What divides us

[redessence]

I've been out of the tournament Scrabble scene for almost 3 months now. I'm rarely on ISC and have purposely limited myself to Words With Friends and iPhone Scrabble games. Even took a break from those for 2 weeks in September. Now that I've been removed from the scene and observe it more as an enthusiast than a tournament player, I honestly think

Comments

[magratheazaphod]

NASPA v WGPO totally affects expert players, especially out here on the west coast where most of the major tournaments are opens. The NASPA-WGPO debate undermines the whole structure of tournament scrabble in north america in my opinion.

[vinylchances]

I'm all for respecting people's approaches. I hate when people are militantly in favor of one dictionary or another... blah blah, to each his own.

I'm just saying, when you're discussing words in a public forum where dozens of other Scrabblers might be reading, it makes sense to provide clarification sometimes.

I don't want people to think it's about MYSELF BEING RIGHT, because anyone who approaches it that way is a complete tool. (Not that there aren't plenty of complete tools in Scrabble, but let's not digress too much...)

[redessence]

I understand your intent behind # notation to someone else's *. Unfortunately not everyone else does it for your reasons - it is often about them being right. As a result, a well-intending person who does something similar is perceived to be like the others. This superiority shit in Scrabble has got to go.

[vinylchances]

Uhh... yeah... good luck with that ;-)

[jmallick]

I've tried juggling both dictionaries but every time I do so, the binders get more and more torn. So much for this being only rational ideas. :)

[redessence]

That's because you're juggling the paperback editions - go for hardcover!

[redessence]

The NASPA-WGPO debate undermines the whole structure of tournament scrabble in north america in my opinion.
I think so too.

Do I like the idea of WGPO? As an expert player, no. However, when one looks for just a moment through a non-expert player's eyes, the WGPO model becomes more alluring.

NASPA v WGPO totally affects expert players, especially out here on the west coast where most of the major tournaments are opens.
Note that I said that WGPO tournaments don't directly affect expert players (meaning indirectly). Looking at the west coast, how many expert players has NASPA lost to WGPO? Realistically, not many. Non-expert players? More than not many. Experts are affected in that a number of non-expert players don't attend NASPA tournaments anymore, which is most evident at opens. This defeats the original purpose of the open, which is to bring players of all skill levels together in one division.