sceptic

I agree with that, it is a shame no one seems to want to suggest a workable, alternative solution

Here are some reasons: (1) You need to be contacted because of an emergency at home or work. Obviously phone must be turned off during play, but if you don't have the phone available during the time between sessions, that means if you receive an emergency call during the afternoon session (say 1 pm) you get the news after the evening session (say midnight) rather than just a few hours later (around 5 pm when the afternoon session ends). between sessions is not a problem, I thought the ban was when you are playing? (2) You need to check in at work briefly before the end of working hours; i.e. after the first session. Same problem. collect your phone after the session (3) You need to make dinner reservations or get a map of the city; phone does both these things. While you are in the middle of a hand? (4) A friend is looking for a partner and asks you if you know anybody. You do, but have no idea where they are in the madhouse that is NABC. If you have cell phone, you can call them. Without cell phone, you probably don't even have their phone number memorized (no one memorizes phone numbers anymore, people just store them in their phone/PDA). While you are in the middle of a hand? (5) You are sitting out the second quarter of your spingold match. You'd like to sit and listen to some music. Unfortunately your MP3 player (a.k.a your cell phone) had to be left at your hotel several miles away... now you are going to irritate other people by havving a constant noise coming from your phone? To ask the counter-question, how exactly does one use a cell phone to cheat? If you are sitting at the table texting or have a phone vibrating in your pocket, the opponents are almost always going to notice. I guess the idea is to go to the restroom and take your phone out in a stall, and then text? But it's easy enough to go into a stall and leave a note by the toilet, or pass a note to somebody. As long as we are letting people go unaccompanied and unobserved to restrooms it's pretty easy to arrange to pass messages there, cell phone or no cell phone. Another point is that people don't necessarily object to being phone-less during play. The objection is to giving your expensive phone (that also contains a large quantity of personal data and information you "can't afford to forget") to someone who is not particularly trusted, where it can easily be stolen or damaged. Leaving it in a hotel room carries similar issues, and means that you don't "get it back after the session." Establishing some sort of trusted "cell phone storage" costs money and also creates a potential choke point before and after sessions (i.e. long lines to turn in phone or get phone back). you would leave a $1000 suit in a hotel room that is more expensive than a phone if a phone goes off it is still an irritant to other people and the ensuing conversation is probably more irritatting

would that not indicate they had not turned it off as required?

that does not hold sway, sorry but most of us are parents and I for one cant carry mobiles at work, (well not strictly true, I can in this job, but many I have not been able to) I bring up my granddaughter and I always leave her with people that I will trust to do the right thing in an emergency (I am not saying you would not do that either, but you cannot be with them 24/7)(and I am not saying that if something happened to her, I would not want to be by her side either) I am just a realist, this is a simple rule and I can not understand why so many think it is some kind of afront to thier civil liberties I admire your 24/7 commitment, but sheesh Uday you need to have a few hours to yourself to relax and do what you enjoy, turn the phone off occasionally :P

A practical cure for this is, yes you can have a cell phone with you, but it must be switched of and placed on the table in full view of everyone, then the problem is no longer a problem, anyone whos phone rings loses points (define the punishment as fitting the event ) anyones phone rings and it is not on display is asked to leave the room and the other side are compensatory points (which may in effect annoy some people) but if the perpetrators of the crime where known, then everyone could give them what for during the recess

can someone actually give a reason why you should have a cell phone with them during a Tourney? apart from the obvious one, If I get lost going to the toilet, I need to call my partner to help me as I am not adult enough to find my way back to the table on my own

4 people trying to concentrate and play good bridge (that may never happen to me) a phone goes off and the defender or declarer on the next table lose concentration (it can happen) how is it fair, that if they subsequently come second in the match, because they dropped a couple of imps at the table because of some selfish person, insiting on thier right to have a phone with them and causing them to lose thier train of thought at a very crutial moment. you can hear most phones when they are on silent vibrate also I am curious lets imagine you are working in a casino, aeroplane or a hospital and they have a policy in place, no phones, please leave them at reception, do you also flout that rule, because you want to arrange a dinner date with someone 10 yards away possibly in the same room? A Casino probably does not allow its staff to have thier personal phones at the working area (well at least, I got that impression from a program about casinos from a documentry about them) why is that policy in place and would you flout that rule? Kids and thier toys. hmmmf! an easy rule to follow, one that possibly may help the integrity of the game, I don't see why it is such an issue

it is over rated, Life of Brian is much better

1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked. And now, the Honorable Mentions: 2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved. 3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her. 4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days. 5. A Texas teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit. 6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer: $15. (If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?) 7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape. 8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, 'Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from.' 9. The Ann Arbor Michigan News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away. ******THE 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER***** 10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd had in a very long time.

maybe if something is intentionally written to annoy someone, should be the issue not the fact it actually did

I think some profanities actually suit some situations I see nothing wrong with saying that but you are probably right about me spouting off, it is probably not constructive to this debate,

Rankings 10/10 needs to get out more 9/10 Brainbox 8/10 Steven Hawkings 7/10 Genius 6/10 Clever bugger 5/10 sceptomaniac 4/10 Einstein 3/10 dummy 2/10 bigger dummy 1/10 oh my God 0/10 (moderated) :)

You only have 15 minutes to beat my score 1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What color is a purple finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? I will post the answers in a week please dont post answers yet, just your scores thank you

Quoting the above post, "who gets upset"? Why do you assume that people that use profanities are using them as a crutch for lack of linguistic skills?, I think some profanities actually suit some situations, (I was not offended by the title of a thread that had been moderated and I very much doubt that many on here were either) I have seen some of the posters here using profanities, I really don't see them using profanities as a crutch, they are actually quite clever and they appear to be quite capable of expressing themselves in an intelligent, rounded manner Most of the upset on the forum, seem to be caused by peoples ignorance at the way they are challenged on thier opinions and in some cases I think they are upset just because they are actually challenged, egos need moderating here not profanities. ( I am excluding some of the drivel I and others post in the water cooler) Anyway back to topic, I think the mods do a good job I really don’t see how they can be criticised at all, they do a hard job (probably thankless as well at times) if they decide something needs moderating or someone needs to be warned, they are probably right as for a laid down set of standards, in my experience what ever is set in stone someone will not be happy about it, the bridge forum is as jilly pointed out what we are being asked about, so my take is yes the behaviour standards here should be more stringent and censorship should be welcomed to cater for those easily offended, even if I think they should take a chill pill on occasions

I am curious, why does he need her permission, are we not his guests and should he not set the standards he wants, is he not the one that makes this place possible and we should respect his level of control, one which I personally feel he does well, I respect him even more for asking our opinion brown nosing session over, (I just want my warn level reduced :))

Well, having been the author of a few posts that are probably considered objectionable, by some, I found one of Al's posts in bad taste and posted something of my own that I know was in bad taste but, it was not meant to offend just to make a point, my post was removed and Al's stayed ( never had a reason why it was removed) some one made a comment about me being removed from the forums permenately because of it, I got a higher warn level, not everyone was offended and some even had the intelligence to see that I was not serious in my post (probably the moderator showed good judgement). I personally have no issue with some profabities being used on the forums, but I would hate to see some one called a C word, I think that would over stretch the mark, I also find offensive the use of the word Cretin unacceptable as I would Spastic and Retard. some consider the use of at least one of these words acceptable, even though they find bad language offensive. perhaps, I am just sensitive about those particular words. Some people are easily offended, that is not my problem, in fact I think that is thier problem. all in all, I think the mods do a good job, I have over stepped the mark and had my *** kicked probably deservedly so, they give us all leaway to express ourselves, some of us are guilty of bad taste, arrogance, bad language and a multitude of sins, lets not drag the WC down, just because of a few overly sensitive types I think things are ok, obviously not everyone does or Uday would not ask he question

[hv=d=n&v=n&n=sq642ht765dqt65c9&w=skt98hq8dak7cajt7&e=sahak942d982ckq84&s=sj753hj3dj43c6532]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] West North East South - Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT Pass 4♣ Pass 6♣ Pass Pass Pass

I thought about this and think that a small (hahah I have no idea how small) adjustment to the software could be made to cure this problem, the numbers on peoples names could coincide when they sit together to tally up how many times that pair have played together , then you would have an indication of how regular they play together, as people that play together quite a bit tend not to desert each other

Would anyone be interested in a bridge weekend held (say somewhere like Niagra falls or some where near an airport, venue is undecided yet) plenty of bridge and lots of socialising time at a hotel, it would be run for BBO internet players and would be an opportunity to meet your fellow BBOers face to face I would also like opinions for duration of the event as well any feed back is welcomed I have no particular dates in mind, but I will avoid major events email me at wayne.mayer@btinternet.com

pretty much the same, Bush would have just invaded Iran by now. Iran was probably where the WMD were any way he just misread the country on the report

May be because he spent to much time playing bridge, when he should have been keeping an eye on his investments

*cough* pot *cough* kettle *cough* black *cough* :)

Maybe you smoke too much Ken. :) my warn level is to high for me to explain it to you, but I it would appear someone just likes the sound of their own typing also it would help if the poster read what Ken had said enough said, I don't want to get banned :)

would it not be fair if the FED bails them out, but the people that caused the mess lost everything and gave back all their money to the poor old investors

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=saqj6hada7642c865&w=st98753h92dj8ca97&e=sk42ht864dt3cjt42&s=shkqj753dkq95ckq3]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] West North East South - - - 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass 3NT Pass Pass Pass