RayUK

Sticking my two pennyworth in again.... The reasons why we have TDs at face to face events is to sort out problems that occur at a table. In the main the majority of these problems are leads out of turn, revokes, bids out of turn etc etc. None of these things can happen with online bridge as the software will not allow it. This then leaves very few problems that need sorting - the main one being claims for adjustments because of failure to alert causing perceived damage to either declarer or defender. I can confirm that it is perfectly legal to regulate out of a tourney the need to alert (although of course anyone can still ask for an explanation of a bid! - the Principle of full disclosure according to Laws of Dup Bridge 1997 can be observed while playing in a non alerting environment) Playing TDs are the rule rather than the exception in the UK and since most of the reasons for calling the director have now gone out of the window I do not see any problem with having playing TDs online. The rules of "Anything Goes" are clear - adjustments will only be made in exceptional circumstances and the software allows you to do this anyway without visiting a table. Adjustments are not made for not completing a hand - this is a timed event and participants are advised to call the TD if there are problems with opponents/partners not responding or playing very slowly. Once again this is easily sorted out and there is still no reason to visit a table.

Back to the original discussion. Baa-Lamb and myself are the TDs for this regular tourney. This tournament is ALWAYS set up with the words "YOU MUST READ THE RULES!!" repeated several times in the Tournament description. If people do not bother reading the rules and refuse to accept them then they are, as a general rules, blacklisted and barred from entering future "Anything Goes" - this is the perogative of the TD of any tourney to bar those people that disrupt the general flow of an event. General guide lines we use for blacklisting people are: 1: Refusing to get a substitute when their partner disappears. People are not blacklisted if no substitutes are available - thats plainly silly and has never been done. Players are always requested to get a substitute when their partner is absent. After the second such request is made and substitutes are available, they are set as "Enemy" to prevent them entering in the future. If after another couple of minutes (if sufficient time allows) we do not place a substitute opposite them - we substitute the player that is ignoring our requests and this new player will then get their own compatible partner. As this is a timed survivor event, sometimes it isnt done this way as we dont want to lose tables - the main reason why we are so hot on players acting promptly when asked to get a sub. If the round ends with a player absent then the software excludes the pair with a player missing and also excludes another pair (through no fault of their own) to keep the tourney to full tables. 2: We also blacklist players about whom we receive complaints about slow play, refusing to accept valid claims, playing out the hand for an average etc. Nothing is more annoying than players being deprived of a good score by unfair means. Players about whom a complaint is received get warned. If a further subsequent complaint is made later by different opposition then they are blacklisted. Basically it comes down to this. If you play unfairly or refuse to abide by the rules, you will be barred from future "Anything Goes" tourneys. If you don't like the rules then there is a simple answer - don't enter.

spwdo - you certainly are not blacklisted for "Anything Goes" and both the TDs have better things to do anyway than chase people to other tourneys. Perhaps you will be kind enough to set the record straight.