Rules and regulations?
A quality trivia game cannot exist without basic rules and regulations, and new players can either be referred to a website for this information, or requested to type !rules before playing. Some trivia rooms, however, operate without any rules whatsoever - e.g. #trivia at Efnet.
PRO:
With rules, you know where you stand in relation to what is and is not allowed in playing the trivia game. Some rooms allow googling for difficult questions, others don't allow googling full stop. Same thing for scripting - some rooms allow it, others don't.
With rules, the likelihood of being subjected to abuse or annoying behavior like 'stealing' is miminized (but not altogether ruled out, especially if no Op is in channel to witness the 'crime' and adjudicate on it).
With rules, you don't make a bad first impression by doing something that the regular players have decided is verboten!
If it ain't in the rules, then nobody has a right to crack down on you; and you have no right to crack down on them! Remember this when you are in a channel with no official rules.
We particularly want to commend #triviacity at UnderNet for its repeated in-channel message: "Please be respectful of 'slower' players, give them a chance, remember you were once a beginner yourself :))) Thanks * Eilidh"
CON:
Too many rules can spoil the game and the fun, and channels with no rules rely entirely on the good nature of regular players to get along - and amazingly they mostly do!
Trivia rooms with strict rules encourage unfair accusals of cheating or stealing when a player is too fast (he must be scripting) or too slow (he must be googling). Everyone's connection speed varies, and everyone's recall memory works at different speeds, and what is foms (first on my screen) may not be first on yours.
Many players have 'cheat sheets' that they have compiled from previous answers and questions and can righteously claim that they are not 'googling' when they come up with an amazing answer. They are, in fact, worse cheaters than a 'googler' because they come to the game already armed with their cheat-sheets whereas a 'googler' generally only googles when nobody knows the answer.
Scripters who force hints are helping everyone get the answer faster, but scripters who hot-key difficult answers do gain a really unfair advantage.
Also, if a channel has no OP present then it is pointless having any rules regarding abusive or annoying behavior. Fellow players cannot kick or ban the abuser and must either use /ignore or leave the channel to find a room that is better patrolled.
See List of IRC trivia rooms stating rules
PRO:
With rules, you know where you stand in relation to what is and is not allowed in playing the trivia game. Some rooms allow googling for difficult questions, others don't allow googling full stop. Same thing for scripting - some rooms allow it, others don't.
With rules, the likelihood of being subjected to abuse or annoying behavior like 'stealing' is miminized (but not altogether ruled out, especially if no Op is in channel to witness the 'crime' and adjudicate on it).
With rules, you don't make a bad first impression by doing something that the regular players have decided is verboten!
If it ain't in the rules, then nobody has a right to crack down on you; and you have no right to crack down on them! Remember this when you are in a channel with no official rules.
We particularly want to commend #triviacity at UnderNet for its repeated in-channel message: "Please be respectful of 'slower' players, give them a chance, remember you were once a beginner yourself :))) Thanks * Eilidh"
CON:
Too many rules can spoil the game and the fun, and channels with no rules rely entirely on the good nature of regular players to get along - and amazingly they mostly do!
Trivia rooms with strict rules encourage unfair accusals of cheating or stealing when a player is too fast (he must be scripting) or too slow (he must be googling). Everyone's connection speed varies, and everyone's recall memory works at different speeds, and what is foms (first on my screen) may not be first on yours.
Many players have 'cheat sheets' that they have compiled from previous answers and questions and can righteously claim that they are not 'googling' when they come up with an amazing answer. They are, in fact, worse cheaters than a 'googler' because they come to the game already armed with their cheat-sheets whereas a 'googler' generally only googles when nobody knows the answer.
Scripters who force hints are helping everyone get the answer faster, but scripters who hot-key difficult answers do gain a really unfair advantage.
Also, if a channel has no OP present then it is pointless having any rules regarding abusive or annoying behavior. Fellow players cannot kick or ban the abuser and must either use /ignore or leave the channel to find a room that is better patrolled.
See List of IRC trivia rooms stating rules
Labels: abuse, cheating, googling, IRC trivia, regulations, rules, scripting, stealing
