Author: Will Singleton
Date: 17:43:48 09/14/98
All, I have noticed that more Crafty accounts are popping up on ICC. Seems I remember reading awhile back that ICC would no longer give out free Crafty accounts, and I assumed it was due to a perceived glut. So I checked, and they are still giving them out, if the account will play only wild, or standard, or < 2200. If paid, you can set up the account any way you like. A couple of points: Crafty is very strong, and people naturally want to play it, modify it, configure it, and run it on various platforms against a variety of opponents. And so, this results in a proliferation of Crafty accounts. What are some of the effects of this? The obvious benefit is that people have the opportunity to play a terrific game of chess, at any time. And I suppose it may slightly benefit ICC, if unrestricted Crafty accounts must now be paid. But the Craftys now dominate the server's computer accounts. This necessarily has the effect of lessening the opportunity of other programs to find strong human opponents. It follows then that those programs have less opportunity to improve, both in rating (which is a function of the available player pool) and in real strength. Obviously it's beneficial for the members of ICC to be able to play a Crafty anytime they choose. But at what point does this become counter-productive? Are there some people put off by the fact that all these seemingly distinct computer accounts are really the same program? Doesn't this lessen the inherent value of the server? Beyond the oversupply argument, there is a quality or ambience of "artificial variety" on ICC. Some might say the server is "littered" with Craftys. I don't think this oversupply benefits ICC or Crafty. In addition, as a programmer I am concerned that the casual player will not differentiate between accounts by program, but rather by name or rating. He may not know that of five seeks, four are Crafty. All players will not actually take the time to look at the finger notes, for whatever reason. So my program and others are not easily differentiated from the Craftys. (*See list below.) I'm sure ICC and Mr. Sleator will run their business any way they choose; they have certainly been successful, and I applaud them for their fine service. I especially note that lag seems to have been vanquished as a significant problem, and the server is almost never down. But, a small suggestion if I might: just *label* the Craftys. Make it Fitter(CR), or Thoth(CR), or Whatever(CR). I think it's a small change, and it's appropriate for people viewing the "seek" board to be able to differentiate between Crafty accounts and other computer accounts. It would enable a more accurate, and honest, representation of the state of the server. -------------------------------------------------------------- *Craftys (partial list, 30) Account Name Blitz Rating Crafty (15.20) 2868 Fitter 3086 Arasan4 2648 YucoII 2848 KillerGrob 2823 MrsLovett 2784 Thoth 2784 DrAlekhine 2773 Lynnett 2841 Perplexity 2748 Counterplay 2743 PII233Crafty 2606 Stupidity 2379 Flambe 2420 Epita 2517 Netsurfer 2733 (bullet only) K6-Krafty 2642 ComputerMan 2731 Moron 2843 BananaBot 2859 Singacrafty 2748 Heatstroke 2664 Moonshot 2749 Weakcomp 2485 Data 2641 Wildthing 2022 (wild) Watts 2314 (standard) Summit 1805 (bullet) xfiles 2796 eniac 1678 --------------------------------------------------------------
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