Hi, everyone. We're on the verge of releasing the brand new Gamesville, so everyone at GV HQ is feeling excited and a little wistful, too. Before we go back to the future, I wanted to take a moment to look at where we've been so we can better understand where we're headed. Our first stop: 1997!

Gamesville.com, v1 

Several Gamesvillers have written into customer service recently, asking us to reinstate the "three block rule" in chat. If you read this blog, you know chat is a very hot topic; that's one reason why the changes we made to the chat system recently were not made lightly. Let me explain:

When we first instituted the "three-block rule" in chat, we did so with the best of intentions, figuring that if three or more people in a room blocked the same player, we would do the entire room a favor by automatically blocking that player for everyone. The block was meant to be temporary, with the idea that the rude chatters would learn their lesson and act less boorish next time around.

What we discovered over time, however, is that most rude chatters won't change their behavior--and, worse, several overly clever players were routinely exploiting the three-block rule, using it to punish innocent players or players they just didn't like. For example, if Sue and Lou were having an argument, Sue would block Lou and then ask two of her friends to block Lou as well, preventing Lou from talking with the other people in the room.

When we upgraded our chat system earlier this month, we made two substantial changes: first, we removed the three-block rule so it could no longer be wielded as a weapon against other users who may not deserve it; and second, we made blocking permanent. That second change is very important. Now if you block someone, that username is blocked from communicating with you forever, unless you choose to unblock them. We also made a change to My Gamesville so you can see a full list of the users you've added to your block list. To see your full block list go to: http://www.gamesville.com/my_gv.php

As our distinguished competition will tell you, rude people in chat rooms on games sites are a fact of life; no matter where you go, there they are. The fairest thing any of us can do is give you powerful tools to prevent rude players from bothering you as an individual, and hope that you will tell your friends and new players how to block people they find offensive. Of course, if and when rude chatters are reported to us, we will investigate and take appropriate action; but the best, most direct course of action is to use the block button to kick the rude chatters out of your life.

Thanks again to everyone who wrote in on this topic; your comments and questions about chat, and everything else, are always appreciated and welcome.

PS: To cazadoes_az and everyone who wrote in or posted complaints about tournament players in chat: we're working on something now that should help address your concerns. More information on that soon.

PPS: It looks like the "reset" button will officially pressed next week; keep your eyes peeled for updates. 

Today, we had our first Magic 21 winner! Everyone, please congratulate Gamesviller "steve3265" of Jeffersonville, NY on his $1,765 win. Steve3265 has been with us since 1999, and he nearly fell out of his chair when he hit the jackpot today. We'll have an interview with him here next week, where we'll learn more about Steve3265 and more about his 42-year-old African parrot, Clancy. Stay tuned! 

Gina's Famous Guacamole was submitted to GamesVittles by Gamesviller "Ginagmc" of Tularosa, N.M.

Ginagmc says: "This guacamole will be very spicy if you follow the directions exactly. For a mild guacamole, cut down on the chiles and hot sauce. But I guarantee, if you bring this to a get together you'll go home with an empty bowl!"

 
Ingredients:

• 4 medium very ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and cut-up
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 small onion, minced
• 4 oz. can diced green chiles
• Several drops of hot sauce, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. snipped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tsp. salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 Tsp. pepper
• 1 large or 2 small serrano chiles, finely chopped
• 2 large or 3 small jalapeno chiles, finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato-peeled, chopped and seeded

1. Put avocados and lime juice in bowl. Mash until still partly chunky.
2. Add onion, green chiles, hot sauce, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper  serrano and jalapenos chiles. Stir until mixed well.
3. Add tomatoes, stir until just combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors combine.
4. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe to share with the Gamesville community?

Post it here! Please include:

•    your Gamesville member name
•    the complete recipe with ingredients and directions

If we use your joke as a feature article, you'll receive 200 GV Rewards!

Gamesviller "Beeboop224" of Dallas, TX, shares this joke:

Five surgeons are discussing who they think makes the best patient to operate on.

The first surgeon says, "I like to see accountants on my operating table, because when you open them up, everything is numbered."

The second surgeon responds, "Sure, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color-coded."
The third surgeon says, "Well, I think the file clerks are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order."

The fourth surgeon chimes in, "You know, I like construction workers. Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would."

But the fifth surgeon shuts them all up when he observes, "You're all wrong. Lawyers are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, and no spine, and the head and ass are interchangeable."

Have a joke you want to share with the Gamesville community?

Post it here--and please remember to include your Gamesville member name so we can credit the joke to you.

If we use your joke as a feature article, you'll receive 100 GV Rewards.

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Gamesville members LOVE their pets (and so do we). So when you guys send us pics of your pets, we're compelled--nay, almost obligated--to present them in this feature we like to call "Best Pets". Today's Best Pet comes all the way from Japan (!). Here's the scoop...

Pet Owner:
Gamesviller "Judy-iwai" of Yokosuka, Japan

Distinguishing personality traits:
Judy-iwai says: "I'm an American married to a wonderful Japanese man. I speak to my husband in English. He speaks to me in Japanese. Our dogs PJ and Vivian pay careful attention, so now they understand both languages as do our children and our bird!"

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

• your member name
• your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

If we publish your pet as a "best pet", we'll give you 200 GV Rewards.

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Gamesville will be getting a full-blown makeover soon, making a strong return to the fun, classic retro vibe we've become sort of famous for ... only better.

All of your favorite free Gamesville games will be here, and they'll be easier than ever to find. We'll also be bringing some new stuff, like daily trivia games, voting, and more. 

As part of this makeover, Gamesville's cash tournaments and subscription services from SkillJam will be replaced by a new cash competitions suite, powered by WorldWinner.

But why jaw about the new design when you can actually see it?

Please click the preview image on the left to see a larger version, and post your comments about the new look.

This makeover has been a real labor of love for us at Gamesville, and really helps set the ground for some exciting new things to come your way this year; so we hope you like it. 

Thanks for your patience and continued support; it means the world to us.

Sincerely,
Chris Cummings
Manager, Gamesville.com

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who reported the issue with My Gamesville not tracking your friends' locations correctly. This issue has been resolved. If you see any other weirdness, please let us know.

- - - - - - - 

Last night, we launched several enhancements to our platform (the first of many), and I wanted to draw your attention to two of them.

First, we have a new sign in page, which looks like this:

Second, and perhaps more importantly, we have upgraded the "block user" functionality in our chat and connected it to My Gamesville so you more easily prevent certain members from communicating with you in chat. 

In chat, click the user you want to block and select the "Block from Chat" option. This will prevent that user from sending you chat messages in this game and any other games on Gamesville, until you choose to unblock them. Alternatively, you can block users who are not online or not in the same chat room with you by going to My Gamesville.

In My Gamesville, the "Blocked Users" list is located beneath the "Add Friends" list.  Type the username of the player you wish to block into the field provided, then click the "Block User" button. To unblock users, click the "Remove" link beside their username.

Please note that this won't prevent other players from finding you by, for example, looking through rooms to find you. But it will make it more difficult to communicate with you and hopefully make the experience on Gamesville more enjoyable for everyone.

As always, please let us know what you think of these changes so we know how we're doing and what you'd like to see next.

 Thanks,

 Chris