Languages by worth [1] (in USD):

• php.net : $10,176,050
• python.org : $4,088,792
• perl.org : $246,064
• ruby-lang.org : $219,624

Clearly PHP is #1. And PHP should sell this domain name and purchase the competitors, so here’s how that proposal works:

First, purchase the competitor domain names:

10,176,050 – (4,088,792 + 246,064 + 219,624) = 5,621,570

Next, purchase php.org for future use:

5,621,570 – 2,594 = 5,618,976

And lastly, distribute the remaining cash to the php.net account holders

5,618,976 / 1,568 = $3,583.53 checks for everyone

So if you want to be a part of this action, then be sure to apply for a SVN account within the next week. Here’s one way to do that:

• Go to https://edit.php.net/
• Or, use the [edit] links on the top right of every PHP manual page, and click them
• Create a patch or three
• Email phpdoc@lists.php.net about these patches/changes, and introduce yourself
• Receive a php.net account (and your very own @php.net (soon to be @php.org!) email address) and start committing
• And now wait for a large fat sack of cash in the mail, in the form of a check (signed by Rasmus, our BDFL)

How have we not done this already?!

And PHP is determining how best to take advantage of the haystack/needle confusion, but the increased site traffic from confused users can and should be taken advantage of. See, this was part of the master plan all along!

Solid reference: [1] http://domainvalues.com/

Also, I recently lived on a farm for a few months and enjoyed the experience. I’m in great shape. Being active is good for the soul.

Here are some tips to newcomers (newbies), and tips that are based on watching my friends progress.

Do not drop top draft picks early, even after poor performances

Last year a friend dropped his #1 pick Michael Turner after week #3. This caused a lot of discussion and poking fun but it’s understandable too. Nobody wants poor performers on their teams, but we all have our bad days/weeks. Players are drafted early for a reason, so store them on your bench instead of dropping. Give them time to find themselves.

This year a friend dropped his top three wide receivers, including Brandon Marshall and DeSean Jackson. They didn’t have stellar first weeks but as stated above, not everyone does. And this especially applies to wide receivers, who aren’t as consistent as running backs.

And there are several places that list who you should own, with one being the “Big Board” at Yahoo. It lists the top 100 players to own, so ideally the majority of your team is on this list. However, keep in mind that this is only one guys opinion.

Summary: Don’t panic.

If you’re unsure, use crowd wisdom to decide

We use Yahoo. It lists statistics like “projected rankings” and “% owned” which are key. Yahoo fantasy gurus determine what players are projected for over the course of the season. So while they aren’t perfect, it’s a decent baseline to use. Percent owned uses crowd wisdom which means if a player is 90-100% owned then there’s a good reason. Granted this doesn’t apply well to “new guys” but it’s still a worthwhile piece of information. Never drop near 100% owned players (unless they died).

Let experts help determine who to start each week

A lot of sites offer weekly projections to determine who will be the top performers for the upcoming week. All sites that manage fantasy leagues (like Yahoo) offer this next to your players, but plenty of sites are dedicated to this too. Here are a few:

• Rotoworld – They post their rankings every Thursday with an update on Saturday. The series is called “Goal Line Stand” and does a great job.
• ESPN – They post their rankings on Wednesday and update them throughout the week, and offer several peoples rankings.
• Yahoo – Updated on Thursday, and offer several peoples rankings.

Waivers, free agents, and bench management

Not everyone is on a team, and throughout the season you will pickup and drop players. There are two distinct types and although each league manages waivers differently, they all have the same basic idea:

• Waivers cannot be immediately picked up. It’s a period of time when each team has opportunity to pick up players by placing a waiver claim. If multiple teams place a waiver claim on one player, then the “who gets them” is determined by a ranked waiver priority system. And once you use a waiver, then your priority resets to last. For example, in a ten team league each team has priority of 1 through 10. When #1 uses a waiver, they are rest to #10 and then 2-10 all bump up to 1-9. This applies to all positions. One strategy is to save waiver claims so that you eventually become #1 and can pickup anybody you want, when you want them. In this case you only pickup free agents until that happens.
• Free agents are players that “cleared waivers” meaning nobody put in a waiver claim. Most players fall in this category, and these players can be added at any time. They cost nothing. Simply drop a player and pick up a free agent.
• Some leagues have a FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) which is the same as waivers except instead of a prioritized number (1-10) you have a specified budget to use throughout the year. This will likely be common as time progresses. It’s a silent auction meaning you place a bid and hope for the best (that you “won”).
• Your bench are full of backup players that you may play if the matchup is right (e.g., they face the Rams), or if a starter gets injured, or are players to use during bye weeks, and/or players that you’re giving time to see if they’ll eventually be good.

Typically you’ll drop bench players for waivers/free agents, and instead move “lame” starters to the bench. Also, dropping a player puts them on waivers. And in many leagues, all players go on waivers from Sunday-Tuesday, then become free agents on Wednesday.

Drafting

This is a different topic and has already concluded in the league in question. But I recommend getting good/elite WRs, and drafting a kicker/defense in the last two rounds. And have only one TE.

Summary

Good luck! :)

PHP Planet Note: I see PHP Planet has added all of my PHP posts, yet the pubDate remains the same (old) so I’m unsure why it’s doing that. The URLs did change however. Investigating…. FAIL.

Update: Wrote the planet.

http://paulgraham.com/stuff.html

Warning: It contains a lot of words, and no pictures.