While the team assembles things for our next project, I thought it’d be a good idea to throw out another idea: The evidence of scrubs, deletions, and bans (of course) at LGF are well-documented, so why not have some fun and have a dead pool?  As in Discarded, Erased, Archived, and Disemvoweled.

Now, as I read, a good dead pool will have a points system and some sort of rules. So I’m just going to go ahead and put a few things up in proposal….

First, to define the “dead” things in play:

1. a banned and/or blocked LGF account
2. a deleted (or disemvoweled) comment i.e. [deleted]
3. a disappeared thread
4. scrubbed text, links, or media on the main page articles

Second, points for accurate prediction:

1. banned lizard- 5 points
2. [deleted]- 3 points
3. memory hole thread- 15 points
4. text eraser- 30 points

(I want to debate  the points system.  Is one “memory hole thread” worth three “banned lizards”?  Is it worth five “[deleted]“? etc.  The methodology for proof may also play a role in their relative worth, so lets talk about that in the comments)

Third, the “rules”:

Time window– Human dead pools have a clock (usually a year), but on our play field, we could make the window indefinite.  These things don’t “die” naturally, so this could really be a running tally if we wanted it to be (or go as long as people have interest).  In fact, we could have extra points (or multipliers) based on how long ago you predicted it (if it can be reliably established).  So my vote is for running score, and we just start once we’ve agreed on the rules.

Our picks– Since “banned lizards” and “memory hole threads” can be “picked”, we need to set a number of them that are on the field for each player.  To get things going, we should set this number high and adjust down as needed.   Perhaps each player picks 5 lizards and 5 threads.  Duplicates are allowed (both players get the full points).  If one of your lizards or threads “dies”, congrats, you get the points and get to pick one to replace it. 

Our earns– For “[deleted]“  it’d have to be proved virtually on the fly in just about every case.  For ”text eraser”, there’s an open dumpster to dive in, if one is brave enough. So, those two really can’t be “picked”, but rather earned along the way.  (this variety of scoring should make it a little more interesting, ’cause it can be as interactive as you want it to be) 

As a variation to enhance interactivity, we could allow one “lizard” and one “thread” to be a sort of a flex position, and allow a substitution to be made at a moment’s notice.   For example, if you spot what would be considered a troll and thought you’d see a [deleted], you could also substitute ’em in as one of your picks with a quick timestamped prediction here on DoD.  But you can’t replace what you’ve lost, say, so there’d be an element of risk involved in doing it.  The same thing would apply for a “thread” pick.

The Players– As such, the minimum requirement for participation in this dead pool is a pick of 5 “lizards” and 5 “threads”.   That’s it.  So, this could be a very leisurely game if one chooses.   But, you may discover you’re eventually getting points and want to dive in deeper, so there are some base hits and even a home run to be had.  As many players as we want.  Easy.

Scoring proof– 

For “banned lizards” , our initial picks would involve nothing more than a link to one of each lizard’s comments (signifying that they are currently “alive”).    From there, we’d prove that they are no longer.  Ideally, a sock could prove that said lizard is now alive or banned with a screenshot of their profile.  For our purposes, we could also use a statement from CJ, or even a credible testimonial outside of the cult if it leaves little doubt of their fate.  We should also allow for a “crawlback” period of a few days after discovery.   (perhaps a player could choose to “double down”, and an accurate prediction and proof of crawlback doubles it, or loses it if they stay banned).

For “[deleted]“, you might have to be quick, ’cause CJ can be.  If you’re strolling through the comments and happen to spot something you think might get deleted, take a screenshot (if you can).  If you discover later that it’s zapped, you’ve already got your proof.  Without a screengrab, one would have to copy and paste the comment here in DOD.  We may have to be on the honor system there, since anyone can alter their paste or flat out make stuff up if they really wanted to.  But the timestamp shouldn’t lie.

For “memory hole thread”,  we’d pick links to currently visible threads, and someone would take a screenshot of each one.  If it is discovered that the thread disappeared, you already have the proof. 

For “text eraser”, you would need to have an archive link or screengrab showing the missing text, links, etc.  Or, if it’s obvious that some outside entity had copied the original content (like another blogger, or an RSS feed), that may serve as proof as well.    These are tougher to find and prove, which is why they’re worth the most points.  Perhaps they should be worth more?

Scoreboard-  This requires nothing more than a page at the top of the blog, since it can be continually updated by any of us cast members.  Every player is posted with their 10 picks and current score.   That, and the comments section provides a handy place to lay out the predictions and proofs in real time, complete with timestamp.    Again, easy. 

Bonus points and/or alternative scoring-  as mentioned before, we could mix things up with multipliers for any or all of the four scoring methods based on criteria like time elapsed or coincidence (like two or more picks dead on the same day, for example).   Or, extra points based on how many comments in the deleted thread, or how many karma points the banned lizard had. 

OK.  I think this game presents the right elements:  luck, intuition, strategy, requires some technical abilities, and has potential to reward for extra effort.  And it’s reality based.  Once we’ve tweaked the rules, I say we just roll with it.   There are probably ways to cheat that I haven’t thought of, so you guys will have to point it out if I missed it.  Or of course if I missed another cool way to get points.   Discuss….