[blml] Disclosure f2f

[Robert Geller]

><shrug> Please yourself. It's my opinion that you're in a small
>minority, evidence being the extensive VuGraphs of national and
>international events offered on BBO, presumably with the co-operation
>of the organisers, the online laws produced some while back by the WBF,
->  These are very important as a way of publicizing bridge, but the events
being webcast are all F2F (with reare exceptions of on-line exhibition
matches.) 


>the online games run under the auspices of various NBOs, the fact that
>some rather large NBOs sanction online games for purposes of awarding
>master points... all of this seems to me to suggest that there are
>quite a few people in "the world of bridge" who are concerned with the
>online game. 
Yes, sort of.  But because of the security problems on-line tourneys
can't be accorded serious status as competitions.


>You'd be surprised how many players are online who have never played at
>a club. Without online bridge, those players would mostly be lost to the
>game. With online bridge, you still have a chance of getting them to
>play both, assuming they have a club within reach (my nearest is 50
>miles away and plays only in the afternoons). Online bridge, IMO, has a
>substantial part to play in the future of the game, and hopefully those
>in charge will be a little less short-sighted than you. 
Yes, it certainly is an important avenue for getting new players.   But they 
need to be roped into playing F2F bridge if they're going to improve.  

Also, because the new on-line players are new players period, someone
needs to teach them about ethics, etc.  Not sure if anyone is working
hard enough on this.

-Bob

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Robert (Bob) Geller,     Tokyo, Japan        geller at nifty.com