How to be a commish

phenom · 11-10-2003, 01:19 PM

Tell me, is there any information regarding the regular responsibilities of a commish, or better yet, some sort of how-to for running an online league?

In the future, I'd like to commish a league. I've already joined a league as a GM, but I'd like to get as much information as possible.

Who knows, maybe this thread will become a how-to guide.

Any links, ideas, tips that help spell it all out?

CommishJoe · 11-10-2003, 01:48 PM

Tip #1 .. Don't cheat

Seriously though, there are some good FAQs in the FAQ section. Also, I'd highly suggest being an owner in a league before trying to run one yourself. It would let you know what is involved.

kq76 · 11-10-2003, 01:48 PM

I'd love to read whatever people have to say on this subject as well. Has anyone written a "How To Commish"?

EDIT: Aussie Mark's Playing in an Online League FAQ, though not really written for a commish, more for a GM, has some info that might be helpful.

Randall · 11-10-2003, 01:51 PM

How to be a Commish

1) If your name is mfitter, quit reading
2) If Mfitter is "helping" you commish, stop him
3) If mfitter even has a team in your league, boot him
4) The rest is pretty straightforward

LivnLegend · 11-10-2003, 01:59 PM

There are plenty of recent examples here of how NOT to be a Commissioner.

phenom · 11-10-2003, 02:09 PM

I have joined an online league... clarnzz' NGBL, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

I'm not planning on being a commish today, but in the future I'd like to, and I hope to learn a lot thru the NGBL.

Please don't turn this into an mfitter thread. I've done my best to avoid that stuff, and I'm not interested in it being a part of this...

Therefore...

I've read the online FAQ, but yeah, it doesn't do much for a commish. Be neat to put together something, especially as it relates to responsibilities with the software itself. It's one thing to say, "don't cheat," but quite another to say, "after you've simmed, you need to do____" whatever it may be. That's the sort of stuff I'm looking for.

sporr · 11-10-2003, 02:14 PM

There used to be an article by Joe Winarske from the old XBL that gave this kind of information. It was linked from the OOTP4 website, but I'm not sure what has happened to it since.

rem · 11-10-2003, 03:39 PM

Don't miss sims.

clarnzz · 11-10-2003, 04:49 PM

Heres a couple tips:

1) Set a schedule you can follow and stick to it. Is pretty important to do things when you say you were going to do them. If you can't do something, then don't say you will. Which means you shouldn't overload yourself with too much manual labor. Extras are nice, but if your too overwhelmed you won't enjoy yourself.

2) Don't let personal feelings get involved. Hold any friends in the league to the same rules/standards you may hold people you don't get along with.

3) Don't try to satisy everyone, do your job promptly and correctly, if you cater to people who enjoy complaining, it will only drive you nuts.

4) Decide the rules/format before you start the league. Most people are just looking to play OOTP and have fun. Heated rules debates can really kill that for some people. And some people feel very passionatly about certain rules (like coaches/scouts on/off) and changes like that after the league starts could cost you good owners.

As for the running sims part, is a breeze:

1) Open a fresh league zip file from the previous sim before to assure there are no errors in the file.

2) Remove the previous sims boxscores/logs from the league_news_box folder to keep the size down. (I save them in a differant folder so as to keep the whole seasons box scores) You can also delete the leagues "MESSAGES" folder unless you want to include all the old messages.

3) Import all teams from FTP.

4) Process all transactions.

5) Run the simulation

6) Delete the EXPIMP,LOGOS, PHOTOS folders and any pxxx.html files that are in the League_News_Box folder.

7) Zip the file and upload for the owners.

8) Place your LOGOS folder (that contains the leagues logos) and PHOTOS folder ( if you have any) back in the league file. This is so the game generates the html's using the logos/photos rather than nothing/default.

9) Generate your leagues html's from online league setup and upload them to the server.

And walla, the sim is done, some people operate their zips differantly to get them even smaller, but I prefer this way since it keeps the file pretty complete and avoids losing things. If file size is an issue you may want to do a search as there are some other ways to keep your league file size down.

Hopefully some of that helps, I probably forgot a couple things too, once your in the groove it just comes natural, if you have any questions about details you can always get in touch on AIM.

blmeanie · 11-10-2003, 05:19 PM

#3 above is extremely important. Keep it fair to all, the rules are there to govern the activities. Change rules only when necessary and through involvement with the owners (buy in to the changes).

kq76 · 11-11-2003, 05:31 AM

Here's something:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...threadid=10831

Crackerjack · 11-11-2003, 08:25 AM

Please update your main web page after each sim, unless your usubf those detested php.nuke sites (Blah).

Jason · 11-11-2003, 09:09 AM

Look on the forums for the leagues that are well respected among their peers. Contact their commissioners and ask for their advice or places they'd recommend you seek answers.

Raderick · 11-11-2003, 11:01 AM

Rule One - Don't Start a Chuck Knoblauch Thread. Learned first hand

One of the first things I always look for in a league is if the league is fair and give each GM a chance at success. If you check ou the B9BL Owners Bill of Rights and the Code of Conduct. This is one of the simplier thins that can seperate the leagues that promote fairness and the leagues that can possibly have a cheating commissioner (in MFittterer's case). This doesn't mean however that those without a bill of rights or a code of conduct are cheating leagues. I know there are MANY leagus who didn't decide to follow track, but still are very good leagues.

Akrobat · 11-11-2003, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by clarnzz

6) Delete the EXPIMP,LOGOS, PHOTOS folders and any pxxx.html files that are in the League_News_Box folder.

Just curious, why do you delete all the player files?

LivnLegend · 11-11-2003, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Akrobat
Just curious, why do you delete all the player files?

Albert, it makes the file smaller for your league members who have dial-up connections.
You can delete the player html files safely since the game generates them when needed.

PrettyBoy34 · 11-11-2003, 01:04 PM

is there any place that has a big thing on how to be a commish. That gives everything

aphoward · 11-11-2003, 09:52 PM

I've been looking for one for a while, that would be hugely helpful

phenom · 11-11-2003, 10:39 PM

excellent information, folks.

Keep it coming!

satchel · 11-12-2003, 01:28 AM

This is a section of the NPBL Constitution:

II. Commissioner
A. The Commissioner’s duties include:
1. Setting the league schedule;
2. Running the in-OotP game league;
3. Following owners’ management instructions;
4. Updating the league website;
5. Running drafts;
6. Resolving all disputes and questions;
7. Encouraging league participation;
8. Improving the league;
9. Filling ownership vacancies.

11-10-2003, 01:48 PM	#2
CommishJoe Global Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 5,238	Tip #1 .. Don't cheat Seriously though, there are some good FAQs in the FAQ section. Also, I'd highly suggest being an owner in a league before trying to run one yourself. It would let you know what is involved. __________________ Joe Success isn’t owned. It’s leased. And rent is due every day.

11-10-2003, 01:51 PM	#4
Randall Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: VA Posts: 321	How to be a Commish 1) If your name is mfitter, quit reading 2) If Mfitter is "helping" you commish, stop him 3) If mfitter even has a team in your league, boot him 4) The rest is pretty straightforward __________________ Randall FORT - Atlanta Braves CPL - Pittsburg Pirates Formerly NABL - Philadelphia Phillies Formerly GMC - Vasto Rangers Formerly NBA - Atlanta Braves - 1973 Champ Formerly ThePBL - Anaheim Angels - 1975 Champ

11-10-2003, 01:59 PM	#5
LivnLegend Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: 100% pure adrenaline! Posts: 5,624	There are plenty of recent examples here of how NOT to be a Commissioner. __________________ Excess ain't rebellion. You're drinking what they're selling.

11-10-2003, 02:09 PM	#6
phenom Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Near the Great Wall. On the GOOD side. Posts: 3,774	I have joined an online league... clarnzz' NGBL, and I'm enjoying it immensely. I'm not planning on being a commish today, but in the future I'd like to, and I hope to learn a lot thru the NGBL. Please don't turn this into an mfitter thread. I've done my best to avoid that stuff, and I'm not interested in it being a part of this... Therefore... I've read the online FAQ, but yeah, it doesn't do much for a commish. Be neat to put together something, especially as it relates to responsibilities with the software itself. It's one thing to say, "don't cheat," but quite another to say, "after you've simmed, you need to do____" whatever it may be. That's the sort of stuff I'm looking for. __________________ reported

11-10-2003, 03:39 PM	#8
rem Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: College Park, Md. Posts: 5,024	Don't miss sims. __________________ OTBA: Washington Filibusters CLBR: Minnesota Twins 2005 Winner of LL's Pick the Loser Contest! - 15-0

11-10-2003, 01:19 PM	#1
phenom Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Near the Great Wall. On the GOOD side. Posts: 3,774	How to be a commish Tell me, is there any information regarding the regular responsibilities of a commish, or better yet, some sort of how-to for running an online league? In the future, I'd like to commish a league. I've already joined a league as a GM, but I'd like to get as much information as possible. Who knows, maybe this thread will become a how-to guide. Any links, ideas, tips that help spell it all out? __________________ reported

11-10-2003, 01:48 PM	#3
kq76 Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 12,037	I'd love to read whatever people have to say on this subject as well. Has anyone written a "How To Commish"? EDIT: Aussie Mark's Playing in an Online League FAQ, though not really written for a commish, more for a GM, has some info that might be helpful. __________________ My OOTP Wishlist \| My FAQ List OOTP Wiki \| Your Recommended Team Nicknames, By City (A Crowdsourced Project) For Beta/Devs: Full screen (1920x1080) Last edited by kq76; 11-10-2003 at 01:54 PM.

11-10-2003, 02:14 PM	#7
sporr Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Muscatine, IA Posts: 8,277	There used to be an article by Joe Winarske from the old XBL that gave this kind of information. It was linked from the OOTP4 website, but I'm not sure what has happened to it since.

11-10-2003, 04:49 PM	#9
clarnzz All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Following everyone off a cliff. Posts: 1,522	Heres a couple tips: 1) Set a schedule you can follow and stick to it. Is pretty important to do things when you say you were going to do them. If you can't do something, then don't say you will. Which means you shouldn't overload yourself with too much manual labor. Extras are nice, but if your too overwhelmed you won't enjoy yourself. 2) Don't let personal feelings get involved. Hold any friends in the league to the same rules/standards you may hold people you don't get along with. 3) Don't try to satisy everyone, do your job promptly and correctly, if you cater to people who enjoy complaining, it will only drive you nuts. 4) Decide the rules/format before you start the league. Most people are just looking to play OOTP and have fun. Heated rules debates can really kill that for some people. And some people feel very passionatly about certain rules (like coaches/scouts on/off) and changes like that after the league starts could cost you good owners. As for the running sims part, is a breeze: 1) Open a fresh league zip file from the previous sim before to assure there are no errors in the file. 2) Remove the previous sims boxscores/logs from the league_news_box folder to keep the size down. (I save them in a differant folder so as to keep the whole seasons box scores) You can also delete the leagues "MESSAGES" folder unless you want to include all the old messages. 3) Import all teams from FTP. 4) Process all transactions. 5) Run the simulation 6) Delete the EXPIMP,LOGOS, PHOTOS folders and any pxxx.html files that are in the League_News_Box folder. 7) Zip the file and upload for the owners. 8) Place your LOGOS folder (that contains the leagues logos) and PHOTOS folder ( if you have any) back in the league file. This is so the game generates the html's using the logos/photos rather than nothing/default. 9) Generate your leagues html's from online league setup and upload them to the server. And walla, the sim is done, some people operate their zips differantly to get them even smaller, but I prefer this way since it keeps the file pretty complete and avoids losing things. If file size is an issue you may want to do a search as there are some other ways to keep your league file size down. Hopefully some of that helps, I probably forgot a couple things too, once your in the groove it just comes natural, if you have any questions about details you can always get in touch on AIM.

11-10-2003, 05:19 PM	#10
blmeanie All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,044	#3 above is extremely important. Keep it fair to all, the rules are there to govern the activities. Change rules only when necessary and through involvement with the owners (buy in to the changes). __________________ blmeanie email me at blmeanie Above link works for some email client programs but not all, email me at blmeanie33@earthlink.net

11-11-2003, 05:31 AM	#11
kq76 Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 12,037	Here's something: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...threadid=10831 __________________ My OOTP Wishlist \| My FAQ List OOTP Wiki \| Your Recommended Team Nicknames, By City (A Crowdsourced Project) For Beta/Devs: Full screen (1920x1080)

11-11-2003, 08:25 AM	#12
Crackerjack Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 362	Please update your main web page after each sim, unless your usubf those detested php.nuke sites (Blah). __________________ Cheers Bird WWW.CRACKERJACKBASEBALL.COM

11-11-2003, 09:09 AM	#13
Jason Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,855	Look on the forums for the leagues that are well respected among their peers. Contact their commissioners and ask for their advice or places they'd recommend you seek answers.

11-11-2003, 11:01 AM	#14
Raderick Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 2,737	Rule One - Don't Start a Chuck Knoblauch Thread. Learned first hand One of the first things I always look for in a league is if the league is fair and give each GM a chance at success. If you check ou the B9BL Owners Bill of Rights and the Code of Conduct. This is one of the simplier thins that can seperate the leagues that promote fairness and the leagues that can possibly have a cheating commissioner (in MFittterer's case). This doesn't mean however that those without a bill of rights or a code of conduct are cheating leagues. I know there are MANY leagus who didn't decide to follow track, but still are very good leagues. __________________

11-11-2003, 01:04 PM	#17
PrettyBoy34 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 50	is there any place that has a big thing on how to be a commish. That gives everything

11-11-2003, 09:52 PM	#18
aphoward Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 114	I've been looking for one for a while, that would be hugely helpful __________________ Cheers, Andrew Howard

11-11-2003, 10:39 PM	#19
phenom Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Near the Great Wall. On the GOOD side. Posts: 3,774	excellent information, folks. Keep it coming! __________________ reported

11-12-2003, 01:28 AM	#20
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith Ark. USA Posts: 2,681	Commissioner This is a section of the NPBL Constitution: II. Commissioner A. The Commissioner’s duties include: 1. Setting the league schedule; 2. Running the in-OotP game league; 3. Following owners’ management instructions; 4. Updating the league website; 5. Running drafts; 6. Resolving all disputes and questions; 7. Encouraging league participation; 8. Improving the league; 9. Filling ownership vacancies. __________________ JL Commish NPBL Rhode Island Reds ’33 ’34 ’35 TCBA San Francisco Railbornes ’74 ’76 ’77 ’78 FL New Orleans Black Sox ’56 ’57 ’58 ’59