Return of TDL?

[Joex Rodlain]

Hey everyone...

So I don't post on these boards all that much, but I wanted to bring up the idea of possibly bringing back TDL for season 526. Although I wasn't involved in previous seasons, 525 was some of the most fun I've ever had with DoS (and I've been around on and off since AOL, believe it or not). Something about the team componant to the dueling and the commentary just made it seem like so much more of an involved sport than just random duels on any given night.

In any case, I'm not sure how much time I would actually be able to commit to this (I'm in my 3rd year of medical school and don't have an abundance of time), but if it's the difference, I'd make time if I have to. I just really want to get this off the ground again.

So I guess I just want to see 1) how many people would be interested in TDL if it started again, and 2) if anyone who participated in running TDL is still around to either help with a new season or give some pointers on how to start organizing it.

Anyway, thanks for reading... I'm anxious to see how you all respond to this idea.

[XanthVanBokkelen]

I agree with Joex, I thought TDL was awesome and I miss not having it around. I think at this point, if it was brought back, we'd be at season 527, though. Voting 'Yes'.

[Joex Rodlain]

It's quite possible as I only returned a couple of weeks ago after a year-long respite, but I was just going off the last posts here: http://tdl.duelingzone.com/tdl/forums/ . Anyway, either way - go TDL!

[Goldglo]

TDL is a difficult and time consuming endeavor for those who are in charge of it; those folks got burned out over the years and somewhat frustrated by dwindling participation.

That being said, I love TDL. I love IFL. I would like nothing more than to see one or both return, because I think both bring a whole other completely kickass dimension to the duels.

--Matt

[Jaycy Ashleana]

I think an important question with regard to both of them (TDL and IFL) is ...

would those who really hold the creative reins be willing to release them to revive TDL and IFL in the incarnations people expect or would some new team league concept need to be created?

[Cassius Gaius Maximius]

Count me in, yo.

[Joex Rodlain]

Matt- Yeah, I remember that being the main issue with why 526 was never run. I'm just hoping that maybe interest has grown now that we haven't had it in awhile and have a pretty active community.

In terms of workload, I don't know much about website design or technical issues, but I could certainly assist in coordinating duels, updating stats, spreadsheets, etc. (not really sure what's required). Obviously though, as Jaycy pointed out, I think we would need at least one person who was involved in the previous incarnations of TDL to get this off the ground.

Ideally I think I'd like to see the same sort of format as was used before, but maybe it would be wise to start small - have only 4 or 6 teams - that way we keep an active TDL community and keep interest high.

[Ticallion Carter]

I think you hit the nail right on the head. For me, it seems the biggest challenge would be getting enough people involved for the venture to actually be successful and I think that goes beyond just team participation. I think you'd have to have enough characters to field at least 8 teams for a "full" season (although 4-6 might be enough for a shorter season) and at the same time, you would have to reconcile that with putting a cap on the number of characters any one player could have in the league. Then you'd need enough people willing to take on caller and administrative duties so that no one is completely burned out near the end of the season.

That being said, I am a "yes" vote. And, I'd be willing to be listed for calling duties as well as help out with administration if need be.

[Goldglo]

One of the reasons I never took over IFL when it was about to shut down is that I knew I wouldn't be able to devote enough administrative time. However, I'll happily do what I can to help any TDL/IFL relaunches (admin, calling, etc.)

[Michiko]

I voted on my "official" name so I'm not going to skewer the results.

Heck, if you need someone on the tech side, let me know. I can help with updating pages as needed. My connection has been unsettled, but I can call as needed too. I've got time on my hands.

Laylla used to be part of the TDL when it first started, I would love to jump back in and I can think of at least two teams forming, one old, one new.

[Teagan]

I think if something were to start up, it should be small at first.

I think I read on the TDL forums the suggestion of a tag team league. That is something I can see being able to form and not fade out halfway through a season due to disinterest or other reasons. It sounds like it would rely on far fewer people to accomplish tag teams than it would for TDL's 8 person teams.

[Joex Rodlain]

I guess what I'm envisioning is a shortened relaunch season with 4 (or 6 if we have enough interest) teams, each team playing each other team twice before playoffs with a max of 2 alts per person (obviously no alts being able to compete against each other). I would like to see these teams consist of the standard 8 people per team to allow for 5 duels per match with alternates to protect against lack of availability.

This season would be shorter than previous "full" seasons of TDL but would be easier to manage for the administrative staff, and might also spark interest in the sport again - possibly making a full season possible at a later date. That being said, I think I prefer keeping the general TDL format over a tag team format, mainly because I think the best thing about TDL for me was the team componant - which I believe would be greatly reduced in a tag team.

[Napoleon Bonarat]

The people to talk to with regard to the site itself, ownership/IP/creative control, or for assistance from a technical standpoint, especially if you envision keeping prior TDL stats, would be kalamere at aol dot com, jake dot thrash at gmail dot com and lexaquinn at aol dot com (send to all three people, please).

I don't think the email addresses at the TDL site work as I'm sure Jake has closed down those links and I don't see our stuff at teamduel.org.

I believe Kalamere and Jake also had input on the technical side for IFL. Maria Graziano's player knows the best way to get in touch with the Chairman, on technical, ownership/IP/creative control, or other issues.

ETA: You'll really want some sort of automated system like was set up for TDL and IFL. I know from personal experience how tedious it is to update duels by hand as I did it in the first season. 45 duels a week by hand in Excel was extremely time consuming. Without talking to Jake and Kalamere about this much (weirdly enough we talked about what we missed about TDL/IFL just this past Friday night), I don't know how willing they are to just hand over all the technical stuff they put together. They may want to retain technical control over their programming.

[Jake]

Just as an FYI, the TDL data is available at the Dueling Zone site. http://tdl.duelingzone.com.

[Maria Graziano]

The Chairman's player no longer plays and is not interested in being an admin but is willing to discuss handing over the information and giving any needed advice should a group of people wish to lead the charge to bring IFL back.

He does not want his e-mail posted but if you have a group of people that are serious, send me a PM and I will share it.

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As for my opinion, it might be nice to have a small season of IFL or TDL. Something more like the very beginnings of TDL where houses battled it out for pride rather than some sort of championship.

However, I just don't see how you bring back either on any sort of wide scale basis without Jake and/or Kalamere involved. The technical savvy needed to run those sites is massive and I'm just not sure that anybody else understands the sort of project that is.