Subject: Re: Resignation Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 11:34:06 -0500 From: "Eric P Nussberger" To: Fellow Magic Players and Judges, I was very disturbed to see the posting by Paul Barclay on his resignation as a Level III judge. I am one of the "old" judges for Magic. I started playing the game back in the Beta days, and started judging tournaments at Houston conventions about the time Arabian Nights was released. Yes, this was before there was a Deulist's Convocation, so you had to make your own guidelines for deck construction. Once the Convocation was formed, I ran a number of events for WotC, working up to the SW Regional for the first Nationals. Judging events was natural for me, since I was previously a gaming convention jusge and organizer. That was probably my first taste of how Wizards could leave you hanging. They were supposed to be organizing this big advertising campaign and I was told to expect attendance in the 200+ range and planned accordingly. When only 70 people showed up, 90% of them locals, I was left holding the bag. Now you might not have much sympathy for me and could easily say that I should have done more promotion myself, and I suppose I should have, but I made the mistake of depending on WotC. This bad experience, plus some other problems I was having with getting sites to run events (you couldn't run sanctioned events in a retail outlet then, and you weren't supposed to charge for admission to the tournaments, either) caused me to stop running events for a while. Then came the certification program, and I was told that there would be no grandfathering, and even though I had run Regional events I would need to start at ground zero. I wasn't too disappointed when a change in my job assignment and 200+ days of travel a year prevented me from doing any judging for about two years. Now things have settled down and some people in Houston have been urging me to get back into judging, but the things I hear make me hesitant. I had always assumed that there was a more significant compensation program available to the Pro Tour judges and I am very disappointed to hear that WotC has so weak a focus on customer appreciation as to mistreat their judges like this. Don't be mistaken, judges are customers. Most buy as much product, or more, than the average player, and then make the sacrifice of dedicating their gaming time to improving other's enjoyment. I have always been amazed at the turnover in our hobby. It seems that there are few people left who played actively and regularly back when I started. Most who have left have expressed dissatisfaction with WotC's policies and methods, either with their product releases, rules hanges, or tournament structures. It seems this is continuing, and entering an even more dangerous area. What WotC needs to recognize is that its judges, at whatever level, are its ambassadors to the gaming world and the general public. The Pro Tour players may get all the prestige and the fame, but they are not the ones working down in the trenches helping the less capable players. They re not the ones who help teach the newer players and spread the word about Magic. Judges tend to spend more time helping, teaching, and assisting than the higher profile players. Paul, I heartily support your decision and position, and hope that your fellow judges will join your boycott of the Pro Tour events. I don't think you intended to start a chain reaction of events, but it only takes a spark to trigger the largest forest fire. The judges are the hardest working people in Magic, and should be appreciated and compensated for their efforts. The formation of a judges Union or organization by the players to protect them from WotC may be a necessary step, but it would be an unfortunate one. An adversarial stance does nothing but harm the hobby, but there is no question which group is in the right on this issue. As for me, I suppose I'll wait to see how this all turns out before I get back into judging. Sincerely, Eric Nussberger Houston, Tx DCI #1450