It seems that most people understand what is going on with the "rtc" accounts. But, there are skeptics out there, and I can't blame people for feeling like something shady is going on. Here is everything a person would ever need to know.
1.) I am Doyle McClellan, director of the Information Technology program at Rolla Technical Center. I first played Diplomacy in the 1980s and have long seen the benefits of incorporating it into the program.
2.) This is for the Negotiation Strategies & Techniques segment of the IT program. It is taught because information technology professionals often find themselves thrown into the middle of organizational rivalries where they must find a way to survive and become productive.
3.) We use the book, "The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator" for a text. The game makes a great companion to the coursework. It gives us plenty of common experiences to draw from. For example, I can tell people about "linkage effects" (the effects that one negotiated agreement can have on future negotiations). But, it means a lot more when we can discuss how Player-A was treated by Player-B after what he did in the last game.
4.) We have used multiple copies of the board game for years. This year, there are most students than normal, and they come at different times of day. The result is that we have to constantly reset the board, and it takes too much time. For the last few weeks, we have experimented with various computer-based solutions. But, we use both Windows and Linux machines, meaning it is easier to use a Web-based solution. Jdip didn't seem to do the trick, and I was very pleased to stumble across this site.
5.) While the department has both high school and adult students, all of these participants are in High School, 10th to 12th grades. As a result, I am bound to protect their privacy. That is one of the reasons for the "rtc..." naming convention. The other reason is to minimize confusion and make it easier for people to avoid the students if they desire. That is also why the "official" class games are locked. I didn't want anybody to accidentally stumble into one of our games and for the class to gang up for fun. I also didn't want to allow outsiders to participate in the games and potentially introduce inappropriate topics.
6.) I wouldn't be surprised to learn that several students become avid Diplomacy players. Some clearly have already. Hopefully, you will welcome the new blood into the community.
7.) I can't guarantee nobody will do anything bad. In any group of 30 new users, there will potentially be a percentage that don't respect the other members of the community. We discuss this in class, and I hope they all choose to act appropriately (those "linkage effects" again).
8.) Somebody made a suggestion that I should discuss the benefits of using Diplomacy in the negotiation class. The game is very helpful, as long as it is tied to curriculum that makes connections to what people experience. I actually prefer the board game, because it encourages far more discussion, body language, etc. But, the computer version is much easier to use (nobody messes with the board). Also, people don't take it as personally when we use the computer. In previous years, using the boards, some people in each class have taken things far to personally, and it has affected relationships.
9.) Several extra accounts were created. When people first signed up, they didn't realize how the point system worked. As a result, several accidentally set up high point value games and used up all of their points before we started the official games. Also, a number of extra games were created. This was caused when people jumped into the wrong games and then displaced others were supposed to be in them. Chalk it up as over-zealousness, combined with ignorance (a bad combination anywhere). In the end, it all worked out.
10.) Please, don't spam me. I am easy enough to find on the Web. If you are skeptical about the story, it is easy enough to check me and the program out.
Thanks,
Doyle
convoys and retreats
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