Kenneth wrote:
All you FICS players, who have always touted FICS, as better than
ICC, what do you have to say now? FICS has been down for weeks.

The FICS webserver has been down for around two weeks. Their other
server is working just fine. You need to download an interface such
as Babas Chess[1] and use that to connect, instead of using the applet
on the FICS website.

ICC is still going strong.

FICS is still going strong, too:

| fics% uptime
| FICS 1.25.17: compiled on Jul 16 2006 at 10:47:57
| The server has been up since Thu Jul 27, 17:22 BST 2006.
| (Up for 94 days, 23 hrs, 30 mins)
|
| There are currently 678 players, with a high of 1766 since last restart.
| There are currently 200 games, with a high of 431 since last restart.

That compares with 2030 people logged in to ICC -- not too bad, really.


The whole idea of a free chessplaying site is rediculous anyway

Um. Yeah. Totally ****ing bat**** crazy. As is the idea that two
people can play chess secretly in their house without paying any money
to anyone. All chess games must be paid for! All of them, damnit!


but of course there are always those, looking to get something for
nothing.

I won't remind you that ICC used to be free until they decided to
gouge all their members by charging for the service. Aw, crap. I
just did.


Dave.

[1] http://www.babaschess.net/

--
David Richerby Slimy Metal Whisky (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a single-malt whisky that's made of
steel but it's covered in goo!

Matt Nemmers wrote:
Kenneth wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
Well, I have tried a telnet connection with both babaschess and jin -
no response.
Any suggestios, anyone?


Yes, don't be cheap, and spring for the measly $50. or so per year, on ICC.
Kenneth

Yeah. Don't be so cheap!

After you've paid your $50.00 to the USCF, bought the set & clock "Big
Knight" combo for $59.95 so you could play in your first tournament,
then had to shell out the $15.00 in state association dues (assuming
you DON'T live in Illinois), drove to your tournament (paying for gas &
snacks along the way), stayed overnight for the two-day event (paying
for a hotel), and drove home after leaving the tournament empty handed,
you're SURE to have a "measly $50" just laying around so you can PAY to
play chess on the internet.

Sheesh.

Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?

Problem is, it's not milk anymore, but more along the lines of FICS
lindberger cheese....the ICC experience is way worth more than the
freebies FICS gives you, however, if you look to improve your game, for
the lousy cash they ask for.

And your weekend tournament experience is dead on, by the way.

http://chess-training.blogspot.com

David Richerby wrote:
I won't remind you that ICC used to be free until they decided to
gouge all their members by charging for the service. Aw, crap. I
just did.

But Dave, was it not the ICCC membership that cried for 'more services'
and a willingness to pay for them? Wasn't it the ICC membership that
screamed for GM simuls and more relays and other various chess
shin-digs that are not free and a willingness to pay for them?

Didn't ICC just do what it's membership asked it to do?

Do the math:

Ask a friend to play each night, every night, for a year. After 2 weeks
you've ponied up EACH $50 in beer and chips money...

Try to get a GM to come to your house and play. Good luck.

Try and get 16 players together at your house for a blitz tourney every
night. You probably don't have 15 friends...

Then, do the ratings calculations yourself.

Etc., etc., etc., etc.

NO BRAINER.

But hey, enjoy FICS. You and your couple-hundred friends...



http://chess-training.blogspot.com

In article . com,
" wrote:

But Dave, was it not the ICCC membership that cried for 'more services'
and a willingness to pay for them? Wasn't it the ICC membership that
screamed for GM simuls and more relays and other various chess
shin-digs that are not free and a willingness to pay for them?
Didn't ICC just do what it's membership asked it to do?


No, actually, it wasn't the membership. You can see all the details by
looking at the old archives of the chess newsgroups, but FICS and ICC
broke apart because a lot of people didn't see what their extra money
was going to get them.

Do the math:

Ask a friend to play each night, every night, for a year. After 2 weeks
you've ponied up EACH $50 in beer and chips money...

But this doesn't make any sense.

If I'm eating chips and drinking beer when I'm playing chess, I'm doing
that regardless of whether my friend is sitting across the table from
me, across town, or across the globe.

(Although, to be perfectly honest, there are enough added bonuses to
playing face-to-face with a friend that, even if it's a financial loss,
I'd almost always choose that over playing online anyway).

Try to get a GM to come to your house and play. Good luck.

I don't have much in the way of interest of playing GMs, or of watching
them play. Occasionally I'll watch games from a major match or
tournament, but I can do that on FICS. My desire to do that is more than
met by the number of GM games relayed on FICS.

Try and get 16 players together at your house for a blitz tourney every
night. You probably don't have 15 friends...

And, similarly, this is a false comparison. There are plenty of blitz
tournaments on FICS - far more, in fact, than I could ever be interested
in playing in.

So, I ask again, what does the $50 bucks a year get me that I'm not
getting on FICS?

Lastly, and this is the real question, why make this personal?

Some people, obviously, see value in the extra GM access, in the larger
number of lectures, and the larger player pool (the latter almost made
me consider switching, but it seems to me that the number of standard
time control players on FICS has risen in the last couple of years.)

Others of us don't.

Why is this a character issue?

Why does talking up ICC have to be about attacking FICS?

-Ron

David Richerby wrote:

wrote:
Well, I have tried a telnet connection with both babaschess and jin -
no response. Any suggestios, anyone?

Check that you're using the server `freechess.org', *not*
`www.freechess.org'. Usually, they're equivalent but, at the moment,
the first one is working and the second isn't.

Done all that - still no cigar, pls. stop flogging a dead cow Dave..

wrote:

...

Then, do the ratings calculations yourself.

Etc., etc., etc., etc.

NO BRAINER.

But hey, enjoy FICS. You and your couple-hundred friends...



-Ah, get lost firkin dork. I _was_ an icc man through & through,
enjoying the ease with which it was possible to play a casual game or
two as a guest. Probably whupped your ass many times in the past,
porn-loving, dollar worshiping, yankee dork, go fuk yourself - ******..

wrote:
David Richerby wrote:
I won't remind you that ICC used to be free until they decided to
gouge all their members by charging for the service. Aw, crap. I
just did.

Do the math:

Ask a friend to play each night, every night, for a year. After 2
weeks you've ponied up EACH $50 in beer and chips money...

Yeah, you're right. FICS doesn't provide beer and chips. Oh, wait.
Nor does ICC. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.


Try to get a GM to come to your house and play. Good luck.

If I want a GM-strength opponent, I have the computer. It just so
happens that I paid for a copy of Fritz, which cost less than a year's
subscription to ICC and lasts forever. Alternatively, I could use one
of the many free GM-strength programs out there, which cost as much as
a year's subscription to FICS and also last forever.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.


Try and get 16 players together at your house for a blitz tourney
every night. You probably don't have 15 friends...

Haha. I'm not interested in blitz tournaments but, if I were, there
are plenty on FICS. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.


Then, do the ratings calculations yourself.

FICS does ratings calculations. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.


But hey, enjoy FICS. You and your couple-hundred friends...

A moment ago, you said I didn't even have fifteen friends. Make your
mind up. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.

Thank you for playing I'm A Bigoted ******. You scored five points.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Gigantic Lead Chainsaw (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a lethal weapon that weighs a ton but
it's huge!

Ron wrote:
In article . com,
" wrote:

But Dave, was it not the ICCC membership that cried for 'more services'
and a willingness to pay for them? Wasn't it the ICC membership that
screamed for GM simuls and more relays and other various chess
shin-digs that are not free and a willingness to pay for them?
Didn't ICC just do what it's membership asked it to do?


No, actually, it wasn't the membership. You can see all the details by
looking at the old archives of the chess newsgroups, but FICS and ICC
broke apart because a lot of people didn't see what their extra money
was going to get them.

Do the math:

Ask a friend to play each night, every night, for a year. After 2 weeks
you've ponied up EACH $50 in beer and chips money...

But this doesn't make any sense.

If I'm eating chips and drinking beer when I'm playing chess, I'm doing
that regardless of whether my friend is sitting across the table from
me, across town, or across the globe.

(Although, to be perfectly honest, there are enough added bonuses to
playing face-to-face with a friend that, even if it's a financial loss,
I'd almost always choose that over playing online anyway).

Try to get a GM to come to your house and play. Good luck.

I don't have much in the way of interest of playing GMs, or of watching
them play. Occasionally I'll watch games from a major match or
tournament, but I can do that on FICS. My desire to do that is more than
met by the number of GM games relayed on FICS.

Try and get 16 players together at your house for a blitz tourney every
night. You probably don't have 15 friends...

And, similarly, this is a false comparison. There are plenty of blitz
tournaments on FICS - far more, in fact, than I could ever be interested
in playing in.

So, I ask again, what does the $50 bucks a year get me that I'm not
getting on FICS?

Lastly, and this is the real question, why make this personal?

Some people, obviously, see value in the extra GM access, in the larger
number of lectures, and the larger player pool (the latter almost made
me consider switching, but it seems to me that the number of standard
time control players on FICS has risen in the last couple of years.)

Others of us don't.

Why is this a character issue?

Why does talking up ICC have to be about attacking FICS?

-Ron

Who made it personal? Not me. I was simply pointing out the benefits
you get on ICC. If you choose to play on FICS, that is your decision. I
happen to think it is worth the small coin on ICC for what you get for
it.

It's called MY OPINION.

If you prefer FICS, go for it. I have no problem with that.

And, Mr. Adams: You couldn't whip cheese whiz out of a can...

michael adams wrote:
David Richerby wrote:
wrote:
Well, I have tried a telnet connection with both babaschess and jin -
no response. Any suggestios, anyone?
Check that you're using the server `freechess.org', *not*
`www.freechess.org'. Usually, they're equivalent but, at the moment,
the first one is working and the second isn't.

Done all that - still no cigar, pls. stop flogging a dead cow Dave..

I just played a couple of games using the WinBoard. Why haven't you
tried the WinBoard or XBoard both of which work? Don't know how? Ask for
help, then.


--
Timo Pirinen

In article . com,
" wrote:

Who made it personal?

Well, Kenneth did to begin with, asking:

he whole idea of a free chessplaying site is rediculous anyway, but
of course there are always those, looking to get something for nothing.

and ...

don't be cheap, and spring for the measly $50

and then you wrote:

You probably don't have 15 friends...

which is pretty clearly making it personal.

-Ron