[FSPA] League questions - player opinions wanted

[Bob K Mertz]

I'm not in any FSPA leagues anymore so my opinion may be less valid but 
a party at a location like Reclaim would absolutely get me to attend 
mainly because it is out of the mundane stuff in NoVA that everyone 
experiences sometimes weekly.  When I was in FSPA the parties just 
seemed like another day with pizza.

On 5/9/24 3:45 PM, Jules McLaugh via FSPA wrote:
> I am throwing in my two cents from the infrequent or bad player 
> position. I don't care about the ladders because I don't really expect 
> to climb them significantly. As long as I am usually grouped with a 
> group of people that aren't going to wipe the floor with me, I'm good. I 
> think it is fun to have a mix of player skills in the beginning because 
> I have learned a lot from the really good players.
> 
> I play because it is fun and to give myself a break from a stressful 
> job. That said, I liked the drop 2 format because I don't want to cause 
> a problem (or get a bunch of shit) if I can't make it for one or two 
> weeks. I think there are others like me who aren't looking to embrace 
> major commitments and want to enjoy it. Other than that, I'll leave it 
> to you guys to figure out how you want the format set up to make the 
> majority of people happy.
> 
> Speaking of location, consider whether there can be two smaller groups 
> in a league rather than the location having 60 people. (Either the same 
> night or different nights.) Maybe all the pinballers from the mid to the 
> top of the ladder are in one group and the other group is the bottom to 
> mid of the ladder. People could move up in future seasons. Having 
> smaller groups with people you play more often might lead to more 
> socializing, which could lead to stronger leagues. I'm sure this idea 
> brings up a whole batch of problems but I figured I would toss it out 
> there.
> 
> For the party, is it feasible to consider having it at someplace like 
> Reclaim Arcade in Fredericksburg? It would be a different group of games 
> and might motivate people to go. It is out of town, but people travel 
> for pinball all the time, and the party is optional. Reclaim would 
> probably love to have the business, but if you needed to rent it out, 
> maybe the end-of-season party fee can go towards the rental fee. They 
> sell food, beer, and wine and I wouldn't care if I had to buy my own 
> food and drink.   (2324 PLANK RD FREDERICKSBURG VA 22401)
> https://reclaimarcade.com/ <https://reclaimarcade.com/>
> 
> On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 11:36 AM Dave Hubbard via FSPA <fspa at fspazone.org 
> <mailto:fspa at fspazone.org>> wrote:
> 
>     On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 10:41 AM Sergio Johnson
>     <lostinthezone at gmail.com <mailto:lostinthezone at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>         Thanks for the feedback Dave and everyone else who has sent me
>         direct emails. Not a ton of responses though so far, so please
>         keep the opinions coming or it will be assumed that most of you
>         are perfectly fine with the way things are going… :)
> 
> 
>     Bad assumption.  You can't assume that a non-response is a positive
>     one.  Many people don't even know this mailing list exists.
> 
>         In regards to the party, a lot of the feedback so far is that a
>         commercial location doesn’t have the draw that a home party
>         does. Understandable, however one of the goals for the party as
>         originally designed was to give people a chance to meet others
>         from different leagues. Is it better to have a smaller home
>         party with people you know already or a commercial location
>         where you have larger capacity but are seeing the same ole games
>         you may have played in league?
> 
> 
>     I'd say it's time to revisit the party goals.  Those of us that are
>     still active in competitive pinball see plenty of people as we
>     attend area tournaments.  Mixing with others in the DMV pinball
>     scene isn't a problem, if that's what you desire.  The parties were
>     a good way to mix 20 years ago when there wasn't much of a
>     competitive scene, but we're not living in that world now.
> 
>         @dave I’m intrigued by your comment about attending when the
>         party is “interesting” again. Can you expand on that? What would
>         make it interesting to you?
> 
> 
>     Anything that doesn't amount to just "hang out at a bar that I can
>     go to any time I want."  Now that Spinners is temporarily down, I
>     100% guarantee that the "party" will just be hanging out at either
>     Carpool or MSB for an afternoon, and it's been this way for years,
>     just cycling between the same public locations.  Yawn.  If this is
>     what people want, fine, I'm just one person. Give me an opt-out please.
> 
>             --- Dave
> 
>     <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>	Virus-free.www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
> 
>     <#m_-8883620575537732852_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>     _______________________________________________
>     FSPA mailing list
>     FSPA at fspazone.org <mailto:FSPA at fspazone.org>
>     http://lists.fspazone.org/mailman/listinfo/fspa
>     <http://lists.fspazone.org/mailman/listinfo/fspa>
> 
>
> _______________________________________________
> FSPA mailing list
> FSPA at fspazone.org
> http://lists.fspazone.org/mailman/listinfo/fspa