Sekitori-Toto invitation for Haru 2008

[Koukai]

(not in direct response to Hidariashiyama)

headbang.gif headbang.gif headbang.gif headbang.gif headbang.gif

Apologies for the smiley-based outburst, but if there's something worse than being unable to submit one set of picks, it's being unable to submit half a dozen. Sigh. I'll get the Day 4 and 5 picks added eventually and rescore the days, until then I can only ask for your patience.

Asashosakari, did you get my email today?

[Asashosakari]

Asashosakari, did you get my email today?

For day 4? Yes.

[Hidariashiyama]

You rock Asashosakari!

I can get to the selection page almost every time and then it doesn't let me submit. After doing this two or three times, it takes me back to the login page. I'll keep trying this method, but if it doesn't work after about ten tries, then I plan to email you. Thanks!

[Profomisakari]

It's a sensation! I could submit my picks to the server.

And a correction 1 minute later came to its destination.

But the trouble last days was very bad.

So much time players not should loose with the transfer of their picks!

Thanks to Pierre (Asashosakari) for giving my picks more then one time for me to the server.

I think in future you should search for another server to save the stability of this game that I would not miss.

Profomisakari

Edited March 13, 2008 by Profomisakari

[Fukurou]

Is the reason ST still has no results available ~12 hours after day 5 matches ended related to the need to manually enter day 5 emailed entries first?

I notice that other games that use the database do have results up, and ST is taking entries for day 6 (I'm seeing reasonable luck getting my rather bad ST and ISP entries accepted after 3pm US Eastern time)

[Asashosakari]

Day 5 should be up to date now.

In other news:

- Kachikachiyama scored a ginboshi by predicting Aminishiki's win against Hakuho yesterday.

- Krokonowaka is the current shukun-sho leader by virtue of scoring 28.5 points on Day 5.

- Ozeki candidate Itachi stands at 3-2. No pressure... :-)

And something about the server: With the database so out of whack, there are some very obscure errors that I've never seen before where incomplete pick selections are submitted to the database, e.g. like Fatakiyama on Day 5 (which was scored as 6 correct, 4 wrong, and 25 blank, even if it might look the same as 25 X picks). That's obviously a server problem, not a user problem, because it's normally impossible to submit incomplete selections like that. I'm going to email the affected players and see if they still have their confirmation emails (if they received one).

Meanwhile, after you have submitted your picks, to make sure that they were submitted completely you can click the "Enter" link at the top of the page again which will (assuming the server hasn't already died again) reload your selections. If they all show up as you entered them, you can be sure that they were submitted properly.

Edit...

Is the reason ST still has no results available ~12 hours after day 5 matches ended related to the need to manually enter day 5 emailed entries first?

FWIW, I rescored Day 5 around 15 minutes ago, and the results showed up properly for me at the time. If you can't see them right now, the server must have keeled over again, but the results are technically there.

Edited March 13, 2008 by Asashosakari

[Kofuji]

ST is probably the most complex of the games in its database use due to Max' lovely Nations Cup standings. I suspect dropping them from the results page would solve many of the problems. If I ever get time I should also cache the main results pages rather than generating them fresh each time.

If player's entries are being truncated, it is highly likely that they didn't get a confirmation email. I think the program woudn't have gotten to the email stage if it couldn't completely write the entry.

My mail is on a seperate server. I'm debating moving it to Google Mail though to get rid of some other issues.

FWIW we have tried to migrate the games to better hardware twice and both times got hacked into the ground due to Akisunni's former love of weak passwords. We seem to be OK now I've got him convinced strong passwords are a good thing.

There have also been some problems with the DSL modem going offline at inopportune times. Right now the poor thing known as POS is thrashing itself as it is memory bound at the moment. It just had 512MB of RAM. With 2GB most of the problems would go away. I've inquired about upgrading the RAM. Probably won't happen for this basho though.

Warm regards,

Kofuji

Edited March 13, 2008 by Kofuji

[Profomisakari]

After pure joy yesterday we have today the same procedure as everyday.

No submit or save picks goes with Seki-Toto. Seki-Quad hangs, but than comes.

RotoSumo site needs very long time to come (no input, only look at the results).

Please, Kofuji, think about another Server or another hardware.

Here go several good games down.

Thanks to Pierre (Asashosakari) for help for much stressed players.

Profomisakari

[Vikanohara]

What's the ISP bout today ?

I have tried a couple of times, but only get an error page.

And can you send your ISP pick also to some e-mail address ?

[Fukurou]

What's the ISP bout today ?

I have tried a couple of times, but only get an error page.

And can you send your ISP pick also to some e-mail address ?

Keep trying - I just got my ST pick accepted and my ISP pick not too long ago as well!

[Doitsuyama]

What's the ISP bout today ?

I have tried a couple of times, but only get an error page.

And can you send your ISP pick also to some e-mail address ?

It's Roho-Kokkai.

I have kinda reset the sekitoto and sumo reference web services, so access should be faster now - for a few minutes at least...

[Vikanohara]

All week long I've been able to access troubled sites between 20:00 and 20:25 CET.

As I only have time until about 20:30, this is only just in time. That's why I've been nervous a little.

But I've been able to enter my picks again. Finally my last night shift tonight (from 7 in a row), so from now on I'll have less problems.

[Itachi]

- Ozeki candidate Itachi stands at 3-2. No pressure... :-O

4-2 now!

As I recall I needed pretty close to a yusho to earn the promotion so I'm just hoping to finish with double digits to set the stage for May.

Ok, I'll be thrilled if I can just earn kachikoshi again actually, but as I'm at the Sekiwake rank I may as well push as hard as I can while I'm there.

Thanks for all your hard work keeping track of these things!

[Asashosakari]

It's an odd Seki-Toto basho so far...after just seven days nobody is still keeping a zensho alive, and no less than 11 players stand at 6-1. Things are equally odd when looking at the banzuke: All three ozeki are currently 3-4 or 2-5, and none of the 12 sanyaku players has a better record than 4-3. The divisional averages are quite strange, too. While normally makuuchi and sometimes juryo will score significantly above .500, and makushita gets clobbered, this is decidedly not so this time. Excluding absences, the average winning percentages currently are:

Makuuchi .502

Juryo .489

Makushita .507

Yep, the makushita-ranked players are currently the strongest ones in pure gaming terms. For banzuke purposes that's nullified by the fact that (as always) the overwhelming majority of missed days also occur in makushita (M: 5, J: 16, Ms: 121), but it's still quite remarkable. Obviously I'm looking forward to some nice and easy banzuke-making right now. ;-) We'll see if the basho keeps progressing along these lines.

The biggest danger of demotion from makuuchi is currently faced by the two bottom-ranked M15's who are 2-5 and 1-6. In turn there are really just two good promotion candidates right now, namely the two J1's Takanorappa at 6-1 and Fukurou at 5-2. The next kachi-koshi trending results aren't found until J4e and J4w, and both are just 4-3. The next record of 5-2 or better doesn't occur until J9w Usukh.

An even more extreme picture is found at the juryo/makushita line. Nobody is in grave demotion danger yet, since the results get progressively better the further you go towards the bottom. We have 1-6 records at J9e and J10e, a 2-5 at J11w and 3-4's at J13e and J13w. And worse, there aren't even any really good promotion candidates. Ms2w Hashira stands at 4-3, and that's the only kachi-koshi trend in the Ms1-Ms6 area. Ms7w Yotsich is currently 6-1 and could sneak past the promotion zone if he keeps up the good performance, as could Ms8w Arikomitsu and Ms9e Tatarohana who are 5-2 at the moment.

Incidentally, I'm happy to see that 69 of the 70 sekitori players are taking part this basho. (Shaking head...) I'm not so happy to see a fairly deserted shindeshi section in my banzuke sheet, on the other hand...Sumotalker Kazemaru followed my call for new players from over there but hasn't played any days after registering, and French player Liclic (who himself did the registration-only thing back in January) joined late and stands at 0-2-5. So, no Rookie Award this basho, oh well.

[messi19]

Right after I had sent my picks to the email account following several unsuccessful attempts to get my entry done on the sekitoto site, I tried one last time expecting to get another error notice but suddenly and surprisingly I was able to access the bout selections. (Shaking head...) Now you got them twice, but at least I spare Asashosakari the extra work. ;-)

[Taka]

Yes working right now.

Just submitted my picks.

[Fukurou]

The biggest danger of demotion from makuuchi is currently faced by the two bottom-ranked M15's who are 2-5 and 1-6. In turn there are really just two good promotion candidates right now, namely the two J1's Takanorappa at 6-1 and Fukurou at 5-2.

I do believe you typoed my name where someone else's belongs on this bit of happy news. I'm having a horrid tournament, being 2-5 from J3.

(let's not even mention the current 0-15 from M6 in Hoshitori or 30th place (of 39) from M3 in Roto or especially the 1-14 from Ke in UDH)

[Asashosakari]

I do believe you typoed my name where someone else's belongs on this bit of happy news. I'm having a horrid tournament, being 2-5 from J3.

(Applauding...) Yes, I somehow slipped a couple of lines, it's Sherlockiama at J1w.

[Taka]

Uh oh were my day 10 email picks not recieved? It says 0-34

It's been working mostly last few days but when I, very very late, made my picks yesterday it stopped working midway through, and with only about an hour to go I used the email instead...

[Asashosakari]

Uh oh were my day 10 email picks not recieved? It says 0-34

Not entered yet. Trying to access the database in the afternoon during the first week was usually futile, so now I don't even try to add any emailed picks before 7pm CET. They'll be there soon. B-)

[Taka]

Uh oh were my day 10 email picks not recieved? It says 0-34

Not entered yet. Trying to access the database in the afternoon during the first week was usually futile, so now I don't even try to add any emailed picks before 7pm CET. They'll be there soon. :-)

Ah thought it might be that. Thank you very much.

It was one of very few days this basho where my picks looked good so I need everything I can get! B-)

Being 4-6 after a miserable 0-5 start and generally not feeling totally clueless anymore I think there is a decent chance of KK, WHICH might even be ok, unlike recently, if makuuchi is still struggling...

Keep up the great work!

Edited March 18, 2008 by Taka

[Sakana]

With my make-koshi today, I announce that I stop Seki-Toto. Yes, it's "intai". Effective since today.

Thanks for everything. (I am not worthy...)

:-O

[Asashosakari]

With my make-koshi today, I announce that I stop Seki-Toto. Yes, it's "intai". Effective since today.

Sorry to see you go. (I am not worthy...) BTW, have you returned to Seki-Quad as Takamisakana, or is that a different player?

[Sakana]

That's me.

But Seki-Toto became so frustrating for me. Need a stop. Maybe in some months, years, centuries, ... I'll come back... or not.

(BTW : I love the way the Banzuke part is programmed with many stats available in one click, congratz' to the programmer and the designer ^^)

[Asashosakari]

After Day 13, Nikishima already led the competition 2 wins ahead of the field. With a loss on Day 14 things turned suspenseful again with 3 players still holding a chance to take the yusho away from him, but things turned around once more on senshuraku as Nikishima won and all three lost, restoring his two-win lead for a dominating 13-2 yusho! :-) An excellent followup to his 9-6 debut in January.

Nikishima also takes the gino-sho with 320 points. The shukun-sho goes to Krokonowaka and his 81.4% prediction score from Day 5 which wasn't topped any more the rest of the basho. The kanto-sho sees some unusual circumstances as no less than the top four players all finished make-koshi and this ineligible (Hironoumi only falling to make-koshi on senshuraku), handing the prize to 10-5 Tamanaogijima with 89.38 risk factor points, the lowest winning score ever since the KK requirement was introduced.

In other news, Day 12 saw a first with two players scoring a kinboshi on the same day...Kintamayama was the only one to pick Miyabiyama over Kisenosato (how'd that happen?!), while Hironoumi was the sole player who selected Kotoshogiku against Asashoryu (that one makes more sense). Kintamayama also had the top score on that day, which is (probably) also the first time a kinboshi winner has ever achieved that.

And Tosahayate had an amazing three daily top scores this basho (Days 6, 8 and 9), which would be worth one of the minor prizes if I hadn't abolished them. ;-)

Apologies again for all the technical troubles this basho, and I hope you're all still going to be back for another edition of Seki-Toto in May. Until then... (Bye, bye...)

Edited March 26, 2008 by Asashosakari