Important Announcement about TMD

[Dozer]

The LEAST we could do is have different colors.  For instance:  The main screen, where you see all the different forums, we could have that be GREEN.  Then, when you enter into a forum, it could be RED.  Then, when you go to a particular thread in the forum, it could be BLUE.  And finally, when you go to post a topic, or a reply, it could be GRAY.

Shut up, or at least STOP SHOUTING.



Zherbus, thanks for the long-time contribution you have made. You deserve every thanks and honor we can give to you, and the utmost respect for finding a solution that keeps TMD alive the way it is.

Pete has done a lot for the Vintage community over at SCG. I believe him and Z when they say that things will not change; now, people, let us not change as well and continue the quality that has made TMD the premier site for Vintage Magic. We owe it to Zherbus to not let the Drain down whatever happens...

... unless TMD stops being free.

Dozer

[Jank Golem]

I think that in general this will be beneficial to TMD. Sure will have an ad banner but as long as the advertising is not annoying or interferes with anything it seems okay to me.

This will bring TMD new traffic which will cause Vintage to grow, which will encourage SCG to host more power tournaments which will further improve Vintage. One thing we have to be sure of however is not to scare new members away. We have to be patient and try to teach the so called noobs about Vintage and the great format it is. These people that are noobs now will be Vintage's future.

[Smmenen]

It goes without saying, but I trust Pete very much.  I would like to see SCG and TMD forge closer ties than just ownership.  It would be good to have SCG front page topics go directly here (when Kevin starts doing them again).  "Discuss this article" links could also go directly here.  There are lots of synergies to be had. 

[xthexpunisherx]

Look the reason why people are scared are quite valid.  SCG needs to make money or they will have to sell their business to someone else.  I understand that, that’s great.  However SCG owns TMD now, fine.   What if someone decides to run a tournament on the same day as a SCG P9 tournament in the same geographic location?  Maybe it’s an existing TO and they throw it up on the calendar and a thread in the tournament forum.  That directly affects their business, period.  They are now paying for competition of one of their events.

Also we have discussions about their articles, about their tournaments, about their prices, and also about other websites, eBay auctions and on and on.  Those things directly affect SCG.  Will they be cool enough to allow it?  Time will tell, I know that everyone has high opinions of the owner of SCG and I'm sure they are right.  However in order to get where he is he knows how to run a business.  How is he going to feel if one of us slams his tournament, or article, or pricing etc etc etc. 

It’s a change; people have the right to be skeptical.  Time will show us how this will turn out.  Now isn’t the time for overly rosy glasses, nor is it time to start screaming the sky is falling, only time will tell.

[Zeke]

Anyone want to get www.zherbusrules.com and have it redirect to tmd?

[SpencerForHire]

Did anyone really not see this coming?

Like a day before hand when Steve said he sold out to SCG I believe .  But I trust Steve and as such wouldn't worry about this one bit.

[outpost1]

“This has the potential to get more people from other formats to get interested in vintage.  All the tons of people who browse the forums on star city website can now just link over to TMD to explore a new format, EASIER then having to go out and look for it, it's now just a link away from the SCG page.�

I completely agree, and look forward to introducing tens of thousands of StarCityGames.com readers to “Vintage Magic at its Finest� by introducing them to TMD.

“I propose starting a pool on how long it takes before the first premium services and/or membership fees are introduced.�

Not happening. TMD is a 100% community driven discussion forum. The costs associated with it are minimal, constant and easily offset by the one ad banner I have already mentioned being added to the site.

I can not envision a scenario in which I would even *consider* TMD premium services and/or membership fees.

“… if TMD becomes the next Brainburst, there'll be a whole mess load of people that'll leave or be totally fed up; myself included.�

I understand what makes TMD what it is, and have no intention of changing any aspect of that. Steve’s pre-existing group of admin staff is still running the show and I’ve not asked a single one of them to do anything differently.

“TMD has always been an effort of individuals driven by a passion for a game and a format, even when Type One wasn't nearly as popular as it is today. Now, the sight is controlled not by people in it for the love of the game, but rather people in it for the money.�

If I didn’t have a love of the game, I’d be doing something else. A love of the game is exactly why I’m “in this�. The fact that I can also make a living at it simply makes me an incredibly lucky individual.

Also, the people “controlling� the site now are the same guys who were “controlling� it before; Steve’s moderators and admin staff. The TMD rules and guidelines were already in place before I came along, and I’ve not asked a single member of Steve’s pre-existing admin team to change a thing.

“those tournaments were just something that Ray (imafishman) put together.  They weren't sponsored or run by TMD in any way, just using the name.  At worst, Ray might have to change the name if SCG objects... “

No objections at all. Ray has always had my complete support, and continues to have it.

“What if someone decides to run a tournament on the same day as a SCG P9 tournament in the same geographic location?  Maybe it’s an existing TO and they throw it up on the calendar and a thread in the tournament forum.  That directly affects their business, period.  They are now paying for competition of one of their events.�

I have no plans to change any aspect of the TMD forums, or how they operate.

If anyone were to actually do this, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I would not ask, or expect, TMD mods to remove/modify the competing event’s post. The TMD tournament forums are for promoting ALL Vintage tournaments, not playing favorites.

�Also we have discussions about their articles, about their tournaments, about their prices, and also about other websites, eBay auctions and on and on.  Those things directly affect SCG.  Will they be cool enough to allow it?�

If it was allowed before, it is allowed now.

“I know that everyone has high opinions of the owner of SCG and I'm sure they are right.  However in order to get where he is he knows how to run a business.  How is he going to feel if one of us slams his tournament, or article, or pricing etc etc etc.�

If it was allowed before, it is allowed now.

“Thanks so much Steve.  You have been a great steward of this format and you deserve all the credit for this site. “

I completely agree.

I would like to again thank Steve for creating such a fantastic resource for the Vintage community and entrusting me with that creation.

Best wishes,

Pete Hoefling
President, StarCityGames.com
http://www.starcitygames.com

[Gumby]

Having delt on a professional level with Pete in the past, he purchased our store's entire singles stock about a year ago or so, I fully trust him to do what he says!

I wish Steve good luck in his future endevors and with your family!

[Bram]

Thanks for clarifying all that, Pete.

Just so you (and everyone else) know:

�Also we have discussions about their articles, about their tournaments, about their prices, and also about other websites, eBay auctions and on and on.  Those things directly affect SCG.  Will they be cool enough to allow it?�

If it was allowed before, it is allowed now.

These things were all legal in the past. I'd like to point out to all the TMD folk who are worried that (critical) discussion about SCG articles and tournaments happens on the SCG boards, too. No need for Pete to ban it. Also: discussion about where best to buy cards as well as links to eBay auctions (other than humorous ones), while 'legal', have been pretty rare on these boards. In other words, not only does Pete not want to trample that liberty; apparently we don't even care too much about it to exersize it. So no need to worry.

One aspect I feel Pete may not appreciate too much, is a trading forum. Fortunately for him, we've had a strict policy against that for quite some time now.

It would be good to have SCG front page topics go directly here (when Kevin starts doing them again).  "Discuss this article" links could also go directly here. 

This is already happening. Look at the bottom of the SCG announcement article! Cool, huh?

[Hatchman]

Look the reason why people are scared are quite valid.  SCG needs to make money or they will have to sell their business to someone else.  I understand that, that’s great.  However SCG owns TMD now, fine.   What if someone decides to run a tournament on the same day as a SCG P9 tournament in the same geographic location?  Maybe it’s an existing TO and they throw it up on the calendar and a thread in the tournament forum.  That directly affects their business, period.  They are now paying for competition of one of their events.

As A person that Not only runs tournaments, I also  attend the SCGP9 tournaments, I dont know What TO would try to have an event on the same day as one of the SCG tournament is just asking to lose money or waste an entire day. I dont think That Z would have given "his baby" to someone that would not take care of it and run it like he would. I truly trust Jake and the rest of the Admin staff to do what they have always done. I believe that they will continue to run this forum as they have in the past. I think that Jake spends a TON of time on here making sure that it runs smoothly so we have a place to post and discuss about our format. So I dont think that we should worry too much about the "changes" that will come from SCG taking over. This could do nothing but help us and our format. I am really happy to see that we will be on SCG website with links and I hope that they will set up a link for our tournaments on their site just like we have for them........ This in turn would not only help out TO's across the nation but could also help SCG's sales for Type 1 cards. I Know that alot of T2 players read that site and go there often.

 So For right now I could not be unhappy that this occured. I Wish Z all the luck in the world with his family and good Luck in life. Thanks For all the work!!!


Hatch

[jpmeyer]

When Zherbus said "baby" he actually meant his actual baby.

[Bram]

I guess all this explains what the TMD store has been offline for a week or so.

[xthexpunisherx]

“What if someone decides to run a tournament on the same day as a SCG P9 tournament in the same geographic location?  Maybe it’s an existing TO and they throw it up on the calendar and a thread in the tournament forum.  That directly affects their business, period.  They are now paying for competition of one of their events.�

I have no plans to change any aspect of the TMD forums, or how they operate.

If anyone were to actually do this, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I would not ask, or expect, TMD mods to remove/modify the competing event’s post. The TMD tournament forums are for promoting ALL Vintage tournaments, not playing favorites.

�Also we have discussions about their articles, about their tournaments, about their prices, and also about other websites, eBay auctions and on and on.  Those things directly affect SCG.  Will they be cool enough to allow it?�

If it was allowed before, it is allowed now.

“I know that everyone has high opinions of the owner of SCG and I'm sure they are right.  However in order to get where he is he knows how to run a business.  How is he going to feel if one of us slams his tournament, or article, or pricing etc etc etc.�

If it was allowed before, it is allowed now.

“Thanks so much Steve.  You have been a great steward of this format and you deserve all the credit for this site. “

I completely agree.

I would like to again thank Steve for creating such a fantastic resource for the Vintage community and entrusting me with that creation.

Best wishes,

Pete Hoefling
President, StarCityGames.com
http://www.starcitygames.com

Thanks for the answers to my questions!  I feel much better about everything now.

[Limbo]

Does Pete have to do the promotion exam to get full member status?

[Jacob Orlove]

Does Pete have to do the promotion exam to get full member status?

If you look carefully, you'll see that he has "StarCityGames" status.

[crazynlazy]

Does that mean if we passed an exam we could own SCG?

[Bram]

Does Pete have to do the promotion exam to get full member status?

Did Pete not explain himself enough for ya? Nothing is going to change. So: yes, unless we decide to promote him on other grounds, such as accomplishments for the format, an order from the site owner (this being Pete), or just because we bloody well feel like it. Business as usual

Does that mean if we passed an exam we could own SCG?

Yes. Pete gets to make up the questions, however. And one of them will be your credit card number and expiry date

[MisterShark]

Did Steve leave a fairwell peice anywhere?
If he were to leave a mailing address I think I'd like to send along an old-school, snail-mail, best wishes card and maybe a little gift for the family as a token of my gratitude for making Magic mean what it did to me.

I've drifted away from the Magic scene myself as of late, with family and career and other factors taking an effect. 
Something told me to check back in with TMD though, and now I am a bit saddened seeing one of the old champions of Vintage hanging up his Magic hat.
Even though I no longer read TMD daily and only really play Vintage once in a while with a few of my buds and go to the Pre-releases, I think one finds comfort in looking back on something from one's beloved past, still being championed by the stalwarts of the time that they remember.

In summary, I wish Steve and family all the best and would like to voice my eternal gratitude for providing the labor of love that is TMD for the years that it helped stoke the Magic passion in me.
Good luck Steve.

[VarienTanafres]

Firstly, best wishes to Steve and his family. Thank you for getting this stie going and your hand in making Vintage what it is today.
Not only do I trust in Steve's decision, but I trust in Jacob as well. If they say Pete is good, then I'll believe them. SCG and TMD joining is something that'll be good I say. Both are the biggest impacts on the Vintage realm. My only concern is fee's. The only reason I haven't joined SCG is b/c you have pay for it. EVeryone says there'll be no fee's, then I awesome. If fee's becomes an issue, then we'll see when that time comes.

[Bram]

The only reason I haven't joined SCG is b/c you have pay for it.

Not for the discussion forums you don't. Just for premium articles. And we haven't had articles on here since forever. TMD will remain free.

[VarienTanafres]

The only reason I haven't joined SCG is b/c you have pay for it.

Not for the discussion forums you don't. Just for premium articles. And we haven't had articles on here since forever. TMD will remain free.

oh really? Didn't know that. Guess I'll head over..though Premium articles are things that interest me.

[TracerBullet]

End of an era.

[Subversity]

Okay, but I havent heard anyone say what this means for the Mana Drain Open series in Waterbury CT.

Are they dead now?

[orgcandman]

Okay, but I havent heard anyone say what this means for the Mana Drain Open series in Waterbury CT.

Are they dead now?

Actually, they did say:

...

“those tournaments were just something that Ray (imafishman) put together.  They weren't sponsored or run by TMD in any way, just using the name.  At worst, Ray might have to change the name if SCG objects... “

No objections at all. Ray has always had my complete support, and continues to have it. <-- This is the Waterbury Tournament

“What if someone decides to run a tournament on the same day as a SCG P9 tournament in the same geographic location?  Maybe it’s an existing TO and they throw it up on the calendar and a thread in the tournament forum.  That directly affects their business, period.  They are now paying for competition of one of their events.â€?

I have no plans to change any aspect of the TMD forums, or how they operate.

If anyone were to actually do this, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I would not ask, or expect, TMD mods to remove/modify the competing event’s post. The TMD tournament forums are for promoting ALL Vintage tournaments, not playing favorites. <-- Not that Ray would ever do this, but, even if he did

...

Pete Hoefling
President, StarCityGames.com
http://www.starcitygames.com

Personally, I'd like to echo many of the sentiments here. It's definately the end of an era, but like the passing of BD, and the old old boards, and the old boards, things just change.
I sincerely hope Steve's newfound responsibilities have brought much joy, and wish him luck with the future.

-Aaron

[kl0wn]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Actually, I am. This saddens me. Not that I have any resentment towards Steve for selling the joint or anything; sometimes you have to move on to the next stage in your life and I commend him for doing that.

It's just kind of wierd, I guess. This community and game had been my refuge for the past four years or so ever since I had some bad stuff go down in my life. It felt "right" in a sense; it was just a grass-roots thing with a bunch of cool people, untainted by corporate ownership and trends and fads. I mean, where else could ex-geeks go to indulge in their former geekdom away from the prying eyes of the real world?

Of course, I could just be insane and have an unrealistic idea of what BD and TMD had been.

Shoot mang, maybe I'm just growing up.

Maybe I just got burnt out and things haven't changed at all.

Or maybe I'm right and all of this is just "pwn j00 n00b" and people who dig anime and strive to be the next metrosexual prom queen. Maybe I'm right and everyone really thinks the best way to get some cred around here is to bash the "n00bs" and fellate the cool kids. Maybe I'm right about everyone wanting to get in good with the popular teams in the first place. Wow. Real teams suck. I remember when the "teams" were just a bunch of people who were from the same area and tested together because they had nothing and nobody else. And the whole thing was just lighthearted fun anyway, like some overexagerrated WWF mockery. Whatever happened to the pre-tourney strip joints? The cigars? Teabagging members of your crew in a hotel room the night before a tourney, but then trying to bust the joint up the next day like nobody had anybody's sack on their forehead? What happened to the days when that would have been considered FUNNY? Where's the UNITY, people? Where's the FUN?

Where is the love?

Our founding father has left the building, everyone. You all keep saying garbage like "he's been an asset to the community". That's an understatement. I'll be the first one to say that without him carrying the torch this far, we'd still be hiding in caves all scared of the sun and shit. All of you youngbloods need to recognize that you owe a little bit more to the man than just calling him an asset.

But it's been on the horizon for some time now. The Type One community has been heading south for some time now. It's no longer Canada, New England, New York and New Jersey and hasn't been for a while. And it's not what it used to be. Now it's official.

End of an era.

[mr_rogers]

I really wish Steve luck in his new life and would like to congradulate him on making a great site.  As for SGC buying TMD, I don't believe it's a bad thing at all.  SGC has the money to keep this site going and has promised no changes yet.

 

Wow. Real teams suck. I remember when the "teams" were just a bunch of people who were from the same area and tested together because they had nothing and nobody else. And the whole thing was just lighthearted fun anyway, like some overexagerrated WWF mockery. Whatever happened to the pre-tourney strip joints? The cigars? Teabagging members of your crew in a hotel room the night before a tourney, but then trying to bust the joint up the next day like nobody had anybody's sack on their forehead? What happened to the days when that would have been considered FUNNY? Where's the UNITY, people? Where's the FUN?

If you want the kind of sick fun klOwn is talking about here come hangout with TeamWTF!?!?.  Although most of you would probably never hangout again when you see straight guys dry humping gay guys .

[kl0wn]

If you want the kind of sick fun klOwn is talking about here come hangout with TeamWTF!?!?.  Although most of you would probably never hangout again when you see straight guys dry humping gay guys .

Uh...that's not the kind of "sick fun" I'm talking about. Seems more like closet-cases experimenting.

There's nothing sexual about teabagging, unlike dry-humping someone.

[Dante]

Alright.  Let's keep this thread about any questions or statements related to "change of ownership" and not a discussion of teabagging, which is better left for the community forums (as it sounds like it's been a community experience)   

It's already been a couple of weeks since "the change" and TMD is still the good ole refuge we all know and love.  Steve still logs in and browses, but doesn't post much, just as it has been for months.  A.k.a. nothing has really changed much.

Dante

[Machinus]

the TMD cafepress dissappeared, and we cant get tshirts anymore

I was wondering about this myself. Are they gone for good?

[outpost1]

I was wondering about this myself. Are they gone for good?

That was an arrangement Steve had made with CafePress, and I believe that he ended the arrangement once he decided to sell the site.

Would you guys like for me to look into setting up a similar arrangement with CafePress?

Pete
www.starcitygames.com