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Opinion poll: Overview and conclusion
Posted By: Nack Ballard In Response To: Opinion poll: What does "+" and "–" mean for a relative pipcount? (Nack Ballard)
Date: Thursday, 4 October 2018, at 7:41 a.m.
Last week, I posed this question:
What does plus (+) and minus (–) mean to you for a relative pipcount?
For example, suppose you are told that Blue is +3. Does that mean to you that
(a) Blue is leading by 3, ahead by 3, "plus" bringing to mind a positive (good) situation for Blue. Or
(b) Blue is trailing by 3, behind by 3, because his total pipcount is higher (more plus) than his opponent's pipcount.
There seems to be a consensus for (or at least no argument with) the notion that "up" or "ahead" or "leading" is the most reliable way to communicate that the side in question has the lower total pipcount, and conversely that "down" or "behind" or "trailing" is the most reliable way to communicate that the side in question has the higher pipcount.It takes just as long to say, "plus" as it does "up," and it takes even longer to say "minus" than it does "down." Accordingly, in conversation there seems to be no good reason to say "plus" or "minus," though I believe that the latter pair will become less and less ambiguous as the meaning of each sign becomes more standardized.
That said, when explaining the mechanics of pipcount systems, where there are often several subcounts in rapid succession, it is cumbersome, both to write and to read, a series of "up" and "down," or "ahead" and "behind" counts. In this context, there is an overriding value in using a single character to denote pip(s) that affect the count in favor of a player, and another single character to denote the opposite.
It was from this perspective that I asked my question. Largely (but not entirely) for reasons of wanting to best define and explain a pipcount system, I wanted to know what people think "+" and "–" mean. Frankly, I wasn't looking for ways to transcend the question, though I found all the answers interesting.
Ever the creator of fresh ideas, Phil Simborg suggested "A" for ahead and "B" for behind. This does in fact save space. One could write A2 or 2A for being 2 pips ahead, and B2 or 2B for being 2 pips behind. On the other hand, +2 and –2 are more readable; there is that tradeoff to consider. If confusion ameliorates enough over time, through prolific use of bots or whatever, + and – seem like the way to go in print, at least for elucidating a method of pipcount.
Oldtimers like Neil Kazaross and myself, and perhaps David Rockwell, were exposed primarily to the "plus means ahead" paradigm rather than the opposite. We tend to average in, if not emphasize, our early impressions. Conversely, less veteran players, who have spent a very high percentage of their race-comparing time with XG (and/or earlier bots), seem to overwhelmingly relate to "plus means behind" (higher pipcount).
As ah_clem pointed out, when one plays on FIBS (the first internet backgammon server) using JavaFibs as a client, + is interpreted as being ahead. That adds a little more weight to the "plus means ahead" side of the debate. Overall, though, a sizable majority of respondents who toggled +/– (as per my request) supported the "plus means behind" side.
Based on the nature of the feeback here, it seems to me that "plus means behind" will only become more dominant over time, with an excellent chance it will eventually be universal. Consequently, I am going to employ the "plus means behind" paradigm in all my pipcount explanations from now on.
To this end, I have just finished inverting the Coconut system. The counting procedure is very much the same as before, but the final count now supports "plus means behind," in line with XG and those who avidly use it. I will soon post updated links.
My thanks to all who shared their opinions.
Nack
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