Shhhhh. THEY are listening.

There are a ton of reasons someone might not finalize orders. Need extra time to go over the board, can only access the site once a day and need the full phase, have a ton of games and need the extra time, etc. Many people put in a first set just in case, and then take the time they need to finalize. It's perfectly allowed. I do hope you are not making this post in reference to an ongoing gunboat game though, because that isn't allowed.

I TOLD you they were listening.

Gunboat actually means nothing more than "don't communicate verbally." Doesn't say anything about "FINALIZE YER ORDARZ" believe it or not. But hey, think as you will.

In fact, gunboat means DONT POST ON THE FORUM ABOUT IT. Isnt that ironic?

Also, isnt it ironic that whenever you say that something is irnonic there's always someone who will say that that is not the correct use of the word 'ironic'?

Must. Resist. Bait.

I think it would be ironic if we were all made of iron.

The first rule of gunboat is: you don't talk about gunboat.

The second rule of gunboat is: You DON'T talk about gunboat!

@LSB - Truly ironic would be if integrated circuits were made of iron. :-)

Third rule of gunboat: if someone says STOP or taps out, the gunboat is over.

"I do hope you are not making this post in reference to an ongoing gunboat game though, because that isn't allowed."

Come on jmo this is too much.

@2nd -- I thought they had to say "UNCLE"

Actually, it's "matté."

"Come on jmo this is too much."

That isn't up for debate. I won't lock a thread for that, but it is against the rules if it refers to an ongoing game and anything more specific will not be tolerated.

I will admit it seems some people don't get the concept of draw/cancel the game in case of an early CD, and team up on the guy who won't draw if everyone else is.
-my rant of the night, no specific game, just general observations

Yeah ... I was in the same non-specific game.

6 Resigns
6 Defeats (wonder how many he left then was defeated)
1 Draw

Really?

He's right. People are ignorant...

Gunboats are special in that only your moves communicate your intentions. In a normal game someone may talk you into changing your orders right up to the last second, so not readying-up is an indication that you're amenable to that (or are pretending to be) and so is understandable; but that can't happen in Gunboat.

If one player runs out the clock having Saved orders but hasn't clicked Ready - especially if the other players have all clicked Ready themselves - only slows down the game and annoys the other players. If you're in a difficult position and have to chose between several different strategy options so you keep changing your mind then fine, but that's rare. I think only once have I still been changing my orders in a 36 hours gunboat with only minutes left on the clock. But not Readying-up once you're decided your strategy, and to do so repeatedly, is rude.

Six green tick marks and one black tick mark and many hours to go == Grrrrrr.

It's that last line in SpeakerToAliens' post that I'm talking about: when you refuse to finalize orders even though they're already in, and when you're the only player left who does this. It's as irritating in a long-phase gunboat game (in which case it feels like some combination of Zeno's Paradox and Christmas Eve) as it is in a live one (in which case it feels like WHY THE FUCK DO YOU NEED FIVE WHOLE MINUTES TO ENTER YOUR RETREAT ORDERS YOU FOOL?).

I often submit preliminary orders and then decide to think about them further. When I'm 100% certain of what I want to submit by the deadline, I'll click ready. Otherwise, though, I'm definitely guilty of that sometimes, especially in a position where I have a close decision.

I've also done that on occasion in games with very short deadlines. I frequently take 14-hour flights, and can avoid a sitter for a game with a 12-hour deadline by not hitting ready; I suspect that the people playing with me prefer having me do the playing and use the clock rather than a sitter.

@cteno4, SpeakerToAliens: just NO.

There are tons of reasons not to ready up. In the GB Tourney thread, Trooth did a much better defense of it than I ever could, but to echo some of the reasons he lists (and are regularly applicable to my games):
- You could ponder one particular move
- You could ponder the motivations of another player
- You could evaluate a risk that you're about to take
- You need more time for the next deadline, so you extend the current one.

As a rule, I put in orders, then revisit them a second time at a later time. If I'm still thinking, I revisit a third.

And that never 'slows down a game'. Phase length is chosen beforehand. If you sign up for a game with Phases of X, then don't complain if they last X.

cteno4 - I suggest passworded games. Use your homepage to list the players who DON'T feel the need to "ponder a gunboat order" as if they were anything special.

Jesus wept.

@jmo - the OP did not make reference to anyparticular game although it is clear his message was in regards to a particular game. He did not even come close to discussing ongoing gunboat games.

In my opinion, you said some very good things to him - very appropriate and true. However, in adding that last sentence you turned your emssage and your tone from helpful and considerate to belittling and threatening.

I will say againa nd again, that the way you deal with people is always disrespectful and rude. It is not the type of behaviour expected or appreciated from someone with a position of power.

I ask you again to please attempt to go about yor business in a way that does not really on insults and arrogance to make a point.

Also I am pretty sure your message was a cheating accusation.

There are tons of reasons not to finalize your orders, like if you're pissed off that you're losing and thus wish to piss off the people who have taken your supply centers by making them wait as long as possible.

(This comment relates to a purely hypothetical gunboat game. Any similarity to actual games, ongoing or completed, is purely coincidental.)

But seriously, finalizing orders is merely a matter of courtesy. Even if it's a mandatory disband, finalizing is just a courtesy, no obligation to it.

Hecks, that I really disagree with. If you're going to lose (and if you play this game, you will sometimes), lose with grace. Feel free to be as graceless as you'd like in how you move your pieces, but...responding to losing by delaying the others from getting on with the game smacks of the kid at recess taking the ball and going home.

yeah hecks, that comment just screams "sore loser." Don't be that guy.

Oh, I agree it's poor form. I try to always finalize, especially on hopeless moves. I'm just saying that when you enter a long- phase game, 10-day for example, you should do so with the expectation that each phase will take the full 10 days. If you're not prepared for that, you should join a short-phase game.

One may also choose not to ready their orders if they feel the need to draw attention to a particular vote they've cast or to give the other players time to realize they need to rally against the guy with 16 centers who's going to win if you keep attacking the guy with 5 centers but is holding off the 16 center guy somewhere.

(See Hecks's line about this one really being hypothetical.)

If you're going to lose, unleash all the anger you possibly have. Punch your monitor screen. Set your printer on fire. Set off a pipe bomb in the middle of Manhattan. But by god don't delay the game any further - get the damn thing over with and confirm your orders so you can move onto some part of your life that *actually matters*...

All this gnashing of teeth, ultimately for nothing. If you're tired of waiting for a turn to resolve, maybe go so something more productive with your time?