first off I just want to thank the entire OGS team for continuing to support this site and your members!
Over the year+ of using OGS I’ve noticed the score estimator has actually gotten worse. I use a variety of platforms to play Go. OGS’s score estimator seems to struggle the most out of all of them. I wonder if there is any work being done to fix this.
Some problems I’ve encountered, when using the score estimator. Trying to mark 4 white (or black) stones as dead results in every white stone on the board being marked as dead.
I do not think it was changed in any way over that time…
Well, yes. OGS score estimator is atrocious The usual joke is saying that you should not be using it anyway and that it is so to improve your game, but we all know how it is
As far as I know there has been no word of any work being done on it (though someone might be doing it secretly…) There are several improvements due for the tool, but (and speaking as a layman) I am afraid it is actually easier said than done, and there is a lot of work still on the website - just check the github… So the bottom line is I would not be holding my breath for any fixes for it in the near future. And of course if there were someone among you with an experience in this field, we would be very interested to takt with such a person…
This one has a sort of workaround, shift + clicking on PC on the individual stones should work for you.
OGS has always had the absolutely worst score estimator of any server ever, and we’re proud of it. You should also take great pride too for using a server that simply won’t do your counting for you!
The hard way… the only way!
edit: but yeah seriously, it would be nice to have a working SE
OH wow this is surprising, I thought I noticed a shift in its function, and the typical problems.
Yes I know its better to just learn to count, which is something I have been practicing, and continue to improve on.
but it would be nice to have an accurate SE, to double check my counting.
I guess there is but I would estimate that there isn’t.
More seriously, my original proposal was slightly tongue-in-cheek as is much of what I say, but only slightly. We frequently hear complaints about the accuracy of the estimator and a name change might actually reduce expectations of it. Also I was guessing that such a change would be a trivial-frontend change. I wouldn’t wish to take the devs away from bigger issues of which there are many.
‘Many a true word is spoken in jest.’ and it is a hobby of mine.
There is definitely a difference between guessing and estimating.
Technically speaking, estimating is a quantitative educated guess.
A guess is just … a guess - a fairly baseless or gut-feel idea about what the idea might be.
In this context, the “estimator” that we have is quantative (that’s why its called an estimater), but the choice of English word guess is to emphasise the uncertain nature of the estimate.
I made this point in the code, when I wrote:
{game && <a onClick={this.estimateScore}><i className=“fa fa-tachometer”></i> {_(“Guess score”)}</a>} {/* Translators: this is the link to the “score estimator” - in English the word “guess” best conveys what this does */}
It was totally trivial. It’s done. All it needs is for The Powers That Be to approve and integrate it.
I’m moderately astonished that people think that the words “estimate” and “guess” have the same effect.
This is simply about improving the impression created by the name that we have for the tool we have.
“Guess” is offered as an alternative, it seems like a good one. In this context, it may be “similar” to “estimate”, but similar is not “the same”. Something “similar” can be a “distinct improvement”.
I guess I shouldnt have worded my post as tongue-in-cheekly as I did since it was more or less an honest question from a non-native speaker. Thanks for the explanation
The usual joke is saying that you should not be using it anyway and that it is so to improve your game, but we all know how it is 
