Stop the clock for ladder games at weekends!

I basically play Go at work and not at home where I am too busy. On Monday mornings my ladder games are always low on time.

This week I had a training course Monday and Tuesday and took a laptop home so I wouldn’t be disturbed by people at work asking me questions and to do stuff all the time.

This morning I get in and find that 3 of my ladder games have timed out.

I am really not happy. Why can’t we choose to turn the clock off at weekends on ladder games? I have also lost games in the past where my opponent moved infrequently but would always move last thing Friday after I had left to go home. Because of his infrequent moves I couldn’t accrue time, and because he always moved end of Friday I always lost 2 days time over the weekend.

I have stopped playing in tournaments at all because there is just no point with the clock running all weekend. I enjoy my ladder games, but now I am going to have to stop playing them too.

I don’t play at weekends and I don’t get enough holiday time, and am not organised enough, to mark every weekend as holiday time. Please accept that I just do not play at weekends and allow me to turn the clock off in every type of game at weekends!

Why should people who play in their free time instead of at work be punished by turning off the clock at weekends?

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I think the problem is the 3 day max time.

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We’ve been through all of this before. Our time settings for the sitewide ladders are the result of the user’s choices. We’re sorry they don’t work for you, but it’s highly unlikely that they are going to change in the near future. Hopefully, you will find a way to make it work for you. :slight_smile:

The initial change from 7 days max to 3 days max seemed to be based on an opinion expressed in the thread below, which had very few users contributing thoughts before a rather abrupt decision was made.

This has been part of a general shift for OGS towards slightly shorter time controls for our official tournaments and ladders. Some people aren’t happy with that. Most of people are much happier now.

I’m very sorry if 3 days is not long enough to make a move but we took a lot of feedback about it… not just on the forums, but listening to people who communicated with us in chat and directly and there’s an overwhelming sense that this is a positive change.

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Apparently that’s how many people felt strongly enough about the ladder timer to speak up. Of those people, the majority chose the current time settings. Given the number of players in the ladders and the insignificant number of players complaining about the time settings being too short, I am going to go out on a limb and say that things are working fine.

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With all due respect and gratitude to the OGS team, I beg to quibble, just a little :smile:

7 days max to 3 days max is more than a slight change.

For now, a player does have the option to use vacation time when you know you’re going to be too busy to play. If life throws you a curve ball and you’re in the emergency room or whatever, your games will just have to time out.

Maybe after a year has passed, it would be a good idea to poll the users again to see if 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 days would be their preference.

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I’m obviously stupid. Exactly how would stopping the clock at weekends punish people who play in their free time? Perhaps because they wouldn’t be able to win lots of matches by timeout when playing against someone like me?

I didn’t see any request for feedback on this topic. I’m also wondering how you get the impression of an “overwhelming sense that this is a positive change”.

From the majority of people who tell us “This is a positive change”. I think for the majority of people seeing a single ladder match potentially lasting months at a time is just too long. There are also people who prefer that we lower the time even further such that a maximum time of a single move per day. We feel that that is also too short so we’ve tried to find a time that is nicely in the middle and such that a person could leave for a few days and not worry about these matches timing out.

@JontomXire One possible solution is to join the DGS ladder. The time limit there is Fischer 10d + 1d 4h. Though clock runs on weekends too.

Here’s the breakdown:

There are 621 people in the sitewide 19x19 ladder. Of those 621, the three people in this thread are the only users from which we have heard complaints regarding the new time settings. That’s 0.0048% of the ladder population.

No one is forcing you to play in the ladder. You are also more than welcome to create a group for longer ladder games if you so desire.

Otherwise, let’s not replay the last forum thread about this topic.

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Your understanding of statistics is very poor.

You say the time settings are thre result of the users choices, but I wasn’t offered a choice. I wonder how many others of the 621 ladder population were offered a choice.

And as for this thread, maybe the reason the other 618 ladder players aren’t in here agreeing with me is A) because they are completely unaware of this thread, or B) are happy to let me make their argument for them.

Of course I am aware enough of the reality of statistics to realise that if they were aware of this thread, and did feel the need to comment, that their views may well not agree with mine. However you seem to take their silence as a tacit acceptance of the current situation which is, frankly, not a valid view. Those other players not commenting on this subject does NOT mean that they agree with you.

Just because only 0.0048% of the ladder population is actively complaining does not mean that only 0.0048% of the ladder population disagrees with you.

You talk about “many people” and “lot of feedback”, but this is the first time I am aware that this issue has been discussed. I am sure it does seem like a lot of feedback to you, but I think if you looked at it mathematically, in the way you just did (N / 621) you would find that in fact it is not statistically significant at all.

Anyway, I realise that you have no intention of doing anything with this issue, and it’s your site, so fine, let’s let this thread die and maybe I’ll just go find another site to play on and see if I can get my friends on here to move too.

Or maybe I’ll just stop playing altogether. I only currently have 1 non-ladder game anyway.

Did it occur to you that making the games much longer while placing the only timeout possibility on the days where you like to play and they like to work will significantly increase YOUR chances of winning by timeout?

I think that it is a good thing that you state your point of view, but the way you assume that you are in the majority and the mods here are just distorting statistics and that people with other opinions just want to unfairly win against you while magically never timing out themselves seems very egocentric.

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I’ve come to realize when someone brings that argument up, it’s time to end the discussion and let them leave.

Paraphrase: “If I can’t force my will upon you, I’m gonna leave.

Goodbye.

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The only data we have to make decisions with is the data that is presented to us. In this case, only 0.0048% of the population felt strongly enough about the time settings to speak up. You can’t assume other complaints with no data.

Your lack of awareness does not constitute reality. :smile:

In the meantime, you feel free to pass this thread around in all of your ladder games. More data can only be a good thing.

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Paraphrase maybe more like “If you’re not going to even consider what I am saying then why waste my time” perhaps? All I’ve heard on this thread is “everyone else likes it the way it is” without any actual evidence that “everyone” was ever even asked.

Do you think you’re clever putting words in other people’s mouths?

Paraphrase: What a perfect opportunity to get the last word in and make myself look really clever.

See - I can do it too. Everyone can. It doesn’t make you clever or observant or anything. It’s just insulting.

This thread is devolving. I am closing it now.

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