What is happening to the cityguard? no, really.

[daemion]

cue rambling old man who forgot to take his meds today...

bitz box blues! (dirty thieving parasites)
immediate payments or no place in torney(s)!!!! (damn, thats cold- we are slack wargamers, not banking institutions with unlimited resources in the build up to xmas!)
The friendliness going bye bye! (everyone hates me anyway)
dogs living with cats! (thank u bill murrey)
Kitson winning the masters! (thats actually quite cool)
$$$ becoming the golden calf at club and events. pay heaps for bugger all! (sounds like a national supporter to me)

is the apocalypse almost upon us??? can i be plague?(im not in the best shape to be famine actually)

As one of the oldest members of the cityguard, im getting very confused as to what direction our/my club is taking at the moment.... i miss the days when it was a lot more fun going to club and hooking up with friendly like minded geeks... now i seem to be getting less and less upset about not being able to turn up due to family commitments as it doesnt seem like a place i really want to be anymore...

Damian Reid.

Edit: Your use of language has been edited a few times now please use more restraint from now on. Further infringement will result in your account from being suspended

[daemion]

yoiks! fine phil, strike my hypocritical name off equinox 40k. thank you for everything but suddenly i wont be attending. feel free to give my place to someone else as i will now spend my $ i get as a xmas present that was going to u for equinox on something else.

and i was given permission to play the whole weekend too and was really looking forward to it as my return to 40k. i even organised myself to help tristam move tables for it and jacked up mine and monkeys 7 tables of terrain to use. now, i cant be arsed.

i fully understand why u are taking this line. it does need to be done.but did u have to be such a grump about it? a more polite wording would have gone a long way. i have received numerous emails from 40k, fantasy and even some random warmahordes dudes i dont know bout the way it has come across as pay NOW or else. and im getting them why??? im not even in the exec.. what the hell can i do bout this?
maybe cause i say what i feel and mean what i say. im pretty bloody brutal at times and i make no apologies for that.

i would have thought (and im not picking on you here) that a reminder bout early regos closing on 1st jan and could you please pay then or your place will be up for grabs. but just before xmas? seriously?

and why did the $ have to be in so early for this anyway?

im simply relaying very abbreviated comments, txts and emails i got as they didnt want to mention it to you but they knew i would. so i did... and no, im not going to say names.

Chur!

[wouster7]

Damo I am in the same boat as everyone else since its before xmas and have many gifts to buy and very little time. I have been as considerate as possible and those that have emailed me or approached me in person I have reserved them a place and understood their circumstances as long as they have given me a firm guarantee that they are coming. Many of these people have not got back to confirm if they are coming. This puts me in a huge dilemma as there are at present 19 people on the waiting list many of whom are not from Auckland and have to organise travel and accommodation. We have to look outside of the square now and yes there are out of town wargamers wanting to come to our tournaments and I have to reiterate it's no longer just two guys and a dog who turn up to tournaments and you can just go yeah sure you can come.

I am sadden that you have decided you don't want to come as I have held your space because you have been in contact with me. If I have offended then it was not meant in a harmful way but hey I've been dealing with crap all day it's only fitting that some may have come out going the other way. I am sure a lot of people are wanting to have their chance at ya at Equinox so I hope you change your mind.

The people who have contacted you may have been mistaken because they need to contact me. The reason they have been sent reminders is that they haven't spoken to me. Another classic case of tell the wrong guy and causing the guy who is actually doing the organising more stress than necessary.

[Lazarus]

Daemion and Phil

Dam you are getting grumpy in your old age, stop all this crap and get off ya bum and play a dam game we need more flamers!

I dont see why you and phil could not just talk in person instead of putting this stuff over the website. Its not just this issue i have had comments from others about some of the topics that are posted about matters that should not be public and should be delt with in person with and adult conversation. Not throwing dog shit at each other till one gets so mad he fecks off.

Ya there is possibly some underlining management issues, but there always is with this place. And i am sorry i am an old boy also but i thank phil for what he is doing, this years tournaments have been well setup and good to play in. There was alot of crap to clean up when he took over and thanks to him and others we have not lost the club.

Daemion get ya bum to Equinox they are way more fun with you around and not seen you since guardcon. And Phil just pull the rains back just a little i know you are under stress with trying to get all this stuff sorted but just pull it back or you are going to end up being the bad guy in all these issues when i know you are a good Bloke.

Matthew

[wouster7]

Fair call Matt, knew there was a reason you were on the exec 

[Philfy]

*heads off to source cheap handbags as xmas pressies for cityguard members* 

[Rhok]

Phil your doing a great job. Having been involved with organising a Paintball tournament, Magic the Gathering tournaments and various other events I know what a headache they are to organise, entree fees certainly are only half the battle.

[daemion]

laz, unfortunately this sort of stuff needs to be aired in an open forum. better out than talked about behind anyones back. (not that i give a sheeite if its my back.)

... and im just being me...

[daemion]

when u r a bad seed like me that doesnt get out much and r not afraid to question things it is only natural to be seen as the enemy of the status quo and the silentn majority... and thats why i have been voted times person of the year. heh.

[Solarian]

get off ya bum and play a dam game we need more flamers!

I think Laz said it all, the club needs more raging flammers

[daemion]

im the only one who rages. evryone else has no sacks.

[wouster7]

I was gonna just wait until you made some sense but I guess that's not gonna happen so here's your reply.

Everyone communicates better and they also don't agree with you. I still have no idea what you are on about. Do yourself and everyone else a favour and actually ask me some questions on email.

[daemion]

why? i already have the answeers i need. everyone agrees with u ? yeh. ive read a few of those emails.  i guess its do it your way or dnt have an opinion. im alowd to disagree with things if i want. thats my right. i can get specific if u wan but it will be postd up here. oh, btw, i do get out often and i have been civil and i dnt use an excuse like im tired and had a crap week to justify personal attacks. i am not a toadie and i have nothing to apologise 4. and im stil being polite.

[Antony]

I can't be othered trawling through most of this thread. I appreciate the legitimacy of the moaning, but of far more importance in my opinion is this:

..ready for it...

We had a crisis on the club a few years back and we got it back on its feet.

We had another crisis at the begining of this this year and another group of people led by Phil are getting it back on its feet.

The fact that (some) tourney organisers are holding people to account (and being a prick if need be) is simpy an indication of the fact that letting things slide for so long has led to a crisis that the current team (that I am not a member of) is desperate to fix so that the club is here for the next generation of introverted geeks to play games at.

It is good and healthly that we are not in a state of "group think" (wiki it) and it is right that we air our dissent. But ultimatley sometimes we need to all put our shoulders to the wheel and help push.

That is me pushing

[daemion]

thanks kitson. much apreciatd. id prefer hearing that from the exec/el presidente of course rather than dictatorial edicts. transparency goes a long way. many outside the cg r wodring wtf is going on and mre carefuly worded decrees and explanations r a gd thing. not leaving people in the dark is a great way to get them on side. as you, regan,wayde and myself r currently the longest serving members-did i miss any1?- im sure u remember when the common member was actually told about things and have their opinions valued. not told what to do with no explanation or reasoning. whatever we do as a club affects our standing in the greater community. and riht now that greater community wants to know why we are , dare i say it. a joke. the warmahordes peeps are not happy. why? the fow boys just laugh and do their own thimg. i cant speak for our very good wfb crew at the cg or around nz, and i know the majority of the 40k mob just want to play.                       im just asking for a more open discussion on issues that are now directly affecting me and my club. my record speaks for itself. i am fiercely loyal to my many friends. when they start getting affectd by decisions they feel are unfair or wrong, they want to know why. its not my place to tell them what i know. that needs to come from those in charge. so i will continue to ask questions until either i get bored or information is shared with the whole cg and the greater gaming community. thats the way to win hearts and minds. make sense?

[wouster7]

Feeling like the club is being subjected to your less than convincing rant Daemion, I'll try to separate your totally unclear ramblings. Here are the Questions I think you want answered. I will be on holiday ie on a plane from tomorrow for a week or so, heres what i have got from your mash of posts.

Q. Bits Box.

A. I took over the running of the club in late April this year. The bits box had already been raided to bare bones by then.
   The policy was to give the keys to any that asked for it and they were unsupervised and an honesty policy was adopted.
    There was an incident on Monday but an Apology was offered and that case will not be pursued.
    It has been agreed by committee vote 3/4, that it will no longer be offered and will be liquidated.

Q. Immediate payments asked for or you don't attend the tournament.

A. You are mistaken and confused.
     Registrations started in Early September and all Club members were offered a preferential early registration into the tournament which ended in December 1st.
     This was Four months by my calculations to register your interest in the tournament, more than enough time in my books. A place in the event would be
     held for you if you paid your entry, which is the only fair way as demonstrated by the 150+ people interested in entering for the only 130 places in the
     tournament.

Q. Friendliness going bye bye.

A. I can't make friends for you. If you're offending people then perhaps you should look at how you approach situations.

Q. Dog's living with Cats.

A. Yes I have lots of friends with pet cats and dogs that get along. errrmmm yeah?!?

Q Kitson Winning Masters?

A. Yeah I don't know what happened there. Who would of thought that would happen, it's not like he's any good or anything. Just because he's beaten me
    once this year and I'm no good at the game.

Q. Is the Apocalypse upon us?

A. 11.11.11 has passed the Earth isn't upside down so guess not yet errrmmm yeah.

Q As an old Member of the City Guard and missed the old days.

A. The Club is for everyone and there is new members joining our ranks. It is much theirs as it's yours or mine. No one owns it, it is the community's.

Q. I am going to pull out of Equinox.

A. I am sorry to hear that. I've sent you an email asking you to reconsider and you have not replied so your position has been offered to someone on the waiting list.

Q. A more polite wording would be better

A. Ummm I do this out of my spare time and it's volunteer work. Perhaps you should take a moment to think when you decide to infringe on that when you   
   decide to have a rant and you may understand my reaction.

Q. I fully understand why you took this line and it need to be done, why did you have to be so grumpy.

A. Club members were given from September and then advertising for the tournament was released to the public which is 4 months in total. I think it's perfectly
    reasonable to ask people to confirm their commitment don't you. As for being grumpy, It sometimes happens I'm not perfect.

Q. Transparency goes a long way.

A. I am happy to provide you with transparency and I thought I have been doing it.

Q. The Warmahordes people are not happy.

A. I am aware of their internal conflict as does the whole country that plays warmahordes. I'm taking a neutral stance and everyone knows this. At the end of
    The day they will resolve it amongst themselves I am Switzerland and not their mother.

Q. I am asking for more discussion thats affecting me and my club.

A. You were given ample opportunity to join the Exec team at the AGM. In fact you were asked to be the 40K rep and you turned it down flat. Are you asking
    to volunteer to help out with your free time? It's a big commitment but you are welcome to take up the role when the next AGM is called. Currently the 
    elected committee will strive to run the club to the best of it's ability which it has. The club has not seen as much interest in the Wargaming community in all 5
    years I have been a member of the club.

Q. Damiens record speaks for itself.

A. I remember you running a tournament for club and that's great and the club thanks you.
    Recently you have been out spoken and have lost us sponsorship From vagabonds for a members significant discount (pls refer to Club news which will be sent
    soon).
    At the beginning of the year you raged quit and left me in the lurch without a organiser for 40k GuardCon. Thank you Matt who filled the role on short notice.
    Currently you having a rant with supposed knowledge.
    I like you as a passionate gamer but your recent track record doesn't instill me with much confidence in your calm head when it comes to a position of
    responsibility, I'm just saying you can agree or disagree.


   
   

[daemion]

wel, that was interesting. good to see i got another response that tells me nothing apart from the fact you dont like me speaking out.  i was kinda hoping to see something useful in that post other than'im so right and damian is so wrong'     sweet. i can dig that.    enjoy your holiday. .

[daemion]

oh, and dnt expect an apology or anything like that. i have nothing to apologise for. love your work. brilliant how you made it all about me and not the wider issues. see you in the new year.

[daemion]

last thing... me causing the cg to lose the pitiful discount that vagabods wantd us to have? hahahahahahaha . u r 2 funny. im not the one pimping maelstrom on my gaming blog after telling everyone not to here cause we might not get a 5percent discount. hahahahaha. u funny man.

[daemion]

oops. im back. warmahordes. it aint bout chris vs hamish or anything like that. they r big boys and cn sort out any issues like that themselves. it stems frm u dropping entries without notice for equinox. the out of towners dnt undastand u. u shuda handld it betta. u r our president of a club i love. u r the figurehead. u need to be leading. nt telling. discuss and letpeople know-outside of the cg sunday gatherings-  we have some premier events coming up and that is due to your gd work . dnt screw them up by being seen as a dhctator. the cg is now a powerful gaming force in nz-thanx to your direction- dnt let it go to your head.

[Chaoswolf]

Dig faster, deeper, further!

[Derick]

I'd really like to add to this thread

I have seen a lot of members really pitch in and help get things done. They do it quietly, without drawing attention to themselves and without thanks.

When we open up, its not every man for himself.
one person will roll out a stack of tables to the middle of the floor.
Another will roll out stack of chairs or 2.
Someone always asked me if I need a hand getting stuff out of the terrain cupboard.

I went down to the terrain cupboard at the end of the day and found someone had already packed it all away (thank you).

There is never any messes lying around for someone else to clean up.
Pack up is always easy, with most helping out and not just disappearing.
(Please don't feel guilty if you have to get away early, I'm not bitching here)

Someone else is always there to help lock up and check doors are locked.

When there are events on, its never hard to get people to help out as needed.

My wife commented on the behaviour of the members and says that every time she's been to the club and to tournaments, everyone is very polite and well behaved.

Basically it all looks like we have a lot of club spirit and I'm happy to be involved.

I want to say a big thank you to all of you, who have helped and been there, as and when needed. It wouldn't be a club without you.  

Merry Christmas City Guard !!

[daemion]

merry xmas to u 2 derrick!

[daemion]

woooo! 600÷ views. nt many comments but plenty of people reading. i luv this stuff. ∩_∩

[Lazarus]

people are to scared to comment or lost on what the issues are as its a ramble.

Joy out of others misfortune maybe?

and any comments lead to more rambling 

[Ant]

so another perspective from someone who has been here at least as long as you damo....who spent 12 or so years turning up most sundays....who has done his time on exec....and who now only visits occassionally .....

Clubs are there for the members and who those members are changes over time. I don't expect any special treatment simply because I have been a member for a long period. Change is to be expected and what the club does and the direction that it is headed in belongs to those people who are prepared to get off their butts, give up their time and energy.....and make things happen. So kudos to the current exec and others for doing so.

However, what also does impress me is that:

[1] on those odd occassions that i do pop in for a game - i find that everyone is friendly and it is a pleasure to catchup with old mates.
[2] The facilities are great, plenty of tables, terrain.
[3] The fact that equinox is so heavily supported [large numbers of gamers for all gaming systems and waiting lists] so far out from the actual event shows me that lots of people enjoy the tourney and are excited about taking part - in my case excited enough to be busily painting an army and playing my first fantasy tourney in 8 or so years!!!!

So I guess that I don't understand what the problems are.
To me it looks like the club is in good health and in good hands.
I have no problem being asked to front my entry fee to confirm my place in the tourney. This has been my experience in every tournament I have ever participated in.

So my advice to everyone is..... take your pills, enjoy the holidays.....a nd if you play fantasy - book a game with me for the new year.

Cheers and Happy Christmas
Nobbsie

[daemion]

well said nobbsy! have a good xmas mate!

[daemion]

yep.  nothing wrong with the old club spirit there eh?  gd to see a few people commenting on the great things the cg has to offer. i better stop nw in case i get banned like rion was....

[wouster7]

Merry Xmas to all and a Happy new year.

Internet is not very accessable here so only checking in.

yep.  nothing wrong with the old club spirit there eh?  gd to see a few people commenting on the great things the cg has to offer. i better stop nw in case i get banned like rion was....

Rion's situation is well documented. Damo it looks like you should get the real story instead of reading the womans day. I feel for you that you have to gather gossip from people with bad behaviour. Now I understand your ranting and rambling 

What ever your grump have a good merry season you surly comp feary.

[daemion]

u too phil. have  a good one!