chapcrap wrote:We don't want sitting and I'm not sure what else to do. I'm open to suggestions that aren't completely getting rid of the rule...
As far as the scoreboard not working, I'll check on it. This is the first time we've done something like that, so I'm sure it's buggy.
So because
the site hasn't figured out how to get the long-anticipated sitter feature in place,
the users get punished?! I can't see the logic behind that. I understand why you want the rule there, but then you don't give the users the ability to comply with the rules. You bury this VERY IMPORTANT rule with VERY SEVERE punishment in tiny text inside the last spoiler of the OP?! I mean, with the way 1v1 goes, basically 1 day of being away from the computer is going to cost you the entire tournament.
It would be one thing if this was advertised clearly to everybody. In that case, I would've found some way to take the turns from my phone and just waited 10 minutes for each page load (I was in an area with bad cell reception when I requested a sitter). Most of the turns were inconsequential even in the games that I was winning. But now I'm DQ'd from 5 of my 14 games this round. If it had happened a few days later, I would've probably been bounced from nearly all of them.
If you want an alternative suggestion, I'd say that at a minimum you should've made it very clear to people that the no sitting rule was in place. Better yet, would've been to post it in gamechat of every game in the tournament. There's a couple suggestions floating around out there about having certain automatic announcements in game chat. If they're not already included, things like special tournament rules should be added to that suggestion. (I imagine that lots of people would be happy if fog rule tournaments had an announcement to that effect come up in chat.)
My other suggestion, is that you use common sense in this situation. Have there be a warning first before users have to forfeit except in egregious situations. I can't speak to other situations, but in my case, I gained zero advantage from having a sitter. My sitter even complained to me about the types of maps and settings that were being played. I was probably disadvantaged by having my sitter take my turns given that they were outside his wheelhouse. I even stated as much in chat in the Eastern Hemisphere games.
My third suggestion, which you've already rejected is to abandon the rule because it is unworkable. If you aren't going to be checking for sitting violations (which should still only happen after widespread notification of the rule), then the only people who get punished are the ones whose sitters follow good procedure and announce their presence. That's a horrible way of enforcing a rule.
You're discouraging good practice of sitters announcing themselves, which has ramifications beyond this tournament.
I'm just in utter disbelief about how this situation is being handled. I understand why you want the rule, but you don't have the tools to enforce it. And the way that you went about (not) announcing the rule and enforcing it are horribly misguided.