Tony I understand where you are coming from, as you are a long time member, but there is a big picture agenda here. IMHO
The reason for the creation of this rule was to promote/encourage playing against the other side rather than your own. When you join you have, hopefully, a lot of contact with members of your side and this engenders friendships if not a pool of contacts. You may otherwise only play vs these fellows. The 1/2 rule is to encourage you to seek players from the other side that you may not otherwise be inclined to seek out. It is something I created as part of a check and balance system of which there are many examples. I agree that in certain situation it may not be the optimum system but in general it serves it's purpose. The goal was to create a system that would work in an overall sense. Certainly there are negatives but the big picture is important. I am a big picture guy.
Bill, I understand your issue with the overall command setup and involvement issue. Since this Club and others are based on voluntary commitments you will have a great variance in effort. The reason the ACWGC is successful, regardless of the systems weaknesses and faults, is that it has a large following. This means you have a relative large pool of volunteers and multiple measures of commitment. The Clubs which have a smaller number of game titles, which will reflect the number of people interested, will have a harder time since many, that are interested in the other periods, also are part of the ACWGC/NWC and are already committed. This leaves a much smaller pool of available resources to support the structure of a club like the ACWGC and NWC. You will have successful organizations, Division, Corps, Armies, an you will have failures. The key is keep working on them. As one organization falters another excels.
I was involved with the creation of the NWC because it certainly could provide a pool of support that would provide a basis to fill up the needed heavy organization and resource intense system as created at the ACWGC. I did not get involve in the other sister clubs, my own resources/time being used up, as I could see that they would need the same commitment without the base of game titles needed to attract those people. (bearing in mind that many are already involved in the ACWGC or NWC)
That is not to say I did not wish or encourage the success (providing wargame.ch resources or my own) Bill as I have of the other clubs.
A requirement of a database system to track games played and points is something special and requires a lot of work by individuals to spend time for a hobby they love. The ACWGC and the NWC have adjusted well to that requirements. Individuals beyond the original creators moved this forward.
I remember when you advocated elections in the ACWGC. At the time I was resistant to it not because I wanted to maintain the current situation, with me as President, and control, never my intent, but I wanted to make sure the club would be able to survive it. After 15 years the club still survives and is viable, after a terrible confrontation with you in regards to the timing of elections. The NWC is doing well albeit a different system of elections. The other sister clubs, CCC, MCGC, are doing what they can and are evolving to adjust to the situation and are doing well for the most part, elections perhaps when they are ready! The Naval club had no chance because it had a limited following and game title path. A simpler point/rank system would work and might be a better choice for some but this system is fun, interesting, provides stimulus for conversations and fundamentally works. Hard to argue with success. Bureaucracy has to be reigned in but overall it works.
Bill your greatest achievements and contributions to these clubs is your involvement in creating and supporting new titles. You should stick with that rather than trying to revamp these clubs. It is a futile effort,IMHO. The institutions are entrenched ( -60++) chance. In my opinion as long as new games are introduced the clubs will continue to have success. Stop producing new games and all the clubs will follow the path of the Naval club, extinction.
These are my opinions for what they are worth.
_________________ Best Regards,
General Pierre D.
5th Bde, IV Cavalry Corps Army of Northern Virginia ACWGC President 1997 - 2006, 2012 ACWGC Forum Administrator
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