Well, I'll do what I can here to explain the sequence of events so people are better-informed as to what has occurred. This is not me pleading any defence, but rather putting forward some mitigating circumstances that might alleviate the degree of severity with which this matter is dealt and also have readers understand that there is not a systematic abuse of sitting conducted by players in the clan. What is contained in the OP is the only example of some isolated incidents (and for the most part are unmerited, but I'm not saying all).
Chuck has gone back through the history of our games, from when he joined the clan in March 2011 to present day, and has produced just 11 games where I have sat for others. The earliest example of this is as recently as mid-March of this year, which is when problems with him started to arise. Reliability issues (missed turns, etc) became a constant source of frustration and it became necessary to be more vigilant about his turn-taking and provide cover if necessary.
Game 10716308 is the earliest example in his allegations - a case where he had been about to miss in another game and this one had under 7 hours on the clock. Whilst it may have been approaching morning his time, it was approaching bed time for me. Do I leave it and let the turn get missed? What do others do in cases like this? Hope the player turns up?
Of the majority of the cases listed in the OP there was a genuine need to play the turn on the absent person's behalf. Either they were away (the Swedish guys all went to the Euros in Ukraine) or were absent/unavailable to take their turns. In virtually every instance I waited until the clock was almost timed out - these are not the actions of someone who was determined to play the turn regardless. Pedro has trouble at work taking turns and on Thursday evenings is unavailable (as well as many weekends if he is away doing his art), Steve has been a lot less able to get online due to his job and has virtually retired from CC, thus his last clan game was joined as far back as 11th June and we have not entered him in anything since (and yes, as a result of his absence and inability to play his turns he has occasionally needed covering since mid June). To cite the game with Nikola is simply ridiculous, esp when it can be shown the time was about to run out. Just because the player turns up 20 minutes later and says "phew, damn football made me forget" does not alter the fact cover was needed at the time it could be given. So for the most part the allegations set out in the OP are without merit.
Now, on to the real crux of this report and the instances that I cannot deny were turns taken by me unnecessarily. The greatest volume of the OP is taken up by dialogue copied from three games, Hive. This is a map I personally detest. Prior to
Game 11037534 (a game cited in the OP) I had played it just twice - reluctantly, as they happened to be away games so we had to put players in - so I doubt anyone is going to say I'm proficient at it or a better player than anyone else in our clan. If I play it I do so neither for pleasure nor gain. Now Chuck on the other hand
is a player who is very able when playing Hive (124 games, nearly all won) and he was very keen to lead our teams when these three games were sent to us by the opposition. However...what does he do? He does a vanishing act and leaves everyone up in the air, asking me to cover for him Not a problem - personal matters come first and we all understood that - yet he did leave us in the lurch as far as Hive went and left me 'holding the baby' so to speak. You can imagine my frustration and annoyance when a week or two later I find he had been playing his own personal Hive speed games (while all this time being supposedly 'absent'). I checked on these games (and many historical ones) and didn't like what I found. The game chat in examples such as
Game 11153452,
Game 11186463 &
Game 11184465 goes beyond the pale - and these are just a small sample - and so in discussion with fellow heads and senior players in clan it was felt necessary to remove him. I also said to Chuck at the time how ridiculous it was that he could venture in and out of games (i.e. intermittently visit the site and post in chat) while all this time expect me to be covering for him. Frankly I didn't wish to in the first place and now it was compounded by the fact I was playing for someone capable of taking his own turns. So the relationship soured and earlier this month I sent him the following PM:
Hey Charlie,
I'm no doctor but I could have told you a long time ago that you weren't able to focus for the duration of a task (I did intimate at it in a PM to you once before), but then I'd have said ADD. I hope though that now you are in possession of all the facts you are able to take some affirmative action and set your life on the right tracks. The best thing, honestly, is to get yourself a healthy hobby (e.g. running) and work to a routine so that you don't find yourself with idle hours in the day. The last thing you should be doing is coming on CC and playing Hive speed games - absolutely pointless, self-serving and with a tendency to bring out the very worst in your character. Several weeks ago I read the game chat in a lot of the 1v1s you had been playing - in particular those you had lost - and was taken aback at the remarks you made to some of your opponents. It seems you have a God-given right to win every time and when you don't then you have lost to "an idiot who just got lucky dice" (to paraphrase one of your comments). You also take steps to have the other player deadbeat once the outcome is obvious (nothing wrong with that) but when the reverse happens and you look like losing you deliberately drag it out as long as possible. It's perhaps the most unsporting thing I've ever witnessed on this site and was an eye-opener in regards to your character. Is that who you are? Suffice to say it was enough to prompt me to take steps to have you removed from clan, as I really don't want anyone in TOFU who plays like that or who disrespects their opponents in the manner you have been. Add to this the difficulty I've faced with you wanting to take a leading role in games and then leaving your team mates up in the air as to what they should do. One minute here, the next minute gone. It simply doesn't work and has created a greater liability than ever it was an asset.
So I'm sorry mate, but it's the end of the road. I think you should seize this opportunity to get yourself on the right tracks and pursue a worthy goal for your own well-being. It's entirely in your hands how you treat CC and whether you'll persevere with games on here, but I can say it won't be with TOFU where the changes we are making are with a view to retaining players who remain 100% focused on the betterment of the clan and not themselves. You my friend need to take an introspective look at why you are on here and what you wish to achieve.
It's been a privilege to know you and I sincerely wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Simon
p.s. Despite this not being the most pleasant of PMs you'll ever receive I nevertheless hope we part on good terms. On this basis I have not removed you from clan immediately as I think it only fair to afford you the opportunity to address the members should you choose to say farewell.
Pretty civil message I reckon (on re-reading it) so I'm really rather shocked at the vindictive nature of Chuck's post, along with several unsavoury PMs he has since sent me. Anyway, as you can see I had already alluded to his erratic play and how he had been letting his team mates down, so I'm not making any of that up when I spoke of it earlier.
Regrettably...and this I cannot deny...I felt the need to cover the turns of the players in those games. I did so at my behest, not theirs, so there is really no complicity on their part. I was simply trying to do them a favour and keep the games alive to the best of my ability in the absence of our Hive expert. I think it's important to know that my involvement (a player with very limited Hive experience) was not to gain a tactical advantage - it was merely going through the motions of getting the games over and done with as fast as possible. I'm not even the most popular sitter, for I don't use any add-ons and cannot take snaps.
So yes, I am sorry and I do not deny that in a few games I have covered unnecessarily and purposefully for other players. For the most part the allegations in the OP are groundless (if they are not then we all must be guilty of having sat for someone who later turns up or who was about to miss a turn) but I cannot refute that due to some extraordinary circumstances with a very extraordinary (peculiar) person that I took matters into my own hands. Won 1 Lost 1. Hardly setting the world alight with my great tactics.
Now a few have come to this thread and made their condemnations, yet within the last 24 hours I have witnessed two instances of a first turn being played (with unlimited forts) not by the person whose turn it was but by the expert who set-up the game (definitely a tactical advantage) when it had not been necessary to do so. Which is the greater sin, really?
What's quite ironic is that a couple of weeks ago I said my farewells to a few people with every intention of leaving the site and pursuing other interests. As has happened before I was talked out of it and I opted to stay, whereupon I wrote the PM above to Chuck as well as a couple of other guys which had been an action I had been quite reluctant to make. I'm not in the business of creating unhappiness or disharmony so was really prepared to leave rather than exert any authority.
Who knows, maybe in a roundabout way my earlier intention will become my fate.
Thanks for your audience.
CoF
