The various forum members here keep trying to communicate to you that - yes, we understand WHY this experience is valuable - but given that the vast majority of people here don’t have access to it - your comments are coming across as elitist gatekeeping
You say you understand, but continue to insist that this gatekeeping has inherent value regardless of how it comes off…
OK - so let’s put you in our shoes - imagine that life circumstances (i.e. family / work / school ) have put you in a location of the world where there isn’t a single Go player, Go club, or any opportunities to play OTB anywhere. You would literally have to take a plane / train trip to another city, or drive for 15 hours in your car to get to a place where there might be a Go club happening once every 2 weeks, and you have no idea how many players are going to show up, or if any players are going to show up at all, possibly reducing all your efforts to futile disappointment.
You love playing Go. You want to grow and learn and play every day. What do YOU do?
The general issue with the “you are not a real/complete/full/true player/fan/follower/whatever” kind of gatekeeping is that it never really ends. Once you pass one gate, someone else can erect another one.
For example, here we have the relatively simple conditions of having played over a real board with some slate and shell pieces.
Then it could go like this:
– Ah, but have you visited a real Go club where a lot of people gather to play, learn and interact? No? Then “you’re not a complete Go player.”
– Ah, but have you played a 3vs3, 4vs4 tournament like in Hikaru No Go and felt the thrill of competition? No? Then “you’re not a complete Go player.”
– Ah, but have you competed on a real tournament with dozens of people and strove to increase your rank? No? Then “you’re not a complete Go player.”
– Ah, but have you represented your national team in the PandaNet championship and felt the pride of representing your whole Go Association? No? Then “you’re not a complete Go player.”
– Ah, but have you managed to win the ranking up to the higher category while representing your national team in the PandaNet championship and been a part of the elevation of your national Go Association? No? Then “you’re not a complete Go player.”
– How about WAGC? Ranking up in the dan levels? Wining trophies?
Given that many of us do not have the access or the budget to drink champagne from the champagne region of France - do we just make the best of it and enjoy the sparkling wine we can find / afford? Or do we live in constant disappointment that our (arguably delicious) prosecco will never be champagne?
Also - IMHO - what it really boils down to is that - for a given speaker, they assume that THEIR experience is somehow the only canonical one. That the yardstick of what makes something valid or invalid is whether it connects with or alienates from their personal experience.
Of course they never phrase it like that - there’s always an appeal to an exterior authority, or some sort of universal agreement that exists outside of their subjective opinion. But - as you pointed out - given that there is such a broad spectrum of experiences that can be considered canonical - what it usually boils down to is what that speaker can relate to.
I bought 4-5 sets of plastic checkers pieces and traced a 9x9 grid on the back of a vinyl chessboard by taping it to a window. All so I could play my 7 year old OTB… Does that count? (Yes I added star points)
Define “premium clamshell stones”. Are those made out of Mexican clam, as offered nowadays in 99%? Or hon-hamaguri (Japanese clamshells harvested in Hyuga, now almost extinct? And what would be the minimum required grade? How about a hon-kaya goban, wouldn’t that add any allure to “complete” yourself as a Go player? And what kind of goke would suit that qualification? Ebony? Mountain mulberry? Rosewood? Or lacquered ones, with gold dust and / or mother of pearl? Needless to say, all nicely tucked away in Nishijin textile bags in polownia boxes.
It is indeed a treat to play a game with high quality materials. But it will never define a player as far as skill, commitment or joy of playing is concerned. I know, because I own the examples I just talked about. I really appreciate the skill and beauty of all the different kind of materials. What started out from curiosity has grown slowly into a modest collection with which I have never played a proper game with. At my local Go club we have just upgraded to glass stones (after decades!) and the only time I was taken aback because of the materials was last summer when I attended a week long Go seminar in Germany when by chance my opponent and I in the tournament randomly chose seats at the tables which happened to have a shin-kaya board and Yunzi stones. The stones were very nice to handle but when the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds the shadows of the black stones turned green and the white ones had a soft glow. That was a nice surprise . As was to expected, like my game with the beautiful Mexican clamshell stones (ánd the one withe the melamine stones), I lost the game. In a classy way
If it weren’t for the online Go community, I still would have been stuck in the lower kyu-range. I learned how to play Go during Covid-19 (early 2021) and though I should attend more weekly sessions at my local club and regional tournaments (which is not always possible) I consider myself lucky to be able to play online. And when the chance presents itself to play a random stranger someday, I will happily play with whatever is at hand.
Personally I prefer flat plastic stones and really any board that is out of wood. Plastic stones are nice flat (idk if there are any round ones. I never saw any) and light, they dont wiggle around too much when someone slaps their stones or touches the table and they have no or very less annoying reflections. I also dont care about the sound, infact I place my stones silently no matter how determinated I am with my moves.
A person’s entitled to his/her opinion, and I can respect yours. At the same time, I regard it as like Sam Sloan regards the opinions of purists of shogi. To me, Go is Go; that’s about it.
I can definitely agree that playing online does not compare to playing on a real board, with real stones → especially if you have a good kaya board and slate/shell.
But declaring that people aren’t real go players unless they also play that way is not a great look.
I’m in the US → and we have a hard enough time getting players that stick it out that gatekeeping only makes it harder. Heck - the club I learned to play at in the 90’s no longer exists.
Sure - people don’t follow the proper etiquette since AI. And the game is very different now than it was in the 90’s.
But welcoming all players - no matter how/where they can play - can only serve to improve us all.
)
