[cccccttttt]

Suggest BBO use clocks for tournaments:


Each pair has a clock and is allotted so much time per board

depending on the event.


A clock only ticks when it is a pair's turn to bid

or play a card.


At the moment they hit the screen button to complete

their bid or card play, their clock stops, and the other pair's

clock starts clicking downward.


Most boards will be completed within the allotted time,

so move on to next board, with new clock settings for both

sides.


If a clock does run down to zero, an automatic favorable score

is assigned to the other pair.


When a director is summoned for whatever issue, both clocks stop

until the director restarts them.


Benefits:

---all slow play issues handled smoothly and fairly

---reduces an area of tension between pairs

---assists each player to better manage their time



Downside:

---BBO software change

---period of adjustment for new player


Tournament Chess and Go have long used clocks, and

Backgammon has finally adapted them in the bigger events.


Online Bridge would also benefit.


ct

[BunnyGo]

It's not that simple. For example. Say I know that I can claim a hand with all the remaining tricks (or all but one of the remaining tricks with no reasonable play for that trick). I can play lightning fast, but the opponents will be thinking hard and taking time to not make a mistake. Should I be billed for this time, should they? Who's to say? It may actually slow the game down...

[Bbradley62]

I guess this suggestion is a lot different than the one you made three months ago:
http://www.bridgebas...__1#entry578257

[barmar]

He didn't use an obnoxiously huge font the first time.

[Bbradley62]

barmar, on 2011-December-26, 00:20, said:

He didn't use an obnoxiously huge font the first time.

So, size=5 is "obnoxiously huge" and size=4 is "obnoxiously big"?

[babalu1997]

may i improve on these suggestions?

1) block the bbo websites on all airports to prevent players from signing up for games within 45 minutes of a flight

2) block bbo websites 45 minutes prior to closing time on all starbucks to prevent folks from rushing me

3) block bbo websites 45 minutes from dinnertime so i do not suffers wives and husbands wrath for playing too slow

4) tell impatient folks to restrict their games to speedballs and express games

[mycroft]

I play a complicated Precision variant with lots of Alerts. With the suggestion made, it is in my interest to not give explanations with my Alerts (which does take *time*, but isn't at the moment "my time") - and to be a hunt-and-peck typist for my replies when they ask (because it's on "their time"). Oh, and either I can be complete with my explanations (and get railed at for "wasting their time") or stingy (and get railed at for "incomplete" or "useless" explanations and need for reasks).

If you switch clocks on "please explain", to alleviate that issue, now you encourage my opponents to ask *everything*, and re-ask, and all the other wonderful time-wasting things.

Over and above all of this, one hand does not a good limiter make. For one thing, almost always there is one side that takes a majority of the time on a hand, depending on what issues exist with it. So, unless you're dividing the 7 minutes-a-board into two 5-minute clocks, there will *always* be time pressure.

I don't want to put any more incentive to game the system into the system; I don't want to put any more incentives to add "faster, please" into the BBO lexicon. What currently is there, oddly enough, works. It's not a bad idea to have clocks, that just tick in the background, so that when a table's late after a 4-board round, if it looks like the time has been divided 20-10, it's evidence in what to do; but these suggestions are much too drastic (and, as I said, gameable).

[FM75]

There is a tacit assumption being made here that there is a constant (measurable) or zero delay between an action of one player and the visibility of the action to the next to play.

The assumption is false. It doesn't work that way regardless of whether the players are using windows client or the browser/flash implementation.

[mgoetze]

babalu1997, on 2011-December-26, 14:32, said:

1) block the bbo websites on all airports to prevent players from signing up for games within 45 minutes of a flight

What about people who have to wait 6 hours for a connecting flight?