Wordbiz 1.8.7 for Windows, Mac, Linux is available for download . Wordbiz 1.8.7 changes:

Players photos are displayed when playing , examining or observing a game. Photos are displayed at the top of the board near rating, name, score.

Click on a photo to enlarge the picture. Double click on your photo to upload or change your photo. Double click on any other photo to see info about that player.

You can hide photos from Options->Preferences , you will still be able to expand the picture. Fixed the bug when activating a popup menu blocks the application. You can set the font size for tiles. Changing the size will resize all other fonts. The main console font can be changed independently. You can change the board width to some degree.

The new options can be found at Options -> Preferences Exchange window bug was fixed. Fixed the resize window bug when the challenge button appears in void games. The new version is a native windows application and it doesn't need java to run. It should be faster.

Wordbiz 1.7 new features:

Adjudication time - The adjudication time is 5 minutes for players with a VERY LOW level of unfinished games and decreases with 1 minute for each level. The adjudication time can be lower if a player has more than 1 game adjourned. For every additional game adjourned the adjudication time decreases with 1 minute. Vars command shows your adjudication time.

DEFINITION - This command opens an external website to display the definition of the word. It uses your default dictionary to open the appropriate website. Click on a word and select Definition from the menu.

NOTE: There is no guarantee that you can find definitions for all the words and if you find a definition that word may not be accepted here. These websites used to display definitions are not part of ISC.

SET FORMULA - formula has a new flag the maximum level of unfinished games that your opponent can have. Default level is VERY HIGH. You can avoid players who have a VERY HIGH number of unfinished games by setting this flag to HIGH. Formula is used when you send a seek request to filter who is getting your challenge. If your mood variable is 1 it is also used to filter challenges that you receive.

To set your formula select from the menu Options -> Set formula.

NOTIFY command. You are notified with a message when a player on this list starts or continues a game. Notify limits 30 names. Ex:

"notify +Carol" -- puts Carol on your notify list.

"notify -Carol" -- removes Carol from your notify list.

"notify" -- displays your notify list.

If you are not a contributory member the list is not saved when you log off.

LAGSTATS - This command shows the distribution of the average lag and the last lag measurement experienced by players.

REMATCH - rematch behavior was changed, now it uses the same parameters: time, dictionary, etc that you had in your last game.

PING - This command displays statistics about the network latency or 'lag' on the connection between the ISC server and someone's computer (yours, if no player is specified) . It shows the average and the last measurement for lag in milliseconds. The samples are taken at every 2 minutes.

GSEEK - if you are a member of a group you can send a seek to its members. Ex:

"gseek tpg" to send a challenge to all members of the TPG group.

WHO - 2 new parameters for who command:

c# - to get a list of players who are in that channel, ex "who c20" - to see who is in channel 20.

u# - to list players with a certain level of unfinished games 0 - very low, 1 - low , 2 - medium, 3 - high, 4 - very high, ex "who u3" to list player whose level of unfinished games is high.ex "who u3" - to list player with a high number of unfinished games.

Challenge

There are 2 new options for the challenge variable:

5-POINTS

Rule used in the World Scrabble Championship, in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and some other countries. An incorrect challenge receives a penalty of 5 points but you wont lose your turn.

VOID

All plays are automatically validated. You can not play incorrect words. There is no option to challenge a play. If challenge variable is VOID you can use check command while playing.

There are 3 new flags that can be used with the games command:

'c' - to get all games in progress using challenge SINGLE

'b' - challenge DOUBLE

'v' - challenge VOID

'f' - challenge 5-POINTS

The chat window

The chat window has players pictures on the left side. To submit your picture open a chat window and click on the bottom frame.

List command

The list command shows more detailed information. Any play that was challenged will have a (*) after it. If someone passes because the play was challenged, the list command will show that play. Both players must have 1.7 to have these records.

Other changes

- You can set your language from Options -> Set variable. You will have to restart the program for the changes to take effect.

- If your time expires and the game is over the system will send a PASS

- The game ends after 4 consecutive PASS but the last one must be a clean one (not caused by a lost challenge)

Changes on 1 March 2003, WordBiz 1.6

Groups

Overview

The group system is designed to let players who shares the same interests form communities within ISC. We are expecting from groups to organize events like matches and tournaments inside the group or between groups , and have activities that justify the existence of that group. We are not eager to create groups only to be used as a chat channel. Groups without activities will be removed.

Every group has its own chat channel that can be public or private. A public chat channel can be read-only for non-members or with full access.

Groups have a message system that allows players to send a message to all other members. In some groups only operators can post messages. If this is the case you should ask an operator to post the message for you.

Groups have a vote system that allows players to put a issue on table and ask members to express their opinion. The vote can be set up only by operators. If you wish to set up a vote ask an operator.

Each group has operators, who are privileged players able to invite players into the group or kick them out. Join a group

There are general requirements to join any group and special requirements to join a particular group. General requirements are:

- you must have more that 50 games.

To get a list of groups use "gList". To see the description of group "Helpers" use "gInfo Helpers". The requirements to join a group are shown in the description. If you want to join the group Helpers use "gJoin Helpers". An operator must accept your request.

Some groups may ask for personal information, a group for NSA players may ask for: real name, tournament rating. This information can be passed with gJoin command, for example use "gJoin NSA John Doe 1657" to join NSA group. All information passed with gJoin command are private for that group. You can see them if you are a member using "gList NSA".

Some groups may be close. That means you cannot use gJoin command to join that group and you will have to ask an operator of that group to add you. gInfo command shows the operators of a group. Create a group

We are supporting mainly groups related with scrabble , but we will accept any group if there is a general interest for it. We don't accept controversial groups. Any contributory member can have the initiative to start a new group. If you intend to create a new group check first if there is a interest for such group.

A group must have a public description, that can be viewed with gInfo command. The description must contain the purpose of that group, the requirements to join the group and how to join it, any other relevant information about that group.

A group can have the chat channel public or private. A private channel is only for members. If the channel is public it can be read-only for non-members or with full access.

A group can allow to all members to post messages or only to operators. Once you have written the group's description and decide the groups settings send a message with all this information. Operators

Operators are privileged players able to invite players into the group or kick them out. The success of one group depends of the operators. We are expecting from operators to have a good knowledge of the ISC system , to show justness and involvement in running the group. Though a group can be ran by a single operator it is recommended to have more than one. ISC will not name operators but we will reserve the right to reject operators.

Commands for operators:

"gJoin h" - to see the join requests for group helpers.

"gEdit h +carol" - to accept carol in group Helpers. "gEdit h -carol" - to remove carol from group Helpers.

Use gEdit 'group' VOTE 'no' 'text' to set up a vote. When 'no' is 0 'text' must be the description of the issue. When 'no' is not 0 'text' must be an option to vote for.

gEdit 'group' VOTESTATUS 'no' , where 'no' is 0 if there is nothing to vote for, 1 if the vote is open, and 2 when the vote is closed.

Example: If you want to ask members who is the best actor use:

gEdit h VOTE 0 Who is the best actor?

gEdit h VOTE 1 Mel Gibson

gEdit h VOTE 2 Keanu Reeves

gEdit h VOTESTATUS 1

The command to edit the list of members is gEdit 'group' BIO 'handle' 'text'. The list of members can be viewed with gList command.

If JDoe uses "gJoin NSA John Doe 1657" to join NSA group , when it is accepted by the operator the system will insert in the list of members next line: JDoe John Doe 1657

If JDoe doesn't specify his personal information when he does the request to join, the operator must do "gEdit NSA BIO JDoe John Doe 1657" to update the list of members.



Commands for groups

All commands can be shorted instead of gMessage you can use gM. Most commands require to specify the name of a group , if you need to type 'Helpers' you can type only a 'h'.

gClearMessages -- to delete group messages.

If you are a member you can delete only your own messages. Operators can delete any message. "gC h 1" to delete message 1 from group Helpers. "gC h 1 3" to delete messages 1,2,3 from group Helpers. "gC h *" - to delete all messages from group Helpers. "gC h carol" - to delete all messages posted by carol in group Helpers.

gInfo -- shows info about a group.

"gInfo h" - shows information about group Helpers: a short description, the chat channel for that group, operators, etc.

gJoin -- to join a group.

Use gInfo to see the requirements to join a group. Some groups may not accept new members. "gJoin h" - to join the Helpers group. A join request must be accepted by an operator.

gLeave -- leave a group.

"gLe h" - to leave group Helpers.

gList -- shows the list of groups or the list of members.

"gLi" - shows a list of groups and their channels. "gLi h" - shows the list of members.

gMessages -- to read messages.

"gM" - shows the last message posted in all your groups. "gM h" - shows the last 10 messages. "gM h 1 4" - shows the messages 1,2,3,4. "gM h 1" - shows message 1.

gPost -- to post a message.

"gP h message" - post a message for group Helpers. It is a good a practice to start your message with a short proposition, the subject of your message.

gSeek -- to send a seek request to the members of a group.

"gSeek h" - send a seek to the Helpers group. You must be a member.

gVote -- the vote system.

"gVote h" - to see if their is a vote running and the vote options. "gVote h 1" - to vote option 1. The Fair-Play agreement.

The Fair-Play agreement is a commitment to not use and not run certain programs while you are playing scrabble on the ISC. The agreement refers to any anagram program but there are also programs that are forbidden without being an anagram program:

- any program that requires MS-DOS Prompt, old DOS programs, ping, etc.

To sign the agreement type "help fairplay". Read the agreement carefully before accepting. Seek a game window will let you change your formula so you can play only with players who have signed the agreement. Once you have signed the agreement it will be stated so in your finger information.

We don't have stuff members to check if players are respecting the agreement or not , the whole system is automatic. It is possible for the system to cancel the agreement without you breaking the rules. That doesn't mean that you are cheating, only that we cannot verify if you are respecting the agreement or not. The decision to cancel the agreement cannot be reviewed and we reserve the right to do it without any explanation.

"who f" -- to get a list of players who have signed the agreement. Channel 20 has been renamed. It is now Newcomers channel. Changes on 7 December 2002, WordBiz 1.4 These are the new features :

The server has new help files: clocks , forfeit , intro , kibitz , report , restricted , say , set kibitz , sfilter . To see a specific information file type help followed by the name of the file. For example, "help clocks".

Restricted accounts

There are two reasons for an account to be restricted:

- You are using Java Interface , your browser , to connect to the ISC server.

- You are using Wordbiz but you already have a valid account.

The restrictions are:

- you can NOT observe games.

- you can NOT use check command.

- you can NOT use comunication commands like tell, whisper , kibitz, message.

- you can NOT be in the best lists , except duplicate.

- you can send a tell to someone only if that player has 'set tell ON' , default value is ON.

Report foul language

Report a person for using offensive language in a private conversation. The last part of your private conversation will be automatically appended and sent with the report. From the menu select Help -> Report foul language .

Adjudication

The adjudication process is automatically started by the server when one player is disconnected and the game has the noescape flag ON. The process is canceled if the other player is also disconnected or if he starts a new game. After few minutes the player who is still connected will win the game if he is ahead. Otherwise the game will end with no rating adjustment.

To avoid the situation when a player makes a big play then disconnects , the last play doesn't count if it was not his turn when he lost contact.

The rule about a 50 points penalty was canceled.

Support for Italian and Dutch

Two new dictionaries paro - italian and swl - dutch. Four new channels: 7 <paro> , 8 <swl> , 17 <italian> , 18 <dutch>. Paro playears appear with light blue and swl players with brown.

1 minute with 10 points penalty

A player who runs out of time gets another minute with a 10 points penalty. When this minute expires he will forfeit on time , losing the game with a score difference of 200 points.

Older interfaces apply different rules: for Wordbiz 1.2 the player who runs out of time will forfeit on time directly , for Wordbiz 1.3 the players who runs out of time can only pass or challenge until the opponent finishes all the tiles.

New commands: say , kibitz , sfilter , set kibitz

sfilter -- controls what seek requests you receive. By default you receive seek requests only for your default dictionary. From the menu select Options -> Set sfilter .

say -- sends a message to your opponent if you are playing or to your last opponent you are not playing.

kibitz -- sends a message to all players and observers of the game you are observing or playing. Same as the whisper command, except that whisper goes only to the observers, not the players.

set kibitz -- ON to receive kibitzes during a game , default value is OFF.

Old commands: set away , change , set mood , set quietplay

set away -- also declines match requests.

change -- shows the number of tiles changed , it doesnt apply if your opponent has an older interface or if you are examining an old game.

set mood -- Mood variable controls what challenges you receive. To receive all challenges use 'set mood 0' , to receive only challenges that fit your formula use 'set mood 1' , to receive challenges only from your buddies use 'set mood 2' , to not receive challenges use 'set mood 3'.

set quietplay -- Quietplay allows you to block messages while you are playing. To block message from channels use 'set quietplay 1'. To receive only tells from buddies use 'set quietplay 2'. To block all messages use 'set quietplay 3'. To receive all messages 'set quietplay 0'.

Unrated games

Computer players run by ISC accept to play unrated games.

Support for languages

Server support for languages , if you want to receive messages and help files in other language than english use set language command: set language french , set language romanian , set language italian

Changes on 24 August 2002, WordBiz 1.3

Typing the play - only WordBiz 1.3

To type the play, click on the square you wish to start your word. Click with your mouse to get an across or down arrow. Then use the keyboard to type your word. When you finish your word press Enter key. To erase a letter press Backspace key. If a blank is used in your word it will be automatically represented by the letter that doesn't appear on your rack. If the blank represents a letter that is also on your rack and you wish to play it in a certain position on the board you will need to press Shift key when you type the letter.

Changes to the adjudication process

The adjudication process is automatically started by the server when one player is disconnected and the game has the noescape flag ON. The process is canceled if the other player is also disconnected or if he starts a new game. After few minutes the player who is still connected will get 50 bonus points to his score and he will win the game if he is ahead with the additional bonus included. Otherwise the game will end with no rating adjustment.

Forfeit on time - only WordBiz 1.3

When a player's time has elapsed he will not automatically forfeit the game. However, he will not be able to play anymore letters, but can choose to pass or challenge his opponent. His opponent continues to play his letters to the end of those remaining in the pool, without the option of changing any letters.

Changes on 24 July 2002, WordBiz 1.2

Play duplicate - only WordBiz 1.2

WordBiz 1.2 brings duplicate ! To start a game go to Game -> Join DUPLICATE. The rules are simple make your highest play. To see when a game starts join channel 3 if you are a TWL player, 4 - for SOWPODS, 5 - for LOC2000 and 6 - for ODS. For further information about duplicate click here.

Who and Games lists.

Who and games panels will no longer be available due to the huge traffic generated by maintaining them. If you are using a previous version of WordBiz the information in the Who and Games panels will be inconsistent. Instead you can use 'who' and 'games' commands to see these information. There are many flags you can use with these commands to reduce the lists displayed. For example 'who s' shows only sowpods players, 'who *' shows only players involved in a game. For further information see who, games.

Chat window - from WordBiz 1.2

Chat window is a handy way to have a conversation with a person or in a channel. To open a chat window go to Window -> New chat window, write a handle or select a channel. All conversation with that person or that channel will be redirected in the chat window. If 'dispose on exit' is unchecked the conversation will remain even after you close the window and it will be available when you open it again.

Private games - from WordBiz 1.2

A private game will hide your rack to observers. If one player has private ON the game will be private. To access this variable go to Options - > Set variables.

Pending and unmatch commands.

A match request sent to a player involved in a game will be placed in a queue and delivered when the player is finished playing. To see all match requests waiting to be sent use 'pending' command. To withdraw a match request sent to carol, use 'unmatch carol'. To withdraw all your match requests use 'unmatch'.

To see who is in channel 2 use 'finger 2' instead of 'who 2'.

Changes on 13 May 2002, WordBiz 1.1