Guys...We're on the internet!
Since nobody can check whether the reasons stated by a person who's asking for a pause/extend are true, they're irrelevant.
A pause request should not become a contest about who invented the best excuse. Also, you may not be able to connect, but you may not be willing to tell your businnes to everyone on the public Forum or on the Global chat. Privacy. Or am I forced to lie and invent an excuse good enough, when I can't log in?
And who would decide if your reasons are true and good enough? Those who are tempted to take advantage from your NMR.
Reasons must be irrelevant. Nobody could ever double-check them, so it must be assumed you got a good reason to ask for a pause. How would you feel if you say your true reason why you can't log in, and someone else says it's not good enough?
Someone who's in the game... are we joking?
Surely there will be someone thinking he can take an unfair advantage asking for a pause.
But I guess that Mods usually grant Pauses because you can't ruin 100 games just because maybe, in 5 of them, the pause-requester **thinks** he could get an advantage. Also, I'm sure that a person like that would be able to lie and provide a good-looking reason for his request. This is a site of professional liars, lol. So why would someone be willing to waste his time reading useless (and possibly false) stuff about someone else's life?
If you like games never paused, you could open your own SRG in which pauses and extensions are forbidden. Or in which every player can ask no more than 'X' days for pauses/extensions (i proposed something like this for 1v1,
threadID=33202, both players have the same total time). Players who join the SRG would accept this condition at their own risk. Mods, if asked for a pause, would read the related thread and wouldn't step in to force it. Just my suggestion.
I'd love such a game, because all players would have the same rights. The same goes for regular games: if all the players must have the same rights, pauses can't be decided by those who can take an (unfair) advantage from non-voting. Pauses are not part of the game.
Don't forget that Mods can also UNPAUSE games. Once I asked them so, they found that the players not voting had no reason to do it and they forced unpause.
I also have to say that I see more "sitter wanted" threads on the Forum than pause requests on my games. Perhaps I'm just lucky, but it makes me think that the big issues are extensions, not pauses. I see no reason for not voting extensions! They're short! Is it the 5th extension and the game gets very long? In case, I'll ask a pause/extension as well. I'm not shy. Nobody can be sure about how long a game he joined will last. Anyone could suddenly need a pause/extension, at some point.
In general, the point is that when you don't vote, you ruin the game in 90% of cases (lucky DL's game is in remaining 10%). When you vote you almost never ruin it. You save it.
More in general, when you got an issue and there's little chance your decision could ruin a game, ask Mods first. It's always a good idea. They'll give you good advices and take action when something is going wrong.
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"no player that votes against the measure should be blacklisted" Ruf, I make all blacklists I want and I block whoever I like. It's my right and I do it at my own risk. It has a cost for me, because the more players I block, the less games I can join. It's not for free.
"ridiculed"? I see only people explaining their point of view here. But yes, since you mentioned it, i think that those who try to gain advantages refusing pauses and extensions are ridiculous. Losers.
"then why would there be a vote for it in the frist place?" "The main reason is to avoid the Mods get snowed under a ton of pause/extend requests." Perhaps you just missed this. Or maybe you think that just because they volunteered a bit of their time for hunting Meta/Multi, Mods must waste their whole day stepping into games players aren't able to pause themselves. With the vote, Mods have to deal only with a much smaller percentage of those games.
"The simplest solution is do not ask for extensions and pauses." Oh oh oh!... you'll change your mind the first time you'll need one. :)
"Honor the commitment you made when signing up or find a stand in player." Right, but you forget that this goes for everyone. When you join a game, you don't know when it will end. So what would your problem be with granting pauses if you think you can be committed until the (unknown) end? You can't? Find a sitter or ask for a pause. It goes for everyone.
Diplomacy is not a game in which the first one who need a pause and gets his request rejected has lost, and his neighbours won.
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Lastly, a consideration of mine. It's incredible that so many people complain on Forums about so many games ruined by CDs or NMRs and, notwithstanding this, there are so many people NOT voting for Pauses and Extensions as they're asked. Funny, non-voters are often those who have to gain the most from a NMR.
It's just a different way of cheating (and that's one of the reasons why Rule 5 is) but it's much more hypocritical, IMO, and in Anon games it's a rather coward way to cheat.
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The truth is that we're discussing this issue from the wrong side: "You must have give a reason for asking pause/unpause/extend". Nononono. Absolutely no.
The right side is:
- - You must have a very good reason for non-voting! - -
If you think you have a good reason to refuse a pause/unpause/extend request, it's you the one who has to give a "good reason" for causing a NMR!
These votes have not been given to you to let you know when your opponent is about to miss a turn, so that you can take advantage from it.
Nor to let you know why he needs it and make your judgements about his private life (assuming he wants to tell you a reason and it's the truth). Guys, the reasons are the same each time: I'm going to have no internet / I'm going to have a week too busy to play. Do you want to know more details? Busybody meddler? Peeping Tom? How many requester would just tell you a lie just to shut you up.
Nor these votes have been given to let you screw another player's RR.
Votes and Reliability Rating. All these features are about preventing NMRs.
Rule 5 says "The pause is there to stop players missing their orders". It's about preventing NMRs!
If you think someone is abusing it, whether asking it or refusing it, you call the mods and explain why, because "If it is being abused staff may step in to sort it out."
Take the law into your own hands is WRONG! The Mods are there to investigate possible abuses.
I wonder how many features and rules Oli has yet to release before everyone understand that NMRs are wrong, screw games and ruin everyone's fun.