@ Oli. >>> an interface to post an anonymous-message from within the game on the forums... (But I have no clue how hard this would be...)
It looks a good idea. But.
But it would also be rather useless if, first, people doesn't learn how important is to preserve anonymity of games. Because they could still post on forum with their name. Esp. new beginners or newcomers could not be aware of the usefulness of this new tool. They could be even not aware it exists. Or they'd know it, but they're not aware that posting on Forum is an issue, if they use their real Nickname. So? So:
__________ 1 - A clear Rule ________
Well, in the whole >help/etiquette page, there's only one, weak and small, reference* about this issue. And it could not be that obvious, that you must not talk in the Forum about Anon/Gunboats, if you don't read it carefully.
I believe that we should put more enphasis on this issue. Perhaps with a new stand-alone Rule where you state clearly that anonymity of games must be preserved, and therefore in the Forum is forbidden:
- to talk about ongoing games
- to post links of Anon games
- say anything that can make it clear that you're in a certain Anon games
- ...
So...Make up Rule 10? :)
IE, the Italian WebDiplomacy site has Rule 3.1.** This is my (bad) translation:
>3.1 Preserve anonymity
>
>If you join an Anonymous game, do not reveal, in any case, that you're in it to
>any users. Depending on how grave infringements of the present rule are,
>Mods will remove you from a game, "freeze" your account for a period, ban
>you forever. They can also cancel games as many people are involved.
A stand-alone Rule would be a useful tool.
This way, when somebody links, in the Forum, a gameID of an Anon, other users wouldn't be forced to explain with long messages all the reasons why it's a wrong thing to do, but they could simply say "Hey mate, you can't do this. Didn't you read Rule 3.1?"
So the Forum would be really and easily self-moderated. Any user could teach the proper behaviour to newcomers and mods would intervene in a very little number of cases.
__________ 2 - A sight from a different point of view __________
Why should people be wanting to talk about starting/ongoing games?
I see 4 main reasons:
1) Advertising the game they just created or joined
2) Ask for clarifications about the Variant they're playing (Special rules, features, borders...)
3) Report errors, bugs, glitches...
4) Search & recruit a substitute who takes over a CDed Country
Am I forgetting any more good reason?... No?... Well, let's see.
1) Advertising is not a good reason. Quiet, I explain.
ADvertising is funny, yes. But is it really necessary? Like most of the players do in here, and surely all expert players do, when I want to join a new game I open the >Games/New page. Then I read ALL the games. I read what their variant/bet/phase/pot type/press rule/EoG/VC/Rating Req/whateverelse is. Only THEN, I choose my game. Why should I care of ADs? Perhaps there's a better game starting! I always check ALL starting games, so I can choose.
I won't miss the ADed game because I'll check them all. So what's the use in ADs? And why I usually read ADs and open the links inside, then? Mainly because someone could reveal he's into an Anon, and turn the game itself from Anon to NAA.
Funny. Currently, the main reason why I read ADs is to know which games I MUST NOT JOIN or which games I MUST LEAVE before they start. :D
So they only kinds of games that really need ADs are:
a) Live Games. There's a thread already. (But many people don't know/use it. A pity all newcomers open new threads for their live games. And the Forum is rather spammed. There's should be something in the Help Section. A link?)
b) Games with some special rule (no-stabbing, team games, fasces349's Metagames, ... ) that you can't deduce from the game parameters. A thread explaining the special rule(s) is needed. Interested people usually make questions and rules are debated. So everybody know who will join it. At this point make it Anon would be... pointless.
c) Games inside a Tournament. Same as "b"
All other kinds don't need ADs. Expert players read the >Games/New page often and carefully.
2) Explanations. They can be asked WITHOUT linking the GameID. If only someone could explain this simple rule to beginners. Put anything in the Help Section?
3) Errors Report. The only person who can do something with errors is Oli. So why the hell people post messages on the forum linking gameIDs of Anon games?!? PM Oli! I don't care! Only cheaters care.
Put anything in the Help Section?
4) Search & recruit a substitute who takes over a CDed Country (And we're back to where this thread started, BTW).
Well nobody makes ADs for hopeless CDed countries. And people usually don't make ADs if they can take advantage from a neighbour's CD. So when I read an ADs like "Take over this France! Very good & playable position!", I open the map and I usually understand which Country is held by the user who made the AD. I mean to say that "take-over-this-Country" ADs are done ONLY when there's someone who has an interest in it. Usually because his enemy can take more advantage from that CD than him. Well. (Well?)
Now. I must confess that I don't open >Games/Open page when I'm looking for a new game. And I'm afraid that not enough people do it, since the CD Countries aren't usually taken over, in the games I'm in. This is the point.
I think we should find a way to encourage people to take over countries in any position. Not only those playable and ADed ones. Possibly all.
My idea is the following:
1) Taking over a CD is the opposite of doing a CD. It's a right thing to do! It's useful!
So why don't we consider it when we compute a Reliability Rating? If you could do a stand-alone stat for Take-Overs (like "Left", but without interfere with other percentages) you could use this stat like a "bonus" in your RR formula.
2) Half buy in. TO's bonus wouldn't be enough encouraging for those who already have RR=100%. Further, it often happens that you see the map and read:
France....Left.....Bet 20
....worth 40
....SCs 12.....units 10
it may look a good position but it's Autumn and last Spring 2 enemy units took 2 French SCs and now they're about to take one more. Stats say 12 SCs. Truth is 9. So why should I spend 40
for a Country that actually is worth only 30
? Let players pay 20
for it and you'll have tons of users looking for TOs. Would it be doable?
People trying to overcome their bad RR. People looking for a good buy. Or both things.
>Game/Open would be the first page users would open as they log in this site.
No more ADs.
No more 40 "Open" games (I just looked at it), that is to say 40 screwed games, on this server.
________ 3 - Conclusions _________
There are more effective ways to avoid people break their anonymity typing game IDs on the Forum. Also they are SOLID solutions, because they teach people the correct behaviour. Many new players join this site every week and they learn bad behaviours from uneducated old users. It'll be ever worse... unless we don't break this vicious circle and start teach.
If we put many useful informations on the Help Section, people would open it often.
They'd learn.
So maybe anonymous-messages is just a good-looking weak solution, on the wrong path. Also, they'd be easily misused. We'd have lots of idiots anonymously SPAMMING the Forum.
Luckily, we got better solutions, I believe.
Kind regards,
Guaroz
______________________________________
* - "Rarely self-moderation isn't enough; e.g. threads which share information on a private / anonymous / gunboat game,"
** - http://webdiplomacy.it/rules.php
need someone to take over russia in youngstown! game didnt start yet
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