rec.autos.simulators

People get burned out, tired of the abuse, discover a life away from
their computer screen, get married/divorced/remarried, run out of
funding (see previous item), get hit by buses, etc...

It's also almost a given that the really innovative and/or useful
sites, like those mentioned above, are going to be set up by 1 or 2
individuals and not a corporation or committee.  Along with a lot of
***or copy sites of course, but Darwin's laws will take care of
those...

However once they're established a vital service the sim community
and burnout is looming on the horizon it would nice if these guys had
the option of turning their baby over to a committee-like structure
such as FILSCA.  Then we'd have the best of worlds, innovative
websites developed independently and a more stable "share the
workload" organization to take it over when it looks like they could
be lost.

If even half of the exampled above were handed over to FILSCA to be
maintained, secured, and continue to evolve then I'd be willing to
pay them $5-10 a year for access..

Of course the developers would have to be willing to live with the loss
of control that handing it over truly means (I'm sure some would rather
close).

And FILSCA would have to get over the "we didn't build it
ourselves" thing.  I know, I know FILSCA is for leagues, but you
can't have leagues without drivers first..

Cheers

Phil Lee
RSC Administrator

Great to hear you'll be back soon Phil but I still think
burnout/closure is inevitable unless your support base is large enough
to be self sustaning, if it is, then you've already become a committee
;)

Hmmm, I'd never even heard of them until yesterday.  I went to their
website yesterday and didn't see any compelling reason for them to take
over anything.

Unfortunatly they don't seem to want to share how they work until after
you've joined.

<snip>

What filsca does do, however, is empower its own members to protect
simracing from the vultures that always circle around any 'sport' for
profit.

  That's a bit rich too; a bit to much self-importance being attributed to
sim racing.

    It seems there's as much competition off the track as there is on! :)
When they make a show of jealously like that you know you're on the right
track.

    I personally wish you a lot of luck with FILSCA. I don't see why anyone
should be threatened by you - you are both unique and overdue. Drivers can
go there and find a league taylor made for them. League admins can go there
and see how other leagues do things and learn from each other. I really look
forward to seeing you grow and develope into a valuable and exciting
resourse for all - who knows, you might even take over all of sim racing!
LOL.

"All your racing sims are belong to us"

--
Richard "ZZ" Busch

Member:
Screamers Racing League
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However, the script writers got a bit carried away IMHO with talks of moving
sim racing up to Quake match status with the associated prize money and the
recognition of our sport. Sim racing is a relative niche market compared to
online FPS.

Also announcing FILSCA as the first world sanctioning body for sim racing
suggests some authority and from where?

The "Federation International des Ligues des Simulateurs de Courses
Automobiles" will alienate more than a few for several reasons:

Firstly it is French which tells the Americans this is European run, and
tells the British that is er French... If it was in English it could be
perceived as a global initiative.

Secondly it sounds an awful like FIA or even FISA. Those more mature amongst
us will remember the FISA vs FOCA political wars which had nothing to do
with racing.

Thirdly if it is a sanctioning body how is this body elected to sanction
anything?

I am not against the concept and I am sure the guys put a lot of thankless
time in keeping this running, but I do think the mission statement is rather
grandiose and stacking sim racing up against competitive FPS playing is way
over optimistic.

Also I remember when Jack Rambo put together his "Nail the Track" series
with a view to developing a World series with the equivalent of motor racing
competition licenses for members back in 1999 with the conclusion that sim
racing was just too niche compared with Quake et al.

I am sure FILSCA means well but the days of professional sim racing drivers
seem way off to me...

Cheers
Tony

A few years ago I had the opportunity to look at their statutes and
charter shortly after they had their 'unveiling'. With such items as
requiring drivers in member leagues to recognize FILSCA as the "sole
authority over sim racing proper", and not allowing leagues to leave
FILSCA without approval of the management, and numerous other similar
gems, one can only guess what their intentions originally were.

This along with some of the rudeness displayed by some of FILSCA's
management never inspired much confidence in me. 'Poorly begun is hard
to salvage'. It's always seemed to me that they are trying to fix a
problem that doesn't exist. As a 'sanctioning body' they potentially
could end up being the problem.

Do I take it that non-FILSCA leagues are now outlaw leagues :-))))))?
DW