered it - and she knows the personnel who do the things she is not allowed to do.
Even worse, I will be undergoing a battery of hurriedly scheduled tests from about 8:00 AM to about 5:00 PM EST on Saturday - today. So I will not be on either site. That means ONLY bubbles, for most of Saturday. I will be on one or both sites for the remainder of the day Saturday. Must. Get. Coins. Must. Get. Coins.
*****UPDATE
We got all the Tigers built as members, and have had the Official Grand Opening. The chat was just sensational, and I think a lot of members who were expecting a clone of the IWON game chats were quite surprised and impressed. We managed to solve some connection problems for the few who had them and had a robust session.
More than expected, fewer than desired, showed up to change passwords (and maybe emails) to ensure their ability to participate if we need to choose leadership in a hurry. We also got a couple of articles posted to the forum, just to show that we could. And bubbles_71 is tinkering with the photo albums - there is a technical glitch right now that keeps all members from being able to post pictures of themselves into the Tigers album. We hope to resolve that issue by next week.
Also, *I* did get to meet several of the Tigers whose names I knew, but whom I had not really dealt with at length, and that was another high point for me. I think we grew a lot closer as a team due just to the encounters in that chat session. I wish that every Tiger would rush to the next event, for the experience of meeting, greeting, and chatting with their colleagues on the team. Nothing more is scheduled right now, although I keep pushing the chat/forum to the members on the team page.
I will likely push again at the Friday gathering in the Wild West Slots. That is a whole other article, though.
Among the things we want, is to make it easier than the Yahoo chat rooms are, to acquire membership, and log in. Yahoo insists that the user provide an email address, and some personal details; and endure a wait for processing, before receiving an email to allow access. Alas, we find the same to be true at Chatshack (the volunteers who are helping us set this up - thanks to bubbles - are affiliated with Chatshack.) However, at least with Chatshack, we may be able to bend that bar just a little, so that (if everything I envision works, and there are no unforeseen problems) we can easily manufacture exactly what Tigers need to get in.
The credentials required, would be only a current Tigers playername, and a mass password which we will provide, but which will need the member to reset it after entry. Recording of an email account will be strongly recommended, so that the team can communicate when necessary. However, that email record would not be enforced at least for now. Subsequently, that would be where team messages would go. Fairly simple, and many of the accounts can be done fairly fast. I estimate that I can do them almost as fast as I can copy&paste the playernames into position. Well, the rest of the process eats a couple of minutes per Tiger. If all is good, I can probably manufacture a couple hundred accounts per day, and bubbles may be able to help to make that faster. That would mean we hope that IWON stalls another 5 days, to allow us to be ready, before dropping a major choice on the team.
Possessing that much information, the player would approach the link (which we will provide, through IWON - most likely on the team page header), with the credentials to request entrance. Non-members and members alike, would see the Greeting screen with some assorted links, and a little text. Members would request admittance (we have not yet totally set the routine for that), and enter either the team chat, or the team forum - from each, the other is accessible. There is a picture gallery, so be sure to bring a current photo of yourself to post - or not, if you are ashamed to be seen with the rest of us. But you can.
The forum allows us to have a truly private place to post information, whether hints & tips for games, discussions of future plans, debates about team policies, or whatever we choose. I expect that, if not at first, ultimately, all Tigers will be able to post articles there, when they feel the urge. One of the first I will add, is the question of how to deal with IWON in regard to the check that they must soon deal with us about. Possibly that one leads to another article, proposing some sort of new leadership, interim or permanent, and whether we can induce IWON to accept a hydra-type beast, a leadership council, with perhaps, one member designated by that group to deal with the current & any future checks. I am almost sure that IWON will want the legal safeguard of having that single individual be the speaker for the check - but may be flexible as to other dealings between IWON & Tigers. Others might have the task of dealing with IWON help; of managing internal teamwork; of seeking opportunities for recruiting non-IWONers to join the site & hopefully, our team; or whatever that council determines. I have thus far located only three (3) team members willing AND able to assume posts in that council, so I feel we are at least one member shy of a complete set. There are several willing, who are not able; and probably many able, but not willing. We need both for that position.
The chat allows us to speak to one another as with the team page, but with some extra tools, should we choose to apply them. That is one place we could actually conduct a vote over three shifts, about some of the items we might discuss / debate / fight about in the forum.
Both the chat and the forum would be invisible to non-members finding the Greeting page - they would meet only the external links (the ADA, the blog, some other organizations). Members should see the Greeting page with an opportunity to sign in.
Much is unclear, until we actually have it running, and some members set up in accounts. I will update as I can.
*****UPDATE
We have a few more than 300 Tigers set up in the forum / chat now, & some have already visited the construction site, to change passwords, email acccounts, etc. The more who do that now, the better for them, and for the Team. A last-minute rush to get those details cleared up may strain the resources of this operation, if there are problems in the passwords assigned, or other problems. We should attempt to get as many through the logon and clean-up as possible, as early as possible. We may face an IWON deadline on some decisions that remain for now, pending.
The players with playernames beginning in a number, "A", & "B" are set. Half the "M"s are in, and some of the "L"s; the top 16 are all in; most of the active posters on the team page are included as well; the balance will follow as rapidly as we can. If you are not certain if you are in, the best way to find out is to try to log on periodically. See the Tigers team page for instructions.
One note for those attempting to log on: lowercase alpha characters. CAPS - upper case - will probably not work.
Another note: there is a function to allow mIRC entry to the chat. I do not know how, I do not know if it even works. But it is there. If not now, we will try it soon, and let you know - so if you are a mIRC-er, we have you covered. If you have already done the logon trial, and the cleanup, go ahead & try it for yourself.
Final note for this update: I am the dummy in this group. If there is a problem, I can probably fix your password. For more complex problems, see bubbles_71. She is usually on the forum / chat site when she is not on the team page. If there is something she does not know about the process, I have not yet discovered it - and she knows the personnel who do the things she is not allowed to do.
Even worse, I will be undergoing a battery of hurriedly scheduled tests from about 8:00 AM to about 5:00 PM EST on Saturday - today. So I will not be on either site. That means ONLY bubbles, for most of Saturday. I will be on one or both sites for the remainder of the day Saturday. Must. Get. Coins. Must. Get. Coins.
*****UPDATE
We got all the Tigers built as members, and have had the Official Grand Opening. The chat was just sensational, and I think a lot of members who were expecting a clone of the IWON game chats were quite surprised and impressed. We managed to solve some connection problems for the few who had them and had a robust session.
More than expected, fewer than desired, showed up to change passwords (and maybe emails) to ensure their ability to participate if we need to choose leadership in a hurry. We also got a couple of articles posted to the forum, just to show that we could. And bubbles_71 is tinkering with the photo albums - there is a technical glitch right now that keeps all members from being able to post pictures of themselves into the Tigers album. We hope to resolve that issue by next week.
Also, *I* did get to meet several of the Tigers whose names I knew, but whom I had not really dealt with at length, and that was another high point for me. I think we grew a lot closer as a team due just to the encounters in that chat session. I wish that every Tiger would rush to the next event, for the experience of meeting, greeting, and chatting with their colleagues on the team. Nothing more is scheduled right now, although I keep pushing the chat/forum to the members on the team page.
I will likely push again at the Friday gathering in the Wild West Slots. That is a whole other article, though.
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