The Qualification games took place.
First, for the ones, who missed it: Honzik played vs. deGrave (both RB) the first quick 5min game in ffa. Honzik was leading by 23-11when they both agreed to let deGrave win in Mumble. After that, Honzik almost stopped playing and deGrave won by 24-23. Honzik commented the game with this words right after:
|RB|Honzik1 (37): sorry for bad end, we spoke on mumble about who will win :)
I then said:
PSL-Ref_shmutz (10): good to know, actually i'd have to disqualify you both for that
What followed were some discussions in IRC where some players acted pretty unfriendly. Then, on Monday, I read in the Facebook-Group "Sauerbraten" a post by Undertaker, which stated that I would have banned Honzik for all modes for one month. Shame on me. Thing is, I haven't. All I did was say, what I would have to do, and/or what I should do. So, please: before you guys overreact, see and read what's really happening. And: stop assuming we are receiving money from anyone. We're not from Russia ;-)
Ok, now in our view, after having talked about it, Honzik1's and deGrave's act was unsportsmanlike misconduct, that should and will be reacted on. The reason is simple: Other players are waiting for months to make it upon the to 4 and get the chance to try to qualify in the quick 5 minute games. If Honzik1 did not participate, someone else would have had the chance. It's just unfair to advance to the 5 Minute games and then withdraw, although you were obviously winning. We care about our players and don't want them to be discouraged by seeing us letting such things happen. We also do have a FAQ that tells you that there can't be a rule for everything and that we will have to make some "live" decisions. The circumstance that this is only a FAQ and not a rule in our rules section is something that seems to worry Undertaker in particular. In ways he is right, because our ambition is to have everything in our rules that tells you what you may do and what not. But even as it is now, we don't really see much of a line of defense for people doing so and barring others to get their chance by that.
We will therefore replay the FFA Qualification games in which neither Honzik1 nor deGrave may participate. They will be replayed on this Saturday at 6pm (German Time). No sign-ups necessary, all players who were signed up for last Sunday are free to participate except for Honzik1 and deGrave. 0815 is allowed to play. He also stopped playing seriously, but unlike Honzik he was not leading. It really seems he gave up in rage. Although we recommend not to ever give up (so noone realises how angry you are and how much problems you have with losing), we see no reason to force people to do what will make them at least appear strong.
We will amend our rules and add the possibility for us to react with bans on unsportsmanlike behaviour, so nothing has to be replayed in the future. Details will follow.
We also had to watch for the x-th time that many players don't show up in time, don't have the right client running or don't log in. It is a pain for us to manage the games this way, just as it is a pain to watch them or wait for them to start. We decided to stop being tolerant on this issue and turn into reality what's been the rules for quite a while now - and even add a bit to it. First, we will only allow players to play who have been signed up before 5pm (sharp!). This means: no belated sign-ups (at all) anymore. If you sign up for a team, you will also have to tell us in your email the players and the sub, which means there will be no "tba" anymore. If you don't, we just won't add you to the participant's list. We therefore highly recommend you to name a sub, in case someone from your team does not show up. Second: At the games we will only generally remind you of logging in, checking the client, etc in the time between x.00 pm and x.10 pm, will then see who is online, without asking where someone is, or why someone is not logged in or disconnects. Whoever is there will play in the order you signed up. If two people are missing from your team, you won't be able to participate. The game will then start at x.15 pm. This means: You`ll have to be online, ready at 10 Minutes after the scheduled time and stay online then. If you fail, you seriously risk not to take part. We hope you understand and maybe even like it this way, as the games will at least be way more often be on time.
