Steep, Reliability-Crushing Learning Curve

[mOctave]

I joined this site a couple of months ago, and have since played several games. Overall, I quite like it, but there are a few problems I've run into as a new player that tend to suck a bit of the fun out of it for me.

For one, when you join an in-progress game filling in for a player that has left, you don't get any excuses back. While this sort of makes sense, it means that your choices are either be perfectly reliable, or get kicked with a corresponding hit to your rating. This happened to me a couple of times early on, with the result being that I gave up on joining in-progress games. I feel that this could be much improved by kicking a replacement player out of the game without a rating drop, or even replenishing the excuses to some degree (although I see how this could lead to many players abandoning a losing country in quick succession...)

Additionally, it's hard to find a way to ask for a pause from moderators. I recently was unable to access WebDip, and probably will be again within the next few days, and while there is a form to fill out on the forum, everything seems to point to you being supposed to email the moderation team. I did so, and have still not received a response to said email. Luckily, the people in the press game I was in were very considerate and accepted my request for a pause, but I still got kicked out of my two gunboat games, presumably with corresponding RR decreases. For this, I would suggest adding some sort of entry to the FAQ regarding what to do if you need a pause.

Overall, I feel like while the people are great, the computers that kick in when the people are overworked aren't, and, as this is very much a programmer-built site, its unclear what to do in the majority of circumstances.

[gimix]

Thanks for sharing your feedback.

As you said there's no easy solution to the sub-in-a-game / miss-one-turn problem, unless we find a way to automatically distinguish (and sanction) "rage quits" from normal, accidental missed turns. So for now the current behaviour of the system is not going to change.

To ask for help from the mod team the recommended way is to post a message in the mod forum. The old email is no more regularly checked now, although we realize there still are a lot of references to it that should be removed. We're working on that.

[Jamiet99uk]

To ask for help from the mod team the recommended way is to post a message in the mod forum. The old email is no more regularly checked now, although we realize there still are a lot of references to it that should be removed. We're working on that.

But his problem was, he couldn't access the site. So presumably he was unable to post a message in the forum.

[bonjovi]

Experienced players often provide valuable insights to newcomers. Thanks for sharing it.

driving directions

[Squels]

I agree that it can be frustrating to join an in-progress game and be kicked without being given a chance to explain yourself. This is especially true for new players who are still learning the ropes of the game.

I propose that we implement a grace period for new players joining in-progress games. During this grace period, new players would not be kicked for making mistakes. This would give them a chance to learn the game and get their bearings before being held to the same standards as experienced players.

[summerpesto]

You won’t receive an explanation if you join a game in progress to take the place of a departing player. Although this makes sense, it indicates that your selections are either 100 percent surefire or out with a hit that matches your rating. When selecting games and entertainment, this is the appropriate approach to take. It's quite enjoyable and doesn't take much time.

[CaptainFritz28]

The old email is no more regularly checked now, although we realize there still are a lot of references to it that should be removed. We're working on that.

So is there just no way to reliably contact the mods anymore? Because if so that's a real big issue. Through my experiences with the mod forum, there must be a huge backlog or it is not often checked, so that is not reliable, and if the email isn't checked, how can we contact mods?

[Aristocrat]

The old email is no more regularly checked now, although we realize there still are a lot of references to it that should be removed. We're working on that.

So is there just no way to reliably contact the mods anymore? Because if so that's a real big issue. Through my experiences with the mod forum, there must be a huge backlog or it is not often checked, so that is not reliable, and if the email isn't checked, how can we contact mods?

A while ago there was a call for volunteers for folks to join the mod team. I don't know what happened with that effort, but in the year(s) since I think we've only lost mods/admins and it has caused a pretty hefty backlog and delay in response to support requests. Maybe we can ask for volunteers again? I know there are plenty of tenured, experienced players who would be glad to help out and keep the site alive.