Welcome to the Fall 2007 Movement issue of the Pouch!

I'd like to begin by offering thanks to our outgoing Editor Heath Gardner for all his hard work on the past three issues. I first heard from Heath back in February of this year, when he asked me to contribute an article for the S2007M issue. I agreed, and offered to help with the editing duties as well; and we've been working together on the Pouch ever since. Heath did a tremendous job of soliciting articles, learning the technical aspects of the site from scratch, and pulling it all together in time to meet our deadlines. I'm sure everyone will join with me in wishing him luck and success in his graduate studies, and thank him for all the effort he's put into running the Pouch smoothly.

I'd also like to thank the organizers of WDC 2007, which was held in Vancouver from August 9th to the 12th. I was able to attend (my very first convention, as I may have mentioned before!), and had a great time. In my first round Thursday night, I found myself facing none other than last year's WDC champion, Nicholas Sahuguet (!!!) — what a way to start my first tournament!!! I somehow managed to stave off elimination in that game. Overall I didn't place anywhere near the top, but I did manage to win an award:

I'm just so proud! (If you look closely, you'll see he even has a gold tooth…) .

Of course, the best part of WDC 2007 was getting to meet so many fellow Dip enthusiasts, especially people I'd already been exchanging e-mails with or who have been published in previous issues of the Pouch. Many of them have contributed to this issue, including Rob Stephenson, Greg Duenow, Edi Birsan (of course!), and new WDC Champion Doug Moore.

The full list of WDC 2007 results appears in this issue's Just Passing Through column, courtesy of Matt Shields. Congratulations and thanks to Matt, Nathan, Mike, Riaz, Len, and all our other hosts in Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest who took such good care of us before, during, and after the weekend, and who did so much to make the event a success.

The whole experience left me eager for my next World Diplomacy Championship, and I'm sure I'm not alone! So in this issue we have the first article in a series leading up to WDC 2008. In addition to writing this article, auspiciously-named organizer Sebastian Beer has also very kindly agreed to let us translate and publish articles from his own online Diplomacy magazine, so you can expect to see some of those in future issues.

As for the current issue, we cover a wide range of topics. There are articles on strategy, negotiating tactics, ethics, and general news. We've continued our regular columns, revived some old favorites, and even added a new one. And we've done it just in time for the start of the academic year, when (I hope!) many new students will discover and take advantage of the Pouch and DPjudge.

I'm particularly happy to be able to say that this is the third issue we've managed to get out on time. As Editor I think it's important for everyone to feel confident that the Pouch Zine will appear regulary according to our published schedule, and I will continue to make that a priority.

However, to do that we need lots of articles: I encourage all of you to write them! Write up your thoughts on strategy and tactics, stories of your game experiences, your opinions on the larger questions facing the hobby! Send me Letters to the Editor on previous articles, or give me suggestions on what else you'd like to see. Our next official submission deadline is October 1st, 2007, for the F2007R issue going up on October 31st. If you have an article, or even just an idea you'd like to discuss, please do drop me a line (that's editor@diplom.org). Don't be shy, and don't delay! Your contributions are what make the Pouch what it is.

So with that in mind, enjoy this Fall 2007 Movement issue of the Pouch!

And be sure to come back on Hallowe'en for our next installment…

The Editor (editor@diplom.org)

If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.