FM75

Even if you find that by opening lighter for the openings mentioned you win more, it does not follow that you will score better. 1) What does it mean that your winning percentage was higher on those hands? Made contract more? Beat the (imps/mp) field? Independent of vulnerability, or not measured? 2) What would the impact be on all hands? How does partner show a 1 club opener after you have preempted with Jxxxx Qxx Kx Qxx? Will you even reach your best contract? If your 2♦ showed an arbitrary 4441 hand (or any other hand) what would the result be? The results of the system is not the result of a single, or even several components, of the system.

Perhaps "the rest of the civilized world" just needs better police training (ok, likely you just have no imagination). I live in a small town, about 0.5 km from where a man of "reduced mental capacity" (factual, as it turns out, not just a guess) was shot dead by a responding policeman. The homeowner had already been critically stabbed by a knife from the homeowner's kitchen drawers, and he had 3 family members hiding upstairs. The officer shot when the suspect tried to stab the policeman. The homeowner arrived in critical condition at the hospital (instead of dead). He survived 10+ more years, to be killed by a tree falling on him in his driveway in hurricane.

Not everything will be clear from this youtube video....

Who says it is easy to deal with 70 year old male Montrealers suffering from dementia? http://cjme.com/content/montreal-police-officer-injured-standoff Tough city, tough geezers.

Hmm. I thought 2 months was the limit as well, until a few days ago it was claimed that BBO had 8 years of hand-history in another post. That is not to say that the two statements are in conflict, but I would like to understand if both are true.

I really don't intend to repeat all of the different things tested on the link I gave. It is about connections - making, maintaining, and possibly re-establishing that is the issue. I was just suggesting that you could try to find a diagnostic tool that might identify your problem for you. BBO uses Flash, which as clunky (complex) as it is, was optimized for low bandwidth back in the days when high bandwidth was rare.

There are various tools, some free, some not. http://www.guidingtech.com/1836/5-power-tools-to-check-broadband-speed-and-quality/ This is just one. Google things like "internet connection speed", "internet connection quality" , or monitor. I would start with the assumption that the problem was at my end, not the server end. Try wire instead of wireless, if that is an option. As Barry mentioned, BBO typically is supporting 7500 or more connections. My experience with lost connections suggests that certain people are prone to connection loss. That also suggests that the problem is in "the last mile". That is not to say that it might not be a software problem, but again, the evidence suggests that it is at the client end. Try the free tools first.

UX - Not sure if you can google UX, but you need to understand it better. 1) The initial screen is confusing. Apparently my bidding box is between RHO and my partner. I have a reasonably high ape index, wing-span to height ratio, but at the computer, I am not expecting to need or use this. Nor would I live! LOL 2) It was not clear that it was my turn to bid - since the bidding box was "over there" and I did not even see the bidding. Why was is upper left AND just statically sitting there. I had just opened my hand and did not see or hear any bidding... 3) Advancing the play is awkward - you have to guess how to do it - as previously mentioned, even if a wider range of guesses might have worked. 4) At the end it felt like that 1970's game of Adventure (You are in a twisty little maze... Google it...) 5) Continued... Playing adventure, if you clicked E then you could return (normally) by clicking W, but at the end of the game, which we set, it did not even identify which score we got - unless I remembered the result 6) Then... you end up somewhere unrelated. Maybe when you set declarer - you get the boot from the club. Clever programming - but too unexpected. Principles: The user is not like me.The best UI does not ordinarily violate the principle of least surprise.

LOL. John and I play this (online). I am not near his local club... 2NT (a) 5-9 points and at least 5-5 in the Minors, or (b) 11-15 and exactly 5-5 in the Majors, or c)A 3-level pre-empt in Clubs But that is predicated on all 1 level openings except 1 club showing 10-15 (10-12 1N nv, 13-15 1N vul, 5cM 11-15 1M, 1D, all other.) And we have discovery bids for responder after the 2N. http://pigpen.org.uk/BBO/2n.php The system is not for the faint of heart, nor partners unwilling to spend hours confirming that they understand it.

I had problems with the microphone once as well. What I eventually figured out was the the browser itself was asking for permission to use the microphone and it popped up way up at the top of the window instead of the usual little flash dialog box asking permission. Another glitch. If you are kibbing, then join, you will have to click start again to hear. Works fine when you figure that out though.

1) You might mention which version of the software you are running. 2) If web version, browser, flash versions, etc. are more useful than hardware specs. 3) The fact that e-mail continues to work does not suggest that you do not have a connection problem. E-Mail just queries hosts periodically. So you could lose a connection for 5 minutes and not notice that nothing came in via e-mail. Or you could lose it for 3 seconds, poll your email reestablishing a connection and get email. 4) Can you watch a half-hour streaming video without interruption? Other than problems I saw someone using that seemed to be flash related on windows 7 (Chrome browser) a couple years back, I probably have not gotten disconnected more than 5 times in the last couple years. Macbook pro, IMac, running Chrome browser. (Not counting connection failures on dubious quality wifi such as you might find in a hotel - which clearly were not server related.)

Misunderstood your question. If you want a .jpg, then the only way is via screen capture or photograph.

yes. Options, export deal... Only if the hand was completed. played out or claimed.

As Siegmund mentions, you can do exactly what you want. I suspect most people have the chat appearing below the table area, but if you drag the divider down small enough, the chat area moves over to the right. Then you will see tabs on the right for Who's online, Scores, and Chat. You can see only one at once, this way. You can also make the ad go away, I think, by renting a robot. You can Google setting up two monitor on Windows or Mac to get the details on how to set them up. You may want to try it first to know exactly what the steps are. If the screens have different resolutions, you may need to experiment to get the setup that you like best.

It looks like this thread is foundering on science that got improved. That is, science that is valid under most conditions, but that requires a modification to cover discovered exceptions. Euclidean versus non-Euclidean geometry, mechanics and quantum mechanics, mechanics and relativistic mechanics, etc. I did not anticipate this drift, but rather was discussing ideas that were just plain wrong from the outset. We scientists love the new theory that replace the old one that ran into experimental trouble, but which in the "classical limits" agrees with the "classical theory". For example, [heresy alert], one can describe a geocentric universe, with the sun, moon, and stars orbiting it. There is nothing wrong with that picture, even scientifically. Shocking, maybe, but Einstein showed that there is no "preferred reference frame". That said, the equations of motion, in a geocentric reference frame are very complex. So we discard that reference frame as being too difficult for most calculations. and use one in which the calculations are more convenient - planetary etc. need non-geocentric reference frames, but not airplanes and shipping - depending on distance, they may not even require recognition of the curvature of the earth for practical results. So think, don't go out in the cold without a coat, or you will "catch a cold". Double your bet until you win, because the win will exceed the total of all previous losses. Aerobic exercise fad based on an experiment with the preserved muscles of a DEAD frog. Fuel cells which generate electrical energy from hydrogen and oxygen without generating greenhouse gases, And yes, the "buy local" idea mentioned in the OP which ignores both the known results of the traveling salesman problem, and the clearly evolutionary approach to sales and distribution systems, as well as 19th century economic analysis. Toss in 'momentum' in sports, and astrology. These are examples of the "bad ideas that won't go away". The ideas that explain the behavior of a wide range of systems, but that need refinement to be more broadly appicable, are not the types of ideas that I had in mind. For fun, review the OP, and consider some of the questions, a few of which have been addressed so far.

if you are interested in a super-precision variant - check out http://pigpen.org.uk/BBO/index.php It is a pretty intense learning curve, but there are at least a dozen or so players playing it at various levels of experience with it. if interested, pm me on BBO.

Or you can use 2NT as 3 possible hand types (but not in regular ACBL events) http://pigpen.org.uk/BBO/2n.php It does not come up often. But we ended up in 3M= for a plus tonight.

I understand the historical reasons for Flash. But you don't need access to anything on the computer - except recently the microphone. Hands, preferences, etc. can be stored on the host without requesting permission. Java was never really workable - and it would have been a nightmare to manage. Anyway, we are straying from the topic. The original question is still not definitively answered. What does one have to do to chat to club? Will the other paths to playing at a table be fixed so that chat to club is an option regardless of how one gets into a club.

A successful colleague (electrical engineer and MBA) once told me that everything that he was taught in business school was obvious, false, or both! He was not joking. :) I appreciate the Santa Claus stuff. I had not thought about that. I had an interesting hypothesis: Indoctrination of "bias" while young is sufficient, but not necessary, for the persistence of bias. Santa introduces a "testability" element - and refutes my hypothesis. The Monkey, Banana, and Firehose. Community learning. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_the_monkey_banana_and_water_spray_experiment_ever_take_place More fun reading: http://www.parentingscience.com/cognitive-development.html Can you understand what other people think given their experience, or do you tend to use your own experience to predict what others will think?

ROFL. Alert. Yes? Partner is a hand-hogger. He is a far better declarer than I. (Our system as we jointly understand it. He also knows better than I what he is doing.) Alert. Yeh. I got it. Questions? _______________________________________ I suppose the club, or the ACBL, could look at the "Rules of Golf" with respect to amateur status, and write their own rules. Club pros, touring pros. maybe in another era?

I am an old fart (in the software industry). 1) Using Flash as an excuse is inexcusable. a) Maybe Flash is optimized for slow networks and is still relevant for a good user experience. (probably not with advent of javascript in the browser, even absent HTML5.) b) But it is really not a good excuse for trashing user preferences (EXPECTATIONS). c) One could grant that the idea of "Lobby chat" or maybe even "club chat" was anachronistic, based on the massive growth of BBO. d) But the massive support for it suggests that it should have been continued. (Scaling it is problematic, and eliminating it by users who don't want to hear "fire" in a crowded hotel/club also needs to be addressed.) e) Saving hands should have been a huge win for BBO. They could have promoted that when users lost hard drives or bought new computers they would still have their dear hand histories. f) BBO still could do this. (Please don't. I want to make a viable small business by not only doing that, but adding additional analytics.)

What'choo you talkin' bout, Willis? Ah mean which GIB?

That is not a ridiculous question. Chatting to club is mysterious in web version. Sometimes you have a club button and select and chat just like you would expect. Other times you don't. You might be kibbing a table in a club, but not be able to do so. Perhaps it depends on whether you looked for tables in a club, then joined one? BBO probably should improve this. That said, chatting to some clubs can be very irritating. For example, you might reasonably want to say "We need a fourth" or "We need two.." If someone is teaching at a table in the same club, it can be quite disruptive to have club chatter at what other-wise was kind of a private session. Blocking chat from club, might also be useful - for a game in which the players - or a player might not be interested in receiving it.

If you want software suggestions: 1) What platform do you use - Windows, Mac, Linux, web only? 2) Are you capable of building an executable program from open-source? (if you don't even know what that means, the answer is "no") As to the question of data mining BBO, if it is worth any money to you, send me a private message, please. I have a number of ideas on that topic. mikeh - nice testimonial! I don't use windows anymore. But my partner does like Deal Master Pro.

Common sense abounds in the world - much of it is just plain wrong. Yet it won't go away. Buy local - either to save fuel, or to keep the money in your community. All sorts of crazy ideas to prevent the spread of infection by toilet seats. Static stretching before exercise to prevent injury and improve athletic performance. The World Health Organization decided in 1988 that it could eliminate polio from the planet. Within 11 years they were mostly successful. The last of one type has not been seen since 1999. Yes, just because it has not been diagnosed since, does not mean that it has not existed, or does not exist. But 11 years is a pretty short time to achieve such a global result. This topic is not about any particular fallacy, but rather about how they arise, why they are not successfully refuted, and whether elimination of fallacies might be harder or easier with communications using the internet, social media, etc. Are these fallacies simply beliefs (approaching religious conviction strength) which will be believed regardless of contrary evidence?Does the durability of a false belief depend upon what age it it learned? For example, can you unlearn things taught in "potty training" age, elementary school, college, etc.Does it depend on who taught it?Can fallacies be successfully purged from "common sense" like we are able to do with certain types of disease?Does the news media's pandering to the lowest common denominator make them more or less likely to play a role in spreading fallacies rather than eliminating them?How much of the population is sufficiently intelligent to be able to unlearn what they have learned?Are social media more likely to create or spread a fallacy than identify and eliminate one?What are successful approaches to eliminating fallacies?What role do governments or religious institutions play in originating or spreading them?Is it politically or socially desirable for wide-spread belief in fallacies? Please, offer any ideas, research findings, or additional questions on this topic. Please do not introduce your own pet peeve fallacy, or offer refutations of any that might be introduced in the discussion. Those could all rightly have their own topic.