X-Msmail-Message-Id:  DE31BF0F
X-Msmail-Conversation-Id:  DE31BF0F
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.dipl-l
Date:         Wed, 6 Jan 1993 07:57:14 PST
Reply-To:     tomjo@MICROSOFT.COM
From:         tomjo@MICROSOFT.COM
Subject:      RE: NMR vs. noNMR

Happy New Year, David.

I Agree with you.  -TJ
----------
| From: David C Kovar  <netmail!kovar@WORLD.STD.COM>
| To: Christopher Rimple  <crimp@MICROSOFT.COM>;  <tomjo@MICROSOFT.COM>
| Subject: NMR vs. noNMR
| Date: Wednesday, January 06, 1993 8:30AM
|
| >Continuing on my pro-NMR and anti-Status Quo crusade, I'd like to report
| >that *four* games I entered as a result of desperate pleas for someone to
| >come in and replace CD powers have been SITTING there for over a week
| >while we wait for all seven powers to submit.  What has actually happened
| >is that someone comes in, takes over a power, DOESN'T submit orders, and
| >then goes CD again.  Because the standard grace is a goddamn 168 hours, we
| >sit there forever KNOWING the person isn't going to come back and submit
| >orders -- in two cases all we're waiting on is for the person to BUILD,
| >not actually order movements -- but can do NOTHING about it for over a
| >week.  And, since many of the games on the Washington judge no longer have
| >moderators, there's nothing we can do short of begging the Washington
| >judge operator to step in and shorten the grace manually.  I finally did
| >beg.
|
|   First off, the Christmas season puts a spin on things. Vacations really
| screw up the schedules. I'd suggest waiting 'til later in the year if you're
| going to make a decision based on how people are behaving currently.
|
|   I don't think the solution is to make every game NMR. I think a better
| solution is to require moderators, as the EFF judge does.
|
|   A number of turnovers in players isn't desireable, but the game is stay
| played (normally) in a reasonable fashion. With NMR, there is the potential
| for a player playing "irrationally" and just ordering all of his units to
| hold. That can be a boon for an attacking player and a major blow for an
| ally expecting support or a secure flank.
|
| >  Is it "real" Diplomacy for a crew of people to wait a month for a
| >half-year's worth of play to take place?  We wait a week and a half for
| >moves, then a week and a half for a couple retreats that only have one
| >province each to retreat to, then a week and a half for builds.  And
| >that's assuming that we don't go through a lengthy delay where person
| >after person replaces CD powers only to vanish without submitting orders.
| >We may never see another turn process in 'tapir' or 'monkey' or 'qhorse'
| >or 'wasp' on the Washington judge and 'chocolat' on the EFF Judge because
| >of the insanely slow course of play compounded by the determination to
| >play no NMR in order to "maintain the integrity of the game" and all that.
|
|   Define "real" Diplomacy. Diplomacy is what you make of it. Due to people's
| schedules and email delays, the game can take a long time. You can either
| kick back and let it go at a slow rate, or you can join games that have
| moderators who are committed to keeping the games flowing.
|
|   In summation - I *strongly* believe that NMR is more damaging to a
Diplomacy
| game than long delays and changing players.
|
| -David
|
|
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU