Occasionally I will search the forums on different YGO communities for my name to get non e-mail feedback on my articles and blog, go-YGO.com. My favorite type of commentary is constructive criticism because it actually helps me create better content.

Unfortunately, as many of you know, many forums are currently filled with hostile forces that threaten to undermine the lush world of Pojo.biz. Every day of browsing, I see numerous wanna-be “pros” and “trolls” insulting other players deck ideas or concepts. One thing that has gone too far, in my opinion, is the criticism of the Pojo Card of the Day reviewers.

A Brief History and Explanation of the Pojo COTD System

The very first pack I ever opened in Yu-Gi-Oh! Contained a Monster Recovery in Magic Ruler. I paid full retail (lol) for it at a WaldenBooks and rushed home instantly to Google (or was it Yahoo?) the rare to see how to use it. While I didn't find that particular review, I did stumble across the Pojo COTD and ran into the reviews of Someguy, Nickwhiz, and Sandtrap.

Boy did I revere those writers. Back then, there was no information regarding the game. Decklists were not widely distributed and pathetic, wanna-be pro players were few and far between. The community was a lot more open and inspired me to try my hand at writing as well.

The Pojo COTD system has gone strong for eight years. The system is simple. Reviewers are volunteers. Pojo Bill sends us the cards for review on the Thursday, Friday, or Saturday of the week (meaning most reviewers have 2-4 days to write about each card). Many of the cards are from new sets; it's often difficult to understand the ramifications of a card like Drill Warrior upon release.

It's kind of similar to the old criticisms I saw of Metagame coverage. The Metagame writers had to type up the different plays that occurred at the exact time they happened. In such a fast paced format, it was obviously very difficult to get every detail perfect.

A Friendly Hand to your Neighborhood COTD Reviewer

Some of the familiar COTD writers have been doing this, day in and day out, for years without being paid. It is the most grueling job in the business and many writers give up after a few weeks (I have personally given up and resumed eight times or so). I do not have to agree with the opinions of a Dark Paladin or a General Zorpa or an Otaku to still respect all they have contributed to Pojo.com.

I understand it is perfectly well and fine for you to bash COTD writers because you are a random and anonymous internet identity. Sure, you can flame them all you want! After all, their SJC/YCS credentials are just as good as yours and such, right?

Unfortunately that doesn't really work with me. And while I would love to spend every minute defending the entire team from those forum champions who criticize the COTD reviews, it's not really feasible. Our time would be a lot better served if everyone was just a little bit nicer.

My hat is off to all of the players who made Pojo COTD the best institution in the business. I haven't even put out enough work to consider myself a part of the team.