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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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Paul Bonham, could you become a member and be part of the CFC, and be a driving force of everything you write for the CFC? It easy to be an armchair general with a keyboard as the main assault weapon LOL
On the server question: you didn't listen to Jeff Boyd's argument. It's about Canadian geography. The CFC is stuck with that and should make adjustments accordingly. It's also about something the CFC should care about: image. A CFC chess playing site helps the CFC image (if it's run properly). As far as efficiency goes, you take what others are doing for efficiency and you do the same or even better, and if you can't achieve their level of efficiency, you eat the cost for the sake of image and membership. Ever heard the term 'loss leader'?
On your next paragraph: again you ignore the great points from Jeff Boyd. Let's see, 'providing the essentials'... that would be ratings, and one could do that even leaner with an automated system. Don't even have a human face at all for the CFC. Think what that would do for membership!
You seem to have no sense of running a business and listening to customers. Just on this forum alone, the anti-CFC volume is very high, and Jeff Boyd represents a whole new category of 'former' customers who have left the CFC due to dissatisfaction. One can only guess at how many Jeff Boyds may be out there.
Your own willingness to pay membership fee for what the CFC currently offers is a non-starter. You are likely the exception to the rule. If only half of the current membership was an exception to the rule, just imagine how many members the CFC could get if it cared about the rule!
The CFC's mandate is to promote chess in Canada. Not just the major cities of Canada: ALL of Canada. Everything it does should be based on that.
Good post, Paul. I don't know what it would cost to set up a chess playing site but, after allowing for life memberships held in trust, the CFC Foundation would still have several tens of thousands of dollars available to fund a good idea. Is that enough? I'll have to leave that question for someone with the right expertise.
Consider this for just one possibility that such a playing site might make available to the CFC for promoting chess in Canada: what if every elementary and high school child in Canada could access the playing site, via their school's LAN, for free? What if the playing site could be used for intra and extramural team (league) play, match play, recreational play, instruction, etc.? What if one half of one percent of the children who enjoy this access ultimately decide, after high school graduation, to continue their interaction with the CFC via a paid membership? Lots of possibilities it seems.
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey
Re: How can we increase the number of CFC members?
To do a server properly, by a competent professional and not a chess player doing it in his spare time, you're probably looking at 30 to 40,000. Maybe more. It's a case of knowing what you want and what you want to use the server to do. Likely there would be some ongoing planning and work to do.
It's not as expensive as it sounds. If it brings in 1,000 more members it pays for itself.
Building in a function where over the board events can be entered by the tournament directors and automatically rated would eliminate the cost of paying someone to do the work.
Some of the ongoing administration work can be done by tournament directors who are known for their volunteer work.
I remember having access to test the features and try to find bugs on the ICCF server Beta version.
Robert Hamilton should step in around here to disabuse the notions of those who think creating and running a chess server is easy and inexpensive.
I admitted my lack of knowledge, Tom. Comparing what was suggested for the CFC to WCN may not
be a good fit though. WCN was trying to compete with the biggest players in the business but the CFC's ambitions would be much more limited - members plus others to whom the CFC allows access for the purpose of promoting chess in Canada. Or, maybe we should just all admit defeat, admit that chess in Canada is a supremely marginal activity, and then do something really popular like joining a War of 1812 re-enactment society. :)
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey
Re: How can we increase the number of CFC members?
Kevin Spraggett's blog featured Ashley Tapp. He featured Alexandra Botez and look who and what he's featuring now. His prerogative. He's a brilliant guy and has a problem with women. Do you?
The youth membership could double if the CFC started being proactive, treating women with respect and had girls on an equal playing field. It will take a little bit of guts on your part to stand up and fight for women. It is not idealistic. It is the right thing to do.
It wouldn't be long until there are girls competing in the top three of each section or is that what you are afraid of. The treatment of women in this chess community is degenerate.
If numbers never reach the numbers boys produce at least respect is paid.
If this was the CFC's initiative and it was publicized this would bring in new members, good will and sponsors.
Re: How can we increase the number of CFC members?
I really do not understand the basis for this post. Kevin's blog aside, I am not aware of objectification of women within Canadian chess. Instead I see a great deal of promotion of women in Canadian chess (Ashley Tapp, Alexandra Botex, Yualing Yuan, Harmony Zhu, Qiyu Zhou). At the RA Chess Club, women players are given the same opportunities as men. And I have not witnessed stigmatizing of women at chess tournaments.
If anything, I think the issues are not from within the CFC but outside. Chess's reputation as a game for nerds or old men is not so flattering. There are those trying to change that image world wide (the Polgar sisters come to mind), but results so far are limited.
So be specific. HOW is the CFC suppsed to be proactive.
Re: How can we increase the number of CFC members?
Hi Scott:
Don't know if you are aware, but CFC has a voting member position alloted to the CFC Women's Coordinator, currently CM Liza Orlova, former Canadian Women's Olympiad Team member, and 11th highest FIDE-rated woman in Canada.
We have had a number of different women in this position the last no. of years. They all admit that promotion of chess to women/girls is a complex issue, with many non-chess & chess factors coming into play, as to why they don't play, or play, and then retire (often in early highschool).
Re: How can we increase the number of CFC members?
Considering the fact that this thread will be relevant to the promotion children's chess, I request of the moderator that the improper posts be deleted immediately. Young people and their parents, encouraged by Qiyu, will be reading. Please keep this in mind when you make comments.
I wasn't directing anything at you. No idea what you wrote. What did you write?
In Hybrid mode it links back to a reply I made to Jeff Boyd. My post didn't deserve a reply like the one you made. Since it wasn't directed at me I'll delete my post to you.
I rarely comment on the kids play and basically support junior chess. I played junior chess in Canada many decades ago and realize the importance of the programs.
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