From: jasonp@cunix4.Prime.COM (Jason R. Pascucci)
Subject: Re: NEW NETREK LEAGUE
Organization: Prime Computer, Inc.
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 04:57:52 GMT

Interesting idea. 

However, I prefer the notion of a 'Minor League' INL-type organization, 
in direct coordination with the 'Major League', such that, perhaps, 
scrimmages could be cross-league, for example. (A win, perhaps, if 
strategy gets more important in the INL: then scrimmaging an opponent 
who you would play in 'normal season' gives away some strategy points.)
Also, it provides a good base for Major-League substitutions: Promoting someone
from the Minor leagues to play in Major League games. 

This league might include at-large teams, and perhaps be (slightly) 
skewed towards such a team, as has been suggested in this forum.
(i.e. make the home team advantage go away, or something...)

Teams in the Minor League, also, may not have to fulfill
any number-of-game requirements, or anything like that. It's
a lot more situated to having fun and learning than
seeing who the best team is. 

I might even suggest that teams which are 'ramping up' go through 
the Minor League...i.e. if a college hasn't ever fielded a netrek 
team before, perhaps it should spend a season(semester) in the 
Minor Leagues, and go on depending on it's progress.
A team, if it chooses, can be 'promoted' to the Major League if 
they, for example, place top 10-20% in the Minor Leagues
of the people who want to be in the major league's. (I.E.
if 12AM played in minor league, and said they had no intention of 
playing in the Majors, because it's too restrictive, or something, 
then they wouldn't be counted in the calculation for
promotion. This is to keep a VERY GOOD pickup team or
three from staying in the Minor League indefinately, and screwing
a (marginal, or moderately good) College team out of going to the 
Majors)

Likewise, a team can be 'demoted' (either by the INL council,
or the team captains, etc...) to the Minor League for
really crummy performance, or something. (Or not. I can
see how demotion of a team might really piss people off.)
However, it is designed to make the INL a little smaller
and more manageable. (Less teams so that they can play
round-robin against everybody else, which is what you really
want to do...)

Now, what we need are a few things. Some organization. Some people to 
play. And at least one fairly stable machine which we can use for a 
'permenant' INL server, and schedual it as necessary. I help with
a) and b), but as much as I'd like to provide a c), my company 
probably won't bite. (Not that playing over a 56kb line is useful 
either, mind you.) This is kind of important, and if 
there is some benevelant server-god out there who would
like to turn their under-used (but still reasonably performing)
machine to some good use, then perhaps they could let us use it.
Honestly, Doorstop sounds like a really nice place for this,
if anybody from there is reading this. I loved playing at
Doorstop, but nobody uses it at all, as far as I can tell.
This might be a good resource, and a worthy cause...just
something to think about...:)

I also see some interesting schedualing possibilities:
schedual a game for such-and-such a day, maybe a week ahead. Other
team captains can look over the schedual, and if they can play,
they offer to do so. If you don't get a bite for that
particular timeslot, then either punt, or arrange an
(very) at-large game. Maybe this can be factored
into a teams 'power score' in some fashion, although less
than against a 'regular' Minor League Team. Etc....

I do see some minor problems with this idea, but it fixes
many of the ones that I saw which were inherent in the other one.
So? How does this sound?

-- 
Jason R. Pascucci
jasonp@primerd.prime.com

Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek