Author Topic: Contacting a LOT of people (Read 16788 times)

Cw0rk · « **on:** November 28, 2009, 01:50:58 PM »

Here is something I just thought...

If you want this project to be a success, you obviously want to contact as many players as possible. Most of the people who played back then stopped playing and may very well not even know that programs such as GCCG exists. If they knew about that, I'm sure some people would be interested in this game again.

Question #1: How can we contact all those people who stopped playing?

The answer: By sending a email to all those people.

Question #2: How can we get their email address?

The answer: The website www.decktech.net used to be one of the most popular website where hundreds of people posted their decks online. Now, the LOTR section of this site is completely dead but all the decks are still there. I'm pretty sure that the administrators of the decktech website possess a HUGE bank of email addresses of former players. If we can get them to send a email to all the former players, telling them about this project and programs such as GCCG, I'm sure we could get at least 50 players... maybe 100.

Question #3: Why would decktech help us?

The answer: To get more traffic on their website... if we give them enough publicity it will probably make them happy as well.

chompers · « **Reply #1 on:** November 28, 2009, 02:48:05 PM »

Never used decktech but do they have a forum or a place we can promote what is happening over here?

Cw0rk · « **Reply #2 on:** November 29, 2009, 10:27:05 AM »

http://www.decktech.net/lotr/main/directory.php

2426 total LOTR players (or former).

People from the marketing comity should write a nice email to Decktech to inform them about the project and especially GCCG (this is what is going to bring many people back). Then you ask Decktech to send a mail to all the former players, or you ask them to give us that bank of email so we can do it by ourselves.

If only 10% of all the people are interested... that would make 243 new players.

Sete · « **Reply #3 on:** November 29, 2009, 11:04:39 AM »

It's a nice idea!

Ranofer · « **Reply #4 on:** November 29, 2009, 11:41:58 AM »

For sure. 234 new online players would be an awesome amount to work with

And that's just 10%!

Anyone want to type up something so we can proof it?

Cw0rk · « **Reply #5 on:** November 29, 2009, 12:52:28 PM »

Whoever got letter writing skills can do that and post it here. English ain't my first language so you guys can do it.

legolas3333 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2009, 01:22:17 PM »

technically it would give us 242.6 players but...

As for the letter writing, I will give it a shot...

To: Our fellow LotR TCG players,
Hello, My name is (Insert Name) and I'm a member of the Last Homely House, a forum dedicated to LotR TCG. Over the past few weeks (months?) we have been trying to make our dream of a players committee become a reality; however, we feel that before we can truly begin a PC, we must contact the remnants of the LotR TCG community, this is why we have contacted you. If you still play LotR or are interested in taking it up again we ask you join our forum. We have a dedicated player base and an online program, GccG, to work with. Your presence would be greatly appreciated as uniting the player base is our primary goal.

ok just reviewing my own work...
the first line I think we need someone like Hawkeyespf (a former dAgent) or Treebeard13 (a tournament director I think) to send it and add something like "My name is *, I am a former * and member of the last homely house. that's all for now everyone else go ahead and kill it to make it better, also non-Americans/Britons, if anything is confusing in the wording bring it up since we don't want only English speakers to reply.

Cw0rk · « **Reply #7 on:** November 29, 2009, 01:35:29 PM »

Sounds like a good mail to send to all those player.

No we need a mail that we could send to decktech in which we ask them to collaborate with us.

HawkeyeSPF · « **Reply #8 on:** November 29, 2009, 02:51:30 PM »

I would nominate Chuck (TB13) before myself, but thanks for thinking of me.

The letter sounds better than the lack of communication we've had for the past several years, so I guess what I'm saying is...good job!

Kenddrick · « **Reply #9 on:** November 29, 2009, 05:03:19 PM »

Sounds like a good idea! And Legolas has got a nice letter as well. I'm in school now, so when I get home later, I will sit down and write another letter as well, just to give us variations.

chompers · « **Reply #10 on:** November 29, 2009, 11:51:12 PM »

How is this for contacting Decktech:

To our friends at Decktech,

Decipher made many fantastic products in Star Wars CCG, Star Trek CCG and LOTR TCG. Two of these games have an established players committee and continue to grow in popularity with the support of not-for-profit community groups (http://www.starwarsccg.org/ and http://www.trekcc.org/). We are in the process of establishing a Players Committee to support the players of LOTR TCG and get this great game going again.

Some of the key elements are already in place:
•   There is a website where players of LOTR TCG can meet and discuss LOTR (http://lotrtcgwiki.com).
•   There is free software that enables you to play LOTR TCG online (http://gccg.sourceforge.net/).
•   There is free software allowing players to build LOTR TCG decks (http://eric.minet.free.fr/dbdownl_en.htm).
•   There is a Fellowship of the Ring movie block league that has been established that any interested players can join (http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,3492.0.html).

The Players Committee is actively promoting the revival of LOTR TCG across the internet, hobby stores and at conventions. We hope to contact as many past and current players of LOTR TCG as we can.

Many players of LOTR TCG have used your website and we hope to form a partnership with you to let them know that LOTR TCG is experiencing a revival. We hope that the establishment of a LOTR TCG players committee and getting the LOTR TCG community active again will be of benefit to Decktech as returning players will return not only to playing LOTR TCG but will also return to using your website. While we cannot offer much, we can promote your website through the use of the Last Homely House forums as well as promise of a larger playing community of LOTR TCG.

Yours Sincerely,

LOTR TCG Players Committee

MR. Lurtzy · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2009, 12:23:04 AM »

legolas3333 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2009, 01:31:14 AM »

good job chompers!

and I would really like other people to write letters or redo mine since It's a little wierd

Kenddrick · « **Reply #13 on:** November 30, 2009, 04:33:02 AM »

Quote from: chompers on November 29, 2009, 11:51:12 PM

How is this for contacting Decktech:

To our friends at Decktech,

Decipher made many fantastic products in Star Wars CCG, Star Trek CCG and LOTR TCG. Two of these games have an established players committee and continue to grow in popularity with the support of not-for-profit community groups (http://www.starwarsccg.org/ and http://www.trekcc.org/). We are in the process of establishing a Players Committee to support the players of LOTR TCG and get this great game going again.

Some of the key elements are already in place:
•   There is a website where players of LOTR TCG can meet and discuss LOTR (http://lotrtcgwiki.com).
•   There is free software that enables you to play LOTR TCG online (http://gccg.sourceforge.net/).
•   There is free software allowing players to build LOTR TCG decks (http://eric.minet.free.fr/dbdownl_en.htm).
•   There is a Fellowship of the Ring movie block league that has been established that any interested players can join (http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,3492.0.html).

The Players Committee is actively promoting the revival of LOTR TCG across the internet, hobby stores and at conventions. We hope to contact as many past and current players of LOTR TCG as we can.

Many players of LOTR TCG have used your website and we hope to form a partnership with you to let them know that LOTR TCG is experiencing a revival. We hope that the establishment of a LOTR TCG players committee and getting the LOTR TCG community active again will be of benefit to Decktech as returning players will return not only to playing LOTR TCG but will also return to using your website. While we cannot offer much, we can promote your website through the use of the Last Homely House forums as well as promise of a larger playing community of LOTR TCG.

Yours Sincerely,

LOTR TCG Players Committee

What else can I say? ALL HAIL CHOMPERS!

Cw0rk · « **Reply #14 on:** November 30, 2009, 08:37:29 AM »

Great letter.

chompers · « **Reply #15 on:** November 30, 2009, 10:43:08 PM »

Legolas3333 - i like your letter but i propose a few minor edits (whoops - i made a few more edits - it is still basically the same)

To past and current players of LOTR TCG,

Hello from the members of the Last Homely House, a forum dedicated to LotR TCG (www.lotrtcgwiki.com). Over the past few months we have been trying to establish a players committee for LOTR TCG and get this great game going again. One of our first priorities is to contact the remnants of the LotR TCG community and this is why we have contacted you. If you still play LotR or are interested in taking it up again we ask you join our forum. We have a dedicated player base and an online program, GccG, to work with. Your presence would be greatly appreciated as uniting the player base is our primary goal.

Yours Faithfully,

LOTR TCG Players Committee

IMO this email would be ideal to send out to members of Decktech provided we can get them to agree.

However, we must first contact Decktech,
Is there anyone at TLHH that is an existing member of Decktech that is willing to make contact with them. My thoughts are if I create an account and the first thing i do is send them an email asking them to promote TLHH and the PC is a bit ordinary. It would have more weight if it came from an existing member, and preferably from a member that was relatviely active on their site. Any takers? The letter I wrote above seems to have some support to be used as is.

max1981 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 01, 2009, 05:41:19 AM »

Cool letter - one small change where it reads 'Once of our first' it should be One of our first. Other than that it rocks.

Cheers
Max

Gil-Estel · « **Reply #17 on:** December 01, 2009, 07:10:26 AM »

I am an decktech member, allthough my activity there has been low during time. I have read a lot of decks, submitted a few, but mostly in the dying days of decktech.

chompers · « **Reply #18 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:50:09 AM »

Ok - this thread is slowing down. So... I will become a member on Decktech and send the email unless someone else volunteers over the next few days or someone says i should wait longer.

We are after a member of TLHH that was active on Decktech in the past to send the email if possible.

ket_the_jet · « **Reply #19 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:52:09 AM »

chompers: I hate to get involved, but also take a look at the Mahasamatman.com Lord of the Rings TCG community.

http://trade.mahasamatman.com/Rings/
-wtk

chompers · « **Reply #20 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:58:58 AM »

Hi Ket - i will do - thanks

I have missed your input in Valinor - helps keep our (my) heads out of the clouds sometimes. Hopefully discussing the future of LOTR will benefit the LOTR community not matter how far this actually goes (even if it is just advertising this site and GCCG).

chompers · « **Reply #21 on:** December 05, 2009, 10:26:36 PM »

Ok - haven't had any takers on contacting Decktech so i became a member of decktech and sent them an email. Time will tell what happens. I will do the same for other LOTR TCG websites as i encounter them (and also the website ket suggested above).

Of note - I recieved a personal message today from someone regarding legal issues related to dream cards, it contained some interesting information about the production of v-cards. I am attempting to communicate further with him and will seek his permission to share his messages on the forums. Additionally, he has made an offer to help with the legal issues.

Update - email to decktech bounced. But i posted on their buzzboard and also attempted to send an email another way and it seems to have gone through.

Kenddrick · « **Reply #22 on:** December 06, 2009, 01:27:17 AM »

Chompers great work on this! Let's keep our dream going!

Cw0rk · « **Reply #23 on:** December 12, 2009, 06:50:57 PM »

Did you get an answer from them?

Bilbo the Hutt · « **Reply #24 on:** December 12, 2009, 07:10:38 PM »

Re: Dream cards, I know the Star Wars CCG Player's Committee has a very strict policy on posting dream cards on their website, perhaps this is worth adopting here? They are lenient for innocent first-timers who don't know any better, but from what I understand it is a bannable offence. I'm not entirely sure on their reasoning, but I'm very sure it is related to copyright issues, and Lucasfilm (in their case) does not mess around with its copyrights.

Bilbo the Hutt · « **Reply #25 on:** December 12, 2009, 07:11:28 PM »

Oh ya, I'm not the guy who contacted chompers, I'm just throwing in my two cents.

chompers · « **Reply #26 on:** December 13, 2009, 12:56:11 AM »

c10ckw0rk - No reply from Decktech or anyone else I have contacted. I guess I am not surprised - but I have left messages on other forums and hopefully that may be leading others here. The numbers of members at TLHH continues to grow - so maybe it has had some effect.

Bilbo - when you say Star Wars has a strict policy about DCs on their website - do you mean those with actual images or do they also restrict text DCs as well? Both this site and Star Trek ban images of DCs due to copyright, but are happy to allow text DCs. Heaps of Star Trek DCs are available on Yahoo groups however, provided you subscribe.

Bilbo the Hutt · « **Reply #27 on:** December 13, 2009, 08:15:15 AM »

Chompers: the SWCCGPC restricts both text and images of dream cards.

MR. Lurtzy · « **Reply #28 on:** December 13, 2009, 10:32:31 AM »

And you actually think that was a good idea?

Quote from: Bilbo the Hutt on December 13, 2009, 08:15:15 AM

Chompers: the SWCCGPC restricts both text and images of dream cards.

chompers · « **Reply #29 on:** December 13, 2009, 11:57:14 AM »

Wow ... Mr Lucas has a lot of power doesn't he - and this produces paranoia - banning text DCs? What next - ban anyone from talking about Star Wars ..... hang-on, I think Mr Lucas is after me. I am actually feeling a little scared writing this. I lost interest in Star Wars as a game and a product a long time ago - and the supposed controlling nature of Lucas has alot to do with it (and lots of awful films also helps).

I can't see text DCs doing any harm, in fact it might get the right people interested in the product, which seems a bit like free publicity (for that matter I can't see a game that is defunct continuing as a not-for-profit organisaition - producing new cards - for free - causing any real problem. It's just free publicity for the license). IMO

Bilbo the Hutt · « **Reply #30 on:** December 13, 2009, 12:38:44 PM »

Well, here's a policy I found on their website under forum rules:

Dream cards are not allowed. Ideas for virtual cards, revisions to the game, discussion about potential future card ideas, and the like are all welcomed, but we cannot allow members to post virtual card text due to potential copyright issues from the dream card creator, Luscasfilm, and decipher, as well as other concerns. Violating this policy will usually result in the post being locked and edited, but persistence after repeated warnings may result in other action.

So it's not as harsh as you may think, they leave you with some wiggle room for discussing future card ideas, I think they just don't want people posting in the format of, hey! I came up with this new card while I was bored at work, here it is! From what I understand you can essentially say you've made a dream card but you have to phrase it more along the lines of wouldn't it be cool if there was a new version of Luke who blah blah blah.

Now I don't know any of the 'official' specifics but I've heard that Lucasfilm and the Player's Committee have some sort of gentleman's agreement going that allows them to make virtual cards as long as they don't use any images or ideas that don't appear on previously printed Decipher cards (i.e. no cards named General Grievous or Count Dooku because the Star Wars CCG only went as far as Episode I and those names do not appear on other cards). As far as I know these policies have been in place since day 1 and there haven't been any big copyright problems between Lucasfilm and the PC and they've been making virtual cards for longer than Decipher made actual cards at this point. It seems that the Star Wars PC has done a really good job of handling the whole copyright relationship so they would be good people to contact for advice on this issue, and I'm sure they won't mind helping out because there is quite a bit of overlap between SWCCGers and LOTRTCGers.

Sete · « **Reply #31 on:** December 13, 2009, 12:56:22 PM »

In their site's forums... And thats merely because no card creator want to be linked with V-Card made by fans... (and for legal purposes, if a card designer really made a copy of a dream card made by any fan, they could use it 100%, since they OWN the rights of the game). A real and practical example of this is Magic the Gathering... if you have a ton of dream cards, they are MTG dream cards... anywhere, everywhere... I even know a couple of friends that run a software to create virtual cards... and the site still up, after so many years, so Wizards of the Coast it's not very concerned with that...

Listen, it's as stupid as this: "Oh no, don't create any dream cards that we might see, copy, print and SELL FOR MONEY!"

Copyright issues are severe, when you steal something to make profit out of it, when you claim you are the owner or creator of something you are not... Then copyright can totally punch you in the face...

They state the policy of "no dream cards" among their websites, not fan websites... One of these days you have Chris Tolkien (or whatever his name is) forbidding any fan to write a fan fiction or an rpg about Lotr... "Oh, sorry, you can't... I probably will have that idea in a near future so you are not allowed to write it..."

Right now, even if you do any DC for Lotr TCG, what would Decipher do? "Oh, they stole ideas we could use... for future sets... that we are not allowed to do anymore..."

Seriously?

Cw0rk · « **Reply #32 on:** December 13, 2009, 05:46:28 PM »

Guys, can we keep focused on the topic "contacting a lot of players" and talk about V-cards and copyrights issues somewhere else?

Cw0rk · « **Reply #33 on:** December 26, 2009, 09:12:21 AM »

Did we get any answers from the decktech or masahamatman community?

chompers · « **Reply #34 on:** December 26, 2009, 12:55:11 PM »

No reply from Dechtech - can't say I am overly surprised - but we did have a new member called Dech shortly after I sent the email - coincidence ?? Maybe Dech can let us know

Contacting both actually prosed to be quite difficult - but I was able to place a message on one of the boards pointing them to this site - can't say if it worked - but membership at TLHH continues to expand rapidly IMO and some that have joined recently are quite active on this site.

Kenddrick · « **Reply #35 on:** December 29, 2009, 08:35:47 AM »

Man, we also got to get our people, the active members here on TLHH to get involved with the PC. Almost all of the regular forum visitors are showing no interest in the PC at all.

chompers · « **Reply #36 on:** December 29, 2009, 10:11:59 PM »

Kenddrick - I find it strange that there does not appear to be universal interest in a PC on these forums. Being involved in the creation of the PC means having a voice and stopping the proposed PC heading off in the wrong direction.

The PC can serve so many purposes - marketing, resources, tournaments, rule support (beyond just discussion on a forum but creating up-to-date current rulebooks), v-cards, errata cards, promo cards, etc. With the right people discussing and forming the PC, each of these elements can be introduced in a way that will support every player of the game (not just the needs of a few).

We know people still like and play the game - everyone should get behind it and let this game evolve (even if that just means getting more people playing it).

IMO the best part about LOTR is that it is finished. This means it is free or almost free to play (see GCCG and the PC could issue printable cards from high-res pdfs). What could possibly be better than a free card game, that evolves and is supported by the players that love it.

A friend told me the other day - you need to get in the land of the living - play a game that still exists (why - so I can spend $6 on a booster and not get the card I want). Incidently - he still plays Star Trek (which is also a dead game but supported by a PC).

CategoryOneGames.com · « **Reply #37 on:** January 10, 2010, 08:10:27 AM »

Neal and I have been talking about the LOTR PC a lot recently but he never mentioned that email that you guys sent him. I'll contact him and talk about that specifically as well as the other things we have been talking about with the LOTR game recently.

Smeagollum · « **Reply #38 on:** January 10, 2010, 10:23:54 AM »

Maybe you can use this for Dutch players:

http://www.armbell.com/theprancingpony

If you click on "Gebruikerslijst/memberlist" you'll find all accounts from members of the prancing pony.

If you need an account to get in you can use mine:

Accountname: smeagollum
Password: tlhh

I trust you'll not miss use it

chompers · « **Reply #39 on:** January 10, 2010, 12:45:06 PM »

Great to see some activity. Hopefully now we're past Christmas, New Years we can get some momentum happening.

Welcome Category1Games.com, all the help you can offer would be a great support!

Author Topic: Contacting a LOT of people (Read 16788 times)

Kenddrick

Kenddrick

Kenddrick

Kenddrick

Smeagollum