Bad Reputation

[connell]

I originally joined FIBS in 1994, when it was it was pretty new.  Over the years I got my rating up to 1800 at one time.

I stopped playing for awhile and my account was deleted.  A few months ago, I played with gnu many times to get back in shape. Then I joined FIBS again.

I made it to 1700 with about 200 experience.  My rating is now 1770 and I have 560 experience.  This is no higher than I had before.

I invited some people and they said Repbot said I had a bad reputation because I had 9 saved matches and my rating was high for my experience.

To be frank, I view this as a form of slander.  You guys have no idea how these matches were left unfinished.  You are hurting my good name for no reason and with no reasonable evidence.

In fact, one match had 1 move total completed when it was saved, one match the other guy dropped when I was about to  win, one match I beat the guy he came back and invited me again and then said he made a mistake and left, one match I resigned the match and the other person did not accept and would not come back.  So that leaves 5 unfinished out of the about 110 I have played.  I have no idea why these 5 (out of 110) were saved, but it was not caused by me dropping.

If you find someone who says there is match he wants to finish with me, have him email me and I will finish it.

OTHERWISE, YOU CAN make love to OFF AND STICK YOUR REPBOT PROGRAM WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE!

[diane]

Oooohhh, cant think how you got that rep....but you wont be someone I will be rushing to play!  Try gammon_gangsta, maybe he is your kinda player.

[connell]

Ha, Ha

How would you like it if you have never cheated, never been rude to anyone, never dropped and got your rating because you practiced on gnu all the time and then this repbot thing says you have a bad rep?  And the only explanation you are given for it is you have 9 saved matches and a high rating for your experience.

I am rude about the matter because I am pissed.  OK.

This repbot thing is treating me unfairly.  You want to dismiss my complaint because I am rude about it, so be it.

[Hardy_whv]

... never cheated, never been rude to anyone, never dropped ...

Well, then ask those four (well reputated!) FIBSters who complained about you. Don't complain about RepBot, discuss with the people why they complained about you. Looks like THEY are pissed somehow.

Hardy    

[connell]

How do I find out who they were?  I did not even know someone was making a complaint.  Assuming its is some misunderstanding, do I get some opportunity to give my side of story or does it just go down as they said.  Suppose they wanted to finish a match and its been finished what then?

BTW, I used to be repected on FIBS about 3 or 4 years ago.  I had 30,000 experience.  I am not sure about this repbot was around then - I was not aware of it.

No one has left me any messages and said why won't you finish this match I have been trying to finish it.  Its like out of the blue some one says I have a bad reputation.

I can't even figure how to get repbot.

[diane]

Repbot is a database of the opinions players on fibs have of you - nothing more.  Tell repbot 'help' to find out how to use it - check who has complained and see if you can fathom why - then politely ask players with whom you have a good relationship to vouch for you.  9 saved games wouldnt put me off playing with you - but a complaint from someone I respect would - and I would check who had complained before took the negative rep as a reason not to play you.

To make it easier for you - here is your 'reputation' spelled out.  

RepBot says: connell complainers: [breadfruit, dirkibrasil, kernel, Schigolch] vouchers: [DJohnson, minimum] complaints: [] vouches: [] (10 saved games)

From this I see you have complaints from breafruit and Schigolch - both of these are players I respect - and I value their input - so I wouldn't play you based on that.  I would try to work out why they complained, if I were you.

Checking your saved games list : connell - FlorianGeyer Hizli Mary_Jane PGoduti babson chrisiebabie codix dandee ernest fred jodvm lefrog piterpen sunray waldron, you dont have saved games with them - so either they were wiped, or they didnt complain because you dropped them (out of that list sunray I know to be a good player - so I would assume you did the dropping there, if that match were dropped).

Repbot is a tool we use to avoid playing players who drop or are rude. On fibs there are no other systems in place to award matches to the player who is ahead, or to the player who didnt drop - or whatever - so we use repbot to give us some help in avoiding time wasting.

[connell]

Of the entire list there, the only person who would have any cause to complain about me is Schigolch.  He was the first guy to tell me I had a bad rep and implied I was a dropper.  So yes I was rude to him.  And if you imply I am a dropper I will probably be rude to you to, so you may not want to play me if that troubles you.

I have no clue what the other 3 complaints are about.  I don't have any saved matches with these people.  So it can't be a cheating complaint.  I think I am going to ask them.

Your "checking the saved games list" paragraph confuses me.  Why do you assume that because I had a saved game with that person it was a drop with no intention to complete.  The sunray match you are talking about was in fact finished a couple days ago.  Some of those "saved matches" I believe the person was lagging and dropped.  They came back 5 minutes later and we finished.  They are not on my list of saved games - so that means I finished them!!!!  My account has not been open long enough for saved games to be deleted by FIBS.

Following were completed from your list of me "dropping": FlorianGeyer  PGoduti chrisiebabie jodvm piterpen sunray waldron.

The Fred saved match - he dropped on me.  The Mary Jane match I resigned the match and she just left and would not accept it.  The Lefrog match he invited me, said it was a mistake and left.

If I come back and finish a match, that would idicate I am not a dropper.


So if I have a complaint about your repbot program, it is that these complaints are filed, I have no clue they are filed, I have no opportunity to give an explaination or talk with the person who filed , you are assuming saved matches are dropped with no intention to finish, and it appears to me that completed matches are not removed from the list and somehow still held against me.

[burper]

connell, Patti has indicated she is very close to shutting RepBot out of FIBS. If you were able to make a coherent, objective case to her, it might just push her over the edge.
I would try both FIBS messages and email.

[diane]

And if you state it is something to do with fibs - that might just be enough   Of course - dont mention that the list of saved games might be wrong or out of date - that is an offence against all fibskind......

[connell]

In thinking about it, the thing that bugs me is how it mixes the rude behavior and cheating together.  One is used to prove the other but they are not really connected.

For example, the amount of matches that were saved is almost irrelevant.  Its the % I complete.  It accuses me of cheating based on the amount of matches saved - not % completed.  Then it buttresses the cheating accusation with the complaints.

But the complaints apparently have nothing to do with cheating, because I have no saved matches with those people.  (They have not responded yet)

I almost feel like saying fine, say I am not a cheater but I am an not a nice person.  While I don't think I have been rude to people before repbot was mentioned, I would not object to the characterization.

When I was on FIBS for 8 years, before repbot, I basically rarely played people who had less than 200 experience but would play almost any one who had more.  I did keep a mental note of people I thought cheated.  Following this rule, dropping was not a big problem for me but it did happen once in awhile.

You can say that is not fair to people with less than 200.  I suppose, but they can play against each other until they are over 200.

BTW, the one characteristic I thought droppers seemed to have in common was that they did not care what other players thought about them.

[diane]

repbot is just a database storing

a mental note of people I thought cheated

- except it is the collective mental notes of all fibs players.  Be aware this data source is there and play accordingly is all the advice one can give to a new player.

[Hardy_whv]

One remark: I appreciate RepBot very much. In 99.9% of all cases the reputation gives quite a good picture of how kind and trustful a person is. It has avoided me playing many droppers. Thanks for that RepBot!

Yes, sometimes it is misused, but I prefer a 99.9% reliable advisor than none at all. As long as there is no more reliable replacement for RepBot, I just hope Patti is considering this matter very carefully.

Hardy  

[connell]

I decided I would drop in every once in awhile and express to you how stupid I think your repbot is and that I am still here and I am still pissed about it.

My experience level is up to 890.  I generally get a game dispite your slanderous statements.  A lot of people don't use repbot and then a certain % of those that do will play me.  Because I don't cheat and I am not rude to them, they will often play me again.

I realized why you don't want to listen to me and you want to dismiss my complaints.  Its because if it was really true that I had 35,000 experience and 1800 rating on FIBS at one time and your repbot gave me a bad reputation, it would mean that your repbot was junk.

I still do not how to get repbot, what the complaints were made against me, or  how I would go about clearing my good name if I chose to do that.  I have completed the matches that I saved, so apparently that's not the way.  I contacted the people who complained about me.  One said he is not sure why he complained and thinks he made a mistake.  One said "so complain to management and ask for a refund of your money."  One did not respond in any way.  One complained because I got in a fight with him over the bad reputation I have on repbot.  So apparently contacting the people who complained is not the way.

Apparently, there is no way to correct my reputation.  This is strange, because even felons, after serving their jail sentence and acting in good behavior, have a chance for parole.  But I guess I have none.

When I meet someone who seems concerned about my repbot reputatation, they act like repbot has found me guilty and I must prove I am innocent.  How I would do that, no one knows.  What I am accused of, no one knows.  But I must still prove my innocence.  Its up to me to figure out how.

You have devised a system that would make the junior Senator from Wisconsin proud.  If you don't know what I mean by that, it is what Edward Murrow used to call Joseph McCarthy.  I am sure most of you don't know who they are, which means we have discovered the root of the problem here.  So please look them up on Wilipedia.  They have some good articles about them.

[diane]

I still do not how to get repbot

Ahhh, I see, like a child in a class who doesnt understand throws a tantrum, shouting things like 'You are all stupid', you are having a 'moment'.  I am sorry we overlooked that detail - we didnt mean to exclude you. Try sending a tell - you just need to use the command line and send 'tell repbot help'.

Then you can make an informed choice, instead of stomping about  

Though to be quite frank - with or without a repbot improvement - I think I have seen enough  

[spielberg]

When I search for Senator McCarthy on Wilipedia I get site not found.

I blame those commies.

[socksey]

Connell,

First of all, we have some rules in place on Fibsboard that you may not be aware of.  In regards to those rules, I have edited out some of your last post.  

The official rules of Fibsboard use have been unavailable on the site for some time, but webrunner is working on an upgrade to correct that problem as well as all the problems we have been experiencing here.  When the update is done, please review the rules of Fibsboard.  

One of the other functions, emailing members from this site, cannot be done as well.  When posts were edited or deleted, previously, I was able to email the offender personally.  Since I cannot do that now, hence, this public post will have to suffice.

Repbot has been a controversial object since it's inception.  I don't think much has been expressed here that has not already been expressed before at some time which you can probably find in searching the archives of subjects here.  

Repbot has been discussed countless time on Fibs as well.  The consensus seems to be that you either love it or hate it.  Take your pick.  

I happen to love it.  It can be hugely helpful.  You do need to know the reporting players tho and check them out when you find a player with a "BAD" rep.  Some on Fibs abuse Repbot.  Most do not.  Over time, if you are a courteous player and finish your games, you will build a great reputation in spite of the abusers so that Repbot does become useful.

So, my advice to you is to get over it and continue to play.  Good luck to you and happy playing.  

socksey



"We don't like their sound.  Groups of guitars are on the way out." - Decca Records Rejecting the Beatles, in 1962

[connell]

"Ahhh, I see, like a child in a class who doesnt understand throws a tantrum, shouting things like 'You are all stupid', you are having a 'moment'. I am sorry we overlooked that detail - we didnt mean to exclude you. Try sending a tell - you just need to use the command line and send 'tell repbot help'"

Uh, what I am complaining about is that you smear my good name and you give me no avenue to correct it.  You don't say "well finish the matches of everyone who posts here and we will make your name clear."  I finish any matches with anyone who asks me to finish!  You don't say "let the guys who complained about you post here what there problem is, if they don't post in 2 weeks we will delete their complaints."  I get no intelligible response and I am left to wonder what their problem was.  And there complaint just sticks.

I hope you recgnize that your logic is circular.  Repbot says I have a bad reputation and as a result I am really mad.  Then you use the fact that I am really mad as proof that repbot is right.

BTW, you say "get over it."  I don't care a great deal that your program says I am "bad."  But what I have to put up with is two things.  First, every once in awhile someone makes synde remarks to me about it.  Second, a certain percentage of people won't play me because of it.  So it goes beyond just my ego is hurt or something.  It has a practical effect.

[socksey]

BTW, you say "get over it." I don't care a great deal that your program says I am "bad."

..........The program is neither diane's nor mine.  Burper created it and someone else runs it now.  It is my belief that the majority like and used Repbot to their advantage.

I repeat,  

Over time, if you are a courteous player and finish your games, you will build a great reputation in spite of the abusers so that Repbot does remain useful.

.

socksey



"Weather forecast precipitation in the morning, rain in the afternoon." - Detroit Daily News

[diane]

The program is neither diane's nor mine.

So true - it belongs to ALL fibsters - yes, including you!! Why not make freinds with it, instead of fighting with it??    

[adrian]

Mr. Connell,

If you cannot take advices from women (somehow understandable), then please be aware that RepBot is "male" (at least created by a man). Use the help from it, and also read the forum topics, even the older ones. All logic responses have been delivered..

Cheer up and have fun.