[daniellion]

some days get frustrated with the absolutely slow and slower and slowest speed when i go to the first available board
suggest a separate section for general players, similar to the timed (30s per decision tournaments) where players could go and play fast games only
i think that would be a popular option

[Bbradley62]

The Speedball Bridge Club. Good idea!

[daniellion]

tx, where do i find speedball section ? also, it is free or is there a charge?

[Bbradley62]

If and when BBO implements your excellent idea, I'm sure there will be an announcement.

[barmar]

daniellion, on 2012-October-08, 13:02, said:

tx, where do i find speedball section ? also, it is free or is there a charge?

It isn't there. He was just saying it's a good idea and suggesting a name for it.

[jillybean]

Great idea, get all the speed freaks out of the MBC

[zenko]

jillybean, on 2012-October-08, 23:04, said:

Great idea, get all the speed freaks out of the MBC

Fantastic idea! Instead of suggesting Ritalin therapy, then I can just send them into that room.

[Zelandakh]

I suggest making this a public club and adding the feature that anyone taking more than 5 seconds for any bid or play receive an electric shock through their mouse and keyboard. Then steadily increase the voltage for each 5 seconds thereafter - after 30 seconds the voltage should be enough to cause unconsciousness at which point they can be removed from the table automatically.

[Antrax]

I don't get the sarcastic replies. I thought the point JB was making was obvious and intended by the OP, and I think it would cause less frustration to both types of players if there were an easy way to play with like-minded people.

[barmar]

I think it will suffer from problems similar to self-rating. Most people probably think they play at a reasonable pace, and no one actually WANTS to play with slow-pokes. So everyone will go to the speedball club, and things will be no better than now.

[jeffford76]

barmar, on 2012-October-17, 13:04, said:

I think it will suffer from problems similar to self-rating. Most people probably think they play at a reasonable pace, and no one actually WANTS to play with slow-pokes. So everyone will go to the speedball club, and things will be no better than now.

How about an actual enforced pace? Say that GIB plays a card for you or makes a bid for you if you take too long? Or if there is worry that people will let GIB play for them because GIB plays better, a random card gets played.

[Bbradley62]

barmar, on 2012-October-17, 13:04, said:

I think it will suffer from problems similar to self-rating. Most people probably think they play at a reasonable pace, and no one actually WANTS to play with slow-pokes. So everyone will go to the speedball club, and things will be no better than now.

I suggested calling it the Speedball Bridge Club specifically so that players who go there will not be those who "think they play at a reasonable pace"; people should go there because they want to play very fast. Like "most people", I think I play at a reasonable pace, but I do not play speedball so I would not go there.

As for enforced pace, maybe something similar to the Express games, where you get booted if you fail to act within 30 seconds? (Personally, I think 45 is more reasonable, but we've already established that I'm not a speedball player.)

[Antrax]

barmar, on 2012-October-17, 13:04, said:

I think it will suffer from problems similar to self-rating. Most people probably think they play at a reasonable pace, and no one actually WANTS to play with slow-pokes. So everyone will go to the speedball club, and things will be no better than now.

Disagree. The main difference would be in the players' expectations. Less people in MBC getting annoyed at "faster plz" and if you're in the speedball room and got kicked out for being too slow, how badly are you going to feel about it? The thing would self-regulate. I also don't think everyone thinks they're fast, or wants to play fast. People on these forums have attested they play relatively slowly (and have problems finding a game due to it) and personally, I know I play too fast, so having opponents with a slower pace would do me a great service. If it fails, you can tear it down, but I don't think it's obvious from the get-go.
[edit]
Actually you can apply the same argument to the Expert forum. Everyone thinks they're experts on BBO, right? Yet somehow it seems to me our Experts are much happier and found ways of self-regulating, and the other forums didn't suffer as a result.

[Zelandakh]

Antrax, on 2012-October-17, 22:04, said:

Actually you can apply the same argument to the Expert forum. Everyone thinks they're experts on BBO, right? Yet somehow it seems to me our Experts are much happier and found ways of self-regulating, and the other forums didn't suffer as a result.

You are joking right? Even I write in the Expert forum sometimes without feeling like the weakest poster there. Some of the posters and threads there are closer to B than E!

[Antrax]

Yes, sometimes people wander in the E forum by mistake. Still, I believe if you poll the regular posters there, they prefer it now to the way things were when it was the A/E forum.

Also, you need to relax with the self-deprecation. You may be an intermediate by BBO's definition, but you're not what most people think about when they say "intermediate".

[zenko]

Antrax, on 2012-October-17, 07:30, said:

I don't get the sarcastic replies. I thought the point JB was making was obvious and intended by the OP, and I think it would cause less frustration to both types of players if there were an easy way to play with like-minded people.

There is nothing sarcastic about it, "slow pokes" dislike playing with "speed freaks" as much if not even more as the other way around. To me playing fast is just mindless waste of time, about as attractive as watching paint dry. Furthermore, I have no intention whatsoever to speed up my play, if anything I am trying to slow down even more. Obviously that kind of attitude is unacceptable for many, so please let us go our separate ways.

The only really issue to ponder is it better to carve part of the main playing room into a separate "Speedball" room or to do the other way around, make the whole main room a Speedball room and have a separate "Slow cooking" room.

[Antrax]

I took the "Relaxed" room to mean just that - but it wasn't. That's why clearly setting expectations would be beneficial for all.

[jillybean]

jeffford76, on 2012-October-17, 14:34, said:

How about an actual enforced pace? Say that GIB plays a card for you or makes a bid for you if you take too long? Or if there is worry that people will let GIB play for them because GIB plays better, a random card gets played.

I think my pickup partners are already using this second option.

[FM75]

I agree. Speedball Bridge Club is a good suggestion.

I do not think it needs to be enforced by automation. Just set a suggested pace. Or the suggested pace could be set by the table owner in the table description.