Improving OGS' scoring system

[benjito]

@yebellz

Under the Japanese rules, life and death status is determined by the rules. The concept of “hypothetical play” refers to determining whether or not stones can be captured under perfect play, and this process of adjudication should not (in principle) be limited by the skill of the players (i.e., if a skilled arbiter stepped in to resolve a dispute, then I believe that they should provide the correct judgements, even when both players have gotten the status wrong).

@yebellz

in strict application of the rules, if it is found that the outcome of the game would hinge on who gets to play next, the game should be declared as “both players lose”.

I read this in another thread, and thought it has an interesting relation to AI input in the scoring phase. I didn’t realize there is official/IRL precedent for allowing a stronger player to participate in the scoring process!

[dexonsmith]

One more thought: there are places where optimal play in Japanese rules requires both players passing and then resuming the game repeatedly.

Is an unfinished Ko worth a point in Japanese scoring?

Unlike in old times when formal passes were not invented yet, in modern rules there is a simpler reason (besides L/D confirmation) why the B stone cannot surround territory. W can force him to fill sooner or later since every W pass threatens recapture. Even if B also passes to stop the game, W can just resume, recapture and force B to use up a threat each time. (IGS goes as far as not even stopping the game before the third successive pass.)

[stone.defender]

Accidentally agreeing to wrong score should become as hard as doing self atari. Moderators should stop to annul games with wrong score - for same reason why they don’t annul games now where someone did self atari.

[qnpnpmqppnp]

Please explain why white won this game!

The goal of the game is to get more. It’s not to win a battle of clicks at the end of the game. There is some tolerance with newcomers but it’s still advised to report to moderation who are experienced into explaining and help to pass through these first steps.

In addition to all the « compendium » about OGS scoring mistakes, the new system discussed here would also help prevent issues and confusion related to players behavior, such as this.