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Jazuela · 08-31-2007, 04:27 PM

See now Zhiroc, I would expect your criteria for ANY game I played, whether professional or hobby - with the possible exception of item #1 - though having your own T-3 (T-1 is SO five minutes ago) would be a bonus.

If *I* was doing a search for a "professional" game, I'd be looking to see if it was run in a professional manner. Personally I don't give two cahoots if the admin had his own data center, or had photographic memory and didn't need no stinkin data center. Or, if he simply put all his data on an old 5.25 floppy in a wordpad file every day. As long as he behaves himself like a mature adult when he runs his game.

If a game had everything you listed, but the owner sitebanned people he didn't like, simply because he didn't like them, I would think it about as UNprofessional as it gets. If it had everything, and the admin invited everyone to his house for a gathering each year, but told three players they couldn't come because they weren't good looking enough, I'd think that's pretty damned UNprofessional.

On the other hand, if he was the most dignified guy in the world, with so much integrity you could smell the roses from a mile away, sunk his heart and soul into the game, spent every spare moment of every day on improvements, was fair to everyone, at all times, worked the soup kitchen in town on Sundays after church every day, but his game was chock-full of typos, the code was loaded with bugs, and he used a hosting service that couldn't give him access except on alternate Tuesdays and every Wednesday between 3 and 6 in the morning, I'd consider THAT unprofessional too. Even if the guy was a top-notch professional coder for MicroSloth.

I want to know if the game runs. I want to know if it runs well enough to be worth playing. I want to know that it's well-written. I want to know that there's someone available to check the code, make improvements, and keep an eye out for disruptive players. I want to know that I don't have to pay any money to get anything from within the game, BUT that if I wanted to, they would allow me to send a little something to help support the costs of running it. I would also want to know that the coders and admin know what they're doing - whether they have a B.S., or if they simply started coding or being in charge of their cubscout softball team when they were 12 years old and progressed naturally until they were experts at it (coding or admining). I don't care if they code for a living. I don't care that they have their Masters. I -do- care that they behave like adults, listen to the players' concerns, provide appropriate and polite feedback when and if necessary or requested, and don't arbitrarily siteban someone for something someone else claimed happened, without even asking for the bannee's side of the story - simply because the tattleteller is a buddy, or a friend of a friend, or sent her some peppermint schnapps one year, or is a fellow staff member.

To me, THOSE are the things that mark a professional from a non-professional. And THOSE are the things I would use as criteria for professional/non-professional, if I was interested in actually searching for new games to play.

08-31-2007, 04:27 PM	#30
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Re: Professional vs Hobbyist See now Zhiroc, I would expect your criteria for ANY game I played, whether professional or hobby - with the possible exception of item #1 - though having your own T-3 (T-1 is SO five minutes ago) would be a bonus. If I was doing a search for a "professional" game, I'd be looking to see if it was run in a professional manner. Personally I don't give two cahoots if the admin had his own data center, or had photographic memory and didn't need no stinkin data center. Or, if he simply put all his data on an old 5.25 floppy in a wordpad file every day. As long as he behaves himself like a mature adult when he runs his game. If a game had everything you listed, but the owner sitebanned people he didn't like, simply because he didn't like them, I would think it about as UNprofessional as it gets. If it had everything, and the admin invited everyone to his house for a gathering each year, but told three players they couldn't come because they weren't good looking enough, I'd think that's pretty damned UNprofessional. On the other hand, if he was the most dignified guy in the world, with so much integrity you could smell the roses from a mile away, sunk his heart and soul into the game, spent every spare moment of every day on improvements, was fair to everyone, at all times, worked the soup kitchen in town on Sundays after church every day, but his game was chock-full of typos, the code was loaded with bugs, and he used a hosting service that couldn't give him access except on alternate Tuesdays and every Wednesday between 3 and 6 in the morning, I'd consider THAT unprofessional too. Even if the guy was a top-notch professional coder for MicroSloth. I want to know if the game runs. I want to know if it runs well enough to be worth playing. I want to know that it's well-written. I want to know that there's someone available to check the code, make improvements, and keep an eye out for disruptive players. I want to know that I don't have to pay any money to get anything from within the game, BUT that if I wanted to, they would allow me to send a little something to help support the costs of running it. I would also want to know that the coders and admin know what they're doing - whether they have a B.S., or if they simply started coding or being in charge of their cubscout softball team when they were 12 years old and progressed naturally until they were experts at it (coding or admining). I don't care if they code for a living. I don't care that they have their Masters. I -do- care that they behave like adults, listen to the players' concerns, provide appropriate and polite feedback when and if necessary or requested, and don't arbitrarily siteban someone for something someone else claimed happened, without even asking for the bannee's side of the story - simply because the tattleteller is a buddy, or a friend of a friend, or sent her some peppermint schnapps one year, or is a fellow staff member. To me, THOSE are the things that mark a professional from a non-professional. And THOSE are the things I would use as criteria for professional/non-professional, if I was interested in actually searching for new games to play.