25 replies to this topic

[John Barresi]

I just received an email from a forum member who will go unnamed, letting me know that there's been some discussion about how "random" the RNG really is.

To trim a quote from that email, punctuation and placement edited to maintain anonymity...

Quote

A while back I was going to leave Kitelife because it was obvious to me that the RNG wasn't so random. But, I kissed it off. But, others have shared my concerns. I would suggest that if the RNG comes up with anyone that could be tied to any interior motivation, that you just kiss off the RNG and give the contest to some unknowns. At least for a couple months or so.

==

With this in mind, I want to jump in and address it right now - first by showing our track record.

Winners from the past 13 months:

• Dominic Juliano 4/5/11 #122
• Rocky Freed 3/1/11 #639
• Bill Hayes 2/10/11 #272
• Komuro-san 1/25/11 #448
• Joanna Chen 12/27/10 #790
• James Rodriguez 11/25/10 #638
• Brad Bixby 10/15/10 #574
• Terry Ashenfelter 9/10/10 #631
• Steve Tisch 8/5/10 #593
• Dale Ray 6/30/10 #643
• Stuart Forsythe 6/25/10 #584
• Wayne Fu 6/20/10 #98
• Steve Thorsen 6/15/10 #619
• Bob Matteo 5/1/10 #94
• Walt Ellis 3/18/10 #478

Not ONE do I have any personal ties with, no repeats, no weighting towards those who donate separately or how long they've been a subscriber..

Additionally, nearly half the list I've never met, or only met once or twice.

Said with all love and respect, there are a lot of "unknowns" there - as I understand the reference I quoted above.

==

We use this RNG (random number generator) - http://www.random.org/sequences/

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We leave the starting number at 1 and enter the highest (most recent) subscriber number for the largest value:



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Then we hit "Get Sequence" and get a list that looks like this...



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In the shown examples, the list has 847 numbers (all the subscriber #'s we've ever issued), from 1 to 847, in random order.

We start with the top number and look it up in our database, if it's an active number, we award the prize to that person.

If that first number is expired, i.e. no longer a subscriber (over 400 numbers are currently dead), we move down to the next number on the list, and so on.

Because so many numbers are no longer active, we sometimes we have to go through a dozen number or more to reach one that is currently active.

==

We don't have any preference as to who wins, none at all...

After the fact, our only "bonus" is if it's someone who really needed that kite to fill a gap in their bag, or if they're overjoyed enough to post on the forum about it.

Those in the know understand who I am, the essentials of why I do what I do, and the ethic with which I conduct my business.

To the rest of you... Come fly with me anytime, let's talk, I'll answer anything you want to know, anytime.

Regards! Feel free to add further inquires and challenges here.

[Guru4tru]

Hi John,

Your keeping me "anonymous" just shows what a great person you are, but I was the person that raised the concern...and if the fur is going to fly...let it come at me, the guy that mentioned that the RNG was questionable in my mind, not at you!

Keep It Up!
Duane

[John Barresi]

Well, it's nice of you to say so Duane... No hard feelings anyway, I know who I am.

Here's my email reply to Duane on the subject, for posterity:

Quote

I understand the sentiment, but if I compromise the random results by fudging it as you suggest, I am then truly guilty of what people suspect.

Honestly, if a few people are truly insecure or unsatisfied in their own skins enough to feel this way, they can do what they need to do.

Here, on my front line, I'll preserve my principles and ethic completely - thank you.

Also, please DO NOT announce yourself as the quoted individual in my post on this subject.

I want it to play out without any personal reference, except to me, as the target of suspicion.

Please take some of that with a grain of salt, understanding the context.

All things being equal, I think I'll leave this topic up for a week or so to address the subject properly and allow folks to respond, then I'll likely render it invisible so as not to "mire down" the interest others may have in participating in the subscription or their confidence in the integrity of the drawing process.

Really, the only reason I've posted this at all is to maintain my "open palms" approach and principles, no shadows.

[Guru4tru]

Hi John,

I thank you for your open, honest and "unwarranted" politeness to my concern. I feel more comfortable now that the RNG is random. And I apologize for what may have seemed to be my questioning of your integrity, but I think it may have been good to discuss it anyway, so everyone knows that all is well and above board!

Keep It Up!
Duane

[--Pete]

This was discussed in another topic recently, and the RNG that is used is about as good as you can get in the way of random numbers.

[sammi]

Well it just sounds like Mr. unnamed fourm is just a bit bitter because he never won anything. HMMMM Let's think about this when you go out gambling do you really expect to win.



Steve

[John Barresi]

--Pete, on 08 April 2011 - 04:54 PM, said:

This was discussed in another topic recently, and the RNG that is used is about as good as you can get in the way of random numbers.

Aye, and even before the discussion that Pete is referring to, we've always used a random number generator of some kind...

Except for the first few months we did subscriptions (2003-ish), at which point it was easy to put 20-30 names into a jar and pull one out.

If all goes well, I hope to increase the average frequency of the drawings by week or so over the coming year, I want to see more full kite bags all around. <grin>

Well, is there really such a thing? FULL kite bags?

"How many kites does a kiteflier need? Just one more."

[stroke survivor]

I'm ready to add some more to mine!!!

[--Pete]

I'm ready for "just one more".

[--Pete]

sammi, on 08 April 2011 - 05:42 PM, said:

HMMMM Let's think about this when you go out gambling do you really expect to win.

I hope not. Someone has to pay for all those bright lights and noise.