I respect you Ken, and I appreciate your thoughts.
Originally, I had multiple player scores. For example, I would have a Arcade score and a Mame score for the same person. It was asked for duplicate people's scores to be removed. If you will, you can see the list as an aggregate. The far right column tells what the platform is. So in a sense, the format is just that a formality. So you can scan in one shot what all the Arcade scores are, or the Mame. The distinction is made in this column because it is not an exact comparison between Arcade and Mame for example. No assumption should be made that we are mixing per say, that is what the platform column helps to deliniate. The kind of evidence or verification is in the source column. So, in one look, you can see all the scores together, but you can also see what platform it was on, and what level of verification it has.
Now, I personally don't agree with your either/or mentality. You are certainly entitled to it. From the very start my vision had been to create an decent alternative for those who would never pay for submissions. As soon as TG started charging for submissions I knew there would be a percentage of people who would not follow suit. But I never intended to create a replacement but rather I have always made all attempts to direct people to TG at every turn.
Additionally, the list has helped to draw people to our community and offer them a way to get a score recognized by us. In the general discussion thread I have written a novel explaining where this list exists on the spectrum of possible lists. And I knew, that anytime a line was drawn that people would fall on either side of it. The list is an attempt to balance credibility and relevance. If the list was too strict it would exclude too many legitimate scores, but if it is too lax it equally becomes less relevant because the scores that are allowed had not passed through a reasonable amount of scrutiny.
I am sure that we trust each other and that none of us will ever cheat, but we are not dealing with us alone. We have a public that watches us from a distance. I wanted the list to be the place to post your scores, and that the list itself would lend a certain level of credibility to it because it was evidenced-based and passed through a reasonable amount of scrutiny. I wanted people to look at the list and come to trust that the scores contained therein is the best representative of reality as we can get and still keep it free of mere claims or questionable means. I truly believe that this list has kept an incredible balance in the light of new situations and has lent both fun and legitimacy to the list.
Trust me, I have made every attempt to help people get their scores submitted and accepted.
