Subject: Guided Rants
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:37:55 -0500
From: Auburn User <user@mail.auburn.edu>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

    There has been all too much discussion about cheating, Mike Long,
ProsBloom, Mike Long and cheating, Mike Long and Prosbloom, and so on.
Unfortunately, the same rules that would solve cheating at major
tournements ( read: Pro-Tours, Grand Prix, and any game setting where
much is at stake) would undoubtly cause some of the less serious players
to quit/cry. Not everyone plays with the latest erratta knowledge, even
if it seems like basic information to the rest of us ( Impulse:
shuffle....never). So penalties for all alleged cheating should be
modular to the size of the tournement/ quality of the player.
    WoTC is scared to perm. ban some of its highest money makers, just
like the NBA was afraid to kick Latrell Spreewell from the game. Face
it, the scrubs/chumlys pay the WoTC and top players salaries. People are
always trying to get to the pro tour, even if their skills aren't up to
par. So if WoTC perm. bans Mike Long, people can no longer dream of
going to the Pro Tour and beating him.WoTc is a money making operation,
the PT just one manifistation of that operation, a marketing tool no
less, but a very effective one.
    WoTC only cares about the players enough to get them to buy their
boxes of product, that's it. A Boycott would work, but thats not going
to happen.A dream that is dellusional, which will never work because of
the basis of human nature, just like communism. In both cases, its the
wanting to be better than others, wheather its manifistation be greed or
self esteem boosters.
    Brian Schnider, many months ago on the IRC, on a private chat with
me, brought up the interesting point of everybody cheats. If the don't
cheat, and others do, they are cheating themselves because they are not
giving themselves a fair chance to win. I encouraged Brian to write an
article on this, I'm glad he finally did.
    Plain and simple, people cheat because their is motivation to do so.
Why, the same as everywhere else in the world: fame, money and chicks.
Well......maybe not chicks in magic, besides the girl at Origins in the
chain mail bra, ya'll know who I'm talking about.
What keeps people from breaking rules to take the easy route is
motivation not to do so. If the penalties for cheating and the
probability to get caught outweigh the benefits of cheating, people will
stop. All except those who compulsively cheat.
     I admit that I cheat. yes, start the flames. I wrote the article
that Frank entitled " Cards to Cheat with" It was not intended  as a
how to manual, it even said that on the first page. But thats the way,
with Frank's title, it came out. I got hell for it, and i'm a scrub. If
a player is good and he gets caught, everyone knows and everyone jumps
at him, just not his friends. Certain cards conjure up certian people
Muscle Sliver
Cadeverous Bloom
Diabolic Edict x2
    I'm sure Justice, Long and Schnider popped into your head.My point
made.

    In summary, people will cheat until the motivation to do so is gone.
So unless WoTC makes sweeping reforms, which I doubt they will for a
while, the path of dishonesty will be rampantly growing with people
trying to win by any means necessary.

Will Ayers
mons on IRC