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BGonline.org Forums
Picture, Cameras, Computers, Pads (long)
Posted By: mamabear In Response To: Picture, Cameras, Computers, Pads (Chiva Tafazzoli)
Date: Wednesday, 6 March 2013, at 1:30 p.m.
As rew says here, it is too late to turn back. The genie has been let out of the bottle by the existence of the high-powered analysis programs, and cannot be stuffed back in. Now even if a fishy player's matches are not recorded when he attends a tournament open to the public, he not only knows where he stands, but he also knows that the others in the chouette there know that, too. If the wealthy, fishy player still likes playing for money, he's probably doing it at some private club in his own part of the world, far from the prying eyes of anyone who is known to use a bot, and of course anyone who posts here.
(When is the last time you saw anyone post a problem titled "Last Night at the 19th Hole" or "16-cube at the Yacht Club"?)
Regarding recording, I've always said it should be made clear as often as necessary that novices should be immune, even from requests to record; if their opponents want to record, it's time they moved upstairs to the Advanced. (If the two novices know each other and have made an agreement to record, that's OK, but I don't like the idea of a novice feeling rude if they tell an opponent to sack the camera.) But even with the Advanced, I like the idea that the opponent can always say no, even if the tournament is "camera-friendly".
IMO the Masters event should be open season, so to speak, for recording, unless some other policy has been stated in advance.
The Open is more tricky. If the tournament is declared in advance to be "people-friendly", the director could presumably honor most requests not to be recorded without any outcry. If the director has instead said it is "camera-friendly", he needs to clarify in advance exactly what that means.
But what about streaming, especially of the Open and Masters' semis and finals? If someone has taken the trouble and expense to set up streaming equipment, and has been permitted and perhaps encouraged to do so, then they should have something to stream. If I'm there, they can stream my matches (assuming it's also all right with my opponent), and there are others besides me who never object, but that doesn't produce a reliable precedent.
This is important, that at least some matches be streamed, because they are drawing an audience, and in the end that will help "grow the game". One watcher recently told me he was encouraged to see expert players having to stop and think about plays, because he'd been under the impression they pretty much always just know what to do. Attending a tournament is now less out of reach for that watcher.
I don't think Snowie and XG "killed" backgammon; they instead forced it to evolve. This was inevitable, because when computers became fast enough to handle multi-ply analysis of a match in just a few minutes, and a deep rollout in a matter of hours, the programs that made use of these powerful tools then emerged, because the demand was there.
Now that laptop computers are also powerful enough to run them at a reasonable level of analysis, their presence at tournaments is inevitable, because many people bring their laptops or tablets along for other reasons also. I bring mine for reasons related to business outside of backgammon or the tournament, but since it also has Snowie and XG on it, why not use them if the situation calls for it?
But with all that said, the designation "people-friendly", or even an outright ban on all tech in the playing room, if you ever do decide to run such an event, will not keep me away from your tournament, Chiva. What will keep me away is the time, expense, and likely logistical snarls involved in my getting to Cyprus!
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