On Friday, February 2, between 8AM and 12PM, Verizon will be shutting down my residential FIOS Internet connection and convert me to a business-grade FIOS Internet connection. This will provide me with the ability to host web sites out of my home.
The next step is to schedule a time when I can get physical access to the server, remove it from the datacenter it is currently in, and bring it home. Before I do that I have to clear out some space in my basement for it; I have a storage room that I should be able to find room in. I also have to make sure I have sufficient electrical capacity to run the server and related devices; if this proves to be a problem, I have to get an electrician to throw a new breaker in the circuit box. (I do some electrical work, but I don’t do things to that level!)
I’m in the process of figuring out when I can get access to the datacenter without paying another $125 (or $150, depending on the price du jour). The ISP told me that if someone is already on-site they would not charge, so I’ll try to find a day where someone is on site and schedule the extraction for that day. One of the members of our community, rewster, has offered to give me a hand in the operation (something that’s needed, as moving a rack server in a busy Manhattan street is no simple task). I’d much rather give him gas and toll money and buy him lunch than give the ISP $125 (or $150) to sit with their thumb up their rump…
When I find out more I’ll let you know. Keep your fingers crossed that things will come together soon!
February 1, 2007 at 10:36 am
I have to get an electrician to throw a new breaker in the circuit box. (I do some electrical work, but I don’t do things to that level!)
Good call. “Amateur Electrician” sounds like a MadTV sketch, or a phrase that makes Insurance Auditors cringe.
February 1, 2007 at 10:37 am
Forgot to mention — THIS IS GREAT NEWS. Thanks for all the perseverence that you’ve put in here. And thanks for keeping us in the loop.
February 1, 2007 at 10:43 am
To address DeltaKoz and his concerns:
Please realize that many of us really love the game, and have been at it for a long time. I, for one, dont mind the “break”, and CSFBL will be back and it will be just fine, and potentially better for the outage.
If people decide to not come back to CSFBL, that is their choice, and I would not fault them for that choice. All I can do is echo what Chris, Brian and many others have said. Ultimately we have to put the timeline/decision making in Brians hands and trust that he really does have the games best interest in mind, it is his baby after all …
The way I see it is this…being the way we are..sort of more “family” than a normal website, I certainly hope people can excuse when “cousin” Server goes on the fritz.
February 1, 2007 at 10:47 am
Thanks for the update Brian, I hope you will be able to pick up the server soon.
February 1, 2007 at 10:49 am
Sorry, but i must agree with Delta. I too know some folks that have sworn off this game already. I think the “family” will be considerably smaller. I would not be surprised if over half of my leagues fold within a month of the game coming back on line.
February 1, 2007 at 10:49 am
thanks for the update brian!
and what do you guys expect when CSFBL decodes to BREAK… we already went over this!
February 1, 2007 at 10:57 am
I hear you Realm…I most certainly do not intend to question the way CSFBL is being run…I know Brian is trying to do everything he can in the best interests of the game.
It just worries me now…every day, I hear a few more guys echo those sentiments…and it worries me, thats all. I was simply trying to make it known to you fellows as well.
February 1, 2007 at 10:58 am
Exciting news. Thanks for the update.
February 1, 2007 at 10:58 am
Those that will leave will search for another game..when they realize no online Baseball Game has what the longest running online Baseball Sim game has for free…they will return.
February 1, 2007 at 10:58 am
If people leave, others will replace them. Basically we will see CSFBL in the same spot it was a year ago. We lose leagues, well the ones that will remain will be even stronger. It is a shame to lose some of the people, but I wouldn’t worry about this long term. Things will still work out for the site.
February 1, 2007 at 11:02 am
The site may lose the people that checked in once a week, or every two weeks, or something like that, the casual players. I am pretty sure the hardcore, freaks, like myself will be around as long as csfbl is around.
Seems to me, that in the short time, just about a year now, that I have been around, brian, and the others do everything they can to make this a top notch site, upgrades, and fixing things. With that being known, I am sure csfbl will be just as great, if not better then it has in the past.
February 1, 2007 at 11:02 am
Thanks for the update and the great work to everyone making this happen. I for one must be honest….I’m quite enjoying the break. Sometimes I get to intensely involved with my teams and my league, so it’s nice to step away sometimes and get refreshed.
I guess we’ll call this the REAL offseason.
February 1, 2007 at 11:02 am
well if your addicted your addicted and I AM ADDICTED… You can bet your blue bonnett I’ll be back
Thanks for the update looking forward to it!
February 1, 2007 at 11:12 am
I guess it just worries me that we are saying “oh, we can afford to lose the guys who don’t check daily”, “we’ll replace them”…its a tad bit presumptuous, no? People are taking the current free time they have from the game being down, and filling it with other activities…
If those activities become more important to them, they won’t come back. I know we can say that guys like us will keep it strong, keep it alive, those owners don’t matter anyways…but the truth is, they do. And I am worried that alot of guys here are just eschewing them. I don’t believe that Brian is trying to…but alot of guys here seem to think they don’t matter. I disagree.
February 1, 2007 at 11:17 am
Thanks for the spot in the pen realm! However, i don’t have issues!
YES I DO!
no, i don’t. everything is fine.
SHUT UP! THEY’RE LISTENING!
no they’re not. you’re just paranoid.
I’M NOT PARANOID! YOU’RE ……ahhhh…
February 1, 2007 at 11:25 am
Delta, I don’t think it has anything to do with people not caring and are willing to write those you speak of off, I know its not my case , heck I went to bat for them,
Its a matter of there is nothing anyone can do at the moment but wait..if some can’t wait then I am sorry but thats it, seems things can only move one way one step at a time..surley reasonable people can understand that…can’t they?
February 1, 2007 at 11:28 am
Everyone matters !
Any and all can feel free to email myself or chris at anytime and we will gladly answer any questions they/you have.
Thats my email:
realmwalker@pobox.com
Truth is though, I really have given all the INFO I can … but I have no issues with interacting with anyone who wishes to contact me personally.
February 1, 2007 at 11:29 am
~Sorry, but i must agree with Delta. I too know some folks that have sworn off this game already. I think the “family” will be considerably smaller. I would not be surprised if over half of my leagues fold within a month of the game coming back on line.~
What you mean the owners who are 30 games out in September and are still playing 36 year olds hitting below the Mendoza line?
Or do you mean the owners who take two weeks to respond to a PM and then finally asks for my 26 year old MVP candidate for their #2 starter, a 33 year old with a 4something ERA?
Let me know cause I’m really worried about loses both of these guys
I think there should be a moritorium in adding new leagues and a few private leagues (like mine) might need some TLC , but in the end this will improve the quality of CSFBL since it will weed out dispassionate owners.
I agree though that this could have avery deterimental affect on most Greek leagues. But then again, aren’t you really competeting against yourself in those leagues anyways.
February 1, 2007 at 11:31 am
I’m with you, DMan…I am trying to bat for these fellows as well. Its why I’ve posted these concerns…
And of course these guys are all reasonable gentlemen. They understand that certain things take time…some simply don’t seem to understand why its taken this long, almost 2 weeks…and we technically aren’t any closer to the fix than we were when it happened. That, I am thinking, is a reasonable concern on their parts as well.
I would never challenge anyone here to do this at a pace that is umcomfortable. Its just becoming more apparent that the longer this lingers, the more and more folks will start to feel this way…and I think more and more leagues are going to feel the pains of it. Some of my strongest, most dedicated leagues are having guys tell me through different sources that they are done. It just concerns me, thats all. I’m not telling anyone here to pick up the pace. Simply providing information from various guys that won’t be posting here.
February 1, 2007 at 11:33 am
Im not quite sure I understand the above discussion. I am under the impression that this outage wasnt planned, and that the powers that be (Brian, Chris, etc.) are doing the best and fastest job at getting CSFBL back online. The discussion about people leaving the site seems silly. Yes people may leave, but is there an alternative? Is there a strategy involved in these complaints? The sky is blue, and it wont turn green by complaining.
February 1, 2007 at 11:34 am
NO LAWSUITERS Lineup
C – Brian DeMarzo
1B- Babar Floyd
2B – Chris G
SS – Realmy Walker
3B – Rewster
LF – Harbor Pirate
CF – D Man
RF – Twins2005
DH – Xdudimus Maximus.
SP – Crocko P 33
BULLPEN:
SETUP- Genglish the Mad!
CL – Widowmaker
***NEWS***
We have hired our “DONT SUE ME ALL STARS” General Counsel, and as a bonus he will come of the Bench to pinch hit and can play some utility IF …
Lawyer/Utility IF – DRAY!!!
February 1, 2007 at 11:45 am
I’m one of those fringe guys. I check my stuff daily, but I don’t really care if my teams are in 1st or last. It’s just a temporary diversion for a few minutes each day.
Because of that, I have no issue asking questions that the hardcore players seem to tip toe around as to not piss anyone off.
1. Why does it take over 2 weeks to physically get a server when there have been several people stating they would do this for Brian?
2. Without the server in hand and having not been able to access it, how can you even begin to assess what’s wrong?
3. If there is no intent to change hardware, why is there any reason to believe the reliability is going to be any better from within someone’s home which, may or may not, need to be re-wired just to make this work, as compared to a datacenter?
4. Why does it seem only 1 person, who, understandably, has several other priorities, is th only person capable of doing what seems to be daily tasks and updates for the game?
5. Why do all the programming changes put into place seem to cause more trouble? Do these changes get full scale testing before being put into production?
I guess I don’t understand the relative lack of priority on a service that is used by literally hundreds of users. It just doesn’t make sense.
February 1, 2007 at 11:48 am
It is too bad there is not a way for an owner to leave a dead league (besides from it being purged) and activate the team in another competitive league that is only short a few owners. For example, instead of only having a choice to recruit a team in a good league, maybe they could replace a team with an existing team from a dead league.
This way, an owner would not have to give up on a team that he has groomed for a few seasons and still be able to join a competitive league.
February 1, 2007 at 11:48 am
one thought here: what will happen with the 30 day login rule? will the deadline be extended for teams once the game is up and running again?
February 1, 2007 at 11:51 am
brian…just a thought…don’t know if this is possible but if you’re hosting from home would it be possible to host additional sites as well? like something that’s pretty small maybe 6-7 pages not graphic heavy?
maybe you could host a couple of those or something for like $10/month or something and get a little extra income…i don’t know if that’s something you’d like to do.
just a thought.
February 1, 2007 at 11:57 am
The 30 day login rule will have to be temporarily turned off when CSFBL comes back. Just doesn’t seem fair to enforce that when no one has been able to log in for the last two weeks.
February 1, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Andy, each of your 5 talking points have been asked and answered somewhere in this blog over the last 2 weeks…
February 1, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I was in the middle of that 30 day rule myself. (that’s how new I am to this website) So, harborpirate, what your saying (how I understand it) is that this rule will be waived and I will be able to start a fresh team of my own when CSFBL comes back on line? And yes, I remain vigilant (not to be confused with a vigilante) to seeing CSFBL coming back, albeit a newbie, but addicted already nonetheless. Besides, all my fantasy basketball leagues (15) have relished all the attention in the interim.
February 1, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Is there a way to keep historical stats for players and yet plug them into another league? … doubtful
If there were that would be an easy answer for league’s dying, if indeed it happens. Maybe in the 7 days for teams dying (when league disbanded) something can be added to the activate team feature where the team can just join a new league with active player stat history, and just scrub the rest (i.e. hof team standing etc.) ???
Just an idea, more i think about it, it sounds improbable.
February 1, 2007 at 12:26 pm
My main point though was this…and its good to see a “fringe” guy such as Andy there come and voice his concerns.
When CSFBL first went down, all of us hardcore guys were visibly upset, and wondering why things were taking “so long” when it was a few hours even. We’ve cooled down the past week or so, knowing that the game we are so dedicated to will eventually be back up.
Now, the past few days…I’ve heard these fringe guys-guys who check their teams regularly enough but aren’t at the psychotic involvement level guys like myself and most of us are at-voice displeasure with CSFBL. That extremely concerns me. They most certainly outnumber us when it comes to total CSFBL ownership. If just these guys I actually talk to are voicing displeasure, saying they are close to done or already done…how many are out there that I do not have contact with? Its been 10-20 guys I have heard from just myself…imagine how many others there could be?
February 1, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Realm – can “taz devil” be put in your LMs? 17 year LH starting pitcher making $1.7 million – power = 100; finese = 100; control = 100; stuff = 100; HR = 90; arm = 98; glove = 100; endurance = 100. R/L at 2. I would have put the salary at 2 million, but that seemed a bit unrealistic.
February 1, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I’ve got no issue giving straight answers to questions, even the ones most people tiptoe around asking.
“1. Why does it take over 2 weeks to physically get a server when there have been several people stating they would do this for Brian?”
The issue is not the availability of help to pick up the server, but rather the ISP that current has the server. The ISP apparently rarely has any staff at the datacenter, and charges $125 to $150 to send someone out there. They also are not available in “off hours”, so the window for pick up is only during business hours. In addition, Brian has to be comfortable with whomever is going to do the server pickup. All in all, the logistics are complicated, and thats why its been more difficult than it would seem to be.
“2. Without the server in hand and having not been able to access it, how can you even begin to assess what’s wrong?”
We know some things already. The server was power cycled and did turn back on. We know that it is responsive but does not allow remote logins. Given that the server has a RAID setup, the chances of at least the data existing on the drives is very good. Beyond that, we won’t know anything Brian has the server.
“3. If there is no intent to change hardware, why is there any reason to believe the reliability is going to be any better from within someone’s home which, may or may not, need to be re-wired just to make this work, as compared to a datacenter?”
The ability to directly maintain the server as well as offload certain data such as database backups to other drives should make a big difference in the ability to maintain reliable service. Sims often run slow, which is not a reliability problem but rather a victim of its own success. Simply too much data has to be processed in the given time for the current simengine to handle. Which is why we’re developing an entirely new simengine.
“4. Why does it seem only 1 person, who, understandably, has several other priorities, is th only person capable of doing what seems to be daily tasks and updates for the game?”
Its true that only Brian has direct access to the database. This really arose out of the way the game started – Brian wrote the original code by himself and has only recently started adding volunteers to his team.
“5. Why do all the programming changes put into place seem to cause more trouble? Do these changes get full scale testing before being put into production?”
Keep in mind that the outage was not caused by a code change. The server simply failed for a reason which we have not deduced yet. Actually recent code changes have improved things dramatically. Nearly all of them are implemented with little fanfare to the community, so they often go unnoticed. As for testing, we do as much testing as possible – but as is the case with many enterprise level projects (thousands of users), you often don’t know for sure whether a change will be completely successful until it rolls out to the entire userbase. This is due to the drastic difference in scale, as we don’t have any other boxes that can handle the massive dataload that the current server runs, so testing takes place with a much smaller set of data.
“I guess I don’t understand the relative lack of priority on a service that is used by literally hundreds of users. It just doesn’t make sense.”
I think it does make sense when you know a bit about the history of CSFBL. It was not conceived originally as a business. This was one guy, who wrote a baseball simulation engine and a website to display the results. As the site got better and better, more and more people joined. The site has moved well beyond what one guy can handle, which is why Brian has started to add volunteers to help with the next version of the game. The current ads system leaves a revenue gap. The users on the site do not fully support the cost of creating, storing, and displaying their data. We will be moving forward with measures to help eliminate the revenue gap in the future, and hopefully this will mean additional hardware that will help address the difficulties that we have today.
February 1, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Not sure if this has been brought up yet, but if there is a fairly large exodus, what are the chances our players can keep their stat lines when the leagues are consolidated? I have a few future HOFers that are over 30, but under the current system those HOF stats would get dumped and they would start from scratch…
February 1, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Thanks HarborPirate for the straight forward answers. I’m still a little concerned over the trouble of getting a server from an ISP. I would assume a single phone call could net you the availability. But then again, I’ve seen plenty of companies (not just ISP’s) where the customer service was atrocious.
Along the same lines, I have absolutely no doubt that individual members of this group would cover the $125 to get someone out there.
I think that kinda leads into some of the things you have stated. There are more than enough people willing to help. Brian himself has stated that his priorities have changed over time due to work and personal life. So what is the adverse feelings toward allowing people to help? I do understand the pride in taking ownership of a product you’ve created, but at some point some of the control has to be released in order to handle the time requirements.
Brian built a great product in CSFBL. I do enjoy playing, but this delay still comes across as though it’s certainly not a high priority.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope it comes back better than ever, but I think what will happen is that it will come back in another couple weeks and be as up and down as it has been for the past year. So you’ll lose a LOT of users and the users that continue on expecting much more and not having that delivered.
Good luck with things. I hope the issues to correct the server are as simple as everyone seems to want to make them.
February 1, 2007 at 1:18 pm
yawn
February 1, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I just wanted to touch on something that Andy brought up – and haborpirate responded to.
“1. Why does it take over 2 weeks to physically get a server when there have been several people stating they would do this for Brian?”
“The issue is not the availability of help to pick up the server, but rather the ISP that current has the server. The ISP apparently rarely has any staff at the datacenter, and charges $125 to $150 to send someone out there. They also are not available in “off hours”, so the window for pick up is only during business hours. In addition, Brian has to be comfortable with whomever is going to do the server pickup. All in all, the logistics are complicated, and thats why its been more difficult than it would seem to be.”
What is “rarely has staff at the datacenter”?? you mean to tell us that there are no ‘normal’ buissness hours for these people? or are thier normal buis. hours the 1st 2 weeks of the month?? what??
Don’t get me wrong – I’m more then happy with the csfbl – and I certainly understand that it takes time to do things. – but what should be the easiest of tasks to accomplish … (on the road to csfbl returning to normal) – is physically obtaining the server – I mean (speaking for myself only), it’s a little more then disheartening to know we cant get over the 1st and easiest hurdle .. here
… at this rate it’ll be mid june or something before were back online.
In all reality we are still at square one – other then a lot of talk nothing has been accomplished – and noone even can say when the first step will be accomplished … I live in a different state – I work …almost fulltime hours (35-43hrs a week) – and I have ALMOST no doubt I could have driven there and picked the server up by now.
sorry to sound so negative – but if the isp has been available …even for 1 day since the outage – then a lack of effort is the reason we’re still at square one.
Having a plan…a good plan … that makes almost all happy -is important … but at some point people have to stop talking and do things.
-diehard csfbl’r slowly loosing hope :\
February 1, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Not quite sure where I fit in….
Have had ONE and only ONE team for around 8 seasons now (after 2 weeks my memory just has failed me).
But I check my ONE team 2,3,4+ times a day.
Have only made one trade ever.
But have claimed and droped 100s of free agents.
And although this is my first post, over the past 2 weeks, I have read every posts on this site, and many, many in the forums before.
I am addicted!
And I am not going anywhere!
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
February 1, 2007 at 2:16 pm
well
The Earth Baseball ALL Star’s
has finaly been Signed
C Groton
1B DeFault
2B Tar Heel
SS Croaker
3b fingolfin
Lf sneakattack
Cf Zarubi
Rf makila
SP Berzerker
SU ColdBlooded
Closer Ghost
my team Is so much better then your Team of Guns for Hire
February 1, 2007 at 2:17 pm
“God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Amen to that brother….
February 1, 2007 at 2:18 pm
A closer you can’t see??? Realm why didn’t you think of that?
February 1, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I seem to remember this game going down for the month of august a few years ago, people swearing they’d never come back, and the community & game not missing a beat. I expect the same this time.
If this was a game I was paying for, I’d be more likely to express displeasure by depriving the company of my business, but this is a free game!
On a selfish note, hose of you who are annoyed, please go away without coming back (as long as you’re not in any league I’m in), get your leagues purged, so my leagues sim faster : )
If you’re hooked enough to be following this blog, you’ll be back.
Apache: I work 5 minutes from the bridge to manhatten and depending on how far downtown it is, I could probably pick up the server on my lunch break, assuming someone rode shotgun, so I didn’t need to park. However, Brian doesn’t know me (asside from a csfbl picnic and staten island yankees game), and should not trust me with an extremely expensive piece of equipment he’s responsible for, not to mention all of time and effort on his part that has gone into creating the game and data stored on that equipment.
February 1, 2007 at 2:44 pm
ghost is a legend of earth baseball. The greatest owner I’ve ever been up against. Think remake yankees, but without a admin running the team, and complete domination in several leagues.
February 1, 2007 at 2:45 pm
“What is “rarely has staff at the datacenter”?? you mean to tell us that there are no ‘normal’ buissness hours for these people? or are thier normal buis. hours the 1st 2 weeks of the month?? what??”
From the sounds of it, where the ISP has its staff is NOT where its servers are stored…the servers are in another building in another part of the city. I imagine since it is NYC, they did that for $$$ reasons.
The good thing about this strategy is that servers are generally very reliable hardware wise, since they have to be up 24/7/365. The bad part is when something goes wrong (as in our case), it can be difficult to get support.
And had we known it would be this difficult to get a crashed server rebooted, nevermind pick it up, we would have never had it at the ISP and kept it at Brian’s home.
It is horrible Customer Service we are dealing iwth. It is that simple. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to actually use the customer service to figure this out.
I wish there was a better answer, but there you have it.
February 1, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Hey R Bitter Bill,
I dunno if you are interested in joining a Private Leagu,e but I would LOVE to see you in my league (Fantasy Outlaws). We usually have a couple openings a season and someone like you certainly would be a great fit. Send me an email (starscream74@hotmail.com) if you are interested. I would have sent you a message directly had you left you mail.
Thanks,
Marc
February 1, 2007 at 3:05 pm
#
Joearch // Feb 1st 2007 at 2:44 pm
ghost is a legend of earth baseball. The greatest owner I’ve ever been up against. Think remake yankees, but without a admin running the team, and complete domination in several leagues.
Yeah , but to sign him as a closer in purely genius, you can’t pick up on his pitches if he tips his hand, runners can’t steal pitches, and you don’t see the pitch coming…Realm ..once again…why didn’t we sign him?
February 1, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Back to some earlier ?s.
I joined in a new league. Wanted a team that was fresh, new, with a past that would soon be created by me, not someone else.
Consolidate please… my league will most likely fold… would have even before this… and the last thing needed, I think we all can agree, is half filled leagues.
But find away I can keep my beloved team, that is mine, all mine, for more than these short 8 seasons.
Some of us are to new and unproven… new private, elite, or whatever leagues won’t take us… but I fear to start another fresh team in a new greek league… that would not benifit CSFBL and would shortly, more than likely, barely hang around or die the same death.
1. I admit that I am were powerless over my addiction, that my life had
become unmanageable.
February 1, 2007 at 3:20 pm
That’s horrid that you had to write that about abuse, people are so immature!
February 1, 2007 at 3:24 pm
R Bitter Bill, I have several good private leagues that would love to have you, most of the owners are guys who were once like you..
February 1, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Heh.
I think I’m exactly like R Bitter Bill. I check on my team all the time, compile stats and salaries into excel spreadsheets, check the forums and look for ways to improve.
In short, I like the game enough that I can’t have more than one team, because I wouldn’t be able to give two teams both the care and love they deserve.
Bitter Bill, I feel you
February 1, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Brian et al.,
I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work in trying to recreate this wonderful game. Hopefully everything goes well with dealing with the terrible customer service.
February 1, 2007 at 3:29 pm
thanks, Joearch, Chris G…. I think I’m really starting to go through csfbl withdrawal.
I’m ready to start a csfbl million (2thou.whateva) man march.
- destination- wherever our server is being held against it’s will.
- goal – retrieve our server by any means necessary.
February 1, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Good to hear the progress on the website and I’m looking forward to seeing the site back online. I mean, it’s only a favorite link on browser and clicking it takes me all of 3 nanoseconds. It’s not like if I wait another week, I’ll never click on the link again. So when it’s back I’ll play, in the meantime I’ll read these posts for entertainment.
I bet that’s the mentality of the 80%-90% of the people that play CSFBL, but haven’t posted on these boards. I’m not worried about losing too many users.
February 1, 2007 at 3:36 pm
D Man & Marc will reply to you tonight or tomorrow.
Unfortunately my job calls me now and from 4-9 will be unavailable… after that my wife might need me???
2. I have come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
February 1, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Guys, I understand that Brian has other pressing issues that need to be addressed, but I honestly believe that he has no idea how much this is going to change all of CSFBL. If he is taking his time because he wants to weed people out, it is working, unfortunately, he is also weeding out some of the best owners in CSFBL. I am in a private league that has flourished for over 2 years now (16 seasons) and we are having original owners say they are sick of the constant problems and they have a perception that Brian really doesn’t give a damn about when this comes up.
Now, fire away at me if you like and give me whatever reasons there are for this site still being down, fact of the matter is that it has been two weeks now, during that time I could have drove from Indiana to New York and back with the server 10 times and still got it back to Brian before today.
Maybe there wouldn’t be any criticism if he even looked like anyone gave a damn about when this site is going to be back up.
Yes, I am frustrated. I also feel I am a very good owner and very loyal to CSFBL, however, loyalty goes away when the thing or person you are loyal to constantly takes a dump in your fruity pebbles!
February 1, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I have been a very active owner in greek league level teams for almost 4 years now (march 2003). i have no idea who the people are who run this game other than what i read on here and I have never posted a thing until this outage over the last ten or so days, but here are some of my thoughts after reading some of these ridiculous posts:
35,000 hits in ten days tells you people are not going to leave. there will be no mass exodus. people need to remember that playing CSFBL is a privilege and not a right. stop complaining already. be patient. i understand the frustration but relax already. if you were paying for it, then you could have every right to complain. but you are not paying, so why are you complaining? if brian and his boys decided to shut it down today for whatever reason and never bring it back up, then they would have every right to do so. but they thankfully do not intend to do that. they work hard. they communicate in a pretty honest and open manner. they seem to care.
people act like brian did not invent this darn thing. brian is basically the father of a very talented fun kid (csfbl) with alot of potential who also can be a very troubled kid at times. brian as the father has expended countless time, labor, and monetary resources he can not really afford to expend trying to ensure that his talented but troubled kid (csfbl) does not become too troubled and get himself thrown into prison for the rest of his life or even worse get sentenced to death. there have been little scrapes here and there that brian as the father has managed to keep the kid out of trouble. brian as the father has done everything he can to try to prevent that – even enlisting the assistance of the kid’s uncles like chris g and realmwalker and harborpirate and others to keep the kid out of trouble.
the kid however inevitably got himself into trouble and thrown into jail. the magistrate judge has set a very high bond and is not willing to reduce the bond. brian as the father lives out of state and can not put up his property to get the kid released on bail. there are no available people in the area where the kid got himself arrested with sufficient ties to the kid, the father, the family, or the community to get the kid released out on bond.
people in the community think brian as the father is coldhearted for letting his kid sit in jail for 10 days. They do not understand the reality of the situation and do not appreciate everything brian as the father has done to try to prevent the kid from ending up in jail. They do not appreciate that when your kid gets in trouble, sometimes you have responsibilities that prevent you from immediately getting your kid out of jail. Sometimes you have to work. Sometimes you simply do not have the money. Sometimes, you do not want to bond the kid out immediately because he will be right back in trouble the very next day and you will have wasted your money bailing the kid out when you should have left him in jail for a while and figured out the best long term plan of action for the kid when he gets released. Sometimes, the kid needs to sit in jail for a week or two so that the kid and his friends and the community understand that the nonsense needs to stop and that the father will not always act like an enabler and be there to continuously bail his kid out of trouble. Sometimes, you can not continue to delay the inevitable and act like an enabler. Sometimes, tough love is the best approach.
Sorry for the long post. That is my assessment of the situation as a lawyer when listening to what everyone on here has to say about the issue and relating that to what i witness everyday in the jails and courts of this country. You basically have a good father (brian), good uncles (the other hardcore dudes with brian), and a very good, very fun, but sometimes troubled child. The kid has some very good loyal buddies (hardcore csfbl) but then also has some very untrustworthy fringe friends (uncommitted users) who take up too much of the kid’s time and attention and inevitably drag the kid into trouble and jail from time to time.
I hope you are not the types who give up on and belittle a father and his child because the child got himself thrown into jail for a couple of weeks and his father let him sit there until the father could figure out the best long term plan to keep his kid out of trouble because the father was just sick and tired of acting like an enabler who bailed the kid out every other time the kid got into trouble only to watch the kid not learn his lesson and go right back out the next day after getting saved from the fire and partying it up and drinking and smoking and playing games with his boys (the csfbl users) to the point that the kid was only inevitably going to get himself right back into trouble again (maybe even with devastating consequences for each and every person who loves the kid).
BUT everyone please remember and understand that as much as you love the kid as his his buddy and friend and as much heartache and disappointment you have when the kid lets you down, none of that compares the heartache and suffering and love experienced by the father and his uncles when the kid lets everyone down.
SO ZIP THE LIPS ALREADY! stop the criticism. i am sure they appreciate an influx of helpful ideas (even constructive criticism) but the sense of entitlement that many of you have for something that is provided to you as a privilege and not a right is just disgusting.
February 1, 2007 at 4:02 pm
GROTON wrote:
“SP Berzerker
SU ColdBlooded
Closer Ghost
my team Is so much better then your Team of Guns for Hire”
I see you foolishly started the FLAME THROWING Viking Kin!!! His Fastball is insane but we can time it … further at the behest of our manic CF we have brought on several easily recognizable entities to deal with your CLOSER:
http://www.ghostbusters.com
and our Low Minors would love to welcome:
TAZDEVIL, the self proclaimed teenage phenom!
February 1, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Out of curiosity, how many of you that read this blog were able to access your franchise page during this outage?
Of course this was before the url redirected you to this blog…
It was either day 2 or day 3 that I was checking to see if the game was back online and my franchise page popped up…
It didn’t look the way it normally looks, it had a larger font and the color scheme was different…
Kinda like someone trying to make a page for the first time…
It said: You are one of 95 baseball fans currently visiting CSFBL!
All the normal links appeared, although they took you nowhere, all my teams were on the page, and even the info regarding whether or not I was eligible to create a new team was there…
It said my last login was 1/22/2007 6:30:55 AM
I pretty sure that time/date was after the outage happened…
I still have the page up on my browser, but I have no idea how to take a screenshot toshow you what I’m talking about…
Anyways, is there anything telling about the fact that my franchise page came up?
Could that mean that we shouldn’t worry about our teams/leagues not existing when the game comes back?
Could the server problem be minimal in damage?
Is it something that just happens sometimes when a server goes down?
February 1, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I’d leave his ass in jail and dare someone to call me cold-hearted!
February 1, 2007 at 4:13 pm
“I’d leave his ass in jail and dare someone to call me cold-hearted!”
and that’s the best way to get the game back up and running
February 1, 2007 at 4:14 pm
JD, you should try using SnagIt…
click on the “TRY” link on this page
http://www.techsmith.com/snagit.asp
February 1, 2007 at 4:23 pm
No, because in this instance the kid is an emotionless machine, it can’t be taught a lesson.
February 1, 2007 at 4:31 pm
hey… to all you guys like R Bitter Bill and Iceparrot… when the site gets back up, hop onto the forums, there are always private leagues looking for owners… and they are always looking for fresh blood in these leagues… and not the same old people that are in all the private leagues
sure, you may not be able to get in an “elite” private league at first, but there are many different levels of private leagues, and that is what makes it so great… at one time or another, that is how all of us “hard core” players started this game… in one of the more relaxed private leagues… then, in time, if you want to get into a more “hardcore” private league, you’ll have ppl that know you, and it will be much easier…
the key is making that first jump to get on the forums and into the private league realm… after that its easy… and private leagues are always looking for experienced guys to join
cause truth be told, the game is completely different once you join a private league, and become active on the forums… the game takes on a whole new dimension… trading becomes more common and easier, some leagues hold live drafts… and its just a lot more fun playing within a community rather than by yourself… reading fun posts and what not from other owners…
February 1, 2007 at 4:33 pm
ben, you are right. i would let the kid sit in jail as well. you are also right in that the kid is an emotionless borderline sociopath machine but the point is that his father is not. so stop attacking the father (not you specifically ben). the emotionless machine child however in this case can actually be taught a lesson even though it is a machine. if the father is given sufficient time, he can through computer programming and other computer related issues that i do not have the first freaking clue about, teach the kid a lesson that lessens the troubles of the child by reprogramming the child and by providing the child a better support system and by refusing to pay the kid’s rent to live on his own in Manhattan and make the kid move back home to live with his father so that the father and his uncles can better supervise the kid. so, although the kid (CSFBL) is an emotionless machine, the kid can actually be taught lessons by the father to keep the kid out of trouble by sitting in jail for two weeks because the father will have a better plan of action to prevent too much further misbehavior from the kid (CSFBL). not a perfect analogy but i think many get the idea
February 1, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I think anyone that comes here and doesn’t use their CSFBL name for identity purposes should have their comments taken lightly…only those who make themselves recognized from CSFBL should have their comments and concerns taken into consideration…that means me and my 100 accounts also.
February 1, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Plus I hear there are imposters among us….
February 1, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Smallball team # 573625, come on over and kicj my teams butt in this boring and silly game…
February 1, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Thanks Ben, that little program worked great…
Here’s the screenshot I took…
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/Jayedub420/SCREENSHOT1.jpg
I suppose you’ll have to save it and view it on a picture viewer to see it better…
For some reason it captured the copyright stuff twice at the bottom, it only shows up once on the page though…
February 1, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I actually don’t remember there being a “Manager” link when I’ve played…
Of course, I don’t claim to have the best memory in the world…
February 1, 2007 at 5:10 pm
BDE -
but don’t promise the kid you’ll do everything possible to get him/her out asap
- and then go ahead and make your tee time – then go out for dinner –
all the while still making the promise.
(to steal one of your lines) -not a perfect analogy but you should get the idea
February 1, 2007 at 5:12 pm
the manager section is where you set your fatigue thresholds/toast settings/base running tendencies/ect
February 1, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Now that I know JD is Jaydub , He probably been smokin too much bud to realize that manager link has always been there..lol
February 1, 2007 at 5:15 pm
fair enough apache
February 1, 2007 at 5:16 pm
does this site suddenly look differently to anyone… i refreshed the page and everything looks differently than it has… so i tried refreshing the page again but it still looks differently
February 1, 2007 at 5:21 pm
not that I see?? – Bill
February 1, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Food for thought. There are some people, like myself, who have wanted for the longest time to get in to private/elite/premier leagues. However, I have tried to figure out why, but I have problems logging on to the forum. I tried creating an account and it basically would not let me at all. Then when I try logging in, nada. I want to expand my CSFBL to get in with the big boys, because that is where I truly belong, but I cannot. This is troubling to me. There should be no reason for the forum not to work at anytime. So hence I have stayed happy playing in greek leagues my entirety here and it is still great fun, although not what my preference would be. One of the admins or something could you please answer why this could possibly have happened with the forums and not being able to log in or create an account?
I also think that for the first month or so upon the site coming back online that nobody should be able to create a new time as there are going to be MASSIVE amounts of openings in leagues. Complete league histories (which is the main reason stat heads like me are here) will be lost and ruined if not handled correctly when the game comes back on. How will that be taken care of?
February 1, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Michael Fitterer… do you have AIM or MSN? It would be much easier to get in contact w/ someone who could help you if you did…
I wouldnt be able to help you, but if you have AIM i could send you to someone who could
February 1, 2007 at 5:27 pm
MFitterer022886 on Aim
February 1, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Btw I was referring to making new teams, not times, as I miswrote, lol.
February 1, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Alright, I have the imposters figured out…
here they are..
Realm isn’t realm he is fircoal
Chris G isn’t Chris G. he is Sultan of Swat.
Harborpirate isn’t who you think he is..he is actually Johnny Depp
Babarfloyd thinks his name might be Rick but living in Silicon Valley it could be Rachelle
Bill isn’t Bill he is Joe Pasquale..
Scrubb isn’t Scrubb , he is Dan Pasquale…
Brian isn’t Brian cause the real Brian was abducted by Aliens which is why the serever is still where it is.
The Brian you see here is actually…Realm/Chris trying to cover till the ransom is paid to get the real Brian back.
I am not me, never have been, I am not you..never have been. I am not anyone..always have been…lol
Who do you think the imposters are? Lets have a little fun with it….Smallball sucks.
February 1, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Apache11, where in an ASAP, comment does it state:
AS SOON AS, but only based upon what I or you believe is possible, POSSIBLE
Kind of a subjective statement but yet you think the actions are all counter to YOUR belief of what should and could’ve been accomplished during the point it went down to today?
Be sure to hold yourself up to those same standards for all FREE endevours you choose to task yourself with!
Please get a grip and let this baseless argument go… Be a little more selfless and less selfish
February 1, 2007 at 5:38 pm
To the post above telling people to not complain: allow me to provide a rebuttal, playing devil’s advocate.
I agree completely that Brian deserves a ton of credit. He created this game. He built a wonderful, fun game from scratch. Its awesome, and EVERYTHING has problems from time to time. Oh, and he made it free to play. Totally understood. Its great, seriously. Doesn’t mean people don’t have a right to complain.
If Yahoo crashed for 2 weeks…thats free. But I bet a ton of complaints would be logged. Don’t you think? People missing their mail, can’t check the news, can’t shop, can’t apply for jobs…et al.
If CSFBL were, say, a company…a for profit company. Brian is the CEO. He has a programmer. The programmer does not fix the game for 2 weeks despite the demand for it because people want that product…you think the CEO of a company wouldn’t fire that programmer? I bet he would. But in this instance…Brian is the CEO, the programmer. Hes everything.
I don’t really believe in complaining myself here, because I recognize Brian is doing things at a pace he can handle. Thats cool. Hes keeping it free, thats awesome. And I am quite excited with the future of the game, depending on how much longer this outage lasts, because I am truly afraid of many owners leaving, and feel that people here are really downplaying that possibility.
But just because thats the case does not mean users don’t have a right to complain. They have every right to demand the product, just as Brian has every right to go at the pace he has to this point.
Devil’s advocate complete.
February 1, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Hey Chris,
Couldn’t you get us one of those free message boards like those Chi Beta Federation guys did and link it here…it would be much more cleaner..
February 1, 2007 at 6:00 pm
for the record, i am not related to scrubb dman! I puked a little up just at the thought!
February 1, 2007 at 6:03 pm
deltakoz, you’re right. people do have the right to complain. everyone does so long as they do it with respect. i think brian deserves that respect and i have no idea who the hell he is and may or may not like him if i knew him personally. but the man has given me and many others a great outlet for fun and he has done for free at his own expense for many years.
the difference with the yahoo example is that many people’s money would actually be affected if yahoo went down – that is not so YET with CSFBL. if yahoo went down for two weeks, many people’s business interests would be seriously affected. for example, i would not receive any emails from any of the people i have business dealings with and my small business would as a result be crippled. and i actually pay yahoo for the 2 GB of storage space on my email so i would have every right to demand performance from yahoo. csfbl being down just affects my personal enjoyment and not my wallet, so my complaints should not be many.
i can also understand where brian is coming from. although i have been very active with CSFBL for almost 4 years, there was a six to nine month period within the last two years where i never checked in on my franchise because i was just starting up my business and had to focus 100% of my time, labor, and money getting that up and running and did not have time for playing games on the internet. i found that i was spending way too much time playing CSFBL and not enough time working. i also did not have internet access because internet access was not crucial for my business getting going (that is very different now). so i can understand that sometimes life and work pressures can take you away from something you take immense joy in participating in ( or in brian’s case creating, fixing, managing, and participating in).
i will say however that i was extremely disappointed to come back after those six to nine months away and realize that all of my beloved teams had been stripped away from my franchise due to my inactivity. that was heartbreaking. did i complain? no! i was actually able to reclaim one of my teams somehow even though there is a CSFBL policy that says you can not go and reclaim teams you lost. SHH! do not tell anyone!
so complain away if that makes you happy. but show brian the proper respect which you seem to have. there are some here though who are taking cheap shots at the poor guy and they must be kids who have not dealt with real world pressures yet and for that reason do not realize that sometimes little games (even ones you created) have to take a backseat to work and family.
February 1, 2007 at 6:06 pm
well said boogie. And I think people’s complaints have been respectful for the most part too.
I just want to make sure each side gets their proper arguments, mostly because I understand where both sides are coming from.
And my Yahoo example isn’t the greatest…but just letting people know that just because this awesome place is free…doesn’t mean we can’t be upset. =)
February 1, 2007 at 6:13 pm
DeltaKoz, You can state my name if you’d like to make a point about a post I have written…
The point of my post is perception… I feel that what’s perceived is totally out of whack and uncalled for, you know why? We all don’t know what’s going on it Brian’s daya to day routine and he shouldn’t have to explain in detail any of that, only what he’s trying to do to rectify the situation.
In your point you bring up Yahoo, that’s NOT free, they have sponsership ads and income so they are beholden to SLA’s, service level agreements with their sponsers.. So CSFBL isn’t in the realm of a ‘Yahoo’ or ‘Google’
I realize what your intentions are in posting what you have here but my point, more defined is this.
Those that choose to rant or complain that something doesn’t fit their timeframe or perception should think twice before posting about it. All it does is expose them as selfish or whining, at least to me… so I will make postings against that type of action.
We all have our views and wish to express them, I’m not saying or telling folks to stop that only think about the ‘what and why’ of their post…
If folks decide to leave then this downtime will be the excuse they will use, so be it…
If they were true ‘hardcores’ you can see this is just a bump in the road that’s bound to have more bumps as well as long patches that are smooth. So too bad for them… Are we better off with them now leaving or do we need to justify to them that we need them to stay?
February 1, 2007 at 6:13 pm
D Man // Feb 1st 2007 at 5:15 pm
“Now that I know JD is Jaydub , He probably been smokin too much bud to realize that manager link has always been there..lol
”
LOL, you’re probably right…
I suppose that’s why the VLINK color shows up on some of the teams…
I obviously clicked that link at one time or another…
You never know, by this time next week I may be asking where the “Team” link came from…
Anyways, now that I got this screenshot I can finally shutdown my computer…
I kept the page up for sentimental reasons…
Also, how come I’m not on anyone’s team here?
At least make me the waterboy or something…
I can fill a mean cup of Gatorade…
February 1, 2007 at 6:16 pm
More of you should register for this CSFBL proxy site.
http://chibeta.brightverse.com/index.php
With all the owners posting here, I’m amazed only 27 members have signed up to this site!
February 1, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I find it funny that those who are very involved in the forums think it is in direct relationship to participation in the game. I log on no less than 5 times a day, stare at lineups and stats until I cant see straight, and think about CSFBL constantly throughout the day. I dont really participate in the forums, I talk to people at work all day. Dont confuse forum trolling with ferver or participation, they arent the same.
February 1, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Very good point!
A ‘loud voice’ isn’t always going to have the better position!
February 1, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Hey Mobius,
I wasn’t actually referring to any post of yours in particular. Going back above and seeing which post I was referring to, it was boogie’s original full length booklet.
I understand your stance, it makes perfect sense to me. Here is what worries me.
“If they were true ‘hardcores’ you can see this is just a bump in the road that’s bound to have more bumps as well as long patches that are smooth. So too bad for them… Are we better off with them now leaving or do we need to justify to them that we need them to stay?”
I say we do, actually. The perception I am getting here is that true hardcore guys could care less what these fringe guys think, because they don’t seem to be as involved.
That concerns me greatly. These fringe folks make up a very great percentage of CSFBL ownership. Ignoring their concerns and labeling them as owners we can afford to lose just comes off as some “holier than thou” actions.
I am simply saying we should take their concerns more seriously. I believe that, without them, CSFBL is NOT better off. It will cause many, many leagues to be in serious trouble.
This is what I am trying to say. I respect everyone’s opinions here. Yours, and theirs. It doesn’t seem that everyone here feels the same, you know?
February 1, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I agree with the last 3 posts here…but CSFBL is at a point that all we can do is wait…I don’t think anyone has come off as Holier than now, What is being said is if they leave there nothing that can be done, The game won’t come back on line faster because some are threatening to leave altogether, If they do leave then they will come back sooner or later or others will replace them..As realm said EVERYONE matters, we are more a family then a bunch of people playing a game..If we lose some of our family then that hurts but it doesn’t mean we don’t care about them,
But as the old saying goes, “If you care about someone set them free, if they come back too you they are yours, if they don’t then they were never meant to be….
February 1, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I understand and do know where you’re coming from, it’s why I posted hardcore in parathesis.
What is a hardcore?
On the point you bring up about ‘fringe’, my answer is this, what about that fringe element keeps them there or what point do they feel they can make a transistion as an owner into the ‘hardcore’ aspect?
There are tons of greek leagues and of that group a few step out into private or premier league recognition so what is the motivation there? If someone can find that formula then there’d be a lot more private league acitivity and recognition.
I’d like to see some larger ‘transition’ but I don’t know the answer to that larger question… Only the reason I did it and that was to step into more of a challenge as a team owner with better competition so I’m not sure if that’s the same answer most would give.
February 1, 2007 at 6:48 pm
deltakoz, are you calling me longwinded? i would be offended if i was not fully aware that you are right.
February 1, 2007 at 6:48 pm
DMan and Mobes, you make good points.
When I say fringe…basically every guy I have talked to that is ready to leave has seen these past 2 weeks, and decided that the game inconsistencies have just been too frequent.
Or…this downtime has made them realize they can be doing other things (typically stuff with the wife and kids, or being more productive at work.) At a certain point…CSFBL just erases from their desires because they have filled that time gap with other tasks, and now cannot return to CSFBL based on that.
Obviously, we can’t stop them, the decision is theirs. But people who have voiced displeasure over this…its at least refreshing to see that these sorts of folks are now coming on here, trying to show they care.
February 1, 2007 at 6:50 pm
boogie, you and I should write a book together.
We’ll call it “3 Quick Steps to Improving.”
It will be 787 pages long, including a 206 page section entitled “author’s biographies.”
February 1, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Tell them to go play Smallball against this team 573625 we suck…I renamed all my players in accordance to Realms “Don’t sue Us” All Star Team….Hope no one on that team sues me for immitating them.
February 1, 2007 at 7:02 pm
delta koz: LOL! but i’m sorry. i think we would turn those 3 quick steps to improvement into a thousand pages easily. we’d have to find a good editor if we wanted it published. i think we may both be a tad bit too self important to restrict our bios to 206 pages. i am thinking more like 333 pages for our bios. you are more concise than i am, so you would only need about 133 of those pages, i would take up the other 200 pages. have a good night buddy. i am starting to find that this outage is taking up much more of my time because i keep posting things whereas i usually never post on CSFBL and just check up on my ten teams about 6 or 7 times a day. so i need the site back up so that i have more time to balance work, my partying, and CSFBL
February 1, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Hey, I offered first!
just kidding. thanks for volunteering, Rewster.
February 1, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Hey Benny, there may be only 27 of us signed up over there at the CBF forum, but we certainly have an enjoyable post and DSFBL set up going. For those that don’t know, that is DaveSFBL, where our very own master of the all-star game, BlackholeDave, is creating a league out of each individual manager who wants to create their own player. Could be good when Dave gets going. It will at least keep us very much entertained while waiting.
February 1, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Ok.
I think I have read all of the posts since the shutdown. I understand the sentiment on “both sides.” So, what do I think?
Since the shutdown, to help alleviate my withdrawal symptoms (shakes and periods being comatose), I signed up for a team on the SimDynasty site. I paid $60.00 to have a team for 10 months (5 seasons). This is still cheap entertainment (I would spend as much for one trip per month to McDonald’s). SimDynasty is professionally run. The sims run on a precise schedule, and they are accurate almost to the minute. The site is never down. The quality of the site is good (though, CSFBL when running correctly is a better game).
In contrast, for someone looking at CSFBL from the outside in, CSFBL appears at this point to be a “Micky Mouse” operation. We have been shut down for weeks because there is only one guy in the world who can go to a location to physically pick up the only server and he has to deal with the additional problem of finding space in his basement to set up the server.
Again, if you had played neither and were looking at both, would you choose CSFBL (apparently run by one over-extended guy challenged by space and inadequate hardware) or SimDynasty.
What is my point?
Let me say, first, I put myself in the “hardcore” category. If and when CSFBL comes back, I will be there. But, while I applaud Brian’s desire to keep the site free, I think he needs to go to a pay site. If each player is charged a reasonable annual fee to play, Brian could afford to pay someone else to go pick up the server, he could have space to locate the server, he could have help re-booting the server when he is tied up. In sum, he could afford to not have CSFBL look like a “Micky Mouse” operation.
When CSFBL is back up, there are going to be alot of owners who are AWOL. It will take some period of time to fix that problem We will be able to do it, but it will be much less of a problem in the long run if the system can generate enough revenue to prevent this from happening again.
February 1, 2007 at 9:13 pm
“DOnt SUe Me” ALL STARS have added a MAJOR addition to the team:
JD!!
JD’s jobs will consist of 3 very important things:
1. Hats for Bats
2. Retrieval of Live Chickens*
*(part of Genglish’s Mad Contract)
3. Mean Gatorade Making!
February 1, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Dave is the Master of All Star Game commentary..hands down, no arguement there..But the D Man’s All Star games have more realistic CSFBL stats….just wanted to get that out there.
February 1, 2007 at 10:32 pm
man groton i feel left out-didnt even make the EBB lineup lol. Guess Ill have to have my team quit choking in October and win another world series
February 1, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[Realmwalker // Feb 1st 2007 at 9:13 pm
“DOnt SUe Me” ALL STARS have added a MAJOR addition to the team:
JD!!
JD’s jobs will consist of 3 very important things:
1. Hats for Bats
2. Retrieval of Live Chickens*
*(part of Genglish’s Mad Contract)
3. Mean Gatorade Making!]
Whoo Hoo!!
I’ve been training for this moment my entire life…
All the blood, sweat, and tears have finally paid off…
I promise to be the best damn bat hat fitting, chicken catching, Gatorade cup filler the game has ever known…
I will not let you down!
February 1, 2007 at 10:43 pm
gch2308,
if you want to see a really professionally run site, one that never crashes and has many, many more managerial controls, and is much more realistic in game play, check out http://www.Simnasium.com.
February 2, 2007 at 1:34 am
rockman52 // Feb 1st 2007 at 10:32 pm
man groton i feel left out-didnt even make the EBB lineup lol. Guess Ill have to have my team quit choking in October and win another world series
You can be on the Justice Avengers. I have the Psi Sensations in DSFBL and would possibly be interested in acquiring a franchise in Small Ball’s CSFBL division.
February 2, 2007 at 2:30 am
who’s rockman? what team does he run?
no realy dude if u look i used all the Real Old Owners most from Earth it self
February 2, 2007 at 2:31 am
by the way i want CFSBL so I can finish up the Rest of the Remake Season and do some Draft Trades since the O’s Suck so much
February 2, 2007 at 4:51 am
You all dont know me, as I am not in the ‘Hardcore’ catagory. I play alot, but have several other online games I participate in. My ‘invisible’ approach saves time for all of my interests online, but excludes me from being known and advancing into higher leagues. Having played sims such as Hattrick for 5 years and HockeyArena since USA got its league (.org and .net respectively) and many others, I think I have a good read on what is great and what is less than with CSFBL. If I may present these views:
The above mentioned games are free, but have sponsor benefits that enhance the experience for the payer, but dont give advantages in the sim. They both started with a small group of friends and added admins (mostly volunteer) and staff as they grew while remaining free. These two0 sims now play in most countries around the world and Hattrick is approaching 7 digit participation. This is a question of advertising. Hits and demographics.
Question: Is the forum for CSFBL farmed out and linked? This may mean that all of the chatter and banter are counting as hits for someone else. I’m no expert and could be wrong, but these other free sims run thier own forums, producing a huge chunk of hits.
My other point uses Hattrick and HockeyArena as models also. These games use tier systems, top teams move to the top tiers, weak or abandoned teams move to the bottom. This keeps the level of competition in direct relation to participation (scoring big on the words tonight!)
At the end of every season (they are all synced together) top teams are promoted up a tier, poor team demoted down, etc. New players or teams start at the bottom which gives new players a chance and may keep them more interested until they get it better. This keeps players interested across the board. It creates a sense of urgency when your team is struggling to stay up, and excites to greater levels the feeling of ‘winning it all’. There are no upper echelon dead teams, as with CSFBL, because they have fought hard to get there. I am not a programmer, but both of these games operate this way, and free.
Anyway…..my 3 cents worth (min wage just went up) and check out those games if you havent allready just to see what i am talking about.
(btw, I had two teams starting the playoffs at the crash, im hurting)
February 2, 2007 at 7:58 am
Iceparrot,
I’d love to get you in my private league too, send me an emal (starscream74@hotmail.com) if interested.
February 2, 2007 at 8:10 am
Groton: ya clown, you missed one
– pondy
February 2, 2007 at 8:57 am
Dman is right, his all star games take into account, a much greater amount of stat information, based on the players csfbl stats. Mine do also, but in talking to dman in the past about how we each do our games, mine have nothing like the charts and tables he uses. I have had a great deal of fun doing mine, and do plan to continue doing them.
What barroom is talking about, is my plan, or at least attempt to put the OWNERS into my games. Each owner would be given pts to spend in different categories, I am in the process of building a system to award the pts based on length of membership in csfbl, activity in the forums, plus contributions to the leagues they are in, or csfbl in general. They can then use these pts to (build themselves) to fit into the game I use for my games. Certain owners would be the GM, and draft players from the list of players created in the likeness of the owners. The teams will then play in a tournament. The winners of the tournament will keep thier teams, the losers will get booted for the next set of GM’s to take over, who will then draft players from the free agent pool. The created players will be able to get better over time, and a system is in place, that after a certain amount of time, they will begin to drop in player value also. Once the regular forums are back up, I will outline my entire plan. Hoping that many people will want to be a part of it, as a GM or a player, or both. GM spots will rotate, so it will be some kind of waiting list.
February 2, 2007 at 9:11 am
That sounds pretty cool Dave…
February 2, 2007 at 9:20 am
You played in the inaugural practice tourney, can’t remember right now who drafted you or how you did. But I do know that you played.
February 2, 2007 at 10:47 am
he had some big games, at least one real big one as i can remember. we were all real proud of you d man, nice job dude
February 2, 2007 at 10:49 am
They must not have been too big if no one drafted me for the real tournament.
February 2, 2007 at 10:52 am
yeah but dave… in the practice tourney you just created ppl’s skill randomly, while in our new idea, each owner will get to dictate how good they are based on a set amount of points… so its really not the same at all lol
February 2, 2007 at 11:22 am
I want to play, Im like 5th overall poster so does that mean I will be nasty good?
February 2, 2007 at 11:31 am
“They must not have been too big if no one drafted me for the real tournament.”
no that’s what i was talking about, it was the real tournament, i’m pretty sure you were mvp one game
February 2, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Thought about what the downtime will due to owner levels:
1) We’ll definitely lose some guys who are just plain done with the game — most of which were never the most addicted
2) Some guys, who have gone quiet, will play again when things get back up (unsure of whether they are still into the game) and will quickly get re-hooked
3) Come March, we’ll enter into that magical time of pre-season and opening day of the baseball season in which we’ll see a high level of baseball fans looking for a cool baseball sim to play.