Not that the game is in the media's eye, but can you imagine the headlines for the Magic: the Gathering Grand Prix Shooting of 20XX? Everyone who knew nothing of the game would see it how ever newspapers painted it, and WotC would likely take a hit in business. Any PR is good PR, but a bad rep is hard to shake.
By volume, most legacy staples are worth more than $20 bills. People should realize this and treat them as such. We're closing in on the threshold where it's more efficient for bank robbers to target a legacy tournament instead of a bank. I mean, there's zero security, and the goods are worth more than their weight in cash.
I completely disagree. I would feel completely safe with any number of responsible, law-abiding, permit-carrying gun owners at any venue that I go to.Originally Posted by Hopo
@Solaran_X- Thank you and I support your choice.
Uhm no, sorry. I did mandatory military service and I don't want people carrying guns in the civil life in my social chambers. Especially where I'm going to play a game such as Magic. I'd rather worry about thieves than people with guns and their egos.
There are so many responsible gun owners that carry and you wouldn't know they are carrying until they pull their firearm to protect themselves and possibly you.
There is a saying that I like to use, it goes "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Just a thought.
Sorry for the derail.
Yeah, but someone who boasts online about carrying a glock to dissuade would-be thieves is not what I would consider responsible.
Skizzik No Kicker. Like a true retard.
What's to stop the gn being stolen and the place shot up? Yeah, corner case, but no guns, I live. If there's guns, there's a chance I could die. And oh, by the way, these people being encouraged to bring guns, what if they do? And what if they don't get training? What if a theif tries to steal his bag? What if he shoots and kills the theif, oh and accidently shoots some innocent bystander?
This isn't the point. The whole point of the thread is what TO's or WotC should do if they feel people aren't attending tournaments solely based on not feeling safe. Not about how to protect yourself or whether or not the person who leaves his/her stuff unattended deserves to get robbed.
Still no. Without further derail I support the "no carrying" policy in big events and I also agree with the idea that TOs can take more responsibility to create an atmoshpere of trust even though they are not obliged to.
Having stated those I'm taking my leave from this thread because it's taking strange turns away from gaming and community issues.
Considering I have been warned by moderators on this forum for criticizing someone's cards for being un-pimp, I'm pretty surprised that this thread (and the crazy statements re: guns) gets to run utterly unmoderated.
TheSource - WTF!?
mtgpimp
What the fuck do guns solve?
The problem isn't generally that thieves are caught mid-steal and get away because there was no John Wayne wannabe there to unnecessarily escalate things. It's that there's no reasonable security at tournaments and people get their shit stolen when they blink or turn their back for a second.
As for the cases like in Baltimore, where people are assaulted when alone, a gun probably isn't going to help you. Either you're ambushed and don't have time to use a gun in any sort of safe and controlled manner, or you walk around paranoid and ready to fire.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1332756.html
Magic players are already worried about thieves; we don't also need to worry about paranoid idiots with deadly weapons.
And even if Mr. Rambo over there WAS there when my cards were stolen, guess what? I wouldn't want him to kill the thief. It's not fucking worth it.
Crazy motherfuckers.
Early one morning while making the round,
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down;
I went right home and I went to bed,
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head.
You are one ignorant stubborn bitter dude. Let me make it really really clear
- Cheating at a WotC owned and run game = WotC business
- Stealing shit = Police business
How can you make a statement like the above? You are comparing actual crime with brainstorming for 4. Just colossal ignorance of the law.
That's why there's no such thing as private security that tens of thousands of businesses all over the country certainly don't spend their money on for the good of their clientele.
That would just be ignorant.
Early one morning while making the round,
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down;
I went right home and I went to bed,
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head.
To get this thread back on track:
Security is too expensive. Magic is a low rent game. This isn't the WSOP with $20,000,000 on the line hosted in a Vegas Casino. This is a $5K in a Civic Center.
What 'clientele' are you talking about? Have you been to a SCG? It's $25 a head and then there's twice as many people who didn't pay a dime who are just wandering around the ball room trading (and apparently stealing shit).
Ding ding ding! We have an accidental winner folks.
The clientele in this case would be the people paying money. That's generally what that means. So how hard would it be for SCG to set up sign-in outside the doors and only let people in if they've registered at the tournament?
Early one morning while making the round,
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down;
I went right home and I went to bed,
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head.
I think they need to actually have security at the entrances, plain and simple. Even if it's just people with walkie-talkies to shut the doors in case of an incident, or someone to hold someone who's running away after grabbing a bag, that's better than nothing. You're not going to catch sly thieves who steal one deck box then walk out of the convention hall. But, at least it'll make the thieves think twice.
-Matt
I'm not sure if it's state law or federal, but around here it's felony grand theft if your take exceeds $500. I've heard of people getting five years in jail for stealing things like televisions. Spatula and IBA are not talking about the supermarket attitude of weighing the costs of security and prosecution against the value of, say, two loaves of Wonderbread. Almost every deck I've registered in a Legacy tournament (shit, half the ones I've ever run at FNM) was worth more than my first car--and that's just in monetary terms.
To contribute to the discussion IBA originally incited; it actually helped a lot imho at Grand Prix-Colombus 2010 when the vendors were up on this wide balcony ringing the playing area. You stayed downstairs to play in events, but it was more convenient for everyone if trading and shopping and such took place upstairs.
When we run Erie Days of Gaming every year, we have the vendors in a room adjacent to the play space for this very reason; it has the practical application of people not clogging the play area with the foot traffic and inattention of nerds goggling at sweet stuff, but it also prevents the confusion and other crowd-related mess that makes theft simple to perform and hard to correct.
I really liked the way GP-Colombus had the vendors on the balcony; within an easy line of sight, but cordoned off by height and a retaining wall. Has anyone seen a different/better method?
Whether it's to our benefit or deficit I have no idea, but in Lincoln Nebraska pretty much all of our social venues - from hobby stores to restaurants to banks - are required by law to explicitly state whether or not you can carry. So telling everyone to start bringing weapons to tourneys is pretty useless in my area, since just about every family oriented business has a "Check Your Iron" message posted near the main entrance.
Blaming the victim is only warranted in situations of excessive stupidity; people with no compunction about stealing are going to steal, and it will not matter what level of precaution you take. The responsibility of the outcome of such a person's decisions should be entirely on that individual; consider the corollary, do we pat people on the back and give them gold stars for being honest folk when someone DOES leave their Magic cards sitting out and they don't disappear? This isn't physics, action and reaction are not necessarily equal and opposite in a social venue. Insinuation and inference are not necessarily related. At the risk of derailing, the girl in the short skirt isn't "asking for it" - neither is the person who turns his back on his cards for a second. It might be the wrong play, but it's not illegal. Stealing is illegal.
It would be extremely nice if tournament organizers would do a little extra to make personal accountability easier.
Well, it's somewhat hard to be done in the sense there usually are a lot of trades going on, but there could be a checklist for bigger materials (like boxes and cases and backpacks) upon entrance and leaving the tourney rooms, and you'd just need 1 person to check if it's all right. Dunno if it's a practical idea, tho...
If you fail to explain the reason behind your choice, technically, it's the wrong choice.
Zerk Thread -- Really, fun deck! ^^
Don't want your backpack stolen? Don't bring it.
You take the risk that you could lose your property anywhere you go. Thinking that the TO is responsible is childish. If a TO wants to step up security, that's great, but I think it's a bit whiney to call the current level unacceptable.
TIME POLICE
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Reply With Quote