Who Squares Wins!

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Daddy Shark Oct 2020 11:16am, 29 Oct 2020 704 posts	0 Daddy Shark Putting this here again in case anyone who has yet to express an opinion can...
geordiegirl Oct 2020 11:20am, 29 Oct 2020 12,063 posts	0 geordiegirl I think it would discourage people to take a break if you lost points, I presume you don’t get points if you don’t play?
westmoors Oct 2020 11:47am, 29 Oct 2020 4,452 posts	0 westmoors If you are in a match but don't play you are likely to lose 12 points as the losing player. Taking a break protects your points as you neither gain nor lose.
NDWDave Oct 2020 12:09pm, 29 Oct 2020 13,044 posts	0 NDWDave I’m indifferent towards people taking strategic breaks to keep a higher ranking. I have a vested interest as I haven’t taken a break yet so would gain if taking breaks cost points. I guess the proposal is more about people who are injured in high rankings coming back and having the choice of leaving and starting again or taking a beating for the first few weeks until they find a level post injury. This was ITG’s argument for them.
ChrisHB Oct 2020 12:18pm, 29 Oct 2020 19,972 posts	0 ChrisHB For a natural high-ranker, who takes weeks off to do a dream holiday/recover from an injury/see off a project at work then in the first few weeks back s/he'll be competing with natural low-rankers and thrash them. No contest either for the winner or the loser -> no fun. Perhaps a prize of +10 points for declaring you have an injury and not running for the requisite period of time would be better for us!
♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Oct 2020 12:29pm, 29 Oct 2020 37,068 posts	0 ♪♫ Synge ♪♫ "A different system." I like the idea, although it will never really affect me greatly. I see it as most relevant for the top fifty or so, where there is a greater focus on ranking. First week should be a zero penalty, then maybe taper it in after that? That would allow for the original "playing a joker" kind of concept, where a player should be able to take a week's holiday or be ill or deal with a really busy week at work/home etc. without being penalised.
ITG 🇮🇸 Oct 2020 1:31pm, 29 Oct 2020 10,873 posts	0 ITG 🇮🇸 My argument was also that it felt a bit like dishonorable. It's not cheating, because it is permitted, but it has certainly allowed me to maintain an artificially high position. For example, last week, I basically CBAd so I took a break. If CAZ had beaten NDWDave, I would have gone UP a place in the rankings without doing anything. If I'd competed every week I could have (so not included genuine injury), I'd be a lot further down. But I do think injury breaks are important and since we cannot decide and cannot ask fetch to adjudicate whose injuries are legitimate or not, it is good to have some kind of system. So a price on a break seems a fair compromise to stop people like me taking the pee and skiving (which I will do as long as it is permitted) and recognising that sometimes you get hurt, quarantined, travel or get overwhelmed with work or family crises that make running impossible.
Snail Oct 2020 1:49pm, 29 Oct 2020 252 posts	0 Snail A couple of other thoughts to throw in the mix - Maybe have say the 1st 3 breaks in a year with no impact and then a slightly higher deduction after that (similar to Synge's comment above) - Have a button that allows you to deduct 50 points off your ranking (about a month of wins) to reflect an injury break ie like the restart at 1000 but not as dramatic
mr d Oct 2020 1:58pm, 29 Oct 2020 3,847 posts	0 mr d Losing 3 points a week would be fair, the top ranked players will not see much of a difference. 4 weeks out would be the equivalent on 1 loss.
JCB Oct 2020 2:22pm, 29 Oct 2020 1,731 posts	0 JCB I’m still thinking that the lower your ranking, the less [in number of] points, if any, you should lose. Having a one or two week grace period would also seem sensible.