Regarding your long-awaited proof:
"Meanwhile, many amateur leagues, such as the American Poolplayers Association (APA) / Canadian Poolplayers Association (CPA), and the Valley National Eight-ball Association (VNEA, international in scope despite its historic name), use their own rulesets (most of them at least loosely based on the WPA/BCA version),
while millions of individuals play informally using colloquial rules which vary not only from area to area but even from venue to venue."
Taken from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-ball
Why do you have a problem with me speaking in the name of other authors as well? The name "Poolkillers" says for itself we act as a group.
Our rules may seem complex to you comparing to the official ones, but it was a damn difficult job to balance it all out and not to leave gaps for exploitation. Don't worry, casual players will only have to adapt to several smaller differences, most of it is pretty much identical.
If we wanted to write a golf manual, I guess we would have to check out the rules first. I'm not aware of any major unofficial golf communities, so there should be only one possible way to make that kind of guide. Situation in 8 Ball is obviously different.
And do you actually think we'd put so much work in this guide just to troll on forums? And you say we're the ones simple minded...
I understand that you spent a lot of time making this guide- I really do and I sympathize. I also understand why you are trying to defend it in the face of adversity.
The problem is that your guide has so many holes, is so badly written, is using images of people illegally, and describes incorrect techniques.
I am telling you this as a friend.
The whole basis of your argument is that the guide is written for people who just play pool for fun. I understand that and I understand the need for people to feel like they are making a change in the world.
The problem is that you are basing this whole guide off the fact that most people who play pool to have fun care about your guide or your rules.
Now comes the sticking point:
The fact that the people you wrote the guide for don't care enough to learn more and get better at the game makes the whole thing a catch 22.
No one that doesnt care about pool will read your guide that you spent so much time making. The people who do care enough to learn will think it is stupid because it favors those who have absolutely no skill.
In the end the only people that will read the guide are those who wrote it and those who are already knowledgeable about pool.
Because you wrote it you can bask in the glory that you finished the project and published it to the internet. In the end you won't succeed in convincing anyone on this site about its validity and you will be left thinking we are all wrong and you are the only right one.
There is a psychological explanation for your lack of understanding in the face of our logic however.
I truly believe that you are a narcissist. Now I do not make this statement lightly because it is a true psychological disorder.
Here is a definition of a narcissistic person:
'Narcissism is a group of Personality Disorders in which are a person's long-term (chronic) behaviors, emotions, and thoughts are very different from their culture's expectations and cause serious problems with relationships and work (U.S. National Library of Medicine). '
'Narcissistic personality disorder can be diagnosed when a person has an inflated sense of self-importance coupled with a lack of empathy for others. Individuals with this disorder tend to display an exaggerated sense of their own importance and abilities and tend to fantasize about them. Such persons also have a sense of entitlement, expecting (and taking for granted) special treatment and concessions from others. Paradoxically, individuals with narcissistic personality disorder are generally very insecure and suffer from low self-esteem. (Encyclopedia of mental Disorders)'
Now let me apply that definition to your own sense of being and the guide you have written.
You wrongly think that the way millions of people have played and taught pool for centuries is incorrect. You also believe that many people will read and adopt the rules in your guide.
You do not understand, brush off, ignore, or try to make up logic to counter valid arguments.
While I do not know the extent of your disorder I do not believe that you do well in school. I would venture to say that in most of your classes you believe you know more than the teacher. I also wouldn't be surprised if you dropped out of highschool or didn't go to college.
The fact alone that you took the time with some friends to fantasize and spread the word of your 'knowledge' about pool shows your inability to accept reality.
Now let me help you with your disorder a bit. I believe that you spend your life trying to re-live whatever went wrong at a particular time in your personality development. This event could be a divorce of your parents or it could be a feeling of worthlessness brought on by verbal abuse as a child.
You feel like you need to be something different in order to be loved. This is known as “narcissistic injury” and it devastates the emerging “self.”
You try to compensate for shortcomings by creating a special self – a person who will be loved and admired by all.
Anyone who challenges this false reality you try to put down and you pride your ability to stand by the false reality in the face of adversity.
The problem with people who have this disorder is that they are very hard to treat or even convince they have a problem because they live in a false reality.
Sorry for the long winded post but I thought it needed seeing how he has responded so far.
