You have GOT to be kidding................guys.....
"POKER Pop Ups" on RCU................???????
PLEASE get THAT crap outta here!!!!!

Continue the popups and you'll be NO better than the forum that drove so many to RCU!!!
PLEASE STOP THE POP UPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll check with michael on this. It was supposed to be a one time inline welcome page message to let users know about the contest.

Thanks, Marc! Didn't mean to wigg out so much, but that PopUp thing is the WORST....and yes, it hasn't appeared since the first one....however, when one sees the FIRST, you don't know that it is the ONLY....

yeah...it only shows to those who have zero plays in the contest so I never got a chance to even see it since I had some test plays during beta. we'll get it sorted out. I alerted michael to this already.

I have to admit when it happened to me at home my first thought was "huh? Pop-Ups on RCU?" That was an OSX machine using Safari. I've never seen the Pop-Up here at work. OS9 IE5.1

You do realize this is to announce the new contest RCU is running, right? It's RCU Poker, it's free and offers the opportunity to win several prizes. It's not just any ole pop up.

Please take this as quiet, constructive criticism....and not a rant!

"It's not just any ole Pop Up..."

When you changed the look of RCU, you told all of us to turn off our Pop Up blockers because it was necessary for reasons I can't remember. You said that you would never take advantage of that and use Pop Ups....What happened to that promise?

You have plenty of space on your site for advertising...your own as well as outside advertising. There is no need for ANY Pop Ups, 1 or 100, for ANY reason.

And PLEASE.....Poker on an RC website? Can't you find something constructive and RC related to put on your website instead?

You have a great website....please don't ruin it with garbage like this.

Steve

oooooooo....nice burn!

The poker game is a contest. All websites have contests and we've had many before. The bulk of the members love it. If you don't like the game don't play it.

As far as the popup. That was a mistake. That code should have been an inline page. Also I said no popup advertisements would be on RCU and that is a notice to members about a free contest. There is a distinct difference between a notice and an advertisement. NEvertheless the pop behaviour will be removed.

Marc, poker is not a contest...it's a game associated with gambling... even though no money is involved here. Please don't try to pass it off as only a "contest". Why not have something more conventional like a drawing or other kind of "enter to win" promotion instead?

You have many kids that view your website. I'm sure that parents are happy and relieved that their kids are involved in radio control, a wholesome, educational, fun hobby that might help keep their kids from getting into all of the other negative things available to them these days.

Can you imagine what those parents would think if they find their kids playing POKER on the most popular RC website, a site that they didn't give a second thought to as far as supervision is concerned? Poker has a stereotypical image associated with it and I doubt that most parents would want their kids playing it online regardless of how harmless or free of risk it is.

In my opinion, you are being unintentionally irresponsible by promoting games associated with gambling of any kind on your website. And you're right, I don't have to and won't play it....

As for the Pop Up, it's the interruption that most people object to...it doesn't matter if there is a "distinct difference" between a notice and an ad...that's not the issue.

Steve

Steve,

The main premise of your post is that poker is "a game associated with gambling" and as a result, should not be on RC.

While I certainly appreciate your opinion I have to say I do not agree with it. More to the point, it doesn't hold water.

Football, baseball, basketball, golf and many other sports are "associated with gambling" and to such a large extent that most Vegas casinos have enormous sports betting parlors. Do you not allow your children to watch baseball, football, hockey, basketball because there are billions bet on it each year? What about the super bowl? THat is one of the most heavily bet on events of the year so if your association to a "game" is what makes you guilty we need to stop kids from watching sports.

Any parent who views our site and decides to limit their child's access because we have a poker-style giveaway misses the mark completely. It is up to parents to educate their children so they know the difference between gambling and games. If the parents don't know the difference, I would expect them to ban their child from all of our information and services simply because there is a poker game. But an informed parent who has taught their child about what gambling is -- namely: risking something of value in a game of chance for a possible reward -- will realize that gambling can take many forms and that the game of poker is not inherently evil or something worthy of censorship.

I also offer this: If a child has never been exposed to poker before and finds our game, how in the world can they "associate" it with gambling? They can't! Only mom and dad can because that has been their experience. So how is the child harmed?? On the other hand, if the child HAS been exposed to gambling, it's not our free game that is going to turn the kid into a gambling addict or junky. No -- it will be the real gambling sites that do the damage. In either case, it's incredibly naive to think that neither parents nor kids are able to distinguish gambling from a simple card game.

We created this game because sweepstakes and other giveaways are typically boring. Poker is a game of luck AND SKILL. It's also fun. I'm sorry you don't see it that way. But regardless of how you see it, our game is hardly the scourge you make it out to be.

marc

while we are at it:
why not remove all those flashing adds that is on all the screens,
Who purcase RC stuff from adds anyway ??
waste of bandwidth and my time..

i have purchased items from the ads. besides, without the ads who pays for the site and Marc's wonderful staff?? You forget, you are on this site for free, money has gotta come from somewhere. servers ar not free, programming isnt free, internet is not free...but yet we still get RCU for free (thanks marc). Leave the adds there. it dosnt hurt your finger to push page down a few more times.

sean

I'm not sure if Thomas Scherrer is being serious or sarcastic above but if serious then simply upgrade your membership and choose the "no ads" option to remove them. Removing ads is an option to any upgraded power or platinum member. The interesting stat is that less than 1% of those who can opt out DON'T! They actually prefer and enjoy seeing what is new and learning more about the next cool thing.

Marc,
First of all, I want you to know that I mean no offense to you concerning this subject. I don't gamble, as you might have guessed, and also mean no offense to anyone who does. I like your website and will continue to visit it regardless of how much we disagree.

With all due respect however, you always seem to miss the issue with your responses. You say that sports are associated with gambling...yes, people bet on the outcome but sports can be played and watched without any reference to betting and gambling, from backyard football to the pros if that's what you want.

Not so with poker...It is inherently associated with gambling and betting...it's a recognized part of the game.

Your explanation about no previous exposure to poker and gambling also misses the mark. A child doesn't need to have prior knowledge of something to get into trouble with it or possibly be harmed by it. A child could easily find an adult website by mistake, responding to spam, or by clicking on a link.. Does that mean that no harm is done because they had no previous exposure to it and had nothing to associate it with? Of course not.

I agree, parents do need to educate their kids. It's not naive to believe that some children can't distinguish between a simple card game and gambling. I never meant that a parent couldn't, however. But a parent who does understand the differences between "simple card games" and poker simply might not want their child to be playing ANY card games online and might take offense to your game.

I also don't agree with your statement that this couldn't lead someone to real gambling on casino sites. If someone is successful with your game, adult or child, they might be encouraged to try real casino gambling.

I think it's incredibly naive NOT to see all of this. There's more of a connection between poker and gambling than you think.

Finally, I don't believe it's a "scourge". I believe you are trying to ride the current wave of poker popularity as evidenced by the many TV shows about it. I know that poker is enjoyed by many people worldwide and I have nothing against it.

My bottom line is that it just has no place on an RC website. I would think that everyone in the industry would go out of their way to avoid any connection of our great hobby with poker.

I was just hoping that you would take the high road.

I've said all that I'm going to say.

As I said before, this wasn't a rant. I enjoyed discussing this with you and although we are 180 degrees apart on the subject, I appreciate that you took the time to discuss this openly.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

thanks for the well thought out response to my arguments. While I can see we both don't agree on many of the points here it is refreshing to have an intelligent discussion and being able to share both our opinions on this.

RCU has always been a family friendly website and the moderators work hard to enforce this. We ban and moderate users who use foul language or post anything that a minor should not see or read. Our goal is to do no harm. It is still my belief that a game/contest which there is nothing at risk and nothing to lose falls well within this goal. Many people old and young are enjoying it and at the end of September we'll have some RC prizes to send out to a bunch of members. We have received fewer complaints then I could count on one hand as of right now which isn't bad considering the 100k+ membership here at RCU. We realize we will never make everyone 100% happy with every policy, decision, game or whatever here but that is just what goes along with running a site like RCU which has so many diverse people on it.