IF YOU FIND THIS TO BE TOO LONG A READ, YOU NEED ONLY READ THE OPENING PARAGRAPH, MY IRC LOG WITH XTERM, AND MY FOOTNOTE TO GET MY POINT.

I'm sure that many of you know by now about GGL's disorganization with paying out players for this past Spring's Transatlantic Showdown as well the horrid issues involving registration for the online qualifiers of the Digital Life tournament being held next week. However, I, at least, was unaware about the maturity, or lack thereof, of the staff and the tournament admins, in particular. After tonight, I believe that the GGL admins, at least, are a juvenile, middle-aged bunch who use ignorant generalizations to make their point and define being "mature and professional" as people who become so offended by one person's complaints about their organization that they go so far as to personally attack them. I'll explain:

I was one of those people fortunate enough to fall victim to the issues with the registration for the DL online quali's. After trying to follow the GGL's directions for three weeks in August, I finally resolved the issue when I PM'd DonKing about the issue and had it resolved the next day. My impression at this point was that:

1) The GGL could have easily avoided this problem by properly debugging the code for their registration system prior to registration time.

2) The GGL should have been prepared for such a problem so as to maintain quality assurance, but they weren't.

And:

3) When asked about the long wait for the problem to be fixed, the GGL replied with something along the lines of the e-mails containing the information that they requested from the affected registrants would take a while to read through so they could fix each individual's registration. Now, assuming an e-mail address dedicated to receiving affected registrants' queries about the issue was used, it should be quick andsimple to sift through the e-mails and fix the problem for everyone affected, especially if you were prepared for a problem such as this.

A week or so passed when I had an unpleasant debate gone sour with DonKing on IRC a couple of weeks ago regarding whether or not it is sportsmanlike for the winning player to say "gg" early (this had started with griffin, aka Tom, saying "gg" early in a match versus fake_id, Chris, during said qualifier in which griffin was winning at the time). I personally feel that, with all due respect to Tom, this comment was rude, especially since they continued playing until the clock ran out. I don't have the IRC logs on me afaik, but needless to say, DonKing would make a statement, not put any reasoning behind it as to why it was plausible, and then pretend that were debating about something else before saying something random and just flat-out dumb like "how would you like it if someone told you they fucked your mother?"

After he called me an idiot and told me to "just leave" the channel, I told him how I was trying to have a mature conversation and then described to him how his behaviour throughout said conversation made it apparent that, if anyone were the idiot, he was. FrankTheCommish, obviously oblivious to whatever was going on, immediately takes DK's side and assumes that I was contradicting myself by calling DK an idiot when, really, I was just responding to DK's name-calling. This all took place on GGL's own IRC channel, mind you (on ETG, if you're curious).

Now, early this morning, I said some rather harsh words about the GGL in which DonKing responded (you can scroll down the page in my link to read that). Later that night, I was back in IRC on Gamesurge minding my own business in #q41v1 when xterm, another GGL admin in case some of you don't know, starts flaming me in the channel before messaging me. The important parts of this discussion are highlighted:

[7:55:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> start your own league, with you're own money and run your own tourney, that way you can do whatever you want
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GGL|q4-xterm is [email protected] * xterm
GGL|q4-xterm on @#q31v1 #q41v1 #radioitg @#ggl
GGL|q4-xterm using *.GameSurge.net The GameSurge IRC Network
GGL|q4-xterm End of /WHOIS list.
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[7:57:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Well, when you pay your own money to play in a competition, what do you expect?
[7:58:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Do you not expect good organization and mature, professional staff?
[7:58:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> we have a staff like that
[7:58:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> whats your problem?

DonKing was my problem...until xterm brought this up.

[7:59:pm] <C^Adv3nt> My beef with DK is solely having to do with the fact that I tried to have a mature conversation with him about sportsmanship, and then he goes and says something dumb and juvenile like "what if someone just told you they fucked your mother," then eventually calls me an idiot and renders the whole argument pointless
[7:59:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> you have a problem you contact an admin in a polite manner and not like a 10 year old
[8:00:pm] <C^Adv3nt> What if the admin acts just like a 10-year-old?
[8:00:pm] <C^Adv3nt> That's my problem with him
[8:00:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> let's see the log
[8:00:pm] <C^Adv3nt> My problem is not so much with GGL so much as it is him
[8:00:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> he wouldn't go off on you like that unless you approached him in a bad manner
[8:00:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I didn't

As I've said already, indeed I didn't.

[8:01:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> how old are you? if you don't mind me asking
[8:01:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I just got frustrated with him because he was unaware of what I was even debating to him abouit
[8:01:pm] <C^Adv3nt> *about
[8:01:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Then goes on to generalize the topic and makes some pseudo-intellectual statements that hardly made any counterargument to my point
[8:02:pm] <C^Adv3nt> And then he started the flaming, not me
[8:02:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> how old are you? if you don't mind me asking
[8:02:pm] <C^Adv3nt> 17
[8:02:pm] <C^Adv3nt> But what does that matter?
[8:02:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> yes
[8:03:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Acting mature is the same regardless of your age
[8:03:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> we never have problems with the older players, it's the young ones that complain like little girls

And xterm pulls out the Minor card from his deck! Does my satisfaction with service that I paid for not matter 'cause I'm 17 years old? xterm also implies in this statement that everyone who complained as well is a minor whose voice does not deserve to be heard. My friend fake_id (Chris) also had harsh words for the GGL on the issue and I know for a fact that he's 24 years old. This generalization that he's made is unbelievably ignorant.

[8:04:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I'm not very convinced
[8:04:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> have a nice evening
[8:04:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I saw a lot of people expressing their frustrations about the registration issues and the fact that it took until the EXTENDED deadline to fix things
[8:04:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> I'm going to bed
[8:04:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> shit happens
[8:04:pm] <C^Adv3nt> You brought this up, and I'm telling you my side of the story.
[8:05:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> g'night
[8:05:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Don't act all dismissive as if you've proven your point 'cause you haven't
[8:05:pm] <C^Adv3nt> You started it, so finish it
[8:05:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I didn't even bring up the GGL in IRC yet you bring this shit up
[8:05:pm] <C^Adv3nt> But whatever, bye.

I assumed at this point that he was gone, so I went and did something else for a little while. But sure enough, when I came back...

[8:06:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> things don't always run perfect, people like you make them run even worse with your petty complaints
[8:06:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> act civil, and we will act civil

And so, with nothing better for me to do, the argument goes on. By the way, nice flamebait there, bud.

[8:16:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I bet you certainly won't, especially with comments like
[8:16:pm] <C^Adv3nt> [7:49:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> dk is gonna kick your ass Adv3nt
[8:16:pm] <C^Adv3nt> And
[8:16:pm] <C^Adv3nt> [7:53:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> I hate people who make stupid comments :)
[8:16:pm] <C^Adv3nt> The latter I presume was directed towards me[
[8:17:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> you started it
[8:17:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Since you PM'd me about this two minutes later

Mature staff, huh? xterm is certainly proving that to me with silly remarks such as those. I may have started it, but he is the one escalating it, as you can see.

[8:17:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> not worth my time, I was just making a statement
[8:17:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I "started" it with some off-hand comment in a random thread
[8:18:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Then DonKing starts arguing with me on ESR and now you're doing the same
[8:18:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I doubt this series of events represents your mature staff all that well
[8:19:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> yeah, he told me to back off, so I will

And, once again, he didn't.

[8:19:pm] <C^Adv3nt> The fact that you and DK feel you have to retort against such a comment alone is immature
[8:19:pm] <C^Adv3nt> And unprofessional
[8:19:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> like I said, you run a tourney, and see how many immature people you have to deal with and I want to see how successful it is
[8:20:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> go for it

Do I need to repeat myself?

[8:20:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> all people do is whine
[8:20:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Again, there are expectations that come with being a tournament organizer, as you well know
[8:21:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> http://www.gotfrag.com/quake/story/34751/
[8:21:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> I ran that tonight
[8:21:pm] <C^Adv3nt> You don't meet those expectations, expect complaints
[8:21:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Good for you
[8:21:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> no problems at all
[8:21:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Want a cookie?

And after he makes an ass of himself, we get into his own individual list of achievements. Wow, you ran an 8-person tourney that took place throughout the duration of an afternoon--good for you! But wait--I thought we were talking about a much larger tournament that the GGL fucked up, were we not?

[8:21:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> it's people like you that ruin gaming
[8:21:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> you whine
[8:21:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Doesn't make up for Digital Life
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> on ignore
[8:22:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Hey, you brought it up, now I'm just letting you know what I think of the GGL.
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> till you grow up

So he contradicts his statement about me whining with some whining of his own in two sentences. Nice one! Now he's so ignorant he's going to actually ignore me. Or so he says....

[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> that's fine
[8:22:pm] <C^Adv3nt> k, I'll do the same until you grow up
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> think and say what you will
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> I'm 31 buddy
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> been doing this a while
[8:22:pm] <C^Adv3nt>Too bad you're not acting your age right now
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> but you are
[8:22:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> =]

How cute. Having been in this world for about 14 years more than me, you'd think he'd avoid using childish quips.

[8:23:pm] <C^Adv3nt> You say your staff is mature and professional, but this argument alone is a bad representation of that
[8:23:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> g'night sir
[8:23:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Okay, bye
[8:23:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> we treat people in the same manner we are treated
[8:24:pm] <C^Adv3nt> You'd be delusional to say that is professional, however
[8:24:pm] <C^Adv3nt> Much less mature
[8:25:pm] <C^Adv3nt> I have better things to do with my time, so bye.
[8:25:pm] <GGL|q4-xterm> go do your homework

And so I left to spend the rest of my evening doing something more productive than trying to chisel through xterm's thick skull. In conclusion, these are the people running the GGL's tournaments--explains why the GGL is bad at running tournament.

And with that, I bid you adieu. Happy rantings!

NOTE: The Global Gaming League, as a whole, is a site I believe has interesting and immersive editorials as well as amusing and well-made video content. I've come in contact and have made friends with quite a few GGL staff who I respect and consider to be mature and professional. This "rant, " however, is focused mainly on the tournament organizers and, to be even more specific, the lack of professionalism (but not a lack of immaturity) I've seen from xterm and DonKing. Prior comments that I've made and are referred into in this journal are misimplied and I do not have any harsh words for the aforementioned parts of the GGL that I do not have a problem with. In other words, when I say "the GGL," I mean the GGL staff running the tournaments. So having cleared this up, I do not mean to offend the GGL entirely--I only intend to expose the incompetence of their tournament administrators--or at least two in particular.