Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 22:53:13 09/14/98
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On September 14, 1998 at 20:43:48, Will Singleton wrote: >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. Right, they idea was that they wanted to make sure that the crafties were actually playing members, rather than have them sit there with formulas that would cause them to play only GM's and other computers. >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. There is typically a computer account free when you want to play against one, which is a good thing, but yes, you are right. Other computer accounts get lost in the shuffle. I have often had people ask me what revision of Crafty I am running. I get fewer games now because 1) I have to fight for quality players with all the Crafties, and 2) I sit idle longer than I used to, so I get disconnected by my ISP. >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. You aren't alone in this opinion. I don't know if I agree with you, I haven't given it a huge amount of thought, and even if I did, I'm not a typical ICC user so my opinions would probably be pretty unique. But you'll sometimes hear complaints about this. There is a group called "anti-ACCORDION" (Another Crafty Clone of Rather Doubtful Intelligence and Need", you can get more info via "finger junk". >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. You can ask for this, but I doubt you'll get it. If the end-user cares about what computer they play, they'll finger it, and if they don't care, they don't need the extra bit of info. >*Craftys (partial list, 30) [list snipped] There are lots lots more. bruce
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