Hi everyone! First off, I would like to thank Ackalight for the effort he put into this group over the first 6 weeks putting this group together and providing us with 1.5 months of fun. I wish him the best and hope he'll come back to join us whenever he can.

Yesterday night was a great showing! I hope everyone had fun playing all random and reverse captains mode!

One thing I've noticed through the first 6 weeks of FND2 is that some people are finding it difficult to find traction playing in some of the games. I know the game is a bit difficult at first, and maybe throwing people into those situations cold turkey can be a bit intimidating.

One of the driving philosophies of FND2 is that people of all skill levels can drop in and have a fun time. In an ideal world, we can have enough people to have different lobbies of different skill levels, but we're not quite there personnel wise.

To perhaps get people closer to even footing, I'd like the gauge the possibility of building a mentoring network within FND2. I think having people learn from the more experienced people in the group in a more closed environment with no pressure to perform will help build a stronger bond between people in the group, as well as help new players get more comfortable finding their place in Dota 2.

So to get the ball rolling; I'm calling for instructors. If you're interested in helping out, fill out the google doc below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj0LryxqiHh7dDVyR1VvLUpORlJyVzY1YXZndU5BZlE&usp=sharing

Once I've aggregated the instructor list, I'll open things up for people to find the instructor and time that works for them.

Don't be afraid to play! Hope to see everyone again next Friday!

Hey Guys! I am afraid our time together has come to and end :( But I am leaving you guys in good hands! PenguinNinja, will be taking over in my absence. I am don’t want to say that my departure is permanent but it will be for an extended period of time. I am going to be perusing some studies that I have left behind and would like to get back on track with.

Before I go I want to say that I have enjoyed playing the goofy games we had with all of you! ALL-MID WTF MODE anyone?!?!? It was hilarious. You are all great, smart and beautiful people destined for greatness!

One of my favorite quotes that I think represents this little community very much is:

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Dalai Lama

Please lend your support and help to PenguinNinja as you have done for me. This group of people is awesome and has been my first public attempt at creating something and has been a great success, because it was hinged on YOU guys.

If I had one final wish before I depart I would like you guys to keep playing video games FOR FUN!!! Don’t ever forget that first and foremost we play these games for no other reason than fun. Goof off, laugh, make mistakes, enjoy your time and your Friday Nights!

So I had another Idea occur to me this morning (seems my best ideas come to me in the morning, right after I wake up).

If we can get enough people interested we could organize a little in-house tourney. By that I mean bring your team, I have set up a form, fill it out and we can make brackets. If we can get a consistent turn out of teams I would be willing to try and figure out a prize for the first place teams.

Depending on the amount of teams that sign up we could move the event to a different day, maybe a Saturday morning or something.

We already have casters and people that are pretty familiar with each other so I figure lets make and event where it is very organized and we got games going one after the other until there is a winner. But keep the casual event going as well so that we can enjoy random goofy games and meet new people.

Let me know what you think in the comments. I need to know if you are interested and if you already have a team in mind. If I see a positive response I will post the link to the form and if not well then we will just have our goofy random games.

*Update*

Just to test the form out please fill it out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1e6-AdMbv4SN5DRK_BJ5B9MykyfK5ljGDYMMdvuNoxjo/viewform

My personal write up on the event, with a collection of all the links:

http://stateofimba.com/2013/04/13/friday-nights-dota-2/

To better organize the even, with even splitting of the teams I have created a google doc with the basic field. Please fill that out so we can better know how to place you in games.

I dont think anyone wants to play a 10min walkover and this will help us avoid that.

Please fill this out.

Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqIRRl-LZikEdG5rOC1TRFNxQ1BIcXRBSHJsaElPWHc#gid=0

Hi there, mighty men and women of Dota 2!

A little review of the first Dota2 night.

The response to the first event wasn't just great it was overwhelming to the point of me not knowing how to get all of you into a game. I am sorry for having some of you wait and will try to fix this by the next event. Not sure what else to say, except for: I had a blast and I was the one organizing it! You were all very cool headed and easy to work with :) thank you so much.

The next official event is happening Friday April 12th and 9 pm PST. I want to try for an hour earlier this time around to try and get our eastern players a bit of a more bearable time frame. If you guys want to do it even earlier for that reason let me know and I will try to adjust the time for that to happen.

Unofficially however, feel free to play with everyone that is in the group and is in chat or on your friend list :) Because the whole point of this event was to get more like minded people with a mature attitude together to enjoy Dota 2, in a relaxing atmosphere.

Please join the group chat on steam so that we can get into games together much easier that way. I made it a rule for myself when I get into steam I click My name at the top navigation bar and click groups and join chat. This way we know who is up for a game or two. :)

I have a few other things in the works for this event and will post them soon.

Dota 2 chat room is: Friday Night Dota 2

Twitter is: https://twitter.com/FridayNightDota

RaidCall Group is: Friday Night Dota 2 ID: 5977732