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     3 <!-- Mirrored from users.eniinternet.com/bradleym/InternetGo.html by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2014], Sun, 06 Nov 2022 06:49:09 GMT -->
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     4 <head>
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     5 <title></title>
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     6 </head>
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     7 <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">
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     8 
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     9 <p><hr>
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    10 
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    11 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2"><font color="#0066ff">
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    12 <p><strong>HOW TO PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</strong></font>
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    13 
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    14 <p>© 2006 Milton N. Bradley
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    15 
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    16 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
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    17 <p align="center"><strong>NEVER HAVE TROUBLE FINDING AN OPPONENT! </strong>
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    18 
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    19 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
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    20 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+3">PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</font></strong>
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    21 
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    22 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+1">24 HRS/DAY</strong></font>
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    23 
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    24 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+1">EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR</strong></font>
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    25 
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    26 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
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    27 <p><strong>WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</strong>
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    28 
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    29 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
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    30 <p>Technology continues to advance at a furious pace! In addition to the "dial up" telephone/modem
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    31 based system described below that was the only thing widely available only a year or two ago,
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    32 there are now vastly faster alternatives. Among these are cable modems and DSL (Digital
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    33 Subscriber Line), and by the time that you read this who knows what else? But these newer
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    34 alternatives are typically much more expensive than the dial up modem based system and some
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    35 have the security disadvantage of being perpetually connected to the internet where "hackers"
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    36 can then have the opportunity to penetrate and compromise your computer! In addition, higher
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    37 line speed has almost no payoff in playing or watching Go because the players' thinking time is
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    38 orders of magnitude greater! 
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    39 
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    40 <p>The well established dial-up system now in wide use consists of the following elements:
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    41 
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    42 <p><p><OL >
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    43 
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    44 <p><strong><p><li>COMPUTER, MONITOR, VIDEO CARD, SOUND CARD, AND MODEM.</strong>
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    45 
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    46 <p>Almost every new computer sold today already comes adequately equipped, and you already
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    47 have them all if you're reading this! Better video cards, sound cards and bigger monitors with
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    48 higher resolution will increase your playing pleasure, but faster CPU's and modems offer no
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    49 advantage in playing Go on line!
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    50 
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    51 <p><strong><p><li>TELEPHONE LINE</strong>
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    52 
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    53 <p>Your regular telephone line will work fine but will be unavailable for calls while you're on the
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    54 internet, so obtaining a dedicated line is best if you can afford it!
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    55 
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    56 <p>CAUTION: If you use your normal home phone line to play Go, you MUST disable such add-on
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    57 functions as Call Waiting while you are playing on-line, or they may mess up your internet
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    58 access!
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    59 
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    60 <p>Since the average internet Go game takes about 60-90 minutes, playing Go on line using ordinary
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    61 telephone company protocols can become expensive, especially if your ISP access number (see
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    62 below) is not in your local dialing area. The solution is to obtain "unlimited local" and even
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    63 "unlimited regional" telephone service. With these you pay the same flat fee no matter where
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    64 your ISP is located or how long you stay on line!!
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    65 
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    66 <p><strong><p><li>"INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER" (ISP)</strong>
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    67 
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    68 <p>Although you also already have an ISP if you're reading this, it is important to realize that many
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    69 services charge by the hour for internet access, and this can become VERY EXPENSIVE if
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    70 you're playing Go. Far cheaper is to contract with a local or national ISP for an UNLIMITED
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    71 INTERNET ACCESS ACCOUNT, preferably PPP or faster ("shell" accounts are <u>not</u> adequate).
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    72 On Long Island such service typically can be obtained for under $20/month, and some ISP's
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    73 charge as little as $15/mo on a yearly basis and about $10/mo for 3 years paid in advance! So
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    74 shop around for the best deal!
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    75 
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    76 <p><strong><p><li>THE GO SERVERS</strong>
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    77 
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    78 <p>On any of the several Internet Go Servers listed below you can:
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    79 
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    80 <p><p><UL><li> <strong>Watch the games of strong players.</strong> (Some special events are available only on
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    81 IGS.)
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    82 
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    83 <p><p><li> <strong>See comments on those games by other players, ask questions, and/or make your
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    84 own comments (= kibitz).</strong>
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    85 
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    86 <p><p><li> <strong>Play your own games.</strong> On the sites accessed via"client" software (described below)
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    87 these games can be saved for your own replay later and/or used to participate in the free Go
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    88 Teaching Ladder (GTL),in which a much stronger player critiques your play. Using GTL you can
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    89 also review the analyses of the games of stronger players.
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    90 
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    91 <p><p><li> <strong>Participate in the free Go Mentor Program</strong>, in which you play a teaching game with
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    92 a much stronger player who then critiques your play.
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    93 
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    94 <p><p><li> <strong>Make Go friends all over the world. </UL></strong>
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    95 
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    96 <p><strong><p><OL type=A><li> BROWSER ACCESSED GO SERVERS</strong>
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    97 
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    98 <p>Until recently, the only way to play Go on the internet was via dedicated Go servers, using
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    99 special software called "clients"(described below), but that has changed! It is now possible to
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   100 play and watch Go on the internet directly through your browser (mainly The Microsoft Internet
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   101 Explorer and Netscape Navigator), if it has Java capability.
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   102 
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   103 <p>Getting started is much simpler in this mode, since all that you need do is to access the site
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   104 through your browser, register (in most cases, "cookies" must be enabled to do this!), and then
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   105 follow the on line instructions they provide for playing and watching
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   106 
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   107 <p>The major problem with all of these browser accessed sites is that there is no rating system, so
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   108 you never really know the strength of your opponent or the players you are observing! And in
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   109 some cases, as with Yahoo, the display only provides for a small board, which even on my quite
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   110 large 19" screen is still only a mere 5"x 5", and must be much smaller on the 15" or 17" screen
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   111 that most have. Once you have gotten used to the 8" x 8" display provided by the "client"
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   112 software, it's hard to go back! And the move sound provided by these servers is also not nearly
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   113 as realistic or audible.
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   114 
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   115 <p>There are also a number of other "goodies" available on the client accessed sites we discuss next
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   116 that a serious Go player will miss on these browser accessed sites, but for the beginner who just
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   117 wishes to experiment with Go the ease of getting started on the browser sites more than makes up
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   118 for this.  
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   119 
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   120 <p><strong>The major browser based Go sites are:</strong>
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   121 
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   122 <p><strong><UL><p> KGS => <a href="http://kgs.kiseido.com/">http:kgs.kiseido.com</a></strong>
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   123 
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   124 <p><strong><p> Yahoo =><a href="http://games.yahoo.com/">http://games.yahoo.com</a></strong>
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   125 
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   126 <p><strong><p> Internet Gaming Zone => <a href="http://zone.msn.com/go/">http://zone.msn.com/go/</a></strong>
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   127 
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   128 <p><strong><p> IYT => <a href="http://www.itsyourturn.com/">http://www.itsyourturn.com/</a> </UL></strong>
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   129 
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   130 <p>Its Your Turn (IYT) differs from the others because it's  a "turn-based" game  site. What this
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   131 means is that you make one move and the system then automatically e-mails your opponent
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   132 letting them know it's their turn to play. So IYT is really a correspondence (rather than real time)
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   133 site, and this means that games can take weeks or months to play. The result is that IYT is  really
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   134 suitable only for those whose time for Go is severely limited. 
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   135 
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   136 <p>The IYT Go Guild maintains a list of Go players on IYT and their relative strengths, to help find
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   137 opponents against whom you can play properly handicapped games.  It also runs Go
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   138 tournaments.
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   139 
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   140 <p><strong><p><li> "CLIENT" ACCESSED GO SERVERS</strong>
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   141 
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   142 <p>Getting started in this mode  is much more complicated than simply using your browser, because
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   143 you must first download and install a "client" software program, but the advantages of having a
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   144 much better display, a rating system, clocks, ability to save games for later review, and especially
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   145 being able to observe the world's strongest players in action much more than makes up for any
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   146 extra initial effort!  For anyone who is at all serious about Go, this is the only way! 
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   147 
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   148 <p><strong>The major client based Go sites are:</strong>
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   149 
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   150 <p><strong><UL><p> The Internet Go Server (IGS) </strong> is not only the oldest server but also by far the
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   151 largest with over 30,000 registered players, and at any time typically has about 250-400 games in
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   152 play! It attracts the strongest players in the world including a number of 9-Dan professionals,
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   153 some of whom play anonymously. Although formerly based in Korea and now based in Japan,
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   154 the default language on IGS is English, which is used with rather surprising fluency by players
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   155 from all over the world. The ratings on IGS were long the toughest in the world, but have recently seen that 
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   156 position supplanted by some of the Chinese and Korean servers.
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   157 
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   158 <p><strong> <p> The No Name Go Server (NNGS) </strong> is much smaller than IGS and supposedly has a more
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   159 friendly, less competitive atmosphere which some prefer. Its ratings are reported to be about 2
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   160 stones less rigorous than those of IGS. 
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   161 
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   162 <p><strong><p> The other Go servers</strong> are mainly ethnic (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) or national (Canadian,
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   163 English, Polish, etc.), and at one time attracted few players outside their own groups. But KGS in
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   164 particular has become rather popular recently, especially as a result of sponsoring some unique
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   165 events.  Its realignment of ratings at the end of 2005 has resulted in a downgrade of its ratings by a full 5 stones, 
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   166 with the result that its ratings are now that same 5 stones stronger than those of the AGA! So, once again, it has 
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   167 become necessary to be careful to ascertain where a new player you encounter has established the rating he quotes, because 
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   168 otherwise the results could be embarrassing! Despite this, IGS is still the place where most of the major championship events which appear on
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   169 the internet are available, so it still remains #1. </UL>
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   170 
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   171 <p><strong><p><li> PREPARING TO USE A "CLIENT" BASED GO SERVER.</strong>
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   172 
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   173 <p><strong><p><OL type=1><li> Obtaining and installing a "client"</strong> (= A "shareware" program that
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   174 enables you to dial up the Go servers and play Go using beautiful representations of the Go board
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   175 and stones.) To obtain a client:
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   176 
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   177 <p><strong> <OL type=a><p><li> Type ftp://ftp.nuri.net/Go <ENTER></strong>
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   178 
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   179 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "README" to read the README file!</strong>
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   180 
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   181 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "igs clients/"</strong>
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   182 
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   183 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the icon for your computer system (Win98, Mac, etc.).</strong>
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   184 
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   185 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "select client".</strong>
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   186 
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   187 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the client you desire to download. </strong>
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   188 
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   189 <p><strong> <p><li> Download and install the selected client on your computer. </strong>
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   190 
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   191 <p><strong>     <OL type=1><p><li> Create a master folder (mine is called "Go") and an appropriately
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   192 named sub-folder for each client in an appropriate directory in your computer. </strong>
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   193 
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   194 <p><strong>     <p><li> Find the downloaded client program (usually automatically entered into your     
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   195                  "Program Files" folder in a Windows system).</strong>
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   196 
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   197 <p><strong>     <p><li> Decompress the download and install it into its sub-folder in the Go folder.</strong>
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   198 
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   199 <p><strong>     <p><li> Find the .exe file in that sub-folder and right click on it to create a shortcut
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   200 icon, then place that icon onto your desktop for easy routine access.</strong>  
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   201 
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   202 <p>Because these "clients" are shareware they are nominally FREE, but they usually contain
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   203 periodic annoying "pop up" registration reminder messages which can only be disabled by
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   204 registering each with its respective author and paying his nominal registration fee (usually about
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   205 $25-$30). This is not only advisable but more than fair, since a great deal of time and
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   206 sophisticated programming effort was expended to create these programs. So once you've
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   207 decided that you like a particular client and intend to keep using it, register it ASAP.
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   208 
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   209 <p>An important advantage of using a client is its ability to save games in Smart Go Format (sgf),
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   210 for later replay, editing, analysis and print out. If you use WinIGC as your client (as I do) this
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   211 replay function is performed by a dedicated program called WinMGT, which is downloaded in
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   212 exactly the same way from the same site! And all games saved in WinIGC are automatically and
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   213 instantly available to WinMGT if both sub-folders have been placed in the Go folder.
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   214 </OL></OL>
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   215 
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   216 <p><strong><p><li> USING A CLIENT TO ACCESS A GO SERVER</strong>
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   217 
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   218 <p>These instructions are for the client WinIGC 1.00. To the extent that other clients differ from this
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   219 you may have to experiment a bit or use your client's "help" file to figure out exactly what to do.
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   220 
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   221 <p><strong> <OL type=A><p><li> Initial Access </strong>
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   222 
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   223 <p><strong>    <OL type=1><p><li> Set up your client.</strong>
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   224 
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   225 <p><strong>       <Ol type=a><p><li> Start the client by double clicking on its desktop shortcut icon.</strong>
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   226 (You do NOT have tostart or use your web browser to do this!)<strong></strong>
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   227 
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   228 <p><strong>       <p><li> Maximize the Terminal Window and click on "Connect" on the tool bar at its
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   229 top</strong>.
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   230 
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   231 <p><strong>       <p><li> Click on "Connect to a Server" </strong>to bring up the address book.
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   232 
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   233 <p><strong>       <p><li> Click on "Add" in the pop up dialogue box.</strong>
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   234 
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   235 <p><strong>       <p><li> Enter the telnet addresses (and alternates, where available) for all the Go
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   236 Servers to which you desire to connect. (See list below.) </strong>The numeric form of the address is      
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   237  preferred because it gives faster access. 
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   238 
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   239 <p>In all cases access can <u>only</u> be obtained if the specified port # has been entered as shown below,
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   240 and these addresses need be entered only once.<strong></strong>
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   241 
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   242 <p>You will not yet have the data to enter into the first two fields "Login Name" and "Password",
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   243 because you can obtain that information <u>only</u> after you have contacted the servers and registered
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   244 with them! So for the moment simply leave those two fields blank!
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   245 
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   246 <p><strong>The major Go server addresses are:</strong>
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   247 
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   248 <p><strong> <UL><p><li>  IGS  =  igs.joyjoy.net 6969 , or</strong>
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   249 
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   250 <p><strong>                                    =  210.146.253.13 6969  (Alternate Port # = 7777), or</strong>
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   251 
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   252 <p><strong>                                     = 210.146.353.10 6969  (Alternate Port # = 7777)</strong>
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   253 
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   254 <p><strong> <p><li>           NNGS = nngs.cosmic.org 9696, or</strong>
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   255 
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   256 <p><strong>                                      = 198.36.217.71 9696  </strong>
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   257 
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   258 <p><strong> <p><li>            LGS  =  lgs.hinet.net 9696</strong>
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   259 
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   260 <p><strong>                                     =  210.65.1.245 9696</strong>
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   261 
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   262 <p><strong> <p><li>            CTN  =  weiqi.online.sh.cn 8888</strong>
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   263 
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   264 <p><strong>                                     =  202.96.217.81 8888</strong>
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   265 
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   266 <p><strong> <p><li>           WING =  wing.gr.jp 1515</strong>
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   267 
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   268 <p><strong> <p><li>            CWS  =  cws.weiqi.net 9696</strong>
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   269 
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   270 <p><strong>                                      =  202.98.15.15 9696 </UL></strong>
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   271 
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   272 <p><strong>        <p><li> Left click to highlight the desired server address.</strong>
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   273 
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   274 <p><strong>        <p><li> Click on "Connect!" in the right side tool bar to connect to that Go server.</strong> If
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   275 you haven't already connected to your ISP, this will first do that automatically.
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   276 
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   277 <p><strong>       <p><li> Log in as "guest".</strong> 
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   278 
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   279 <p>          WinIGC automatically enters "guest" when you connect to IGS for the first time. With        
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   280            another client or for a different server you may have to enter "guest" yourself. (No              
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   281            password is necessary for guests.) 
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   282 
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   283 <p><strong>        <p><li> Register.</strong>
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   284 
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   285 <p>           Each time you contact a server as a guest you will be prompted to register as a permanent   
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   286            member of their Go community by simply following the instructions they provide. Since    
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   287            all servers are free outside of Japan (and only IGS charges there) and registration is             
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   288            necessary if you desire to obtain a rating and use all of the server's facilities, there's no      
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   289            reason not to do so!
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   290 
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   291 <p><strong>           <OL type=1><p><li> Select a user name.</strong> (If the name you select is already assigned,
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   292 you will be prompted to choose another. For example, my main IGS account name is
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   293 "philonist".)
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   294 
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   295 <p><strong>            <p><li> You will be logged in and your assigned password will be emailed to you
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   296 within a few  hours. </strong>
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   297 
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   298 <p><strong>        <p><li> When you receive that email, enter your user name and password into the        
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   299                        appropriate fields to complete your client's "connect" address book.</strong>
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   300 
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   301 <p>             If you neglect to do this, you will have to manually reenter both of these items every        
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   302              time you log on! </OL></OL></OL>
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   303 
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   304 <p><strong> <p><li> Routine access.</strong>
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   305 
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   306 <p><strong>   Once your server address book is completed, just:</strong>
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   307 
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   308 <p><strong>     <OL type=1><p><li> Double Click on your client's desktop shortcut to start it.</strong>
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   309 
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   310 <p><strong>     <p><li> Click on "connect" in the terminal window.</strong>
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   311 
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   312 <p><strong>     <p><li> Click on "Connect to a server".</strong>
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   313 
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   314 <p><strong>     <p><li> Click on the desired server's address in the pop up box to highlight it.</strong>
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   315 
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   316 <p><strong>      <p><li> Click on the "Connect!" button! </OL></strong>
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   317 
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   318 <p><strong>  WinIGC then does the dial up, connect and sign-in automatically!</strong>
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   319 
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   320 <p><strong><p><li> HOW TO PLAY GO ON THE CLIENT BASED GO SERVERS</strong>
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   321 
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   322 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Download the server's commands</strong>.
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   323 
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   324 <p>     <Ol type=a><p><li> <strong>Type "help commands" <Enter> to see the list.</strong>
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   325 
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   326 <p>      <p><li> <strong>For each command of interest, use the "mail me" command to have its
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   327 description emailed to you.</strong>
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   328 
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   329 <p>      <p><li> <strong>Download the email attachment, print it, and put it in a loose leaf binder next
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   330 to your computer for quick, easy reference as needed.</strong> </OL>
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   331 
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   332 <p><strong> <p><li> Use the appropriate commands to watch others play, kibitz, converse, and to
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   333 arrange and play your own games.</strong>
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   334 
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   335 <p><strong> <p><li> Playing your own games.</strong>
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   336 
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   337 <p><strong>     <OL type=a><p><li> Before playing your first game, it is advisable to declare a RANK</strong>,
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   338 if you know your approximate playing strength. CAUTION! On IGS most ratings are at least
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   339 several stones stronger than those of the AGA! (Until recently I had believed that the difference was 2 stones,
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   340 but on Jan 26, 2006 I discovered that a well established AGA 2 Dan and 3 Dan were each 2k* on IGS, which implies, 
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   341 at least at that level, that the difference is actually as much as 4 or 5 stones!)
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   342 
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   343 <p> This same sort of ranking disparity exists across national,regional and internet Go server ranks, and has been
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   344 (approximately) cataloged at the following web site: 
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   345 
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   346 <strong><a href="http://senseis.xmp.net/?RankWorldwideComparison">//senseis.xmp.net/?RankWorldwideComparison</a></strong>
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   347 
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   348 <p>But please note that this table shows only a 2 stone disparity between AGA and IGS ratings, as opposed to the approximately
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   349 4 stones my example cited above implies, so these figures should be applied with caution!
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   350 
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   351 <p><strong>      <p><li> If you have no idea of your approximate RANK, you can play as a non-rated
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   352 (NR) player</strong>, but if you do so there will be 2 penalties: 
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   353 
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   354 <p>         <OL type=1><p><li> Most rated players will NOT play with you.
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   355 
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   356 <p>         <p><li> None of your games will count toward obtaining a RATING.
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   357 
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   358 <p>          So, sooner or later, you will <u>have</u> to declare a RANK if you wish to become a full fledged   
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   359           rated member of the on-line Go community! </OL>
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   360 
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   361 <p><strong>      <p><li> After you've played 20 rated games, you will acquire a RATING </strong>(designated by
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   362 an <strong>*</strong>), which is a relatively true measure of your playing strength and which will become ever       
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   363 more accurate as the number of your rated games increases. If you've chosen your initial               
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   364 RANK well, your initial RATING should be within a stone or two of that level. 
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   365 
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   366 <p><strong>      <p><li> To find a suitable opponent, use the "who" command</strong> to find players at the
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   367 RATING of interest who are currently logged on and not already playing or marked as
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   368 unavailable. Or you can "shout" your desire for a match to all logged-on players.
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   369 
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   370 <p><strong>      <p><li> The basic way to arrange a game is via the "match" command</strong>, which has a
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   371 specific syntax that you must learn and obey. Most games are played "even" (without handicap    
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   372 except for Komi), but handicap games are also possible. 
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   373 
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   374 <p><strong>      <p><li> All games are played with time constraints</strong>, which must be chosen with care
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   375 consistent with your ability to think accurately. <u>Most players on IGS prefer fast games</u> and
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   376 beginners may find this difficult, although it does have the very real advantage that you get a lot
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   377 of experience quickly! 
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   378 
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   379 <p><strong>      Time constraints consist of two parts:</strong>
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   380 
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   381 <p><strong>         <OL type=1><p><li> "Standard time".</strong> One minute is usual, and anything above 10
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   382 minutes is considered slow. After this is used up, you automatically go into Byo Yomi (=
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   383 overtime).
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   384 
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   385 <p><strong>         <p><li> Byo Yomi.</strong> Less than 5 minutes is fast, more than 10 is considered slow. <strong>In Byo
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   386 Yomi the player must play 25 stones in the allotted time or lose the game "on time"</strong>. If         
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   387 those stones are successfully played the player repeats the Byo Yomi period with a new  25
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   388 stones. Unused time is not carried over. </OL>
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   389 
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   390 <p><strong>        <p><li> Games are won or lost via resignation, overstepping the time constraint, or by
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   391 final count.</strong>
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   392 
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   393 <p align="center"><strong>HAVE FUN!!!</strong>
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   394 <a href="Magic.html"></font>
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   395 <p><font color="#0033ff"><strong>Continue</strong></font><font color="#0000ff"></a></font>
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   396 <font color="#0000ff">
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   397 <p><font color="#0000ff">Click Here To Return To<a href="index.html"></font><font color="#0033ff"><strong> Milt's Go Page</strong></font></a>
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   398 
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   399 <p><hr>
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   400 
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   401 </body>
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   402 
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   403 <!-- Mirrored from users.eniinternet.com/bradleym/InternetGo.html by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2014], Sun, 06 Nov 2022 06:49:09 GMT -->
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