Russ' to do list (was very deep in a thread)

Any coding time I have available this weekend is going to be
dedicated to :
1) The 'I'm on vacation' mode
2) Tighter controls on challenges. (filter by rating, timeout period)
3) Banded tournaments.

Rhymester,
How about a flashing icon next to any fresh challenge in the 'your
games' list? This would be very easy to put in place. If this
suggestion fits your requirement, then I will put that at the top of my
list.

-Russ

Thanks Hotpawn.

Russ - no, a flashing icon in the your games screen would be pretty
useless at least for those of us with a lot of games in progress.
Especially now that the games are spread out over many pages and
get forced off the top page pretty fast. I also always play in the mode
whereby the next game comes up automatically without me having to
return to 'your games'.

The things I'd REALLY like to be able see, at a glance, on the board
screen are:

1. My opponent's current rating (next to their name perhaps).

2. The game's time out setting.


The challenge filter would solve a lot of problems of course :-)


One futher point:

Back to the thorny subject of time-outs. I think one of the main
problems we are having is the confusion between timeout setting and
pace of play. I always put up 14 day timeouts but often move several
time a day. Some people play 3 day timeouts and move once every 3
days. So people think they've got to set the timeout to a low setting
to get a fast game.

On some other sites I've come across there is a separate indication
next to the time out of the expected/desired pace. One I've seen has
a bicycle icon for a few moves a week, a car for several moves a week
and a jet plane for several moves a day.

It would also be nice if people were 'forced' into reading their
prospective opponent's profile (if applicable) before making a
challenge or accepting an open invite - an automatic pop-up as part of
the process?

Keep up the good work Russ! :-)

Rhymester

Russ, something for the future. I play a lot of 'newbies' some are very
good... some aren't... in this latter group there are many who, when
they are in a hopeless position, will almost always offer a draw. This
might be 'funny' one or twice but after a while the joke starts to wear a
little thin. Anyway, to speed things up a bit... players could be forced
to make an actual move as well as requesting the draw. That way the
move would only be implemented if the draw was refused.

Rhymester

I like the 'game pace' idea - very simple to implement, so expect
that soon.

I appreciate the draw problem.

Chris keeps asking me to fix this - so I will make an effort. It is
buried deep down in the code - and any modification will require
exstensive testing. (and anyone who knows software, knows that
extensive testing is a programmers least liked chore.) But as you
have brought it up, its time to get it done...

-Russ

Thanks Russ.... oh yes, as well as the opponent's rating and the
game's timeout setting showing up on the game board screen -
perhaps we ought to have a symbol to indicate Vaknso's knight,
Rhymester's Rebel or neutral ;-)

You can take your time on this one...

Rhymester

Andrew,
I have Knights, you have traitors.. :-)
John
King of MAP

Well, you now have the rating next to each players name at least. (as
from tonight)

-Russ

I noticed! Looks good. Thanks for yet another improvement on this
site!

Otto

Thanks! I had been waiting for that!

Harri / Luck

PS: What about the "complete" list of active games as default??

Russ, Now my opponent are reminder each time they come to make a
move that I am harmless.... :-)
But King Of MAP
John

THANKS Russ!

superb addition Russ my boy - well done on that one....

.... proves the rule 'if it aint broke - dont fix it' is rubbish cos the best
has just got better

From previous posts I understand that the "I'm on vacation" mode
doesn't stop anyone from claiming T/O's if he/she so wishes.
I think the "I'm on vacation" mode is nice but doesn't solve the
problem.
Playing correspondence chess means playing long games; even with a
3 day time out one game can last more than half a year!
This means you can never go on a holiday without the chance of
being timed out! You can stop playing months in advance of your
holiday of course, but that's not what I (and a lot of others) want.
I want to play chess without having concerns as mentioned above!!
There's a solution, think about this:
In every game there should be a "I'm on vacation" button with the
following restrictions:
- it can only be used by each player once in that game
- when used by a player it adds 21 days (or any other reasonable
number) 'thinking' time for the next move that player has to make
(so it can be used whether that player is to move or not)
- when the player makes his move (after his vacation) the "I'm on
vacation" mode stops immediately, even when the move is made
within a day.
In this way you can go away for a holiday without being timed out!
Russ, is this possible? (Atlantic chess has this feature)
Everyone, what do you think?

Otto