Watch out BB is about to have a rant LOL

Before launching into said rant I would like to say it's not directed at any individual players and if you recognise any of the examples I am about to give please don't take any of it personally or feel the need to reply to the specifics.

Speaking as an admin I am extremely grateful for the support of the many great regular players who help to keep things running smoothly at isketch. The problems can arise when those same regulars fall into an understandable attitude of ownership. They become very familiar with their enviroment and the other regular players which, in turn can lead to problems.

A few examples

a) A group of players decide that if they are amongst friends and all agree they can write hints or draw the odd penis for fun. Then in comes another player and rightly votes the offender causing all the others to shout "we all agreed it's ok"

b) A group of players who always occupy the same room decide that they don't approve of one of the game rules so as they are regulars they agree to ignore it.

c) I was in the movies room today and the answer was "Sandman". A very nice well respected player then typed the lyrics to "Mr Sandman" into the game window long before the round ended and several others thanked them for the help . Earlier this week another good player said who the star of a TV show was before the end of the round.

The point I am trying to make is that we are all subject to the same rules in public rooms no matter which friends we are playing with. I like to have a laugh as much as anyone but if I want to go outside the rules I always make my own room. In the examples I have given all were very good regular players who, I believe, got carried away with the atmosphere and the feeling of being amongst friends and would not intentionally break any rules. Sadly when this sort of scenario ensues some otherwise lovely people get very angry with the admin who is just upholding the game rules

Thanks for this reminder, BB. It's really easy to forget that you have to stick to the rules when there's a bunch of you playing together. I have been guilty of all of those things in public rooms because I get so used to doing so in private rooms. Well, I have never shouted at someone that 'we all agreed so it's ok'.

Yeah, we have to remember with rooms where anyone can come in, that we have to stick with the rules that everyone else has to stick with.

Apologies to the admins for when I have done this - I don't think there was ever an 'outsider' in the room when I have done it, but that's beside the point.

Thanks BB and all the other lovely jubbly admins for your patience :)

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I would have to agree with you BB, as you know yourself a week or so ago i made that same mistake i drew a human part as the word hard.
And i was voted out.
You came in to that room and asked why i was voted, we told you and you said that it was relevent to the draw, but i do see the point your makeing, when we play in groups of friends it does crop up that we do sometimes go in to a comfort zone and dont uphold all the rules.
Ok even though my draw was relevent to the word, i still shouldent have drawn what i did, so from now on i will pay more detail to sticking to game rules, which as you say are there for us to abide to.
Well said BB.

Well said BB and I for one am grateful for that reminder. As cherry said, we get into a comfort zone But I don't think I've ever had double standards, if somone who's not in the room writes pms etc or worse, I've never voted them because it was against the rules when we've just been doing the same.

I do have a quick question on the third point, I thought I read it was ok to give hints in either of the chat or guessing box to help people. Is that not ok? I may have read wrong but I just want to clear it up

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Seems not, Facey.

I thought it was ok too... oops.

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LOL no it's most definitely not ok to give any hints to the answer in the current round.

An excellent reminder from BB. I also am ashamed to say if im in a room with many regs I tend to flout the rules slightly-mostly drawing abit of pron! lol
I will endeavour in the future not to do that.

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In seriousness though, it's one thing to boot a supposed 'non-reg' if they're being abusive, another entirely to boot someone because they've rightly voted a violation. I've seen that done. Slap 'em if ya need to... but it's not on to boot someone for exercising their rights.

You raise some great points, BB. I think we've all witnessed this kind of thing. To us normal* sketchers it can appear amusing admittedly. But to you admin, trying to uphold the law, it must get infuriating at times.

Unwarranted booting is my main bugbear. I've seen it happen and suffered it, haven't we all? If another player is being a right royal pain in the botoom then fair enough, but not just because they're not part of your gang etc (obviously this only applies to normal, non-custom rooms.)

*Normal for a given value of normal

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I don't agree entirely. If you want that, you should work with an invite system and not make it accessible for everybody. When I was new-ish on Isketch I sometimes got kicked out of a user created room within seconds of entering. It's a public game after all. And if you really don't want someone in, just tell 'em that the room was intended for you and your friends or something; don't just kick. It's rude and pretty unnecessary, 'cos the person you just kicked out could actually be really nice or fun to play against/with.

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I think I know what you're talking about Nay... the types that have names such as 'Will you be kicked?' usually I find the answer's yes... but I go in anyway. I just like that sound. lol

BIG THANK YOU BB FOR YA REMINDER!!!!!!!!!!

i do see regulars doing that, and it's just totally saddening. i see some who do even further than that... but shall not say too much into this...

just... THANK YOU!!!!!!

=D

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I've seen this happening a lot throughout the years, it's always angered me. What's worse, these groups of new regs, as i call them, don't know me as i don't play as much as i used to, so they think i'm some noob and then kick me if i start blowing whistles, and they're frequently in the movies room when i'm on, so there's not much i can do to get away from them if i want to play movies. To top it all off, all admins i know of are UK based, which means it's about 3am to them when i'm on isketch lol. I've been tempted to mail feedback to get these punks; i shall next time i see them hopefully.

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i find that when i go into certain rooms to play, that most of the room is on away besides a poor newbie that is stuck drawing... i find it in mostly US rooms, haven't seen it in a UK one yet.. but i'm assuming that they are regulars because they laugh at whoever gets stuck drawing... too bad there isnt a way to prevent this cruel childish behaviour.. i mean, if they want to talk they should create their own room and not take up space in a public one where people want to play..

I have also noticed that some other regulars vote on drawings just because they don't play with that group of people.. i dont know why they think it's ok to do this...

i stick by the rules no matter what, and if a friend of mine decides to write hints on their drawing that are actual words i will hit the warn button just the same on them as if they are a Newbie

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Thanks for the reminders, BB :)
I know I can slip up sometimes and joke to a person about the picture being related to them (whatever it is), which ends up being a clue, even if they have go it by then. It's still a clue to the rest of the room. I believe I did that once while an admin was in the room. "More food for you, so and so" (as we had been talking about food), and got an admin warning about clues.. It just goes to show how easy it is to slip up and not realise you're giving things away when you're with a friend. *sigh*

One thing that I'd like to comment on:

"Regular" players who boot out people for swearing/cursing, but do it themselves, anyway. How can you boot out someone for doing what you do publicly too? May as well boot yourself out as well. I'm not sticking up for those that do swear, but rather, I really dislike seeing "the more regular" players swearing and cursing and getting away with it. Play fair. If you want to boot someone out for swearing.. stop swearing yourself too. And some less regular players actually listen to you sometimes if you ask them to stop swearing. I really dislike swearing, anyway. So sometimes I will say "why did you boot out someone for doing exactly what you're doing? It makes you no different to them". And of course, WW3 starts..

Anyway, thanks BB!

Hmmmmm, I admit to leding a gang to do that to a friend who finds it hilarious but I would never impose bieng stuck on draw to someone I don't know.

Ok, so I got it wrong with the hints but you can say about spelling. I will always write SP? and draw an arrow if I'm drawing and they're all spelling it wrong.

Should I get my wrists slapped for that?

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O I do that too facey-its frustrating when you can see people know what it is but they not spelling it right. Are we nawty???

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i dont know.. that would be a good question for BB

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I've only just thought about it. We may be being nawty hun xxxx

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It is ok for the artist to remind guessers with an "sp" although, as with PMs on the canvass there is always the risk of being skip voted by players who are unaware that this is permitted.

Nerdy I agree with you about the hypocrites who vociferously advocate do as I say not as I do

Pfft @ She who must be obeyed

I am not sure whether I would be defined as a 'regular' *said with tongue in her cheek*; but I take on board what the little woman says. I think we can all hold our hands up here and say that on occasions, perhaps we have slightly bent the rules in public rooms - especially when with groups of people we know. And let us please not get on to the Eye for an I topic

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Exactly, it's good to acknowledge that it's not just Newbies who make mistakes. I'm glad that someone brought up the 'unwritten rules' of the specialty rooms here, bringing it up during a game has a way of bruising egos...

But isn't that one of the problems BB was talking about? The fact that there were only friends in the room at the time isn't a defence... in a public room the rules of iSketch apply, friends or not.

heh..thats been going on for to long, Id like to see admins testing some of these regs by going on as a newbie and playing by the rules, but somewhat testing the attitude towards a non-reg.for example pressing done, and even skipping someone for a personal message. As I find they are the most common problems that a non-reg will do legitimately.

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