What's the most striking change in BBO in 2004?

[Rain]

Anything BBO related goes.

 

Maybe we can all suggest our favourites, then put it to a vote on the 30th of Dec? :>

 

 

 

 

Rain

[Rain]

Quite a few changes in BBO since I started playing here when Fred was always visible! :)

 

Good changes in my opinion:

 

1) I think this year, of course, there was the BBO$, products sold in BBO, and the pay tourneys. BBO finally climbed out of the red, I think!

 

2) I'll sneak in another favourite BBO related thing this year. I think the vugraphs by the polish team deserve special mention. They have everything! Websites, webcam, photos, plus excellent vugraphing. Very cool

 

 

Things I don't like:

 

I don't like the numbers earned from BBO points. =Þ I think having something else, like a series of stars or something is more aesthatic. Stars are already awarded, so maybe a series of smiley faces instead? Dunno, but not numbers. I'm not 24601....

 

 

Rain

[fred]

I think Rain deserves special mention for taking over the nightmarish and time-comsuming job of handling abuse@bridgebase.com. She has done wonderful work and, in the process, made it possible for Uday and me to spend more of our time doing what we should be doing: working on the software.

 

Inquiry is another yellow who goes far above and beyond the call of duty (especially in terms of investigating cheating accusations and moderating and contributing to forums).

 

Really I don't feel quite right about singling out any yellows, since they are all such good people who do so much for BBO. A lot of the work they do is not the least bit fun, but they never stop working and they never complain.

 

Did you know that most of the yellows are very young by bridge player standards (ie in their 20s)? In the real world it is rare for me to encounter people in this age group who display the emotional maturity, excellent judgment, strong work ethic, clear sense of morality, and general people skills that our yellows individually and collectively exhibit on a day-to-day basis.

 

We are all very lucky to have this fine group of people involved in running BBO. I hope that the rest of the membership appreciates them as much as I do.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[OrShoham]

A little offtopic perhaps - but as a late-comer, the best BBO change in 2004 is me! I only showed up midway through the year, and I haven't used another bridge client since (well, once or twice, for friends who couldn't get on BBO). :)

In the software, I'm particularly pleased with the recent changes that decrease the loading time. It's now possible to get back into a tourney after a disconnection, before the TD has already replaced you.

My Yellow-person of the year goes to Uday, for always being willing to help out with any technical problems and questions, even when the end result is only relevant for a small number of users.

Forumer of the year goes to Ben (Inquiry) for his wonderful posts in every section, but particularly for his excellent thread on pattern recognition in the advanced/expert thread.

And finally, a big 'thank you' goes to everyone who makes BBO tick - thanks for making it a fun place to play :)