I don't normally do these popularity contests, so I'll just make this brief:
 
Last summer, this long-retired karter unexpectedly won the Kart tournament in Virginia in what felt like a Rocky Balboan moment. I had not even powered on my N64 more than twice between the 2008 and 2009 meets, so I had no expectations of going beyond the final four. Who could have possibly known that the finals would end up as epic as they did in the final lap of Rainbow Road after it looked like I was eliminated for sure?
 
If by some fluke, I happen to win this contest (about as likely as repeating a Kart victory again in Virginia), then perhaps I'll declassify a Kart shortcut. I have a feeling I may be regretting this, but I don't expect to win anyway, so the secrets will likely remain safe for at least another decade or so. :-)

Wow, holy shit.  I'm for sure voting for Wonn.

Before I say you have my vote, is this for MK64, is it Time Trial applicable, and approximately how much time does it save per lap?

Probably have my vote.

What could it be  

karterfreak wrote on 05/17/10 at 22:20:21:

 
It could be SMK or MK64. I might base my decision on which community gathers more votes. In either case, it's Time Trials applicable. If I specify how many seconds per lap, I would be saying too much right now. It suffices to say that we are talking World Record material one way or the other.

Agreed that you probably shouldn't hide SCs for the game, and use bribery for the kart contest to gain votes. How do we know you have a SC?  

^
 
If my word alone is not good enough by now, let's just say that another highly respected member of this community has known my secrets for many years. He is of course sworn to secrecy until I decide otherwise. I have been waiting for a good opportunity to unveil such things, so I thought this contest seemed like a good way to do this.
 
Of course if you dislike such controversial tactics, feel free to vote for someone else. I won't be offended either way and will respect your decision. I just want to see if there still is demand for such knowledge, so it is no loss to me whether I win or lose....

Mmmm.... I think that I believe you have found that new SC you're speaking about.
You're a known and respectable member of community, so I can't believe you're lying about it just to get votes here; all of us here are enough mature and smart.
I'll give you my vote coz I feel excited of the fact a new SC being discovered, but I just think that your promise won't have enough impact to make you go through the whole bracket until the final. Maybe promising to show it in a previous round (not right now, maybe 1/16-1/8) could be a realistic goal and it will give you the enough support to win.
Not trying to missrespect your campaing, that has been only my two cents.

David Wonn wrote on 05/18/10 at 06:37:32:


Kevin...



I've been trying for too long to not know this.

It's gotta be either SL or KTB, assuming MK64 of course.

I may not have been around in the late 90s or early 00s, but I know who he is. I know that he's one of the most respected MK64 players, one of the greatest SC finders, and overall one of the best karters ever in the community, but to not say anything about the finding of an SC that could be helpful to the whole community until a popularity contest? I just don't see it as campaigning.

does anyone remember the fake chat when whalls made fun of this exact scenario?  

i bet your trusted source is Marsden.  he had a tape coming the whole time!

Tom why are you getting so upset?  Keeping shortcuts classified in a secret underground vault isn't something new, it's a Wonn trademark!  Just look at his site...

"I’d also like to point out that I have been working on some other shortcuts, some of which may even save more time than some of the ones listed above. Some of these shortcuts have only been accomplished once or twice, and I haven’t been able to re-create them. Since I haven’t perfected them yet, I have not revealed them to anyone yet (well, maybe to a few people, but they’re sworn to secrecy at this time). If I see a need to reveal them, I’ll put them in the Rumors section until either someone else or myself perfects the technique to these confidential shortcuts."

That's been there literally since the dawn of time.

^
 
Good catch. I almost forgot I wrote that disclaimer, which has been there since my site launched in 1998. Therefore, it is safe to say that some shortcuts have been classified for over a decade.
 
My primary reason for keeping any shortcuts secret is summed up in that ancient quote. I prefer recreating shortcuts at least a few times before unveiling them so that I can provide an accurate and consistent method when they go public. Unfortunately some shortcuts are never successfully recreated, so unveiling them too soon yields inconsistent results. If I had unveiled certain fluke shortcuts in the early days, it is hard to say if they would have been accepted by the community. The decision is a double-edged sword, and there are consequences either way.
 
For example, just before losing Internet access in late 1997, I made the decision to go public with the Kalimari Desert fluke shortcut which would have resulted in 20-something second laps. I could only provide a vague description since I had already spent too much time on the track to save a ghost. Without being able to provide an exact spot for where the fluke shortcut occurred, it was exponentially more difficult for anyone to recreate it. As a result, still nobody has recreated it to this day, almost 13 years after my initial fluke hit. That is, unless you count Gallo's claims of recreating it, and we won't get into that right now. After seeing how revealing a fluke shortcut went nowhere, I decided to stick with my original policy with other fluke shortcuts: Don't reveal them until they can at least consistently be proven to be recreated. The "Rumors" page was designed to at least partially fill that gap and satisfy those who wished to seek out shortcuts on their own. But I can't satisfy everyone....
 
I also keep some glitches secret if they are too dangerous, either by destroying game data or by destroying the very competitive nature of a game. This decision is not taken lightly. At one point, I felt I had come close to crossing that line when I unveiled the data corruption glitch in Perfect Dark. If memory serves me correctly, this glitch was so bad that it ruined Steven Zwartjes' copy of the game and he got rid of it. There is good reason I did not expand any further on this destructive glitch, since it not only destroys game data, but it destroys your ability to save! I did not want to repeat instances such as this, so some glitch discoveries may very well go to the grave with me. For the most severe glitches, my secrecy is not negotiable and never will be, as I do not wish to be responsible for destroying certain games or the communities surrounding them. We all have to live with the consequences of the decisions we make, so if some of my decisions are controversial, so be it. :-)