I generally accept an undo when presented with it.
But I generally also find it an unwelcome double dilemma: first, “is it really fair to accept it?” (especially when it is not a blatant misclick) , and second later on “OK so I accepted his, now will I ask for one in a case where I need it?”.
And I’ve concluded this would all be a non-issue if the game was set up at the start as a “no-undo” game, with no undo button showing at all.
Note that the context of this is correspondence play, where a true misclick is pretty rare.
I’m thinking “how about we have an option to set up games as no-undo”… so people could decide they simply don’t want these questions in their games…
It sounds okay on the surface but when push comes to shove, I would prefer my opponent be able to ask for an undo rather than they resign because of one game wrecking misclick or mistake. If you wish to limit it to misclicks perhaps the new move would have to be played adjacent to the undo. Whatcha think?
I’m not actually opposed to your suggestion. I just wouldn’t ever use it and I’m a little wary of having too many setup options that might be overlooked in the rush to accept a game before it disappears.
I could see the value add in having ranked games be “no undo” by default.
In unranked play I’ll usually grant it if I notice the request in time (sometimes I register that there was an undo request a moment too late) and maybe get a chance to see a stronger response & learn something.
But I can certainly see “no undo” being an option.
There is no rule saying that player has to accept that undo request. Asking and granting undos are always something that both players agree together, so i don’t understand the reasoning why it should be prevented altogether.
For a context: i don’t think i’ve never denied an undo request, because i have faith on people. Also i don’t want a good game to turn into a crap just because a screw-up on stone placement.
Yeah, i’ve set it double-click on corr games, and few times misclicked because i’m using laptop without a proper mouse. I agree, it’s totally my own fault, but i’m still thankful for those players who have granted my undo requests. And i’m not blaming those who haven’t, they have all the rights to just continue playing after my misclicks.
I think what @GreenAsJade is trying to say is that some people feel uncomfortable declining an undo request and we have certainly seen some unpleasant results discussed in the forum (eg: Communication ban, permanent?). His proposal would improve the OGS experience for those players perhaps?
One feature I would love to see added to OGS is the option to disable undos. With this option selected, there would no longer be an undo button for you and your opponent.
There seem to be three different opinions on undos:
No undos
Only for misclicks
Undos for any bad move
I tend to be in the 2. camp, largely because I benefit in turn from others in the 2. camp. But players in the 3. camp must respect the position of the players in the 1. and 2. camps, and the 2. camp players that of the 1. camp. Otherwise, we can’t play together in harmony.
It is true that there are some players who will harass for undos, and there are even some players who will ask for undos and will not extend the same courtesy in return. Ultimately, I think you must stick to your own stance on undos and not expect anything from the opponent. I reckon it is not too hard to say “Sorry, I don’t do undos” rather than rely on a setting. And if they say “F*** you” and quit, it is no loss to the righteous player.
My idea was more along the lines of Lichess.org’s implementation, where the ‘no undo’(takebacks) setting is implemented on a player level rather than a per-game level.
I wish I could be in the #2 camp but the issue is that it’s not possible to actually know if it’s a genuine mis-click.
If a minute goes by and they ask for an undo, it’s pretty safe to say it wasn’t a misclick. Or if you give them an undo and then they play on the other side of the board…
Well, firstly, what if someone’s cat spills something, causing a mis-click combined with an urgent distraction (save the computer before asking for an undo)…
In the second example, you’ve already given someone an undo in order to determine whether they mis-clicked.
I guess for now I’ll just have to stomach the unpleasantness of explaining my ‘no undo’ policy every time someone asks for one. No big deal. I just wish it could be like lichess. If their no takebacks feature was exactly copied here, that would be awesome.
Again, I am not against having the option, but just to offer a possible counter thought, I am afraid the option might not help with the problem per se. Just as some people are surprised the rules are chinese, or the time settings are too short or there is a handicap… This might just be another preference, people just do not feel like checking and get grumpy anyway.
And as my personal preference, I would not wanna “ruin” a nice game with a silly missclick. But I play mostly for fun, I understand that with a more “competitive” approach this may be an issue.
Well, the way it is on lichess works great in my experience. I’ve found my chess games much more enjoyable since I’ve discovered that feature. I’ve experienced no drawbacks from implementing it since years ago.
I think that in any game there should be the opposition for undoes. That being said, I have my owe personal rule I have for undoes. I will allow undoes if i can see that it is a blatant misclick or it will kill you if and only if we are not fighting for one of ours group to live. I think that we all agree that if I ask for an undo later I will grant one to my opponent if they ask and vice versa.
And it might just suck if in such a game a really obvious misscklick happens and you can’t undo it…