Just a couple things: players are not notified if scores are DQ'ed, but generally are notified if their scores are deleted. This isn't really deliberate malice on the part of the Editors--to be honest, two of us are trying to learn the scripts well enough to put some kind of a system in place. It isn't easy.(posted 9216 days ago)As for Intrepid, it was a rare occasion, as only two games that I am aware of have seen a mass zeroing because of beta problems: Intrepid and Bullfight (Japan). This one was my fault. I posted about the problem to the message board (either once or twice, I forget) and nobody responded. Period. So I didn't think it was a very big issue for anyone.
I don't think MARP is dead, it's just in one of those transition periods it hits every 6 months or so. However, as a number of players have mentioned, the old MARP is dead in many ways. It was dying when I arrived over a year ago, as several key players were on their way out, including, essentially, the first rules coordinator, a player I very much respect and would have enjoyed the opportunity to play against.
There was a time when MARP worked alsmot completely on the honor system. Hell, even screenshots were allowed if your .inp didn't play back. But by mid-year '99, serious problems were starting to form. A few players had started looking for ways to take advantage of others at MARP. Three top 10 or former top 10 players have had over 300 recordings deleted (total) because they were obviously played subspeed. One of these players used to be the #1 player at MARP, a player who miraculously went from 'pretty good' to 'unbeatable.' The message boards had become a frequent vent for players not happy with not having rules, players not happpy with someone's .inp, payers not happy with other players, etc. People said MARP was going to die.
The a few months later, it looked like we were going to lose our hosting. Drastic measures were taken to cut back the space required by the scripts. Fights erupted among payers as to what an 'acceptable' score was (an issue that I happened to be on the losing side of) MARP was, again, pronounced about to die. It didn't.
People who love games will keep coming back to MARP. I took a break during T1 when the frustration over the rules (yes, I've been frustrated by rules here too) and the cheating got too bad (if you think all us Editors are chummy, you should have seen the fights Pat Laffaye and I had over Us vs. Them), and simply left the site for a few weeks. Many other players have taken these sabbaticals; some haven't or won't return. If you want to blame the Editors for this, than fine, that's part of what we have to accept as our job. And I hope you'll forgive me if I sometimes pay more attention to other players helping to confirm recordings, or pointing things out, or discussing things with me on #marp, than I do to the complaints on the message board. Like boxster said in his other thread, somebody has to run the show. If you don't want the Editors to do it, then someone is going to have to find away to grant other people score and site access without converting #marp into total anarchy. The players who are Editors right now are Editors because they believe in a vision of MARP that is fair for all players involved, and is true to the maxim 'one coin, most skill'. Gameboy9 and I debated this the other day after the mess with Tommi: whether the vote was for a suspension of the rules or a violation of MARP's spirit--I strongly feel the latter.
I'm sorry that we had to sacrifice some fun at MARP. But I'm not sorry for what it's become. Players posting their scores here, for the most part, can be confident that where there scores show up is a fair representation of their skill level, and not worry that someone has cheated the system to beat them. A few players here have accused the Editors of being elitist: fair enough, we are. We have to be. Every single complaint about MARP affects us, and we have to make decisions, often ones we know are going to annoy or anger players. Is what is being said a priority, or someone's personal agenda? An example with the pc_10 games: I discussed the issue with most players, and everyone seemed content to wait one beta until we could up the time from the dips. Then when one player who wasn't in the loop cries 'foul', everyone forgets their resolution and starts yelling. I'm no better, in many ways. I don't like being told what I can and can't do any more than anyone else, especially when I HAVE to do certain things to preserve the rules. As JSW said, sometimes we get swelled heads, and have to be reminded that our opinions are worth the same as everyone else's. Well, I think the community does a pretty good job of that.
The Editors are always ultimately accountable to the rules of MARP and the MARP community. The day we aren't is the day MARP dies. I don't know what gameboy9 has planned for Sunday--none of us do--but I hope players will attend and discuss things with him.
Sincerely,
Q.T.Quazar, MARP Rules Coordinator