[Why the Paperless Bloc Failed]

This is a very well thought out and well written analysis. It's limited in scope as others pointed out, but it's accurate within that scope. Nice job. =)

 

I agree with the evaluation of outcomes 1 vs 2. When I look at Arrgh, TEst and Roz Wei I see 3 groups of very good players who came together in to rally around a concept, and that concept defines who they are and why they play, which is different from why other people play. I believe this is where our disconnect comes from - Paperless looks at Syndisphere and says "you're all cowards who are afraid to lose" while we look back at them and say "It's called 'winning' you're just doing it wrong." But cowardice is not what drives Syndisphere to win, and Paperless is not doing it wrong. When I read people's comments in this context, suddenly both sides make perfect sense.

 

Personally, I respect, admire and enjoy the way Paperless plays. And I agree they're absolutely right when they say it's not their responsibility to fix this game. They shouldn't have to change their definition of winning just to make us lose by our definition of losing. Honestly, the burden is on us, the non-paperless. We need to figure out how to redefine winning without intentionally losing.