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BGonline.org Forums
Chouette Etiquette
Posted By: phil simborg
Date: Saturday, 14 August 2010, at 6:38 a.m.
I know that every chouette has it’s own rules, procedures, and norms, and most are a result of tradition in that particular chouette. Because of the many disagreements and even arguments that occur as a result of people not having the same opinion of what the correct rules and norms are, many chouettes, like ours in Chicago, have gone to the trouble of actually writing down, in great detail, what is and what is not acceptable.
But even when you write out the rules, its very difficult to cover the many gray areas that occur all the time.
For example, what if a non-consulting partner sees his captain making a play he doesn’t like and decides to throw a glass of hot coffee in his face? We currently have nothing specific in our rules to cover this situation. Now, I am not saying this is a common occurrence in our chouette, but it is not uncommon to hear someone groan loudly or see someone throw up their hands in disgust—both of which alert the player to the error just as surely as throwing the coffee (or chai tea latte as this is more often the drink of choice of our Russian friends).
How about the practice of saying “good play” every time your captain makes a play you like, and then saying nothing when he doesn’t? Doesn’t saying nothing send a message that maybe he should run when he's up 46 friggin' pips? How do you regulate something like this? Do we charge the offender a one point penalty every time Carter says “thank God!” after someone finally makes a play he likes?
And how do your regulate verbal comments? In many chouettes, verbal comments are considered binding, but how can you enforce that when someone makes a statement like the one made in today’s chouette: “If you make that play I will shove all four of our cubes so far up your….” Personally, I think that should be a binding comment.
Now, don’t get the wrong impression….much of the time our chouettes are friendly, civil, gentlemanly affairs, but as soon as a third person shows up...
So what do you think? Do we need to be more specific in our written rules? Should we impose penalties for improper comments or behavior? (We already have a written rule that if you are caught cheating you are barred from the game for one round.) Or should we take even stronger action, and completely bar the bad actors from the game, and that would leave only Ken Bond and the waitress?
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