Scheduling Thread for the IRON DM 2020 Tournament!

[TheAlkaizer]

I reread the top post, maybe I missed it, but what is the approximate time frame for each round? For the tournament as a whole?

I could be interested. But english is not my mother tongue, if a better writer wants to hop in I'll let them.

 

[Rune]

All matches are scheduled around the availability of the contestants.

Matches within the first round will each be 24 hours and the entire round (which consists of 4 matches) usually takes about a week.

The two matches in round 2 and the championship match (round 3) are each 48-hour matches. Because of the longer matches, and the need for all three judges to weigh in on these later matches, the cumulative time can be a bit longer than the first round.

One to two weeks is likely for this part, although scheduling issues can delay things here, as well.

Hope that helps!

Also, @TheAlkaizer, if you’re on the fence, you can sign on as an alternate, for now.

 

[el-remmen]

I guess getting a full roster is hard these days? I remember when people would clamor for a 16-seat tournament just to allow for more people to play!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Things are relatively quiet these days. No one has time for anything, running around in circles like we all are.

 

[Rune]

I guess getting a full roster is hard these days? I remember when people would clamor for a 16-seat tournament just to allow for more people to play!

Yeah. I remember my first time judging, we filled up in half an hour. Those days are long-gone, I’m afraid. Lots of factors at play, here. (All of the following are conjecture, on my part, but it’s all conjecture that’s been cooking for years.)

First, fewer and fewer folk who actually are familiar with the tournament are regular visitors to the site anymore and the new software seems to have turned off email notifications for “@“ summons by default. If someone only drops in once in a while, it’s very difficult to let them know a tournament is going to happen. (Which, by the way, made getting ahold of the defending champion very difficult.)

Second, while there are many advantages to having a panel of three judges, one of the disadvantages is that it pulls two potential competitors out of the pool. And experienced ones, at that.

Third, the demographics of this site have changed a lot. The edition wars drove a fair number of people away. Added to that, there were two separate migrations from the WotC boards. I just don’t think the proportion of DMs to players is as high as it used to be around here.

Finally, I suspect that the new software is working against us in subtle ways. There are just so many ways to jump straight to a thread you were already following (or that is trending), that I think a smaller percentage of eyeballs are even going to see a non-trendy recruitment thread like this. It's all good, though. I love it when people discover IRON DM for the first time.

(Also, it’s Sunday. Traffic slows way down on the weekends. Although, maybe less so this year?)

Be that as it may, most people who do choose to compete get hooked and that helps (notice that all but one/two of the current roster have been here before). Also, this year’s recruitment has been relatively quick, so far (perhaps because a lot of people are stuck at home?).

I do have a post ready to put up in the promotions forum if needed, but with only two slots to fill, it hardly seems worth it.

 

[el-remmen]

As the torchbearer and general organizer of IRON DM these days, you should consider creating a tiny letter or mail chimp newsletter that competitors can sign up for that just sends a sign-up reminder for tournaments - that way people who are not on the boards as much (or stop coming at all, but are still interested in competing) would have a chance to know about . And since it is once a year or so, they wouldn't be spammed.

 

[Rune]

As the torchbearer and general organizer of IRON DM these days, you should consider creating a tiny letter or mail chimp newsletter that competitors can sign up for that just sends a sign-up reminder for tournaments - that way people who are not on the boards as much (or stop coming at all, but are still interested in competing) would have a chance to know about . And since it is once a year or so, they wouldn't be spammed.

I don’t even know what some of those words mean! But it sounds like it sounds like a good idea!

Can it be done from a phone? Because my computer these days is a phone.

 

[el-remmen]

I am the opposite and try to do as little on a phone as possible (bad eyesight and fat fingers), but my guess is yes.

 

[Rune]

I am the opposite and try to do as little on a phone as possible (bad eyesight and fat fingers), but my guess is yes.

I did at least finally get a keyboard. Did a few tourneys without one. Do not recommend.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I did at least finally get a keyboard. Did a few tourneys without one. Do not recommend.

You... you mean you typed out an entry... on a PHONE?!

(And I thought I was crazy for even attempting this - especially when I'm running three PBP games here on ENWorld and a F2F (zoom) game, managing a FLGS during Christmas rush in a pandemic, teaching a (now-virtual) martial arts class, and parenting two school-age children.) I'll sleep when I'm dead, right?