Two mistakes in interpretation, and a chance for you to interpret.

First, please don't mistake the statement that NAQT members are leaving with the possibility that we, as a group, aren't listening. In fact we listen intently, pass the word on, and will act on those statements, more so than any other format. And that's exactly why we don't speak officially without considering our statements carefully. Responding rashly in a forum is counterproductive, and when statements are designed to goad an argument, well... Besides, you can always email us.

The more fundamental point is this, having members of NAQT not read the forum is not a unique occurance to us. Rather, people are abandoning or ignoring it, or seeing it once, and being frightened away. The Yahoo club is losing whatever hegemonic position it held as a central repository of information. Whether that is actually a bad thing will hinge on the reaction of those that remain, if they fail to see the world outside is changing, developing, and growing, then it could Balkanize the circuit. (yes, even worse than it already is.)

The second mistake is the recurring notion that because NAQT is a company it somehow it makes it somehow less pure of a pursuit than other formats, or somehow puts profit over the health of the circuit. As cool as it is to bash companies today, such an argument omits the benefits as applied to quiz bowl.

The big one originally is the often noticed, but rarely understood part of the LLC attached to our name. Limited Liability. Remember the era of feared nuclear winter in quiz bowl? The fear of nuisance lawsuits regarding claims of intellectual property? If not, ask someone old enough to remember. Such things had killed more than one previous entrant to the field, as the threat to the principals of those groups extended to financial risk hanging over their personal finances. That NAQT exists as an LLC prevents those possible attacks from being a lethal curtailment of services. Is it something to be afraid of today? Not as much, but it could happen at any time, to any format, but NAQT is at least built to withstand it. That doesn't make us evil, it makes us prepared for the worst, should it come.

The second advantage is structure, stability, and the ability to have a long term plan. NAQT's charter sets us up to last for 50 years as an LLC. We, the company plan to be here for at least that long, even if it means we, the people involved now, are not. It means our committment extends beyond the school year.

The irony is NAQT's daily work isn't all that different from running any part of quiz bowl life, questions to write, edit, put into packets, recruiting teams, setting up events. It's only a question of scale.

Okay, enough of me talking. A question for everybody: Where is the circuit going to be in five years? Are we going to be back where we were five or ten years ago, where we are now, will we have grown, shrunk, turned completely topsy turvy?

I'm asking for a reason. I've yet to see a long view openly articulated by anyone, but I think it's one of those things that we all sort of have, but because we have a bunch of immediate obstacles in front of us, the next practice, the next packet, the next tournament, we never find time to move it past a fuzzy vision in the distance. If we never take the time to move it beyond that, the only thing we guarantee is the status quo. But if we can put our ideas in front of other people, they might, just might agree, and that's a basis for moving forward. Think about it, and send me your idea. I'll post up everyone's here, unedited, including my own.