another 2:

BostaHumana
jubi

Since everyone seems to know each other, would it be a good idea to assign random seats and anonymous --possibly themed-- names at the beginning of round one, until there are only two players left, assuming this is even possible...?

Whoops, I meant only at the top tables.

I believe the main difference between a pregame alliance and a normal alliance is whether or not the people on the table know about it.

You can only understand a pregame alliance when you know two people know each other and would actually make such an alliance. If you have that information you (and possibly other players) can act on it. However, if you don't you will usually find out only at a later stage in the game, maybe too late.

On the contrary, normal alliances work either by chat (which everybody can read) or a silent understanding which is in both players interests (which you can analyze during the game).

If they know what they're doing I'd rather not play against people who announce they're going to do a pre-game alliance. In the long run it favours them at everyone else's expense.

thats a lot of names there. are you just mad becuase you got beat?

"If they know what they're doing I'd rather not play against people who announce they're going to do a pre-game alliance. In the long run it favours them at everyone else's expense."

It only favours them as long as they keep it hidden. When it is known they will work together the other players can act on that, in the extreme case making a 5-vs-2 alliance because they hate premade alliances.

But their alliance could be 4 vs 3! And if they use it only one out of a billion games that's still an unfair advantage. Good players playing for rating benefit from pre-alliance.

Yeah, what he said. I'm against the idea of black-listing someone because of what they did in one game. Even if they had a dreaded pre-game alliance, usually people figure it out and give them a spanking. There's no reason to always attack or never forgive that person, who probably learned their lesson the natural way (either by losing due to poor starting positions, or losing due to being sniffed out and burned at the stake in the next game or two).

Also, some of these long lists of players accused of pre-game alliances may have just had silent truces for one game, and it pissed off the person posting. So unless I am on the board and seeing it for myself, I'm disinclined to believe anything I read in the forum about so-and-so has a pre-game alliance or an ugly mother or wah wah wah.