The new chat / forum is fully functional now - so get thee hence to logon or register, and start using the chat to meet some of your team-mates! The forum is less lively, but is the repository of the game tips you may be looking for, pictures and profiles of many current Tigers, the agendas and voting opportunities for directing the team's future, and a plethora of other informative or entertaining posts by many different members of the Tigers team.
The site is http://tad.nplum.com/?L That is a direct link to logon and registration, whichever you need to do. Both are on the same page.
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Those members who have already logged on to the chat or forum are all set - you know your userid, and you have reset your password so that only you know what it is.
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Those seeking to join the chat / forum must register.
That is pretty easy: First, decide whether you want to receive (rare) email from the team. If yes, use your real email address for the first answer required. If no, use "xxx@nplum.com" with "xxx" = playername. Although every effort will be made to maintain a site worthy of a "G" rating, members of this site must be at least 13 years old, so select the appropriate dates for "I was born on". As long as that is longer than 13 years ago, it is possible to decrease your age if you desire to do so. Some may want to be 39 again. You will have to decide for yourself whether you are man or woman.
Now, something that is critical: the username MUST be your IWON player name.
That is because the security check will begin with searching for that user name in the roster of Tigers Against Diabetes. In order to have the account activated so that you may chat or read the Forum, that user name MUST be on the roster. Normally activation is less than a day, but there is no instant access. The password is yours to set, and remains invisible even to the staff at the site. It should be 6 or more characters, all common keyboard keys, and alpha-numeric is recommended for your protection from keyboard problems. Of course, the same password must be supplied again, as the confirmation. The balance of the information is yours to dispense or fake, as you see fit - but is somewhat useful to your team-mates in deciding how to deal with your schedule. EST & PST have some overlaps, but also a large amount of inaccessibility for the other.
Be sure to enter the Verification Code into the box for code. Be sure to check to accept and agree to the user agreement. (read that by clicking that title) Now your registration is complete, so click continue. If the registration was successful, you will now see a screen telling you to check your emails for an activation code. That email process has been disabled so that the server is not kept busy with email bounce-backs. There is NO activation email forthcoming! (The same is true of password resets - there is NO email! Instead you should post a note to my profile or on the team page, requesting activation. I am pretty easy to find on the team page, so click my Tiger & tell me that you want to be activated. I will then check the userid - which is already verified by that post on IWON, as you, against the roster of Tigers Against Diabetes; and if it is there, activate the account. *********************************************************************
The site is http://tad.nplum.com/?L That is a direct link to logon and registration, whichever you need to do. Both are on the same page.
Once logged onto the site, please look at the top of your screen. There are names of destinations there, which are access links. Click & visit your own desktop, to do such maintenance chores as updating your password, completing your profile there, deciding about your desire or willingness to receive email from the team, which would require you to update the email listed for you, or deciding whether to upload a picture at that time.
Then, look around: check out some of the other pictures present there, so that you get a sense of to whom you are chatting, when you begin to chat or use the mails function. Read some profiles, to see what information there might help you understand some of your team-mates. Next, check out the Forum to read some game tips, or just to see what topics are posted there. Among the Subjects (over to the right side of the screen) is Weekly Agenda. That is where the pending and past agendas reside, and for the past three weeks, the ballot is attached to the agenda for that date. If you are there to vote, look for the date of the current Saturday, click that title, and you are reading the agenda. When you feel ready to vote, the ballot is right at the bottom of the agenda, so high-light and copy the ballot between the rows of asterisks. Go (carry that copy with you, of course) to the empty text box titled "Reply", & into that box paste the copy you have. Now simply edit that box to add your vote(s), & at the bottom, your player name. For the most part, the site will identify your reply by associating it with your player name anyway, but since sometimes I blow up the agenda & destroy the ballot copies there (I have begun copying them to my HDD since the last such incident) when I rebuild the agenda & ballot & replies, those will all carry my site signature. Thus, your "signature" is an essential element of the process despite that site association with your (or my) user name.
At the top of the page, those titles are still there. If you have no mIRC, you can try the chatrooms shown on the web site. "Tigers" should be in a space by itself, separated from all the other rooms, & right at the top of your screen.
Finally, you are ready for chat. Have a great time, and if you are unfamiliar with mIRC, ask on IWON or in the chat, about bubbles_71 's schedule for starter tips and training. You might also ask about acquiring a copy of the mIRC script, which provides a far better chat experience than the web version of the same chat. She will make the arrangements to provide that to you. A real email address is required for that process, since you will receive the copy via email.
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If you need immediate activation to attend a leadership meeting in the chat, post a message on my profile on IWON - I will review those every hour during the meeting, & you will be activated as soon as possible.
Success! You Are Able To Use The Forum & The Chat. Log on, and ENJOY!
The site is http://tad.nplum.com/?L That is a direct link to logon and registration, whichever you need to do. Both are on the same page.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Coin Counts
It is ever more clear that there are a multitude of problems with the IWON accounting of even individual coins accumulation. That is exacerbated by the absolute certainty that some of the individual coins are not being properly credited in the MVP races, and possibly not to the team for which one plays. I have had a personal case of near-certainty that my first day of play in January did not add to the team total, and wound up leaving, then re-joining Tigers in order to gain the certainty that they were from that point, credited. Although the team feed has improved so greatly that it now has become useful, there is still such a lack of transparency in the individual totals versus the credits awarded the team from those individuals, that I feel a need to push an earlier informal proposal for a solution to this issue.
This proposal has the advantage of allowing individual players to monitor their contributions to the team. That will relieve us, and IWON, of the vast number of complaints about what those contributions are. Better, when there is a problem, if this proposal is carried through to include the daily totals, both the date of the problem, and the extent of the problem, become visible to the individual. That is a detail of vast import in defining the cause of the problem and seeking to resolve it. It would allow the individual to file a useful complaint - errr, "question" with support, and allow them to look at a specific portion of the log for confirmation or explanation.
Following is the text of the question filed to IWON support:
'090108-002647'
Highlighted by recent problems with team credit for individual player coins, we need a new tool from IWON. I suggest on the profile page, near the Team Name link, that those who are members of teams have a gadget added to show the current (MTD) coin credit contributed to the team by that player. Ideally, it would have a popup either showing or offering, a table by date of the days that month, with a coin total contributed for each.
That would relieve your support of the uncertainty of whether an individual's coins were credited for a given day, and would allow the player, upon review, to specify precisely the date in question, together with any supporting evidence (s)he may offer that the total is incorrect. The elimination of numerous ill-founded, or ill-documented, complaints that I know are being filed on this very issue, would offset the work involved in installing that feature.
Since there are most assuredly some of those complaints that are indeed well-founded, whether or not well-documented, those would be visible to address, leading possibly to getting the numbers right, and the process for accumulating the numbers right, for all time. Sorry, that sounds as though it might threaten downsizing the support staff - but there are so many other problems that require focused effort, that there is surely no immediate danger of staff cuts due to this implementation.
My next step is to see if some Team Founders and/or leaders from other teams will join Tigers in pushing this suggestion (unless I find a better suggestion from them, or other reader's comments).
This proposal has the advantage of allowing individual players to monitor their contributions to the team. That will relieve us, and IWON, of the vast number of complaints about what those contributions are. Better, when there is a problem, if this proposal is carried through to include the daily totals, both the date of the problem, and the extent of the problem, become visible to the individual. That is a detail of vast import in defining the cause of the problem and seeking to resolve it. It would allow the individual to file a useful complaint - errr, "question" with support, and allow them to look at a specific portion of the log for confirmation or explanation.
Following is the text of the question filed to IWON support:
'090108-002647'
Highlighted by recent problems with team credit for individual player coins, we need a new tool from IWON. I suggest on the profile page, near the Team Name link, that those who are members of teams have a gadget added to show the current (MTD) coin credit contributed to the team by that player. Ideally, it would have a popup either showing or offering, a table by date of the days that month, with a coin total contributed for each.
That would relieve your support of the uncertainty of whether an individual's coins were credited for a given day, and would allow the player, upon review, to specify precisely the date in question, together with any supporting evidence (s)he may offer that the total is incorrect. The elimination of numerous ill-founded, or ill-documented, complaints that I know are being filed on this very issue, would offset the work involved in installing that feature.
Since there are most assuredly some of those complaints that are indeed well-founded, whether or not well-documented, those would be visible to address, leading possibly to getting the numbers right, and the process for accumulating the numbers right, for all time. Sorry, that sounds as though it might threaten downsizing the support staff - but there are so many other problems that require focused effort, that there is surely no immediate danger of staff cuts due to this implementation.
My next step is to see if some Team Founders and/or leaders from other teams will join Tigers in pushing this suggestion (unless I find a better suggestion from them, or other reader's comments).
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Would YOU Like To Write An Article?
If you have an item of interest for the team, or just want to vent - YOU can post an article on this blog - which has the advantage of allowing longer pieces than chat or the team page - and express your point. So state in the comments to this item, together with your IWON player name, and I will get it posted.
There are, of course, limits: nothing obscene, please; no demeaning characterizations, nothing derogatory about teammates or competition. Be brief, be clear, be clean - and I will post it.
There are, of course, limits: nothing obscene, please; no demeaning characterizations, nothing derogatory about teammates or competition. Be brief, be clear, be clean - and I will post it.
IWON Help Requests
You are playing on IWON, & you think something is wrong: the game is somehow cheating you, or your coins are not being registered, or you do something HUGE, and the team totals or your MVP score, don't budge, even after a refresh and a wait past the 15-minute cycle for some updates. OK, time to complain!
Near the bottom of all IWON pages, in the small print of that bottom bar, is the title "Help".Click that, & you are off on a Marco Polo journey into the enchanted lands of "Who can fix this problem?"
Note with dread the bleached skeletons of past travellers as you approach the outskirts of this strange kingdom, littering your passage through the traps & toils of "Top 5 Questions", "How To Play", and the enticing "Technical:". You will not fall prey to such obvious time-wasters, for you have a complaint, and you are seeking someone to fix the problem.
Travel instead to the very bottom of the page, locate "Contact Customer Support for Assistance", and click that.
A new vista confronts you, the enchanted city at the heart of this mystical land. First, you must provide some details: your email, a topic (my usual is "Technical", for most of my complaints are not about simple glitches such as the game froze, how do I get the coins I had won, once I x that game out, and restart?). You may choose any that seem more similar to the precise complaint you wish to file; if in doubt, "Technical" is probably the best overall choice. Next, the title of the IWON game, if the complaint is specific to only one game - most of mine are not. Your IWON username=playername, so type that in. Security Software: if your issue is connections, or inability to load any games, this might fit: otherwise, choose from the list, but ignore the choice once made. (Note that Spybot DOES NOT LIKE IWON, and should that be your security software, or even running on your system, you may have serious problems with the site.) Select your Operating System from the drop-down menu, mostly some version of Windows. Finally - you arrive at the castle at the center of this city: "Question:". Yes, we know you came here to complain, but, be nice: this IS the royal court & there must be a question that presents your complaint as reasonable, and which with some details describing exactly what is happening, and a date/time or dates/times, will allow the IWON personnel to locate the incident or incidents in their computer logs.
Provide the information first, then refer to supporting documents, screen-shots, or whatever you have that will substantiate your interpretation of what IWON has done to you. The more detail, and the more supporting evidence you present to the court, the greater the chance that the King will agree to hear your complaint. Copy the text of your complaint to notepad. No special need at this time to save that document, which is as yet incomplete; however, it is sometimes a wise thing to save, just in case your machine freezes. When you have finished copying the text of the submission, click "Continue" at the bottom of the box into which you posted your complaint - errr - "question". (One never complains in the presence of royalty.)
That is but the first step to submission, however.If your "question" is long, which mine always are, and involves a lot of fact-gathering to provide the sense of security of knowing that everything in the "question" can be backed by documentation, or is explicitly stated to be an approximation, you may find yourself confronted now by the challenge from the court guards - "submission failed due to timeout" was, I think, the most recent phrasing of the insistence by IWON that this process cannot allow you to reach the King's ear. What that means, is to use the back button to the page containing all that text over which you labored so long as to earn the "timeout". Then you must refresh that page. Now you discover that the text is vanished, and you are back to a blank starter page. This is why we saved the text before submission, though, so a few seconds to re-answer that collection of the inane that IWON passes off as pertinent data, and copy back the text from Notepad to the blanked box, and you are ready once again to "Continue".
The next page will offer some alluring distractions in the apparent hope that even the intrepid supplicant will leave the court without ever actually pleading a case - those mechanically chosen links to things that might resemble your "question". Ignore those links for now. Were you to pursue them, you might either get lost, and never complete the submission, or, finally finding your way back, find that you have once more earned a "timeout". So then you would need to back up all the way past the text box, refresh, and start over. At the bottom of that list of links, click the button "Finish Submitting Issue". NOW you have submitted your "question"!
Copy the "reference number" from the screen to the Notepad copy of the question text, NOW save everything, and begin to wait for the King's messenger.
In a day or so, you will receive an auto-reply message from IWON at the email you provided, which is not intended to be an answer, but only an acknowledgement of the "question" you have filed. If you did not copy the text you submitted prior to submitting it, or did not get the number assigned by IWON, those will be included in the acknowledgement. I save those, in a separate email folder, for easy reference & access. In a while (10 days to three weeks) there will be another email - this one is the attempted answer. It may not be what you wanted, and sometimes will appear totally irrelevant to the "question" - but now you have the means to reassert your question.
Repeat the process above - DO NOT reply to their email to you, for those replies appear to be ignored. Copy in relevant information from the original "question", add refutation or rebuttal to the answer provided. BE SURE to cite the reference number of the original "question" as the header to this "question". I will not guarantee that a linkage will be established, but the very mention of that earlier submission will help them to see that you are not going to accept any nonsense without protest.
You will be assigned a new number for the new submission, so you will repeat the entire auto-response, later response, decision, and possibly even a third submission before you ever get a response that answers the question, or at least states clearly that your self-interest does not permit you to understand the answer already provided, and you are therefore beyond all help. You may then decide whether you wish to pursue the matter further.
Near the bottom of all IWON pages, in the small print of that bottom bar, is the title "Help".Click that, & you are off on a Marco Polo journey into the enchanted lands of "Who can fix this problem?"
Note with dread the bleached skeletons of past travellers as you approach the outskirts of this strange kingdom, littering your passage through the traps & toils of "Top 5 Questions", "How To Play", and the enticing "Technical:". You will not fall prey to such obvious time-wasters, for you have a complaint, and you are seeking someone to fix the problem.
Travel instead to the very bottom of the page, locate "Contact Customer Support for Assistance", and click that.
A new vista confronts you, the enchanted city at the heart of this mystical land. First, you must provide some details: your email, a topic (my usual is "Technical", for most of my complaints are not about simple glitches such as the game froze, how do I get the coins I had won, once I x that game out, and restart?). You may choose any that seem more similar to the precise complaint you wish to file; if in doubt, "Technical" is probably the best overall choice. Next, the title of the IWON game, if the complaint is specific to only one game - most of mine are not. Your IWON username=playername, so type that in. Security Software: if your issue is connections, or inability to load any games, this might fit: otherwise, choose from the list, but ignore the choice once made. (Note that Spybot DOES NOT LIKE IWON, and should that be your security software, or even running on your system, you may have serious problems with the site.) Select your Operating System from the drop-down menu, mostly some version of Windows. Finally - you arrive at the castle at the center of this city: "Question:". Yes, we know you came here to complain, but, be nice: this IS the royal court & there must be a question that presents your complaint as reasonable, and which with some details describing exactly what is happening, and a date/time or dates/times, will allow the IWON personnel to locate the incident or incidents in their computer logs.
Provide the information first, then refer to supporting documents, screen-shots, or whatever you have that will substantiate your interpretation of what IWON has done to you. The more detail, and the more supporting evidence you present to the court, the greater the chance that the King will agree to hear your complaint. Copy the text of your complaint to notepad. No special need at this time to save that document, which is as yet incomplete; however, it is sometimes a wise thing to save, just in case your machine freezes. When you have finished copying the text of the submission, click "Continue" at the bottom of the box into which you posted your complaint - errr - "question". (One never complains in the presence of royalty.)
That is but the first step to submission, however.If your "question" is long, which mine always are, and involves a lot of fact-gathering to provide the sense of security of knowing that everything in the "question" can be backed by documentation, or is explicitly stated to be an approximation, you may find yourself confronted now by the challenge from the court guards - "submission failed due to timeout" was, I think, the most recent phrasing of the insistence by IWON that this process cannot allow you to reach the King's ear. What that means, is to use the back button to the page containing all that text over which you labored so long as to earn the "timeout". Then you must refresh that page. Now you discover that the text is vanished, and you are back to a blank starter page. This is why we saved the text before submission, though, so a few seconds to re-answer that collection of the inane that IWON passes off as pertinent data, and copy back the text from Notepad to the blanked box, and you are ready once again to "Continue".
The next page will offer some alluring distractions in the apparent hope that even the intrepid supplicant will leave the court without ever actually pleading a case - those mechanically chosen links to things that might resemble your "question". Ignore those links for now. Were you to pursue them, you might either get lost, and never complete the submission, or, finally finding your way back, find that you have once more earned a "timeout". So then you would need to back up all the way past the text box, refresh, and start over. At the bottom of that list of links, click the button "Finish Submitting Issue". NOW you have submitted your "question"!
Copy the "reference number" from the screen to the Notepad copy of the question text, NOW save everything, and begin to wait for the King's messenger.
In a day or so, you will receive an auto-reply message from IWON at the email you provided, which is not intended to be an answer, but only an acknowledgement of the "question" you have filed. If you did not copy the text you submitted prior to submitting it, or did not get the number assigned by IWON, those will be included in the acknowledgement. I save those, in a separate email folder, for easy reference & access. In a while (10 days to three weeks) there will be another email - this one is the attempted answer. It may not be what you wanted, and sometimes will appear totally irrelevant to the "question" - but now you have the means to reassert your question.
Repeat the process above - DO NOT reply to their email to you, for those replies appear to be ignored. Copy in relevant information from the original "question", add refutation or rebuttal to the answer provided. BE SURE to cite the reference number of the original "question" as the header to this "question". I will not guarantee that a linkage will be established, but the very mention of that earlier submission will help them to see that you are not going to accept any nonsense without protest.
You will be assigned a new number for the new submission, so you will repeat the entire auto-response, later response, decision, and possibly even a third submission before you ever get a response that answers the question, or at least states clearly that your self-interest does not permit you to understand the answer already provided, and you are therefore beyond all help. You may then decide whether you wish to pursue the matter further.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
"Steal" A March: A Fresh Start
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.
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.
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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