EDITED (1-15-2014) - The original idea for the X-wing Hall of Fame was to bring the community together to celebrate and thank members of our community. It was probably very naive of us think that the majority of the community would look at this as a good thing. Yes, there were flaws in the first post, and more information could have definitely been given. This is why we closed nominations to work on a more thorough description of the process, and to fix some errors.

However it quickly became apparent that no matter what we posted next, it could potentially ruin an otherwise wonderful community. Our desire to create something nice, ended up putting people at arms, and that was definitely NOT what we intended.

That being said, the HoF Committee has decided, in the best interest of the community, to end our plans for an X-wing Hall of Fame. If we have hurt or offended anyone along the way, please accept our humblest apologies. I only hope that this apology has not come too late.

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Please do not post nominations on this thread. Nominations are only being accepted on Facebook at the link below.

Attention all pilots around the globe, it’s time to fire up your targeting computers for the inaugural class of the X-Wing Hall of Fame!

First and foremost, World Champions and U.S. National Champions will be automatically inducted into the Hall of Fame. This means that the first three inductees this year will be Doug Kinney (WC 2012), Jacob Pichelmeyer (NC 2013), and Paul Heaver (WC 2013). So there is no reason to nominate them unless it is for a reason other than their championship wins.

So here is how the process is going to work. Head to the following link on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2014XwingMiniaturesHallOfFameNominations/) and nominate precisely three (3) individuals you feel are deserving of this prestigious honor. Please give us their real name (if you know it) and/or screen name (with the website they typically post to). Also, provide one sentence after each nominee describing the reason you are nominating them. If you nominate more than 3 people, all of your nominations will be void.

When making your respective nominations, ask yourself, does the individual display or exemplify the following characteristics?

Innovation of the game
• Squad Builder
• Creative designer (mission, artistic/repainter, etc.)
• Prolific and relevant forum contributor
• Supporting product design (star maps, tokens etc…)

Support of the game
• Tournament organizer
• Teacher of game mechanics & rules
• Competitive play record
• Etc.

These represent only a few reasons that people could be nominated. Please take time to carefully consider who you will nominate.

The X-Wing HoF committee, comprised of seven active and experienced X-wing players, will act as the keepers of the nominations and shall oversee the process of finalizing the HoF class of 2014. The nomination period will begin on January 14, 2014 and will be open for three weeks. The nomination period will close at 11:59pm on February 4, 2014, so be sure to get your votes in for your candidates by then.

We’re very excited about getting this rolling and are looking forward to see who you feel is worthy of being in the HoF.

It's a shame that you are only accepting submissions through Facebook.

I really wish you guys the best of luck with this project. It'll be interesting to see what the results are.

We tossed around the idea of opening up nominations to a few different sites, but we decided to use Facebook to help limit the number of nominations by a single user. We'll look at how the process this year and decide if we should change anything for next year.

Out of curiosity, is this an FFG approved entity, or is this a some guys who play X-Wing decided to go ahead and do this thing?

Id like to say what a great idea, im differently spreading the word, Im hoping FFG are on board.

A couple of points id like to raise

Why is the U.S. National Champion included and not National champions of other countries? It doesn't seem to match what your striving to create. On one hand your trying to drew the community of players together, while on the other hand giving American players an advantage.

Who is on the selection pannel and have they removed themselves from being selected?

There are likely more American players than any other. How many rounds or tourneys does an American have to go thru before being crowned? How about UK. How about Nordic? Not saying I agree, but I can understand the thought process.

Out of curiosity, is this an FFG approved entity, or is this a some guys who play X-Wing decided to go ahead and do this thing?

This is not an official FFG thing. This is a way for the community to recognize other players in the community.

Out of curiosity, is this an FFG approved entity, or is this a some guys who play X-Wing decided to go ahead and do this thing?

This is not an official FFG thing. This is a way for the community to recognize other players in the community.

Thanks. I do wonder if "Hall of Fame" is a bit self aggrandizing. Who are the HoF committee, and how were they selected / appointed?

A little more transparency would be good.

Out of curiosity, is this an FFG approved entity, or is this a some guys who play X-Wing decided to go ahead and do this thing?

This is not an official FFG thing. This is a way for the community to recognize other players in the community.

Thanks. I do wonder if "Hall of Fame" is a bit self aggrandizing. Who are the HoF committee, and how were they selected / appointed?

A little more transparency would be good.

Stay Tuned. More information is coming.

<sup>I don't want to be a damp squib but after having spent a number of hours considering this project, I want to ask a rather searching question about this entire endeavour. I'm posting this on Facebook, on FFG and on the BGG forum. The question is this... Is this good for our community?

At first glance, it obviously seems that it is. It's a way of rewarding people for their positive contributions to our lives. But...

Doug Kinney has pushed for Fly Casual to be the underlying way that we play our beloved game. When we Fly Casual, we play the game for fun and for community, not for prestige. We are a global real and online community and as a community there are some people with particular skill sets who come to the fore. You probably know the names I'm thinking of and I don't need to say them. And that's the point...

At most UK tourmanents now we have a Best Sport prize. Because of it, I find myself now being sporting not because I want to fly casual, but because I want the prize. I'm no longer flying casual, I'm flying selfish. We're a community who share what we have in terms of talents, skills and opinions. We do it because we love the game and love the community. As soon as you reward the sharing, though, you cheapen it. Future sharing will, for some at least, be a means to an end and not an end in itself. And that's where community starts to die.

So, as much as I originally liked this idea and as much as I certainly see the positive place where it came from, I think it may be misguided and potentially socially damaging. As a gaming community that has high-profile tournaments, clearly there will be winners and, for lack of a better word, losers. But when you go further and reward people for their contributions to the community by voting, you create people who are in and, by default, people who are out. That sets up a social tiering which also does not need to exist.

The long and short of it, then, is that I think that if we want to honour the people who have made a positive impact on our lives then we should do so by thanking them personally. That means no competition, no honours for people being who they are, no convoluted voting process, no unnamed panel of judges, no gradation of "most influential" or anything like that, just pure appreciation. That can be achieved in a simple BGG thread, and that's exactly what I'm going to set up now.

If you wish to continue with your Hall of Fame, feel free to take names from the list of people I appreciate and thank in my BGG thread.</sup>

^{I don't want to be a damp squib but after having spent a number of hours considering this project, I want to ask a rather searching question about this entire endeavour. I'm posting this on Facebook, on FFG and on the BGG forum. The question is this... Is this good for our community?}

At first glance, it obviously seems that it is. It's a way of rewarding people for their positive contributions to our lives. But...

Doug Kinney has pushed for Fly Casual to be the underlying way that we play our beloved game. When we Fly Casual, we play the game for fun and for community, not for prestige. We are a global real and online community and as a community there are some people with particular skill sets who come to the fore. You probably know the names I'm thinking of and I don't need to say them. And that's the point...

At most UK tourmanents now we have a Best Sport prize. Because of it, I find myself now being sporting not because I want to fly casual, but because I want the prize. I'm no longer flying casual, I'm flying selfish. We're a community who share what we have in terms of talents, skills and opinions. We do it because we love the game and love the community. As soon as you reward the sharing, though, you cheapen it. Future sharing will, for some at least, be a means to an end and not an end in itself. And that's where community starts to die.

So, as much as I originally liked this idea and as much as I certainly see the positive place where it came from, I think it may be misguided and potentially socially damaging. As a gaming community that has high-profile tournaments, clearly there will be winners and, for lack of a better word, losers. But when you go further and reward people for their contributions to the community by voting, you create people who are in and, by default, people who are out. That sets up a social tiering which also does not need to exist.

The long and short of it, then, is that I think that if we want to honour the people who have made a positive impact on our lives then we should do so by thanking them personally. That means no competition, no honours for people being who they are, no convoluted voting process, no unnamed panel of judges, no gradation of "most influential" or anything like that, just pure appreciation. That can be achieved in a simple BGG thread, and that's exactly what I'm going to set up now.

If you wish to continue with your Hall of Fame, feel free to take names from the list of people I appreciate and thank in my BGG thread.

I just wanted to add a +1 to this general idea. I've seen it have a bad effect on communities in the past. I very much appreciate all the things many people do for the community, but having a self-appointed committee, nominations, a vote... it feels political and just doesn't make me feel better about the great community we have seen so far. It may make some people feel good, but it will also make some people feel bad. Hope I'm wrong if you go through with it.

EDIT: For example, I hope the people who came up with this idea and who are on the committee are not eligible to be in the HoF in the foreseeable future... seems like a conflict of interest (see what I mean?).

Rodent got nominated. I agree with that.

I'd make my nominations but the fb page is closed.

Tusken Raider, FWIW I feel that you made the correct decision. Let the tournaments decide who is most skilled and simply provide a dedicated thread to publicly acknowledge the other major contributors to the game, the ones that play/participate/contribute for the love of the game. ^5

Neat idea, but the people on these forum don't know how much i demo this game to people, or how just last week i got 5 new players hooked. But to the other account, how do i know if person a or person b puts in the time to push and expand the community outside of the forums? I'm sure we all do our part to make this game great. do we really need to vote on it?

i know what the players here in KC work to do, but i have no idea about everyone else is what I'm getting at.

I saw the Star Wars Minis (WOTC) community go down this road, and while I am sure many felt it was fine and supportive, it created some ill will. Some will no doubt argue with me on that point, which I will say supports my contention. Good guys and gals, mind you, but good people can disagree.

Play the GAME, and remember its a game! It shouldn't be a lifetime achievement type endeavor.

I encourage people to go over to this thread and mention folks who really add to their appreciation for the game. Great idea Tusken_Raider!

http://boardgamegeek.com/article/14553662#14553662

I think a hall of fame should take a longer view than we have had a chance to witness yet.

The only person that I can think of that would qualify yet is Doug Kinney. Not because he was 2012 World Champion, but because his dedication to the game over the 2013 season (and beyond). It's a long term commitment that he has demonstrated. I'm sure other players have done similar, but I think we need some more time should pass to demonstrate a long term commitment to the game to be included in a "Hall of Fame"

The original idea for the X-wing Hall of Fame was to bring the community together to celebrate and thank members of our community. It was probably very naive of us think that the majority of the community would look at this as a good thing. Yes, there were flaws in the first post, and more information could have definitely been given. This is why we closed nominations to work on a more thorough description of the process, and to fix some errors.

However it quickly became apparent that no matter what we posted next, it could potentially ruin an otherwise wonderful community. Our desire to create something nice, ended up putting people at arms, and that was definitely NOT what we intended.

That being said, the HoF Committee has decided, in the best interest of the community, to end our plans for an X-wing Hall of Fame. If we have hurt or offended anyone along the way, please accept our humblest apologies. I only hope that this apology has not come too late.

Thanks for the update drkjedi35. I think the sentement was nice, and appreciate everyone's effort on the communities behalf. But, I think this is a good decision. Thanks again for trying to make the community better... I think it was still a success even if it was not in a way that was originally intended.

As a foot note to this whole affair, which I feel was good intended, if this was for the community, where was the community. By that I mean, I didn't see a forum with the concept posted, nor votes to see who would comprise the commitee. There was just a post by self appointed persons, with no official word from FFG, which would have held more sway in my view.

Possibly some people were thrilled with the idea, obviusly others were less so. As I said, good intentioned, but lacking the input of the community at its highest level.

Just some thoughts.. perhaps in the future, with better planning this could be a good thing, though I do agree with an earlier post, that it has potential to cause some discontent and division among some members..

As a foot note to this whole affair, which I feel was good intended, if this was for the community, where was the community. By that I mean, I didn't see a forum with the concept posted, nor votes to see who would comprise the commitee. There was just a post by self appointed persons, with no official word from FFG, which would have held more sway in my view.

Possibly some people were thrilled with the idea, obviusly others were less so. As I said, good intentioned, but lacking the input of the community at its highest level.

Just some thoughts.. perhaps in the future, with better planning this could be a good thing, though I do agree with an earlier post, that it has potential to cause some discontent and division among some members..

This was intended to be community members recognizing other community members. That is why it was started by community members and did not involve FFG.

There were threads posted all over the internet (FFG, BGG, AFM, TC, Reddit, Facebook) asking for volunteers to be a part of the HoF Committee. Some people volunteered...a lot didn't. We couldn't help that. We did the best that we could with what we had available. I think our reworded and edited process would have solved many of the issues, but in the end, we realized that it would have hurt the community rather than help it. So we ended it.

We were just some fellow players who wanted to do some good. Please understand that, and don't kick us while we're already down.

Ahh.. I never saw those threads.. well then, good effort then, that was one concern I had overall. Thanks for clarifying for me, much appreciated.

This and A Few Maneuvers are really the only forums I haunt, occasionally I sneak into BGG and check out something, but obviously missed those threads.

Ahh.. I never saw those threads..

link