yeah, straight up. The rating system is garbage for the simple reason that when I do happen to find a good match, my opponent usually runs away after one game for fear of losing points if he loses the following game. Or vice versa, if I win a hard fought battle, I might want to save my hard earned points and coast through a couple lesser rated opponents in hopes of building my score. What ever happened to the good ol' races to 5? They're very rare these days, but thats ALL there used to be before the rating system came along.. people just chatting and playing. It'd be a sweet idea to keep the player information tab though, so that people can still see how they're doing for wins/losses in their profile. Do we really NEED scores though?

i agree with ya azza do away with the rating system and just sit back and have fun its too serious  for most there is a small  select group that still enjoy the fun of it but yeah im with ya all the way about doing away with the rating  

Valid piont Jason but whats that got to do with the top subject? 

Of course some will disagree, and thats fine, but I'm not advocating pool room anarchy, lol.. I'm not saying that they should get rid of the moderators, because if they did that, then of course racism and bigotry would run rampant and turn people off to the site completely. But the rules are ridiculous. Cuss words are EVERYWHERE.. Television is the number one babysitter on the planet, and contains more profane language than a Chris Rock standup comedy special at any given time on any given channel. My point is simply this; if I am subscribing to a website, free speech is a must. So what if I want to express my frustration of missing a bad shot by dropping an "f" bomb? Or if I wanna say S**T after I scratch on the 8? It's nothing any kid who knows how to surf the net hasn't heard or seen before. There is a lot worse than cuss words out there, and removing censorship isn't going to kill the site... And if you want to say that profane language will cost this site sponsors, then I will simply argue that any publicity is good publicity, and the more controversial something is the more attention it usually attracts.. no sponsor is gonna ignore attention. Well, no smart sponsor is anyway. Regardless of the amount of rebuttals that come flying at me, keep in mind, this is only my opinion, and these are only my reasons for not subscribing. This site isn't going down if they don't get my money, lol. I'm just saying that I've been coming here since like 2000 or 2001 and I had a lot more fun when the chat rules weren't taken so seriously. Keep moderators in place to prevent bigotry or racism, but if someone is acting like a little b**ch, then why can't I point that out to them? (yes, I realize the irony here, censoring b**ch when I'm trying to argue that censorship is ridiculous, but I thought the mods wouldn't okay the post if it contained a cuss word, lol) And again, might I point out that there is already one un-rated room.. what is preventing these same kids, who your heart is bleeding for, from seeing trash talk and cuss words in that room? It's not a big deal.. Frankly, I don't even understand why the admins would go to such great lengths to have added a censorship system anyway.. It defeats the purpose of having a mute button. It's not a big deal to mute someone who's being an idiot, lol. Anyways, I can discuss this all night, but I don't think I'll gain any headway with the big shots anyway, so I'm just gonna save it.. I preferred the site before all the censors.. that's my point, and it would be a lot more fun if it reverted to the old system, in my opinion. But unfortunately, one man's opinion is never 100% agreeable. 

>just the restriction being in place is enough to make me not want to subscribe. There are probably more like me as well. Also, rating systems can be fun, but all they really do is divide people

all that it would do to get rid of the filter is divide people, in my opinion.  you'd have those who appreciate the way the site tries to moderate the language on one side, and those who want to swear and provoke and harass because it's "part of the game" on the other.  i will agree that the filter is in serious need of some work (some words get through that shouldn't, and all too many are flagged as bad, such as "assume", that shouldn't)... but i am very strongly on the first side, and feel that online games like those at FOD should not have freedom of speech.  i would not have stayed with FOD if it wasn't like that.

--jason

> I would want to be sure that I was able to say whatever I felt like saying without having to worry about being banned.

You can't be serious surely? You're saying you want the rules of moderation to vanish? Censorship is required on this site, it is not only adults on here..

If you could say anything you wanted it would mean anything that anyone says including, racism, homophobic comments, extreme vulgar language etc. would be unpunishable. If that did happen you would find FOD in a very difficult situation with companies refusing to advertise/associate with the website because of the views that are being aired on it.

[Edited by: StreamLine on 27-Feb-2008 21:35]

ONE room..that nobody goes to. This is what it all comes down to... this is probably the best pool simulator I've ever managed to locate online, and the only downfall is the censorship (and the ad banners, but it's fruitless to argue my point since I'm not a subscriber)... it doesn't even let you say "assume". It all boils down to this.. If I was even going to consider subscribing to a website, I would want to be sure that I was able to say whatever I felt like saying without having to worry about being banned. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a troublemaker, and I don't spam, but just the restriction being in place is enough to make me not want to subscribe. There are probably more like me as well. Also, rating systems can be fun, but all they really do is divide people. This simulator used to be about people just wanting to hang out, shoot pool, and chat freely. I firmly believe that it CAN return to that state and still be fun and produce a dollar.

"That's why there is a mute button."

Please let me add, that
 
 - that's why there is an unrated room, if you don' like playing for points
 - that's why there is an option to subscribe, if you do not like the ads

OP

well, i for one remember coming to this pool site and chillin years and years ago, before the rating system was even a concept, and I know both Aaron and myself can honestly say it was equally fun, if not more fun back then. A place where you just go to chill out and play some pool with friends from around the globe without having to worry about being in the same class as someone to challenge them. I for one do believe fod does need to make some changes, starting with free speech... why should we worry about getting banned for anything short of spamming? That's why there is a mute button... censorship is a tool of control freaks and nothing more. Also, there should be a new style of break... people playing on laptops such as myself would definately dig a power meter or something of the sort, just for the open breaks so that we're not giving up ball in hand due to lack of hitting a rail. Lastly, I feel that it would benefit everyone if FOD did away with the ad banners... this site HAS to make enough money on subscribers alone. Add banners are useless and annoying. Fod thinks that by having them on the border of the screen it'll make people want to subscribe? It actually just makes me not want to play at all sometimes. I know there are alot who are with me on that one. Anyways, getting back to the topic at hand.. rating systems can be fun, but arent really necessary if you think about it. 

1st post whoo hoo go me ! :) cheers shane lol 

lol aaron your 1st post:) hehe

i think most players here come here for their points, not saying anything is wrong with that, but if the rating system was taken away  would it take the players away?

I think based on the rating system alone that this site is alot better then other sites (yahoo pool LOL?) but i agree with you that we need changes.

Updates Needed
Glitches- white ball being able to be forced off of the table. 9ball
The black ball being smashed off the table. snook light
The foul on black ending in unfair win.
Few more i cannot think of right now..

New Games (darts is very good addition)
Billiards Update, new look, english pool..
Possible New Rating System... 

Brooklyn Nyc