[661_Pete]

I just noticed that, at one of the tables in play, the non-playing 'host' is listed as "zzzz....". I understand that usernames of this type are reserved for guests browsing the site without signing-up.

Investigating a bit further, I found that the 'host' was in fact kibitzing. He/she had presumably inherited the host status after all earlier players had quit the table. Other players had then joined, but none of them was host.

Is this a possible loophole in the system? Can such a host actually do anything, like boot players or reserve seats?

More to the point, can they, by their presence, block one of the active players from becoming host?

[barmar]

It looks like this will only happen when all the real players leave the table, so only the anonymous player is there. A table has to have a host, so they get it.

No one is allowed to join a table like this. So they can't do any host actions, but it doesn't matter because there's no need to.

It probably would be better if it just closed the table automatically, but it doesn't seem like a big deal the way it is.

[cmsjw5]

barmar, on 2016-August-17, 19:24, said:

It looks like this will only happen when all the real players leave the table, so only the anonymous player is there. A table has to have a host, so they get it.

No one is allowed to join a table like this. So they can't do any host actions, but it doesn't matter because there's no need to.

It probably would be better if it just closed the table automatically, but it doesn't seem like a big deal the way it is.

Just seen it myself, and was able to join the table !
I left straightaway, but a few minutes later it had 4 logged-in players playing, with zzzz still the host.