There ain't much 'regular stuff' goin on in the ACC with the GJW kickin' along - but I would like to make mention of a few things which aren't meant to 'point fingers' at anyone - good or bad;

1) Thanks for all the help with getting X back into #acc. A lot of folks played "ops tag" to make sure we kept a presence, though I don't know enough about mIRC to know if that helped or not, hehe. Nevertheless, X is back and I have most everyone added back to the user list with their auto op stuff - which took me quite a while to figure out - LOL.

2) The rules have been update to reflect some slight changes to the Stats, Extension and Time Out stuff. Unfortunately, I would have liked to be updating it because it needed to be changed, not because 'common sense' refuses to rear it's head with some folks. First we had long drawn out explanations of everything where no stone was left unturned - then we got complaints saying "the rules are too long" so, I edited them to their fine points. Now, there's people who want to play the "well, it isn't written that way in the rules..." card, despite the obvious intent of the items - I guess we lose either way, hehe.

Real quick, I'll break all of the tweaks down for you and give you a brief reasoning behind it all:

Rank and Stats remaining the same: ACC battles, fictionally, happen in an instant - no matter how long the battle takes in RL. They are a moment in time. So, if you were promoted after the battle started then a) fictionally, you were in the battle and not present for your promotion, b) chances are, fictionally, you were promoted after the battle had already concluded and c) your character-within the battle-prolly doesn't even know they were promoted (again, all from a 'fictional' standpoint). Stats are exactly the same. Since you were in the middle of a battle, you didn't have a chance to leave the battle, get stronger (increase STR stat) and return - that would be a fictionally ridiculous and stupid notion. Equally, you wouldn't have a chance to leave the battle, pump up your weapon and come back either. I'm certain that, with the understanding of the 'time' an ACC battle fictionally falls into, this makes sense now and isn't seen as some clandestine mission to hinder your freedom :P

Post times: The standard post time for the ACC is 14 days unless otherwise stated. Sometimes, post times are the popular 72 hours (3 days) - in either case, it is literal. The 'official' timekeeping device is the timestamp on your battle post in the ACC - which means; when the staff goes to time out a battle, they go into the battle - look at the last post - check the timestamp - subtract or add based on their time zone and act accordingly. It will never matter if one staff member gives you 'extra time' or doesn't - the "official" end of the battle is the timestamp or the second deathpost. If you get away with sneaking in under the radar and posting before it closes - good for you, we'll let it go. But if you assume you'll get more time, then you might end up with a closed battle and/or a loss. The 'post time' is just another factor of the game, some like it, some hate it - heck, a bunch of you want it shorter :P

Battle Extensions: The whole idea behind extensions is to save a reasonably decent battle from being timed out - reasonably decent being one that the combatants care enough to try and save. On the same note, especially with the reply of an opponent - some folks "want" their battle to time out, especially in the case of a win - but they feel uneasy taking a win that way (hogwash :P), so this is their "out". All they have to do is ignore the mail, or even send the reply late - knowing that I really don't bend and WHAM! I'm the bad guy, not them and they get their win...see? everyone walks away a winner - well, 'cept for the guy who timed out, hehe. On the 'time' side of it - we have no intention of allowing 3 month extensions or whatever, so we want them long enough for the person to get their wits about them, but short enough that both fighters can still remember what's going on.

14 days: Some people will wait for 13 1/2 days to post to a battle - there's nothing wrong with that and we won't close battles early just because you're frustrated about it - suck it up :P its part of the game. Rarely though, you're on the end of a Training or Qualification battle that seems to be taking it's sweet time - I gotta say; 14 days is 14 days and it's applicable to the staff as well. I understand when day 12 rolls around you're wondering if they forgot and the poop starts rolling into the ACC, my reply will be to you "they have 14 days". Seriously, don't take that as me blowing you off. In the year and a half I have been CM there have been only 2 instances where a staff member timed out, which we have concessions for. In the rare case that happens, the battle will be looked at based on it's present content. If its really good to go - the INI will be passed; if there's a Crit item that would've caused them to lose the battle anyway (regardless of whether it finished or not), then they won't be passed because they wouldn't have been passed anyway. Finally, if it's questionable, another staff member may take over the battle and run it to completion (allowing the INI to correct him/herself) or ask the INI to supply another post - either way, we won't short change anyone who has been making the attempt. As for the staff member - that's my business :P

3) Last but not least: the GJW. Yep - it's goin on. We're doing what we can on our end for you, so be nice - LOL. Without taking a leak on DJM Kaiann's work, yes - some of it is a little confusing, but c'mon, y'gotta give the guy a break for wanting to try something different. So, just take a breath - try and figure it out and if our answers don't work for you, approach the DJM with your questions. It would behoove you to be polite and not start trying to crucify the guy - it was a big project, so get over it and do your best :)

Alrighty then...that's it...

~DD