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  Everything you need to know about routers on Xbox Live.
• Diagnosing Xbox Live Connections
  Use the Xbox Dashboard to solveICMP, MTU, and NAT issues.
• Lose the Lag
  We've got a few pointers to help you avoid laggy games and host lag-free ones

Resets - Another Chance

Here's a story of two gamers: PhlegmNugget and DiaperBaby. PhlegmNugget is a longtime Xbox Live player. He was a beta tester (and won't let anyone forget it). He has a lot of free time and a lot of skills. So he's been dominating the leaderboards on his favourite games since Xbox Live launch. No one has been able to unseat him.

DiaperBaby isn't new to gaming—far from it. He was first in line to buy an Xbox and puts in as many hours as he can. But he didn't have high-speed Internet in his neighborhood until last week, so he's relatively new to Xbox Live. He's a bit annoyed that all these other players have such a head start on him.

Hey, what happened to my record?

Then one day the stats were reset. PhlegmNugget, who had been resting on his laurels fully expecting to remain at the top, dropped off the board, while DiaperBaby shot up to number three. PhlegmNugget was ticked off. DiaperBaby was thrilled.

What's the deal? Resetting leaderboards is a feature that some games use to keep the competition vigorous and give all players a chance to be top dog. Game publishers can choose to reset leaderboards at a bunch of different intervals, including weekly, monthly, or never. Publishers reset at times that make sense for their individual games. Some of them have multiple leaderboards that reset at different times and other games don't reset at all. It's completely up to them because who knows the game better than the guys who made it?

Why resetting is a good thing

While PhlegmNugget was initially unhappy, he soon realized that the deadline on stats kept the play fresh and challenging. Each month brought a clean slate and a new opportunity to prove his superiority. And DiaperBaby was glad to start on a level playing field. He especially liked the fact that if he had a bad month—he just didn't have his game on—no worries, at the end of the month he could start over.

So go ahead and play like there's no tomorrow. The more you play, the more likely you will be to stay on top. But rest assured that in some games, at least, you can always start over in a week or a month!