New release and a long & very boring announcement.

[The Geek]

The Toy
Well I though it’s time to officially launch with Version 1. I’d like to say thanks to all those who participated in the test programmes for TT, and an especially big thanks to all the Alpha testers.

You can download version 1 here.
http://www.geekstoy.com/index.php?op...&id=1&Itemid=6

As some of you are aware, extraordinary circumstances meant that we launched the Beta programme early, so my primary focus in recent weeks has been supporting new users & ensuring TT is as bug free & stable as can be. As such, Version 1 is still a little short of where I personally wanted The Toy to be in terms of functionality before I even launched the Beta. The areas it falls short are the stop loss & the charting, and I intend to have those implemented in the next major release.

That release will be a while away though, as I have just had a significant systems contract come in that needs to be completed by the end of the year. The Toy will still be fully supported, and priority given to serious bug fixes in the meantime.

[The Geek]

When I started writing The Toy in my spare time a couple of years ago, it was intended to be a free product, as I need an audience for another mad idea I have. It has been quite a journey, and although like most I had great euphoria for the industry in the beginning, 2 years in and for the most part I am disillusioned with it. The behaviour of two of the big players has at times been downright deceptive, dishonest and corrupt. This is not something I wanted for TT, and was the reason I turned down the offer of a stake in Racing Traders many moons ago. The plan was to set up a joint venture between RT & I which would be a squeaky clean operation, but alas Adam & I could not agree on a way forward that involved him doing some real work and not relying on bullshit to fuel sales. So after a few weeks of Adam sulking like a child, I went back to my original plan of a free product in April, as I earn good money elsewhere, and really don’t want to compete in this marketplace on their level.

[The Geek]

Last year when Adam & I started the RT forums, we had no idea that they were going to be such a success. Rather than just being a place to support the product, they became much, much more. They became the hangout of the entire trading community, and a fantastic knowledgebase & resource. The ongoing development of those forums were my baby, and I was very proud of what we achieved with them. Even Peewee tried to copy it some months later, but never really got any traffic on his forums until BT4 went down.

Unfortunately, after Adam & I went our separate ways in April, no one was guiding the forums. Without sound management, the community was ripped apart by one zero credibility individual, who was always causing trouble, and later on constantly spamming his shite. Should anyone dare be critical of this individual, they were bullied & B@dgered. It was beyond belief that this idiot was allowed to run riot as he did, but I think we all understand the reasons why today.

Anyway, I started this forum with the intention of getting back to the RT forums of old, a real trading community full of ideas; fun & traders helping traders & wannabe traders. The difference here was to be people are free to discuss all trading applications. Learning from the mistakes of the past, we put rules in place to stop the same thing happening as it did at RT. The forums are starting to develop quite nicely, however again extraordinary circumstances mean that we have lost our way a little.

[The Geek]

The extraordinary events at Racing Traders these past few months have been the source of much debate on here. I don’t think that I have ever seen a company treat it’s customers as bad as they have these past few months, and I actually find myself ashamed to ever have had an association with them. I had a personal axe to grind with Adam, as I did him some very big favours and he repaid those with theft of a lot of my original ideas in Evolution & made them public before I launched TT. I had another to grind with The Blagger, because he single-handedly screwed up the forums I spent many hours building. RT are now under new management, however from what I have seen so far, I can’t see anything changing over there for the better. Who knows, they may surprise me, but I seriously doubt it.

As some of you are aware, I’m no fan of Peewees either for the reasons stated in this thread.

[The Geek]

Many people ask me why I am not charging for The Toy, and the answer to this is because I don’t need to. I can never say the toy will always be free, as either the cost of running it could become significantly greater than it is today, or one day I may need the money to provide for my family. However I can say with absolute certainty that it will remain completely free to use throughout 2010.

Many people have also suggested running a donation model for TT. My answer to this to date has been if you want to donate, spend a little time helping others on the forums, spend a little time doing a video, and spend a little time elsewhere spreading the word about The Toy & the community.

I will at some point in the coming weeks set up a PayPal account to accept donations should people wish to do that. However The Toy will be run totally not for profit throughout 2010, and should donations exceed the running costs, any excess will be used to promote the community, with a percentage being donated to a childrens charity.

TT as a non-commercial venture remains fun for me, and my primary focus is to finish what I started at RT & build a fantastic community, as well as providing an outstanding product for that community to use if they choose. We welcome & encourage users of all products to contribute here, as unlike BetAngel / Racing Traders we are in the unique position of not being the slightest bit worried about our members using or discussing competitors products, nor have any need to suppress unfavourable comments about our own products or service.

[The Geek]

The forums are starting to develop nicely and we have some excellent contributors, however as I said earlier, we have lost our way a little recently. We have many very angry ex RT people here, and more are joining us every day. The unbelievable way they have & continue to treat their customers over there is a subject of much debate on here. However the “Vendor Wars” as they have become known in certain circles really need to calm down a little, so they do not forever dominate the forums. Whilst I believe the wars were unavoidable, a lot of the blame for their prominence does lay with me, as my anger with Peewee, Adam & The Blagger coupled with my influence here is still fuelling it somewhat.

As such, I will be taking much more of a back seat on the forums after today. Also, whilst I do not want to tell anyone what they can & can’t say on here, I think it is time this stopped dominating the forums in general. So today I have set up a thread in Chit Chat called “Vendor Wars”. I would ask that for the future, if you wish to have a bitch about any of the vendors themselves that you confine it to that thread, & leave the rest of the forum for more objective & positive things.

I have also re-opened the suggestions category today; however don’t expect much action from me there prior to the next major release. Please read here before posting any suggestions.

I have also moved the “Help” forum from “The Toy” to “The Community”. I think it belongs there now, as enough knowledge of the product is distributed between you, that most things can be answered by the community rather than by me, freeing up more of my spare time for development on The Toy.

[The Geek]

This week, we will be appointing a few forum moderators. Their job will simply be to remove spam, ensure threads are posted in the right categories. In cases of serious breaches of the forum rules, moderators will simply report the infraction to the wise monkeys to deal with. Only the moderators will know the identity of the moderators, as again we wish to avoid a repeat of what happened at RT.

[The Geek]

I am looking for a dozen crash test dummies to Alpha test future versions. Ideally you need to use TT most days, be computer literate enough to install the patches, and put up with the odd thing going wrong. On the plus side you get to play with the new bits long before everyone else.

Should anyone wish to participate please PM me. Priority will be given to my original testers should they wish to participate, and those of you whom I have known the longest.

[The Geek]

I have set up a hidden forum today called Lifers. Anyone that myself or the monkeys perceive as making outstanding contributions to the community will be able to see & post in this forum. This will include the moderators, the crash test dummies, the bloggers who heavily promote us whilst the product is free, and anyone else going that extra mile either here or elsewhere to spread the word. Any member of the Lifers forum, coupled with the top 20 forum posters will receive the product free for life should I have to start charging for The Toy. We will be adding users to this forum in the coming weeks.

[The Geek]

I’d like to take this opportunity to especially thank the following people that I’ve met along the way, who have been instrumental in making both the toy & this community what it is today.

LeonTheFixer, who amongst other things is the best software tester you ever will meet, even if he is a nightmare perfectionist.

Jimrobo, for helping me get the website and forums up and running.

Holverse for the banners and a decent site logo.

Knight Rider { Hong Kong Fooey.} for his absolute genius forum contributions both here & @ RT, and recruiting our second wave of Alpha testers.

Mickey Pearce {Slartibartfast} for his razor sharp perception, literacy skills, sense of humour and knowing exactly which buttons to push.

Jibiko, for being quite mad, but very entertaining.

Cran for the product comparisons.

Keefter for the most comprehensive product review by a mile.

Mikey B, for the only genuine big money trading videos I have seen in my time in this industry to date & for his role in exposing just how much credibility The Blagger really had.

Tradeshark for the Avatar & promotion.

Vossie @ Betfair whose sample app was the birthplace of the toy, and whos C# genius and occasional guidance has really helped in getting The Toy where it is today.

Gary Russell for his mutual appreciation of beer, programming, weasel spotting and not nicking a single idea from TT prior to release even though he saw it in June.

Peewee for providing me with so much ammunition & entertainment this past year or so.

Lee for the branding “The Geeks Toy”, the heads up on what Adam was up to, and being my concierge, drinking buddy & taxi service in Malta.

Adam, who’s ego, greed, deceit, & ineptness single handedly destroyed the biggest player in the industry.

And last & least, The Blagger as without him, this forum would be a ghost town.

To everyone else, thanks for being here & I wish you every success in your ventures, whether you be a pro, a hobbyist or just starting out on your Betfair crusade.

TG

[The Geek]

A very big thanks to Anonymous for making me fall of my chair wetting myself with this absolute work of art!

{ Even if he did kill Geek News 24, by making everything look dull in comparison since. }