The Future of the SHC: Announcement

[DadofTwins]

It's about time.

10 years has been a good run. 10 years is a lifetime to a cat, pretty much forever to the Internet. I started working on the first SHC four months after Youtube launched, right around the time Mark Zuckerburg purchased the domain name facebook.com.

But it's about time.

2014 will be the final SHC. For many, many reasons -- some personal, some having to do with the changes in The Show and in the Internet and in trivia culture in general -- it's about time for me to retire the game.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to everybody who had a hand in making my little hobby what it has become. Players, writers, scoring team, rjaguar3 and his scoring machine, patient family members, fans that have promoted the game on social media, Instant Replay thread reviewers -- please know that I am aware of your contributions and thankful beyond words.

That said, the SHC will not go out with a whimper.

This season will proceed as normal. We will finish this round, clean up some RQ messes, then start the TOC either Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Then the real fun begins.

Monday, October 6 we will start play on one last grand final -- The Ultimate SHC Tournament of Champions Battle of the Decade. This will be a 2-week, total point contest featuring 25 players assembled to celebrate 10 years of sloppily-worded text-based Internet trivia.

The field will be made up of:

1) Past SHC TOC winners.
2) Past SHC TOC qualifiers.
3) People who have played the SHC for a long time. (League of Dorks, Trash Talkers, Sony Board Refugees, that's you.)
4) People who I suspect would enjoy a game of crazy-hard Internet trivia.

OK, 25-ish players. The reason I'm capping the field is that the material going to be crazy-hard, even by SHC TOC standards. Crazy-hard by "Why did anybody think somebody would actually know this?" standards. Which is to say, I expect a winning score to be around 700 or so.

So nobody gets left out, there will also be a play-along option for those who want to comment, kibitz, or otherwise Statler-and-Waldorf the main game.

So that's the big news. I'll post updates here as the USHCTOCBOD field fills.

Thanks for a fun decade.

[hbomb1947]

Speaking as someone who I think has participated in 9 of the 10 SHC's, I am more grateful than I can put into words for all the work that you put into this franchise over the last decade, and for the joy and learning that you provided through the thousands of SHC questions that you have curated and asked over the years.

[Bamaman]

I request a RQ and five minutes later he shuts the whole game down? Didn't know he'd take it that hard.

Seriously, thanks for putting this all together the last ten summers. I've only been around since about 2008 and they are a fun way to pass the time during the summer hiatus. I never took the game that seriously as I never had a chance of coming close to winning but the games were fun to play.

I hope the personal issues you cited are simply the time demands of family and work and not something more serious. I can certainly understand how running the fame can be a headache. Just putting a TD together is a hassle. A whole game of Jeopardy every day for seven weeks? No way could I do that, even with the help if occasional guest writers.

Thanks for all the fun, Dad.

[Schliemann]

DoT's the best. The SHC is an institution of the trivia world that will be sorely sorely missed. Congratulations on ten outstanding years.

[Woof]

First of all, DoT, thank you so much for the great run. 10 years is a long time, even though I've only done 5-6 of them (to paraphrase Eastwood, frankly I've lost count). Throughout, you've run a stimulating, well-run game with a minimum of fuss or confusion. Your concept for the end of the run sounds fantastic, and I will play regardless of the venue.

[immaf]

Many thanks, DoT, for all the years of fun.

[nlw44]

Big thank you to DoT for doing this for so long. I've participated for 3 or 4 years (maybe more???) now and am only sorry that I didn't know about it before then. I don't post much otherwise, but the SHC has been my go-to summer event for the last few years, and I can only imagine the huge endeavor it has been. I am convinced no one will be able to do it better, if anyone even tries in years to come.

[Kingrat47]

DoT,

Thank you for all of the work you've done and the joy you've brought to us. It's no knock on the many wonderful trivia writers who create fantastic games here to say that the SHC is the part of this board I've looked forward to more than anything else. You've done great work for a decade, and I've thoroughly enjoyed every SHC I've played in. Thanks a million!

[teapot37]

Thanks for 10 years of fun, DoT. I have always looked forward to playing the SHC (true story: I probably would have never found the JBoard after the Sony board shut down if I hadn't been griping on Twitter about not being able to play in it and somebody pointed me here).

[hanzz]

I was only able to squeeze in three or four game days this year due to academic commitments (a weak excuse, I acknowledge, in the wake of DoT's ten-year dedication), but I want to join in what will hopefully be a country-sized chorus of thank you and appreciation for the marvelous work you have put into this. I always looked forward to even in the summers I wasn't participating following along with the excellently written questions. Truly an institution of not just this board but, as a poster above notes, the trivia world. Thanks again, DoT!

[BobF]

Shoot, just when I finally get involved. Oh, well, thanks so much for running this.

[Peggles]

I really wish you had posted this on April 1st.

Thank you for ten years of fun. I looked forward to the SHC every year. I know the time commitment and work for the SHC were immense. I appreciate all of your hard work.

[OldSchoolChamp]

DoT—


Words cannot express my appreciation and gratitude for all the pleasure you’ve given us over the years. Even at times when other commitments have drawn me away, I’ve always made it a point to come back to the board every summer for my SHC fix. Speaking on behalf of this whole community, I hereby nominate you as a charter member of the JBoard Hall of Fame.

Many many many thanks—


—OSC

[Magna]

I'll just echo what everyone else said. Thanks so much for making SHC happen, and making it so fun.

[nightreign]

This may be my first SHC. I may be in last place. I may be that person who makes everyone say, "How does she NOT know that?" However, I'm extremely grateful for the time you took to do this and sad it'll be the last one. The SHC saved me from the monotony of the second half of summer. Joining this board rekindled my interest in trivia, and I've learned so much from the SHC, and everything else, too. I was hoping to avenge my performance next summer, but aw well. I could always get good at Guesstimania.

[Coelacanth]

Thanks, DoT!

I know I've played at least one of these in the past, but I honestly don't remember how many or how I did. Whether I was actually submitting answers or just following along on the board, I've always found the games to be well-structured and a lot of fun. Great prep for aspiring contestants, too!

So thanks again for all you do!

[SwanShadow]

It just won't be summer without the SHC.

Thanks so much, DoT, for all the great times. I've looked forward to your annual extravaganza as much as almost anything else in the entertainment world. As you can see from all of the comments, your efforts have been deeply appreciated, and will be fondly remembered.

[Bob78164]

I didn't play very often or very much, but like many others here, I stand in awe of what you put together every summer. Thank you.

A question. If someone else is inclined to pick up the franchise (let me emphasize right now that I am NOT volunteering), would you have any objections? --Bob

[mujason]

I'll volunteer to do a decent amount of writing; I don't really need to play SHC now that I've legitimately qualified for the TOC (as opposed to getting in as an alternate in 2012 and 2013).

[harrumph]

Major thanks and congratulations to DOT for a job extremely well done.