A NOTE ABOUT SENDING EMAILS: Please be sure that any emails sent to the Online email addresses have a subject in them that relates to your question! We are overwhelmed with spam and much email gets deleted unread if the subject is empty, says just "hi", or anything that doesn't appear League related.

Initial League Player contact must be through AOL or AIM (AOL Instant Messenger): AIM is free instant messaging online chat software that is easy to install and use. You can download it from here: http://www.aim.com

Since the overwhelming majority of registered users already have AOL or AIM, it has been decided to require one of these two services for initial game contact. This is not meant to discriminate against ICQ or MSN users or add a financial hardship to any player, because AIM is a FREE service. 

***Right now a "Meeting Room" is in beta testing, found on the Current League page. Players can meet there in a very basic chat room, decide who is hosting, and get the IP Address from the Host needed to start the game. If this works out, AIM/AOL will no longer be needed.

Hosting an online game: You must be able to act as both Host and Remote. If you can't Host, then please don't signup. Think about it: what happens if 2 players who both can't host have to play one another???

The League setup details are as follows:

You will be placed in a division together with a number of other players. All players within this division must play one match against each other.

Each match consists of "best out of 3 games" meaning that the player to first reach 2 wins will win the match. As in ice hockey, the scores will count. The score in a match is 2-0 or 2-1. If you win a match by 2-0 the match is over.

You play one such match against each other player in the group. You must complete your matches before the round cut-off date. You must contact all members of your group by email and set up a firm date and time to play each match. Your match dates must be set up by the Tuesday after the round begins.

The 20 card, default, game rules are to be used.

-All administration of the SpiteNET League will be handled by online@spitenet.com.
-All questions, all reports, all complaints and all praise shall only be sent to the address mentioned above.
-Make sure that the subject of your mail contains the words: "SpiteNET League".

*** No soliciting or spamming other players with non-League related emails. ***

Signing up for the current month's league:

Players who want to join the current league must use the Sign Up Form.

If you have never played in a SpiteNET League before, complete the New Players section of the form.

If you have already played in a SpiteNET League, just enter in your Player ID number and click the “Sign up” button. (If you have forgotten your Player ID number, look it up on the scoreboard of the last league you played in and get your number from there.) Your player information will be displayed (player name, player email contact, etc.). If it is correct, just click the Submit button and you will automatically be signed up. You will receive a confirmation email within a few hours. If you don't receive an email confirmation, then you are NOT signed up.

New players will receive a signup confirmation email by the Thursday morning before the League starts. If you signed up and did not receive a confirmation by that Thursday, write the League immediately (before Friday) or you will not be included. Previous League players automatically receive confirmation shortly after signing up. If you don't receive an email confirmation, then you are NOT signed up.

No players will be entered into the league after the date stated on the sign-up form!

Click here to go to the Sign-Up Form.

League Start:

• The day the League starts, you will receive an email containing the name of your division in the league and the player names and email addresses of all the players in your division, as well as the month's password.
   
• You will have to complete one match (best out of 3 games) against each player in your group.
   
• Setting up of the actual matches between players must be done by the players themselves and is not the task of SpiteNET League Administration. Match dates/times must be set by e-mail.
   
• All divisions must be completed (all players have played against each and every one else in their division) and scores reported by the specified end date for each round. After this date, new divisions will be formed from the top players in each division. Should all divisions finish before this date, the new divisions could be formed and started earlier.
   
• If you can't complete the matches you must notify Spite's League Administration immediately! This will result in your name and all matches played, if any, being removed. Failing to notify SpiteNET League Administration that you can't complete your matches will result in disqualification from the next league!
  
  The reason for this is that the number of matches a player has won is the crucial factor for determining who goes on to the next round. If one player won against a player that does not finish the rest of their games, it would be very unfair to the other players that could never get the change for an extra win. The same reasoning is also valid for matches lost against a player that does not finish all matches.

So, before you join, make sure that you have the time to play five matches (10 to 15 games) in that time. Note that you can have several ongoing matches at the same time with the other members in your division.

Since you will have to have some sort of "chat" application to exchange IP-addresses, the use of AOL or AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) is required. Right now a "Meeting Room" is in beta testing, found on the Current League page. Players can meet there in a very basic chat room and get the IP Address from the Host needed to start the game. If this works out, AIM/AOL will no longer be needed.

Reporting the results of your match:

After you complete each match, the loser must report the results using the Report form. From the main League page, click the Report button (on the left side of the page). Please report immediately after completing your match. The match winner will receive an email confirmation of the match report and it is the responsibility of the match winner to check that the results reported are correct. Who goes on to the second round is determined by the cumulative scores, so it can make a big difference if the match score is reported as 1-2 or 0-2.

Answers to FAQ:

• When playing a match of several games, there is no need to finish the match in just one sitting, you can play a game or two in one day and finish with the remaining game (if any) another day.
• You can play matches against several players "at the same time," you do not have to complete a match before starting a match against another player.
• There is no need to change who is the host between games. The dealing of cards or any other factor is not different from one computer to another.
• If, during a game, one of the players loses connection to the Internet (gets "bumped"), the game may be saved and resumed if the player gets back on line within a few minutes. A game may not be resumed if the player does not get back within a few minutes.
• After a completed match (not after each separate game), only the losing player must report the results via the online report form. The standings in each division will automatically be updated on the Current League webpage.
• Remember that matches have to be played before a specified date for each round. If, after that date, the player has not played all matches, he or she is removed and is out of the League.*
• If you win a match by 2-0 the match is over.
• Not notifying SpiteNET League Administration if you can't finish all your matches will result in your disqualification from the next league. (There are valid reasons like serious illness, hospitalization, earth quake, flooding, war, terrorist acts, exploding computer, using a Macintosh, power outage in at least half a State, etceteras. "Not having time" is not a valid reason for not playing all matches).

* Players who have not finished their matches against their opponents in their division within the allotted time, will be removed from the League and their results, if any, will be void. Other players' matches against a removed player will also be removed. If they also fail to notify SpiteNET League Administration with a valid reason, they will also be disqualified from the following league.

How it works:

The following examples are works of fiction. All names and characters here are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or names is purely coincidental. (The only real name and person on this page is me, Janne)

The following is an example where a division contains six players. The actual number of players in each division may be different:

Adam
Bridget
Ceasar
Danielle
Erika
Fred
 

Adam plays Fred and wins 2-1. Bridget plays Ceasar and loses 1-2 Danielle plays Erika and wins 2-0 The standings will now be:

Player Matches Won Lost Score Danielle 1 1 0 2-0 Adam 1 1 0 2-1 Ceasar 1 1 0 2-1 Bridget 1 0 1 1-2 Fred 1 0 1 1-2 Erika 1 0 1 0-2

After the following matches:
 

Adam – Danielle 2-0 Erika – Fred 1-2 Bridget – Adam 2-0 Ceasar – Fred 1-2 Bridget – Erika 0-2 Danielle – Ceasar 1-2 The standings will be:

Player Matches Won Lost Score Fred 3 2 1 5-4 Adam 3 2 1 4-3 Ceasar 3 2 1 5-5 Danielle 3 1 2 3-4 Bridget 3 1 2 3-4 Erika 3 1 2 3-4

Finally, after each player has played 5 matches (one completed match against each of the others in the division), with the following results:
 
 

	Adam	Bridget	Ceasar	Danielle	Erika	Fred	Wins	Score
Adam		0-2	2-0	2-0	2-1	2-1	4	8-2
Bridget	2-0		1-2	0-2	0-2	1-2	1	4-8
Ceasar	0-2	2-1		2-1	0-2	1-2	2	5-8
Danielle	0-2	2-0	1-2		2-0	1-2	2	6-6
Erika	1-2	2-0	2-0	0-2		1-2	2	6-6
Fred	1-2	2-1	2-1	2-1	2-1		4	9-6

The final standings will be:

Player	Matches	Won	Lost	Score	Margin
Adam	5	4	1	8-2	6
Fred	5	4	1	9-6	3
Danielle	5	2	3	6-6	0
Erika	5	2	3	6-6	0
Ceasar	5	2	3	5-8	-3
Bridget	5	1	4	4-8	-4

The player with more wins goes above a player with a lower number of wins.
At equal number of wins, the margin (won games minus lost games) determines who goes on top.
If the margin is also equal, the individual match between the players decide who goes on top.

If more than two players end up with the same margin, the number of won games determines who goes on top. If that is also the same, those players will have to play another match.

Adam and Fred will now be qualified for the next level in the league.

The next round, in this example, will be made up from the two top players in each group, forming new divisions.

[Actual number of divisions, number of players in each division and number of qualifiers from each division will be determined by the total number of players wanting to take part in the league.]

As an example, if the SpiteNET League began with 20 players (4 divisions of five players each), after the first elimination, this would leave 8 players to form 2 new divisions of 4 players each for the second level. From the second level, four players would emerge as winners to be entered into the playoffs.

The playoffs (semi-finals and finals) will be like a "cup" of elimination, much like tennis. The playoffs will be played as "best of 3", e.g. first to reach 2 wins. Depending on the number of players, the playoffs might be formed with one or two final divisions of players before the elimination.
 

Player 1
>	Winner
Player 2
	>	Grand Champion
Player 3
>	Winner
Player 4