There is a pattern with players when they are in a position that are about to lose and don’t know what to do - they pause the game. It has been happening in a continuous basis. I know for a fact that they go to ask for support. This is very unfair.
I would like to ask that a notice be sent to all players who are under the rank of 16K to refrain from doing this. Thank you.
If a player pauses you can unpause directly by hitting the resume button.
or become 15k and beat them anyway
As already mentioned, if someone pauses a game against your will, you can always unpause it.
If you suspect someone to be cheating, by seeking external help or repeatedly abusing the pause feature, you should definitely report those specific instances to the moderators. There is a “call moderator” button on the right hand panel. Reporting specific cases would be much more effective, since the moderators can then investigate the issue and also consider it within a possibly larger pattern of behavior.
If players choose not to report cheaters, then it only prolongs the problem by delaying it from being brought up to the attention of the moderators, and allowing the cheaters to continue their bad behavior.
I don’t think some sort of mass notice would be effective to deter cheaters or other bad behavior. Also, the problem of bad behavior is not necessarily confined to only the lower ranks, nor should one assume that anything more than a small minority of 16 kyu and below players are misbehaving.
Yes definitely just press the button “call moderator” (and unpause the game if you want).
If a player asks for a pause and comes with a valid reason, I have no reason to deny their request (although they could be cheating). If after the pause they suddenly start playing brilliant moves, I have a reason to believe that they have the help of a 5D or so, who choses to behave dishonourably. I will call in a moderator.
If someone pauses without asking or giving a reason for pausing, I hit the resume button. If they are stupidly persistent, I hit that button three more times, which leaves them no pause left.
Another possibility is that when I am in a truly interesting game and my opponent is running out of time, I can offer pausing the game, while continuing to play.
Some endgames are so fascinating that I don’t want them to be decided by the clock.
Honouring a pause request is always a favour and never an obligation.
You always have the right to ignore a pause request.