This is the full text of the open letter I posted on 22 Aug 98 to the tournament's majordomo mailing list. It is reproduced here for the benefit of newcomers so that they will be cognizant of how a few bad apples can ruin the atmosphere of the tourney for the rest of the ED community. The future of the tourney is ultimately dependent on how we as a community want to deal with the issues outlined below.
Hail all!
Over the course of the 97/98 season, it has come to the attention of the GCs that there is
a section of the ED community (which I pray and hope is a very small minority) that has
engaged in activities such as:
1. Resetting the random number seed in order to gain favourable combat.
2. Replaying turns to get optimal results.
3. Previewing the entire map to circumvent exploration.
or generally trying to find loopholes in the design of the game that they can exploit,
short of hacking into the game itself. Some members of this section argue that this is all
part of the game and is perfectly legal in their opinion. "Gamesmanship", they
call it.
We, the GCs (and we hope the vast majority of the ED community), consider this to be
nothing short of blatant cheating. Common sense probably agrees with this assessment.
We have dealt with such cases that have been brought to our attention. In case there
are still such scoundrels out there who believe that these activities cannot be caught or
proven to our satisfaction, rest assured that there are ways to do so. If we do have to
take action, we will.
However, the GCs are sick and tired of having to go after such individuals on what is fast
becoming a regular basis. When we first started this tournament, the impetus was to have
fun organising a friendly tourney for all who enjoy the spirit of the game. Given
the current developments, it is becoming more work and tedium than fun. The GCs
signed on to be organisers, to help setup the games for the community, and to generally
ensure that the tourney ran smoothly. We do not get paid for this. We put in
much of our own time and effort for the sheer enjoyment of ED.
I will not turn the GC group into a police force or an intelligence unit to catch
cheaters. I will also not turn them into the Gestapo to enforce complicated rules
and procedures to define what is legal and what is not, when common sense and honour
should suffice. Unfortunately, if things go on the way they do, the role of the GCs
is surely going to become this.
It has already happened to some extent. I will not let this continue in the long
run.
Some of the GCs feel that this cheating mentality may have been fostered by the structure
of the tournament. The fact that there is a "champion", that there are
rules for determining advancement, that those who advance are better than those who do not
etc... In case there are those who have illusions on what it means to
"win" this tourney, let me dispel them.
Those of us with many years of ED experience know what is possible in ED and what is not.
Up to a certain level, everyone knows that certain strategies and tactics work more
often than others. Eventually, with experience, all
will learn them. At this level, a lot depends on the luck factors. Over the
course of the game, everyone will be dealt poor and good runs from time to time. The
chap who is crowned "champion" is the one who best manages the randomly
determined poor and good runs that come his way. If you have been dealt a poor run,
go on the defensive and make your opponents pay for every ground they take. If you
are given a lucky streak, take the opportunity to seize the intiative. Whoever eventually
wins is not "superior" but is simply the one who handles the opportunities that
come his or her way better.
Resorting to blatant cheating to ensure a permanent lucky streak only demonstrates a low
self-esteem and small ego. We do not pretend to understand such a mentality.
Given the fact that there is no prize money or that anyone will consider the
"champion" the best ED player in the world, we simply cannot fathom the depths
to which this group of people would sink for a mere game. In actuality, we don't
really care about the attitude that players adopt for the tourney, as long as they don't
cheat to get ahead.
I personally don't think the structure and format of the tourney should be blamed for the
behaviour of such people. There are those of us who enjoy friendly competition in a
tournament structure that includes advancement, champions etc. without a "win at all
costs" mentality. Why should we let a few bad apples spoil the fun for us?
Nevertheless, I feel that it is time for the ED community get its collective act together
and decide what direction they want this tourney to go and how it would treat cheating.
Do you want this tourney to degenerate into a "see who
cheats the best" or "see who can find the most loopholes" contest? If
so, then I do not want to be associated with this tourney any longer. You can call
me and my GCs "little" boys who cannot take the "real" world attitudes
of the "big"
boys. Fine, you can go form your own tourney for "big" boys and us
"little" boys will form our own for players who believe in the integrity of
competition.
I have no plans to radically change the format, rules, or structure of the tourney in the
current 98/99 season. If you suspect that someone is cheating, we recommend that you
check if others playing him feel the same, then immediately confront the person.
Don't let it drag on and then we will find ourselves having to conduct secret
meetings and intelligence gathering, which is generally unhealthy and time consuming.
But the future and form of the tourney from the 99/00 season onwards will depend on
what transpires for the rest of the 98/99 season. If we find that incidents of
cheating continue despite this open letter, one of 3 possibilites will take place:
1. Some of the GCs have suggested rethinking the structure of the tourney so that cheating
cases are built directly into the format. We will implement a system that will give
the ED community the power to deal with cheaters without having to come to us.
Basically, players will be allowed to REFUSE to play with known or suspected
cheaters, no questions asked. REFUSED matches will not be replaced, meaning that the
cheaters will have to try to advance with 1 match less than everyone else. If enough
people start issuing REFUSALS to the cheaters, pretty soon the cheaters will find
themselves with no matches to play and hence be unable to advance. Of course, if it
turns out that the majority in the ED community are in fact cheaters, then the
"little" boys will be weeded out and the tourney will be left with only the
"big" boys. Either way, it serves the purpose of separating the honourable
players from the cheaters :-)
2. We will make the tournament invitation-only, instead of being open as it is now.
We will only invite the trusted players. I do not like this approach as it
will make it very difficult for new players to get into the circle. We could get the
new players to play among themselves first, and then get them to secretly rate each other
on likelihood of cheating etc before being allowed into the circle. If you think
this sounds very unhealthy, well, I agree. But it still remains a hypothetical and
viable alternative.
3. We abandon the tourney altogether and go back to organising matches among our own
friends. Dave Bott's EPIG
system is already in place and well suited for this. There are no rules, no
advancements, no champions, no tournaments. Just ED enthusiasts playing among themselves,
and cheaters trying to out-cheat each other.
As this is an open letter, I welcome comments, opinions, suggestions, condemnations,
whatever. If you wish to reply, please use the majordomo address so that everyone
gets it, unless you want to address it to a specific individual. I will probably not
rejoin the discussion till next weekend, so that everyone will have a chance to say their
piece.
Thanks for your attention.
Sir L