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BGonline.org Forums
Exhaustion Take 2 - Headphones
Posted By: Stick
Date: Friday, 25 August 2017, at 10:30 p.m.
The new USBGF rule states:
Listening devices for music or noise cancelling are allowed unless the opponent or Director objects.
I'm going to be beating a lot of dead horses. A lot of what I say will be nothing more than restating what I've said in the past or what others have said in the past. I think it's worth it though.
As we can all agree on, one set of rules isn't going to make everyone happy. If it was only one or two minor details in the new rules I disagreed with I'd more or less quietly go about my business. There are quite a few kinks that really grind my gears though. The first we're going to rehash is this rule here.
In short, horseshit. I first asked the question here on BGO back in 2007 and got no answer from anyone and support from a person or two saying they're okay with the wearing of headphones during matches.
For me, headphones allow me to focus. They allow me to take the match more seriously. You want my attention on the match at hand, you let me wear headphones. It blocks out all the other bullshit noise than can happen in a playing room whether it's the two backgammon matches on either side of me that are constantly ongoing and the players know each other and are interacting during the match with banter or if it's players/spectators idling around having their own conversation or even wanting just a quick word with me for whatever reason, or, the most awful, when your opponent won't shut the fuck up.
Jason Lee shared an experience back in 2009 that could have very well put a newer player off of tournament backgammon for life if it happened to him. The post is worth reading again and I can guarantee you that because of this JLee never forgets his headphones when attending a tournament.
My response in this thread is worth rereading also.
As I said in a subthread in 2013, if I knew before a tournament that I wouldn't be allowed to wear headphones while playing I wouldn't attend that tournament. Nothing has changed. It's not a huge deal because I don't get out to a lot of tournaments any more, maybe a few a year? However, that's for sure one person who is missing X tournaments a year with those rules. How many players will be attending tournaments thanks to this rule? My estimation, zero. I also imagine players like Jason Lee or Carter won't be attending your tournament either for sure if the opponent is allowed to say no to headphones. As Jason so eloquently put it "If there's a rule against me wearing headphones, and my opponent wants to enforce it, then I'll take the headphones off. After that, I'm going to enforce every last f***ing rule in the book right down to the letter of the law. I believe nowadays that he wouldn't attend the tournament but I have the same 'go fuck yourself' feeling of quit being ridiculous and if you're going to be obnoxious just wait til I get going!
In response to Frank Berger I touch on the concerns of cheating.
In 2015 I broached the subject of headphones again here on the forums. this thread is worth a reread including many people's opinions and concerns on the matter.
It is fair to say that in all likelihood I could come to tournaments with this rule in place and wear headphones and never have an issue. That's fair. Still, there is no reason for the rule to come into existence.
As Albert Steg said in 2015 "It's important not to allow fear -- of cheaters or terrorists or random acts of nature -- to lead us into joyless measures that confer negligible real benefits of safety.
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