From: wk5w@luca.bme.Virginia.EDU (William Thang Katz)
Subject: Rules for ALL INL matches
Reply-To: wk5w@luca.bme.Virginia.EDU (William Thang Katz)
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 21:51:16 GMT

In article <1992Aug15.175430.16271@dsd.es.com>, mmoore@itchy.dsd.es.com
(Michael Moore) writes:
|> >In article <Bt0tK3.144@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>,
ahabig@bigbang.astro.indiana.edu (Alec Habig) writes...
|> >1) All games involving an at-large team should be played at a
nuetral site (to
|> >minimize lag differences).  This is because there is no way for an
at-large
|> >team to ever have a home game (a big disadvantage) - they shouldn't
get the
|> >double penalty of giving their opponents the homefield advantage 1/2
the time.
|> >A rule like this would zero out the lag disadvantage of
at-largeness.
|> > 
|> >2)In an at-large vs. school game, the at-large team should get first
choice of
|> >race.  There's no good way to totally make up for not having your
team in the
|> >same room, but this would help some.
|> > 
|> 
|> >
|> >   This part isn't as critical as the your first point, besides 
school teams
|> >   (read CMU) will whine enough over the first point.
|> 
|> 
|> 	I think this proposal is fair.  I could accept it, and it gets
|> rid of the tie-breaker advantage which school teams seem to find so
|> distastefull.  I think the second point is critical to fairness, and
|> should not be removed.
|> 
|> 	I hope the INL council will consider this system for adoption.
|> I am very glad we now have a council, so that all this whining from
|> CMU about Tom being unfair will go away.
|> 
|> 	-Michael (Ged)
|> 

First, let me say that I think there is fundamental flaw in this whole
netrek match scenario, and that is the concept of HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE.
I thought the idea was stupid for the NFL, but it's needed there to 
generate revenue to drive the whole sport.  But netrek is NOT a money
sport; there are no spectators.  And contrary to Rob's opinions on lag,
I do feel extremely handicapped by the extra 150+ ms lag I get whenever
I play on a CMU server.  It feels like I'm playing in molasses.  It 
could be that Rob is so good that this lag doesn't matter, but to 
people of my ability (and especially worse players), lag kills.  

So why even HAVE a home field advantage?  Why not play all games
(regardless of whether you are school team or at-large team) at
some neutral server with comparable ping times?  When CMU plays 
Berkeley, it should be at neither CMU or Berkeley but somewhere in 
between.  For an at-large team, probably the best sites will be in 
the American heartland since the at-large members will probably be
from both east and west coasts.  This, to me, is the ONLY fair
solution.  Whether it is *practical* for all matches will have to 
be decided later.  And I would think that if Rob and his
esteemed colleagues scoff at the problems induced by lag, CMU teams
shouldn't mind abolishment of the home field advantages.

Now, with my primary cause for concern out of the way, we can deal
with the all-in-a-room advantage vs. At-Large teams.  I think we
should forget about this advantage except to award at-large teams
first choice of races.  NO AUTOMATIC TIE-BREAKERS TO AT-LARGE
TEAMS.  I agree that we should play plenty of matches, and that
the playoffs should be done ROUND-ROBIN and not in some pathetic
NFL-clone playoff scheme.  I've never understood why there is an
NFC and AFC (except for historical reasons), and why the real
Super Bowl is played in the NFC conference championship most of
the time.  It should be round-robin so all good teams get a chance
at each other.

So my suggestions are:

1) No home field advantages.  All matches to be played at neutral 
    site with comparable ping times for both teams.

2) No automatic tie-breaks to at-large teams.

3) Choice of sides goes to an at-large team if playing a school
    opponent, or if teams or equivalent in this regards, by 
    coin-flip determined by the GOD of the neutral site.

4) Plenty of games to get good statistical significance of teams'
    strength.

5) Round-robin playoffs.  Rankings go by accumulated score against
    the field.

If this seems like it would take a lot of time, that is because it
WILL take a lot of time.  Perhaps we should forget about Fall and
Spring leagues and just make it an academic year league.  Then we
would have plenty of time for all matches to be played.  Also, not
all schools have Fall/Spring semesters.  At Stanford, for example,
they work on a trimester system.

Those are my thoughts as the current Captain of Twelve Angry Men.
I really enjoyed the summer league.  Too bad we can't have better
statistics on all the players in the league across all games
played.  Guess Ray is working on the INL server ...

-D'Spayre/Unknown Ogger
 Twelve Angry Men
 The Un-Genocided At-Large Playoff Team