October 2000 Armchair General's Review Our esteemed President

From the President:

First I want to thank all of you for supporting IAAPA. IAAPA will be able to pay its bills through the end of 2001, and your support is very much appreciated. All of you should be able to access all areas of the web site, and will be able to until December 31, 2001.

Making the decision to require membership dues was very difficult for me, and it was delayed many, many months. I'm glad you all chose to support us, in our time of need. Unfortunately we have lost a great many of our members, including government office holders with that decision. We are keeping access to the die roller open for all of the old members until December 31, 2000. This should enable you to finish playing any games you have going with them. Please encourage all you know to support IAAPA by becoming dues paying members, so that we can once again become the largest, and best gorup of A&A players in the world.

Comfy ChairI have other news to bring forth as well. We elected some new people to government offices, and they're all very enthusiastic about improving things here at IAAPA. Please review their comments below, and feel free to send them your suggestion, and comments about their particular areas of responsibility. Together we can improve things, so that each year we can see a better organization, and a better environment to compete.

Interclub cooperation is underway to beta-test and review some new products related to A&A. GenPage1 of Spring1942 has some information about this I have copied below. Interclub tournaments will occur in 2001, so sharpen your skills, as IAAPA will once again be sending it's top players to compete.

Interesting news, I have been speaking with Larry Harris, the creator of A&A, and current head of the A&A line of products at Hasbro. Several things are being discussed to bring IAAPA and Hasbro closer to mutually supporting one another. Our community of A&A enthusiasts, and our extensive skill in the playing of A&A make for a great base of support. I encourage all of you to get involved in our efforts to playtest and review these products, as it means better products for us all. Also I'm working on getting Hasbro and some Avalon Hill Products offered to us at discounted rates through our web site and links to Hasbro's on-line store. This would be in exchange for some sort of sponsor package that could help with club costs. Let's all be helpful and hopeful of good things coming soon!

Our paid Memberships so far have now exceeded 100 members! We had no idea really of how many of the thousands of registered members we had processed over the past 6 years were really active members. This new total is still growing as much of the duplicate memberships and occasional players have dropped out and new members are registered. We are confident that with this pool of players that tournaments, and other aspects such as the player pool and challenge acceptance will go up. Now I present to you messages from your government members and their offices.

Senate Reports

REPORT FROM THE PRIME MINISTER - Michael (micwil) - webmaster@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

A couple of minor notes --- with all the changes in the Association recently, it was decided to reduce the size of government. As a result, the Senate currently has 9 Ministers (down from 13) and the Legislature has 9 Legislators (down from 13).

In addition the 3 Ministerial representatives in the Legislature have been reduced to 1 (although should the Legislature increase in size again it was noted that the number of Ministerial representatives must increase to at least 2 to ensure their ability to actively participate in Legislative committees, and properly provide the Senate with accurate information as to the discussions in the Legislature).

Finally the positions in both the Legislature and the Senate have changed slightly from the previous government - I encourage all members to review the new government structure at http://www.axisandallies.net/public/govt.html - if you aren't sure about what an office's role is or who to contact, get in touch with our ever-helpful Minister of Communication, Gil, at who@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net .

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF LAW - John (JohnPin569) - law@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Greetings Fellow Warriors, Scales of Justice

I am in the process of revising the player handbook. I think you will like the new format. It is better organized and it is much easier to find help on a specific topic.

There will be a complete unabridged section. A player would use this link to peruse the handbook in general. This will avoid the constant switching back and forth from page to page.

There will also be a greatly enhanced index. A player would use these links to go directly to the topic of interest. This will avoid having to scan the entire document just to find one topic. Either method will display the exact same information.

While most of the information is taken directly from the old handbook, there are some significant changes. Most noteworthy are the changes to the reroll rules. I have completely re-writen them to reflect the types of mistakes commonly made when using the dice server.

This should be in place very soon. Stay tuned for further details.

I have received a number of questions lately concerning confusion over the terms liberated and captured. Let's take a minute to review the important differences in these two very different terms.

If a territory is liberated control of said territory is returned to the original owner. This implies that the original owner is in possession of his capital. A player can only liberate a territory that was one of his or his allies' original territories. For example, there is no possible situation in which the US can liberate one of the original German territories.

If a territory is captured control of the territiory belongs to the player that captured it. This captured territory can be either an original enemy territory or one of your allies' original territories (if his capital is under enemy control.)

These terms are often used synonymously but they have very different meanings. Take a moment to understand the differences and try to make sure that you use the proper terminology.

Take care.
John

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF RECRUITING - Alan (Spud) - recruiting@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Recruiting Update

Greetings all.

As the Minister of Recruiting, it has been my job to oversee the resurgent growth of the IAAPA after the severe pruning that occurred recently.

Since taking over this position, coincident with the automation of the Final Hurdle test, we have had 23 new recruits pass the test. Hopefully they will see all that the IAAPA has to offer, and will decide to stay as permanent members.

And the recruiting office, in cooperation with a few other government offices, is brainstorming ideas to entice new and old members back into the fold. Hopefully we will get these programs up and running soon.

Until next month,

Spud

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION - Gil (Tusk) - who@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

The Communication Minister has reset all the Government Address Books to make inter~government communication easier (quite a task after an election). An instant message list is in the works.

I am also part of a team of 3 government members are currently working on adding some new changes to the rankings page (MacTabar, Red Dwarf & Tusk) as a side project. Also being kept busy in the day to day inquiries from members - remember, if you don't know who to email about something, email me :)

Gil

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF LOGS - Michael (Micwil) - webmaster@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

The logs department is in good shape, with no lag in the crediting process for logs submissions. Our new deputy Minister of Logs Eric has updated some of the information on the site concerning how to submit a log, I encourage everyone to read over the material to make sure they understand the changes.

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF BBS OPERATIONS - Terry (BlackWatch) - bbs@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

The BBS service continues to run along relatively trouble free (other than the odd maintenance shutdown at EzBoard). Polling is available for anyone to construct a poll at the "polling booth" Forum. EzBoard does seem to come up with new tweaks and features every three months or so, and i'll try to keep everyone posted as to what these are.

A new forum that finally seems to be getting some use is the "Trash Heap". Feel free to jump in any time to discuss the foibles and personal eccentricities of your opponents. PsyOps and propaganda is all part of the war effort!

I'm also pleased to see our new strategy officer, the honorable HighCmmndr making good use of the BBS in trying to elicit and evolve strategic discussions. We shall see if our own little battle #8143 ends up in the dissection chamber. :)

That's it,

BlackWatch

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF INTERNET OPERATIONS - Michael (Micwil) - webmaster@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Well, everyone now knows about recent events surrounding the web site. The good news is that with the newly negotiated lower rate for our server for next year ($75/month + $100 name server fee + $35 InterNIC), we should have enough funds in our Treasury to cover us through the end of 2001 (as we felt we could promise to our membership).

However, our Treasury currently has been funded more out of donations than dues. While funding by any means is wonderful (since it allows the Association to survive), we should not have to rely every year upon the generosity of a select few members when all members benefit equally. I encourage everyone to help us find ways of funding the Association and keeping it vibrant and healthy into the future.

Our most noticeable project currently is a redesign of the tourneys area, including ensuring all the tourney pages are up to date, and a new way of displaying the tourney results. If you check out the 2000 Masters Invitational or Millenium or the 1999 Open, you will see the new design - we can adjust the color scheme to whatever is optimal, so feedback is welcome. In addition, I have a new helper (MacTabar aka Silex) who is helping me develop new graphics to be used in various parts of the site (initially you will start seeing them in the tourney area) - so be on the lookout for these incredible new graphics!

REPORT FROM THE MINISTER OF MEMBERS - Eric (Raist) - logs@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

After the elections, the Legislature had a few immediate tasks to take care of. The first of which was to elect a House Leader (Minister of Members) from the current Legislature. This person is to coordinate discussion in the Legislature, and hand motions that have been passed to their appropriate places. I (Raist) was elected to this position.

We then needed to elect the 5th member of the Supreme Court. For this we needed someone who was not in government and a member in good standing. For this position the Legislature voted Einstein as the 5th member of the Supreme Court

The Legislature has been working on a few projects one of which the new "trial" game for new recruits which was just passed, and a slogan contest for the club which is currently being reviewed by the Senate.

If you have anything that you think needs to be changed, please feel free to email me, and I will put your ideas before the Legislature.

Thank you for your time

Eric aka Raist

Minister of Members

Legislative Reports


REPORT FROM THE STATISTICIAN / RESEARCHER - Olyn (Sohoa) - squire@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

From the desk of "Squire Sohoa"

Today, still being of sound mind after reading page after page of logs; reading all about why the dice did this and why the dice did that. I see things like I am only losing because of this and hate the world because of that. I also see why this and that is that. I sometimes even find funny things and that makes me laugh. I then try to make you laugh and feel as if it was all worth it.

The taking out of your life savings, or from that old Piggy Bank you had been saving since you were a Kid. Smashing it against the wall and watching the pieces of pottery that once looked like a Pig, fly through the air! Coins all over the place. Picking them up, you run to the bank and send the cash to club so that you can be a member. Then you can celebrate the creation of Havoc. You too can enjoy the Humor.

Now you know what it is that I do.

REPORT FROM THE MENTORSHIP COORDINATOR - Eric (Raist) - mentors@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

It has been a while since this program has been up and running, but that will be changing within the next few weeks.

There recently has been a new motion passed that will allow all new players a free non-ranked trial game. Players may play this free game even if they have not paid thier dues. This "trial" game will help potential new members decide whether it is worth paying the dues to join the club. The new recruits will be pitted against an opponent of my choice, although I will match new recruits against each other if possible. Furthermore, each game will have a mentor assigned to it, to answer any questions that they may have.

Therefore I now call upon our members for volunteers. I need volunteers for two positions.

1) Opponents

I need people who wish to play games against new opponents when needed. Your job will be to play the new recruit. Sounds simple, as it is. While you may not feel like doing this since the game is not ranked, think of it as an opportunity. Since the game is not ranked, you can try all those bids that you have been thinking of playing, but didn't want to risk ranking points to use.

2) Mentors

This job may require you to do some work, or you may have to do very little work at all. It will all depend on how much the new recruit knows. Your job will be to answer any questions that the new recruit may have.

If you would like to volunteer for either of these positions please email me at mentors@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net and leave me your name and email adress and I will put you on the list, and send you more information. It would be up to you how often you would want to play/mentor. Furthermore, it would also depend on the rate of new recruits.

Thank you for your time.

Eric aka Raist

Mentorship Coordinator

REPORT FROM MORALE OFFICER - Warren (reddwarf) - morale@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Hello from the Morale Office,

The following is a report of my activities since taking office. I've organised a team of volunteers to update and revamp the tournament pages. The team members are: Komp, Boromir and myself (RedDwarf) - thank you both for your work so far. I would also like to thank those other members who indirectly provided some valuble input (such as the new look format that is now beginning to be put in place)

New additions have been made to the tournament page presentation so that in future participants can refer to their particular tournament(s) and be provided with regularly updated information such as their next opponent, what games are in progress and which pairs have yet to begin their games.

This means that in the future the Minister of Tournaments will be updating the HTML on the web pages immediately as results come in (sending the revised HTML files to the webmaster for uploading).

This is a step forward in enabling tournaments to run at a smoother pace. Players will no longer need to wait for new round pairings to be sent to them as all of the information will be regularly updated on the web site.

Not only have I been working on revising and updating the tournament info pages I am also writing formats for future tournaments, including a non-officer tourney and a team competition. I am also writing some medal awards (with their requirements) that I will be submitting with my new tournament formats.

I have also been a regular contributor to Legislature and BBS discussions often providing thoughts and suggestions where I can.

I am always open to new ideas and I invite any and all members to let me know of any ways to improve the clubfor us all.

Regards,
Warren (RedDwarf)
Morale Officer

REPORT FROM THE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER - Robert (Highcmmdr) - strategy@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Current plans are to post a series of topics on the Message Boards under the Strategy section to liven things up. A roll call is already underway.

Future plans are to update and upgrade if not completly overhaul the strategy pages and to make them much more informative.

The Message Board (BBS) project is currently already underway, strategy pages will happen starting in October and continuing as time allows.

Future plans and ideas will be assessed and developed as they are made known.

HighCmmdr

REPORT FROM THE HELP DESK COORDINATOR - Phil (Herr_Schmidt) - help@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

Just to let you all know who I am... I'm Phil Schmidt, (another Crazy Canuck) - but you might know me better as.. Herr_Schmidt... I hope I can adequately fill the Help Desk position in the Legislature, making timely responses to member concerns and/or directing them to appropriate goverment officials.

I also hope to act as a voice of calm and reason if things get a little hairy in the leg. And I feel I can act well as a litigant for those members who need my services before the mighty SC!

I have also volunteered to help with the team promoting the IAAPA in the recruitment of new members and hopefully we can help build up our community!

See ya on the battlefield!

Phil (HS)

REPORT FROM THE (PROPOSED) CD-ROM PROMOTER - Mark (maoandian) - aidecamp@REMOVETHISaxisandallies.net

In order for the club to grow, the IAAPA must accept the CD Rom game. This challenge will take time as many of the issues are hot button topics.

The MSN zone would be a great opportunity to promote the association and recruit potential members.

A manifesto of sorts is being prepped and covers a wide variety of ideas and proposals to carry IAAPA onto web cd play.

Stand by

maoandian

OPEN LETTER

From Spring 1942
To the leaders of the Axis & Allies clubs,

Most of you are aware there is a new Axis & Allies game coming out. Beta
testing for this game is set to begin sometime in mid November now. The date
has already been pushed back once so I'm not sure how solid the Nov date is.
Here is what I'd like to see happen. Our 5 clubs working together to
improve & perfect this new Axis & Allies product ! I'm going to be
registering a new domain & am going to be putting together a team of testers
to particpate in a more organized form of testing. The support of all 5
clubs would surely show games.com/Hasbro how serious we are about Axis &
Allies & how excited we are about the new products. This is our chance to
have a say & take part in the formation of this new game. From what I've
been told there are no dice & all the countries move at once so its going to
be very different.
In the next few days I'll be opening a web page for this Test Team &
would be very very proud to display all 5 clubs banners. What would be
required is this ... a link on your clubs main page pointing to the test
team site & some brief info about the new game. We need to get as many
people invloved in this as possible. Beta testing has been ongoing for the
game Maximum Risk & many members of your clubs may already be registered to
beta test A&A.
I ask you all to please consider this. This is an Independent venture of
mine & even though I am a Joint Chief of Staff in both Spring 1942 &
AAEuropeMC I want this to be something for the ENTIRE Axis & Allies
community to participate in. This is an attemt to bring our clubs closer
together & to show Hasbro that Axis & Allies has a REAL fan base.
If you are interested in having your club participate please reply to me
& be sure to include a banner url so I can get your clubs banner posted on
the page. All ideas & thoughts about how to improve this idea of mine are
welcome including a name for the test team. I was thinking about Axis &
Allies Special Forces Unit. I'd like something really WWII related so like I
said your ideas & clubs ideas are welcomed & appreciated however time is
running out & this site & team will take place with or without your clubs.
Please dont leave your members out !

Thank you,

Patrick Page
GenPage1
AAEuropeMC - Founder/JCoS
Spring 1942 - JCoS

Closing comments:

One last bonus for those of you who have read this far - here is a complete list of our current ranks and ratings (so that we can keep track of promotions and demotions from month to month. To see the list, CLICK HERE.

As is normal there is always too much to say each time we send this out, so I'm sorry if this was a long read. Please know that I'm working hard to make IAAPA a great place to play A&A, and to find great competition and discussion.

ToddVomit
President of IAAPA