From: bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman)
Subject: Re: Misalert
Organization: Research Computer Facility, MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 19:30:59 GMT

In article <22606@alice.att.com> jj@alice.UUCP (that old grouch jj) writes:
:In article <1992Apr15.025745.12479@overload.lbl.gov> asya@ux5.lbl.gov (Asya Kamsky) writes:
:>In article <1992Apr15.003229.20922@linus.mitre.org> bs@faron.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
:>>I agree with it 110%. I would also file a recorder slip, because
:>>**on the surface of it** it does appear you were looking for a 
:>>double shot by passing 3NT.
:>On the surface of it, it appears that someone was very confused.
:For sure.
:
:>>If this happened in a novice game, I would think nothing of it.
:>>But this was Flight A. It should demand higher standards.
:
:>Oh, I see, it's ok for novices to screw up as song as they don't
:>bother us Flight A types, but if they screw up in our Flight A
:>events, let's make sure they never come back.  Come on!

If you want to play with the "big boys" and you are inexperienced
you have to expect to take your lumps and not let the fact that you
might screw up drive you away.

This applies in ANY game, not just bridge.

Anyone with sufficient courage to play out of their league is NOT
going to be driven off by adversity, because they should expect such
until they are more experienced.
:
:Yeah, if they screw up once here, let's file a slip that forever labels
:them as dishonest and attempting to cheat.  I'd think that one such
 
** YOU **  are confused.


Do you have any idea of what a recorder slip is??  

I thought not.

A recorder slip is simply a way of recording a highly unusual and/or
strange bid or play at a table. This is so the ACBL, if it gets SEVERAL
of these, can do something about it.  

It is NOT, in any way, an accusation of cheating or unethical conduct.
It is simply a record of a HIGHLY unusual event.

I might also add that in the U.S. laws apply equally to all, regardless
of how smart or experienced we might be. If an experienced pair had done
this (novices rarely play in Flight A swisses), you would certainly suspect
something. One must apply laws uniformly across a FIELD. If you want to play
in Flight A, you MUST expect to be judged by the same standards of conduct
as everyone else.

You can NOT say to someone experienced: you broke the law and we are
going to punish you, while at the same time saying to someone else:
you didn't know you broke the law, so we'll let you off.

Equal protection under law. Ignorance of same is not an excuse for
breaking it.

:"recorder slip" would be enough to either provoke a lawsuit
:or convince somebody to quit cold.  In this day and age, NOBODY
 
Where do you get this from??  Any novice with enough determination
to play in Flight A is NOT going to get offended or put off by a 
recorder slip. Are people's egos so fragile that they quit when they've
been told what they did was wrong?? Or told that while they may not
have intended anything wrong what they did was highly peculiar??


We were all novices at one time and did many strange things. Those
novices determined to learn the game accept that they will do strange
things and sometimes get chided for it. I certainly had many director
calls made for strange things I did when I was a novice. And I sometimes
had match point penalties applied.

So what?? It's nothing more than a game being refereed. Like a foul
in basketball. When rookies commit fouls, the opposing team is STILL
awarded free throws. They are not given a break because they are rookies.
--
Bob Silverman
These are my opinions and not MITRE's.
Mitre Corporation, Bedford, MA 01730
"You can lead a horse's ass to knowledge, but you can't make him think"