As a result I have some advice for those writing their own Go programs. This advice is all trivial - indeed you may think it totally obvious. However every item listed below has been disregarded by at least one of the 1998 Ing entrants. This is a protocol which allows two computers to play Go using a serial cable. If two programs both support this protocol, it makes it much easier to play a game between them.
Some tournaments have rules which favor programs supporting the protocol.
The next five points are particularly important for programs that do not support the Go Modem Protocol. But even if your program does support the protocol, some of its opponents may not, so you should still consider these points. If you omit this labelling, it makes little difference. But if you invent your own, different, system of labelling, it will cause trouble when you play against another program which uses the conventional system. This is far more confusing than just omitting the labels.