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 Post subject: Komputer Go Server?
Post #1 Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 3:33 am 
Oza
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Lately, whenever I log in to KGS, a majority of top games all involve one bot or another, and quite frankly, this is diminishing my enjoyment of the server. One reason is that I don't really care to watch games against a computer. Not that the games are objectively bad or the style of play is different, rather it is that the contest is drained of emotion. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way, because if you look at the number of observers of KGS games, it is clear that people flock to the highest person to person game. I understand that some people like to play against these bots, but it doesn't seem to be something that third parties find interesting. It also seems that fewer strong players are frequenting the server. Based on the frequently expressed suspicion that someone is really a bot, or at least using one, my guess is that strong players are feeling disinclined to play against bots and also don't want to be accused of not playing fair. Of course this problem isn't limited to KGS; it's just that it has become quite visible there. Sure bots are here to stay, but it also seems that they are making online go less attractive. While this might be good for real-life clubs, I personally am not thrilled.

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 Post subject: Re: Komputer Go Server?
Post #2 Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:02 am 
Gosei

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I share this gloom. Many times now, the only nice game to watch is when somebody relays an event on KGS. The plentiful supply of 6-9 dan games is in decline, but that is no surprise really.

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 Post subject: Re: Komputer Go Server?
Post #3 Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:54 am 
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My last several games on KGS have been against Hirabot 3D. My mentality is that since nobody is going to observe my game anyway, why not play the strongest opponent possible so that I can learn new things? (This was pre-Leela and Crazystone) I believe a lot of people feel this way. The reality is that after 6D+ players left KGS to play elsewhere (tygem, fox, etc), what you have left is people like me, training against bots at the top of the list. It was only recently that one could play offline against a bot 6D+.

I want to bring up OGS, but not in an attempt to detract from your original point about KGS.

A couple of instances of Leela (6D) are running on OGS. There are some additional developers who run bots while clearly stating it in their profile, but it is not overwhelming at the moment. I think it's safe to say that without these instances, there would rarely be a single game above 1d on the server. When it's done right, these types of games can generate a lot of excitement in the same way Zen19L (9d+) did on KGS. Example: https://online-go.com/game/7884026

I believe it is both the prevalence of 30k - 4d bots on KGS (representing around 90% of the distributed ranks in the US), and the fact that it is nearly impossible to get a rank established without playing a few games against bots, that are killing competition on servers. If anything, I say get rid of bots that are below 6D all together. It'll class up the servers and make people want to spend time on them again.

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