Why aren't escapers marked?

[Joaz Banbeck]

I'm going to burglarize Bantari's house tonight. I'm sure that I'll find the door unlocked.

[Javaness]

I'm going to burglarize Bantari's house tonight. I'm sure that I'll find the door unlocked.

You're missing the point.
If you burgle a house, then the occupant suffers. Our possessions are generally pretty important to us, and we also feel violated because our illusion of 'safety in our own home' has been broken.

If you lose a game of Go played online, heh, it's just a game.
If somebody escapes from your game, heh, you won but you don't get the rating points*,
It is just a game.
Get over it.

*well actually a pretty high percentage do get the forfeit anyway on KGS

[Redundant]

Telling someone to "get over it" when they have a legitimate grievance (even if you don't agree) is one of the most patronizing things it's possible to say.

[Javaness]

Telling someone to "get over it" when they have a legitimate grievance (even if you don't agree) is one of the most patronizing things it's possible to say.

Good.

[Bantari]

Telling someone to "get over it" when they have a legitimate grievance (even if you don't agree) is one of the most patronizing things it's possible to say.

Well... you fuss and cry like a child, guess what... you get patronized like one.
Its either this or spanking, but that's hard to do over the web...

Having said the above - I did not mean being patronizing. But from what you say one should never tell anybody to 'get over it' or 'cowboy up' or 'stop being a baby'... well, I disagree. There are times when a person should just 'get over it', and I think the issue of escapers is one of them. Why? The issue is a very minor one (even if it crushes your ego and your love for the pretty little rating points and proper typefaces), the server has a policy in place, they have made it clear many times what the policy is, why it is the way it is, and that they are unlikely to change it and why. Crying over it repeatedly is not productive. I would say - childish. But hey, whatever rocks your boat, mate.

To show you that it is appropriate to 'get over it' sometimes - I will now 'get over' the whole discussion.
Tada!

[Redundant]

Its either this or spanking, but that's hard to do over the web...

WTF?

[Redundant]

Telling someone to "get over it" when they have a legitimate grievance (even if you don't agree) is one of the most patronizing things it's possible to say.

Good.

Bad.

[Toge]

You are not going to cure a psychological problem through software development.
I just never checked somebody's game list before I play them to see if they had a "good reputation", does anyone really, actually do that?

- I wouldn't be so sure. It's just the important rule discovered by early behaviorists in psychology that people change their behavior based on the feedback they receive (wiki). Ways of giving feedback are numerous. As for the latter part, this is a design problem. If I had information that my challenger has 5 wins, 0 losses, 5 unfinished games, I wouldn't play such person. I'm guessing other people wouldn't either, and coupled with difficulty of finding games as [?] and [x?] player, negative reinforcement loop is created and escaper problem suddenly solves itself.

If you burgle a house, then the occupant suffers. Our possessions are generally pretty important to us, and we also feel violated because our illusion of 'safety in our own home' has been broken.

If you lose a game of Go played online, heh, it's just a game.
If somebody escapes from your game, heh, you won but you don't get the rating points*,
It is just a game.
Get over it.

- How do you make the distinction? People act on bona fide. It's reasonable to assume that games are finished and there's not going to be scumbags who forfeit games, let you wait for their return and never respond to messages you send them. That kind of behavior is rude. My playing experience is important to me.

The current system is leaving a loophole open. The only argument so far has been that not enough players abuse it, so it need not be fixed.

[hyperpape]

The current system is leaving a loophole open. The only argument so far has been that not enough players abuse it, so it need not be fixed.

Is this really what you think? That there is not a single reason for the existing system?

If you can't properly state your opponents' position, you're not in a position to refute it.

[jts]

As far as the aesthetic argument goes, the italics are no worse than the W+T. Any automated system that judges wins and losses is going to be imperfect; as far as these things go, KGS is pretty damn good.

[daal]

Just out of curiousity, to the grown-ups who aren't bothered by escapers: would you really mind if the system were improved so that it happened less?

[Li Kao]

I would mind if the system gave me losses for the games where my computer crashed, the network went away,... This happened to me on Tygem and I was pretty pissed. I did not get to finish a nice game, just because I exceeded the disconnect time-limit.
On the other hand a perceived problem is automatically a real problem in many contexts. And I think this is one of them. So while personally escapers don't bother me much, I think *something* should be done to appease those who are bothered. As long as it doesn't have any annoying side-effects.

[daal]

I would mind if the system gave me losses for the games where my computer crashed, the network went away,...

I said "improved," not "changed to punish innocents." My point is that people telling other people to grow up because they consider themselves to have a mature handle on the issue are not contributing much by telling other people to be more like them. It would be reasonable to argue that the KGS system is the best, but if this isn't the argument, then why try to mute suggestions for improvement by shifting the blame from KGS to those who see themselves as the victim (however minor the crime) in an unjust system?

[hyperpape]

I would love to see an improvement to the system, but I've yet to see a real improvement among the suggestions.

And it might be an unfair system, but it's ridiculous to talk about it being unjust.

[emeraldemon]

Just to be clear: can't you look at a persons game history for losses by forfeit? Can forfeits happen any other way than escaping? If this is correct, OP can look in history before deciding to play a person.