Jigo is possible on OGS
It’s “possible” but incorrectly scored, as B+0.
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Oh boy I love the smell of hot takes in the morning!
hmm is this actually controversial? It’s funny I was going to post the opposite:
Beginners should just start on 19x19
(Or play on it as fast as possible like their second game) Because I don’t think small boards really capture what is exciting and interesting about the game, and since some people will never get around to playing on the big board or they end up thinking the big board is too intimidating. This is just based on my own personal experience trying to teach friends
and
Playing bots is fine
(As long as an absolute beginner has some other source of information like a Janice Kim book or a YouTube channel) many people suffer from ladder anxiety or Internet go anxiety and bots solve this problem. Maybe they play a few strange moves but actually some of the contemporary bots (CrazyStone, Conquest of Go) play games that beginners can mostly understand in my opinion
My last contribution is less spicy:
Go needs an anime gacha game
Based on my experience in a video game Discord who have started a weekly Mahjong Soul session with many participants
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- Always allow Jigo (tie game) and self capture.
- Teach new players without Komi, using area counting (chinese).
- Don’t teach Ko or eyes (let them figure this out).
- Play in spaces not intersections.
- This is an amazing idea for a thread!
@bugcat ah, I did not know! I stand corrected, thank you.
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allow … self capture
This is allowed on OGS in those rulesets which allow it, like New Zealand rules.
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Well, I think many would agree with my opionion, but I’ve also seen many examples of the opposite (like yours), although more on Reddit than here perhaps.
So I think that makes it at least somewhat controversial.
I’d like to add another one:
- Using capture go as a stepping stone to introduce go to novices is redundant (at best).
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I guess you’re right the topic itself is controversial
But we can agree on this, I never understood the point of it
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@le_4TC has recently been showing that capture Go is an interesting game in its own right, just like 9x9.
Check out Capture go problems ⚫
Another opinion of mine: opponents who want to review with you using AI, and comment on its opinion very heavily (1/4–1/3+ of moves), and treat its winrate analysis very religiously despite only being SDK, are pretty tiresome and make the review dull.
Hearing “Kata says it’s fine” again and again really grates on me.
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Yup, I often use NZ rules. It’s not commentary on what OGS can do, it’s how I think all people should play. Especially new players.
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I’m not really sure why self-capture isn’t a mainstream rule.
Perhaps it’s a cultural taboo from prewar Japanese society, in a time when real ritual suicide was a common part of life?
I’m pretty ambivalent, but I do mildly favour stone suicide. It’s relevant in the ko fights, after all.
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I can understand that for some, capture go can be an interesting game in its own right.
But as a teaching tool for “real” go, I feel it’s mostly a waste of time (and it might even be harmful).
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I’m sure this is true once you have some reading skills, but it doesn’t seem like a fun way to learn or teach the game, it would just slow things down. But to be fair, I have only ever taught adult friends who played a lot of other board games already.
My last hot take before I have to work:
Fischer time controls are better than byo-yomi
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I fully agree!
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Let’s just agree that Canadian overtime is the worst after sudden death.
Especially that abomination progressive Canadian…
I prefer byo-yomi to Fischer. If you don’t get too caught up in reading or counting and lose track of reality, it’s quite hard to time out a 5 + 30s byo-yomi game. It’s entirely possible, though, to time out a +10s / move Fischer if you use your time heavily early in the game.
My feeling is that Fischer makes time control a greater part of strategy, which is appealing to some people and a turn-off to others.
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Let me pose a counter opinion 
- Superko is too complicated for humans. Basic ko is fine and any left over repetitions can just be treated as “no result” or a draw (whichever is more convenient). Draws are fine anyway.
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Sounds good to me! Leave superko rules for the Samsung Cup etc, let the masses tie occasionally.
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My Hottest Take
The AGA (and other go orgs) should be ‘flat’ heirchy-less organizations of organizers that are governed by a clear structure of regularly updated rules instead of top down decisions.
(Examples Morning Star Tomatoes, Valve, Github pre-2016, Buurtzorg (Dutch healthcare provider)
I’m sure many folks think this would be crazy, but I’m curious how many of you would be into this.
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I guess I’ll throw mine into the ring:
Beginner Life and Death is necessary for a proper understanding of territory. Whether you teach this initially or wait for it to show up, you can have them attempt to figure it out on their own, but if they don’t, give them guidance. They need this to understand the game.
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These aren’t controversial… They’re straight up true.
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How are the rules updated?