I am going to do this simply with a bullet point list:

No download
Clean interface
Responsive developers who listen to their users
Time settings ranging from blitz to correspondence
Every time system there is
Multiple rule sets
Themed graphics
Easy Tournament creation
Groups for like-minded players
Friendly chat without domineering admins
Board previews for ongoing games
Easy sharing of games
Social media integration
Game analysis
Variation sharing
Excellent review tools
Seek graph for ease of finding the right game for my preferences
Multilingual
Sensible Escape policy
Ranks that don't drift or change on their own
Free android app
Free Server
Freedom from frustration experienced elsewhere
Rank Graphs
Multiple review capability on a single game
Ability to delete a review
Ongoing development and improvements

I could list more. The only question I have is why doesn't everyone love Nova.gs? and the only answer I can give is that they haven't tried it yet.

I am really liking it as well. The review tools make it for me. They're very simple and intuitive. Making Nova my go to for marking up sgf. It will be my go to for games once the user base expands.

Well right at this moment 'No live games' would seem to trump most of the list. Features are 'nice to haves' without a solid player base.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

This is so true. That's why checking out a new server and spreading the word if you like what you see is important. Yesterday I played 4 live games on Nova and didn't wait long for them. I just asked in the chat and people played me. I got great reviews by two 5 dans, a 3 dan, and a 2k player. I can't recall the last time I got a game with a 5d on any other server.

Come and join us and there will be a player base.

Indeed.

I'm pretty much sold on nova.gs as well. And that is saying a lot, since I have a rather irrational hatred of browser-based apps. There are so many little touches in the nova.gs interface to improve the user experience it is almost overwhelming (ok, it actually *is* overwhelming at first).

Literally, the only negative thing I can say about this server is the lack of game offers for live time settings. And that is only going to be a thing until the userbase expands (and can be partially solved by, you know, placing your own game offer with live time settings whenever you can).

An interesting thing to note is the number of l19 users I recognize on there. (It's not surprising, given l19 has been their primary advertising channel so far; just interesting to note. )

It is easy to be 'responsive' when your user base is 5 players or so.

Wait until there are thousands of loudmouths all demanding different thing and bitching about everything you do.
Wait until there is thousands of clowns trying to 'be funny' and volunteer admins start losing patience with the unruly crowd.
Wait until issues like escaping and sandbagging raise to noticeable levels (as they surely will)...

If the developers are still responsive *then*, we can celebrate. But until now, from my experience, each server starts nice and responsive when its small, and becomes an unwieldy behemoth when user base increases and people start demanding and fussing and generally acting like they own it and the developers are slaves responsible to the masses for their enjoyment. KGS is not the first server that went this path, and Nova will not be the last. I bet!

Still, all the best to Nova, I hope I am wrong.
Just calle me an old cynic, but its not my first rodeo...

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- Bantari
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WARNING: This post might contain Opinions!!

Oh ye of little faith. Hearken unto the future of online Go. Ours is the way and the light. And the board themes are pretty cool too.

I must admit, I find this rather faulty logic. If everyone who reads this thread joins, there'll be a couple of hundred more players at most, all online at different times during the week, probably two or three at any one time, and the difference will be imperceptible. There are 47 people online now, and only 2 games going on (which is 2 more than when I signed up a couple of hours ago), which is probably not dissimilar to KGS's online-users-to-games ratio. If nova grows, it will grow slowly - just like any other new server, because the lack of games is off-putting to a lot of people. It will also grow in the middle ranks proportionally faster than it will grow at the extremities, for the same reason. The important thing is to keep talking about it, keep people hearing about it, and keep encouraging them to try it - not browbeat them into joining because it's their fault there are no games.

On which note: I just played a fun 7-stone game on nova with shapenaji. I really like the client, and the people are friendly.

A population shift of that many people isn't a stand alone event. They will bring others with them. It's not going to happen all at once, gradual steady growth is the way to go. One player at a time.

Sure. I just disagree that you'll get anyone to come by saying "well, if you turn up, there'll be more games!", because everyone knows that's false. Talk about how awesome the server is and how much it's growing rather than how you need more people. Carrots rather than sticks.

You can't build a house with carrots. Just kidding. I understand what you are saying.


I meant my words as an invitation, not a command.

I disagree with this argument. You could use the same logic to give reason not to vote for political elections, for example - your single vote is unlikely to make a difference. But a difference is made when this starts to snowball, and the collective public makes a move.

The OP has already given a list of reasons that the server is good, and as far as I've seen from the responses so far, the only lacking feature is the community. It's true that publicizing these features to the public will help in growing the population of the server, but it's also true that every single person makes a difference.

This is true with any public venture. A single person's participation means little, but together, we are not a single person.

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be immersed

It is actually irrational for any one individual to vote in a political election. The odds of them changing anything are minuscule. This is one of those truths that holds for individuals but falls apart for groups. If a whole section of society chooses not to vote then yes, that will make a difference if there's enough of them.

There are similar issue with saving money (paradox of thrift), using shared resources (tragedy of the commons) etc.

There is no paradox of thrift. Keynes was wrong.

Declaring something false does not an argument make.

im not going to turn this into an economics lecture. you can read all about it.

I had another wonderful game on nova today with fischer timing. It' really nice to have such complete control over your game parameters. After setting up my game preferences I can be certain my opponent will be someone I'd like to play. After the game I learned a few things as my opponent conducted a really thorough review. Just another reason why I love Nova.

Political elections are very different to a choice of go server in many ways. I don't buy this analogy at all, or really think it's a useful thing to talk about.

One thing I hope we can all agree on is that advertising a go server on L19 and nowhere else is akin to a politician advertising their new and awesome party in a single village and hoping they tell their friends. Might work, might not; still not the best plan. I hope that, when nova is a little more polished (though it's very polished already), it will be advertised widely and creatively. I'm sure L19 members (and perhaps even go associations) will be able to lend a hand or give ideas.

If the definition of "irrational" in this context means that you should only vote if it will have an immediate and obvious effect on the result of the election, then I agree with you.

However:
1.) There may be side effects associated with your action that are not measurable. Eg. If your friend sees you heading to the polls, he may also do so. There may, then, be multiple votes resulting from your action. This type of side effect is difficult to measure.

2.) You cannot ignore the collective power of multiple individuals. It's somewhat ironic that this is being discussed on a go forum, because this is a lot of what go is all about: a single stone sometimes, but most often, does not make a difference. Rather, it is the collective body of plays that form your strategy and bring you to win the game.

Considering the analogy in #2, it's important to think carefully on your moves. Some may seem more important than others, however, if you decide that no particular move makes a huge difference in itself, then your entire game will fall apart.

The fact that this "falls apart for groups" is no small point, and in fact, makes all the difference!

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be immersed