A few annoyances...

[eddiek3]

1) Problem # 1: Dummies are sending question marks and critical messages to their partners during the hand. Or they are telling Declarer to claim prematurely. Dummies seem to forget they are the only ones to see all the hands I guess?

 

Proposed Fix: Mute the dummies!

 

2) Problem #2: Recently I visited a table when there were several Kibitzers on hand. The declarer was making stupendous plays when I noted the radio button for ALLOW CHAT WITH KIBITZERS was activated. To remove my suspicions I kindly asked the Host to deactivate this feature that shouldn't be there in the first place in my opinion. He made it clear to me his loyalties were to the Kibs and not his opponents denying my request.

Yes of course I left but come on; should this feature ever be fair since we all know Kibs are in the habit of saying something when they have the chance to do so. This is especially unfair since they see all four hands.

 

Proposed Fix: Why is the Host empowered to control features that anyone at the table should have a voice in? By default ALLOW CHAT WITH KIBITZERS is always ON and should have a default setting to be in the OFF position.

 

Problem #3: People keep asking for resets, play a few hands and then leave as though their whole purpose was to visit as many tables as they can and ask for resets so they can move onto the next table. I swear this is more fun to some than the actual game is.

 

Proposed Fix: Allow individuals to have their own running tallies since so many seem to put so much emphasis on score rather than on the hands they play.

[maggieb]

I think proposal 3 is ok, the others I really dislike.

 

There is a subforum for suggestions to the software. What is it called again? :)

[TimG]

I think the answer to all your "problems" is to host your own table and set it up as you want.

[mtvesuvius]

1. True it is rude and annoying, but to mute the dummy would be ridiculous... While I am dummy, I need to be able to say brb or tell people that it will be my last hand etc... This is something that should just be ignored imo.

 

2. Cheating is possible with this function, but I know that if I would like to chat with a player at the table about other things and still be able to watch, it is SO annoying to have to go out of the room, then back in just to be able to chat to them. IMO this function does no good because people can do the exact same thing, just click out to chat to the person. So what if the default is off? Then the Host will change it to allow, and there will be complaints to change the default back.

 

3. I find that resetting the score makes it easier on the person who comes, because now they can see only the boards that they played. Players do have there own tallies, that is what myhands is. There is nothing wrong with this. If having your plus imps reset bothers you, then you are just as nieve as they are.

[jdaming]

1) The only way to fix this problem is to kindly let others know how you feel. If you run your own table you can set up the ground rules how you like, ie: "any bridge related commments from dummy and your gone." Possibly even more important, find a group of people you like to play with that are about the same skill level and try to play with them that way everyone is on the same page for the etiquitte of the game. Silencing the dummy is horribly wrong and doesn't fix the core problem.

 

2) To naturally assume that most people cheat is a crime in itself. If you think someone is cheating, why are you still playing there? Preventing Kibs from talking is also a crazy suggestion as it prevents much of the welcomed (by me) constructive criticism and prohibts the players from asking more expierenced kibs questions about previous hands. I think this cheating happens less often than you think.

 

3) You think allowing people to keep their own score is going to stop them from leaving? I agree leaving is a problem but that is only more of a reason to try and befriend every friendly player you meet and constantly invite them back to your table so you can get great games with people you enjoy playing with.

[jdonn]

The score reset wouldn't bother me except that it kills the prior hands. Yeah I know I could look at myhands, but it is just a nice convenience to have them right there in the movie.

[Echognome]

As others have said, there is just no way to prevent cheating. If you prevent all communication on BBO itself, there's still instant messaging, the telephone, multiple logins, sitting in the same room, etc...

 

However, there are many benefits to allowing communication. It is a LOT more social. I guess I am somewhat spoiled in that I pretty much always play with people I know. I don't necessarily know them in real life, although the majority I do, but I know them from playing on BBO awhile and ultimately you are just going to have to trust them.

 

So instead of trying to implement software changes, why not focus your energy on marking people whom you enjoy playing with as a friend and those whom you don't as an enemy. Eventually you will have enough "friends" online that you will always have a good game in which to play.

[barmar]

In #1 and #2, the chat is seen by all players, so dummy and kibitzers can't send secret messages to a specific player. Unless you suspect that they're sending coded messages, it isn't really possible to cheat in this way, since everything is out in the open.

[Mr. Dodgy]

In #1 and #2, the chat is seen by all players, so dummy and kibitzers can't send secret messages to a specific player. Unless you suspect that they're sending coded messages, it isn't really possible to cheat in this way, since everything is out in the open.

not true, on BBO if a table is set such that it allows kibs to chat with players, private chat between between kibs and players is indeed possible.

[jillybean]

3. I find that resetting the score makes it easier on the person who comes, because now they can see only the boards that they played. Players do have there own tallies, that is what myhands is. There is nothing wrong with this. If having your plus imps reset bothers you, then you are just as nieve as they are.

I disagree. The solution is for the new player to remember where they started.

Having the score reset isn’t an issue the problem is having the boards wiped and being unable to review previous hands, save hands etc from the movie button.

 

Agree on the rest.

[barmar]

3. I find that resetting the score makes it easier on the person who comes, because now they can see only the boards that they played. Players do have there own tallies, that is what myhands is. There is nothing wrong with this. If having your plus imps reset bothers you, then you are just as nieve as they are.

I disagree. The solution is for the new player to remember where they started.

Having the score reset isn’t an issue the problem is having the boards wiped and being unable to review previous hands, save hands etc from the movie button.

 

Agree on the rest.

You can review previous hands using myhands. And if you're using BBO Win, they're also saved to your hard drive.

 

Why shoud the player have to keep track of his own score, that's what we have computers for.

[1eyedjack]

You can review previous hands using myhands. And if you're using BBO Win, they're also saved to your hard drive.

 

Why shoud the player have to keep track of his own score, that's what we have computers for.

It is just a question of which is the lesser inconvenience. Making a mental note of the score when sitting is definitely a lesser inconvenience. And for that matter, the score is also available from MyHands.

 

So I agree with Jillybean.

 

Of course in an ideal world both parties could be satisfied, given sufficient motivation and resource allocation on the part on the programmers: Clicking reset would only reset your own score to zero, and it would not wipe out the movie history.

 

Fred has already said in previous threads on this topic that it is not a trivial programming problem, and there have been other priorities. So for the time being we are stuck with making a choice, and for me it is a no-brainer.