RULES STATE:
Improper conduct: Deliberate drawing of unrelated and/or sexually explicit/racist images; giving out the word in any way; harassing other players; using offensive language directed at other players; impersonating an iSketch administrator by username choice or otherwise.

In the above it states, "Deliberate drawing of unrelated ....images".

So when a person takes up almost ALL of the time by drawing irrelevant information and draws ONLY "the word" in the last ten seconds.... how is this rule applied? I think this needs to be clarified with the admins!!!!

Thank You.

Yeah, i agree with you, and in my own personal opinion I think that those drawers should be flogged. haha, ok maybe not that harsh, but it does irritate me sometimes.

As to how the rule is applied, according to admins i know as long as the person draws the word during the allotted time they have not broken any rule. I disagree, but whatev.

We had a nice little discussion on it here:
http://www.isketchforum.net/theme-based-drawings-t3660.html?t=3660

Here is the letter I wrote feedback concerning this issue: (i put it in spoiler tags, because it was quite long)
So this is the first time i have written feedback but I thought it was needed.
anyways, over the past bit many times there have been arguments in rooms that i have been in over the interpretation of one certain rule, namely:

Improper conduct: Deliberate drawing of unrelated and/or sexually explicit/racist images; giving out the word in any way; harassing other players; using offensive language directed at other players; impersonating an iSketch administrator by username choice or otherwise. *(emphasis added)

The fact is that it says deliberate drawing of unrelated images, as a stand alone entity, are not allowed. This leads to various interpretations of the rule.
Here is the scenario:
A person spends 4/5 of the time drawing an unrelated image, i.e. a duck. Then when time is almost up the person either 1. erases the duck, or 2. leaves the duck and in the corner draws
a train, which is the word assigned to them to draw.
Now, this happens multiple times in a row, and people are getting upset. A few of them vote on the sketcher as they believe he is violating the aforementioned rule. They end up getting kicked from the room by an admin because they abused voting privelages, even though they voted as they saw the rules.
Why this is bad:
I believe that this causes quite a few negative results. People in the room become upset as patience is not something that the human race is good with, and people dont like sitting around for most of the draw watching someone draw an ambigious drawing, and as people become testy tempers flare, someone offends someone else and voting happens and a big mess ensues. Also, it discriminates against new players as the experienced players will be able to guess rapidly and correctly get the word in the wayning moments of the draw. This will make the new players dislike iSketch as they watch a word not getting drawn and then can never guess it, thus not getting any points for the word, and in the end getting frustrated with the game and leaving it for good. Now the admin comes in and kicks people out for vote abuse. The new players see this and do not understand the logic behind it and an unwarranted hatred for admins begins at an early stage in their iSketch lifetime. There is probably more, but I feel that those alone will suffice.
What I do understand:
I understand theme drawings are allowed, and i am ok with that. I also understand that if what the person draws eventually connects or has some relation to the word then that is ok as well. What I am talking about here is when something similar to the scenario I mentioned above happened.
Suggested change:
I would suggest that the specific scenario be made against the rules. Maybe something to the effect of if a person spends more than half of the time drawing a completely unrelated drawing, and in the end does not link that picture into their drawing, then that IS against the rules and a votable offense (under the rude/unrelated drawings option). Now enforcement of this would be difficult, and would consist of the admin asking for an explanation from the artist as to why they drew the particular thing. If they have a good reason (it was relatable) then its ok, but if they cannot give a real reason for their drawing that took at least half of the drawing time, then they do get booted for 'drawing abuse'.
Alternative Proposal:
If it is decided not to change the rule from what it currently is, a clarification should be made. Something to the effect of the following should do:
Improper conduct: Drawings in which the word given is never drawn; sexually explicit/racist images; giving out the word in any way; harassing other players; using offensive language directed at other players; impersonating an iSketch administrator by username choice or otherwise. *(proposed change italicized and underlined)

One of these two things should be changed, I hope that you will discuss it with your fellow admins (who have probably seen the problems this rule creates) and together with Rob come to a conclusion on what should be done.

Thanks for everything!
-Jmac

And this was their response:
Hi, and thanks for taking the time to write and share you thoughts and suggestions about our current rules.

We understand the frustration that artists (who wait until the last minute to draw their word) can cause players who are waiting to guess. The wording of our rules is very carefully considered, but, as with anything else in life, they can be abused by some players.

We appreciate your suggestions and will consider them when we plan future updates and changes; however, for now, the rules will stand as they are.

Thanks again, and thanks also for your patience.

So when a person takes up almost ALL of the time by drawing irrelevant information and draws ONLY "the word" in the last ten seconds.... how is this rule applied? I think this needs to be clarified with the admins!!!!

Thank You.

Drawing a 'theme' is OK, but please do not wait at the end of the round to draw the word. If you alert admins with your vote on this theme drawing, we will try to take the drawing in consideration and be reasonable in our judging.

To pick out three of the most important parts, in my opinion, from the thread linked above by Jmac:

The time should be enough for drawing AND guessing, not just enough time for someone to finish their draw and then no room for guessing.

If you do vote against someone for an unrelated drawing, it's probably best to wait until the draw has completely finished before voting, as the artist may well add the correct word before an admin intervenes. If, however, you are voting for a pornographic or racist draw, my advice is to vote as soon as you see it.

To vote an unrelated draw ... is almost impossible to determine until AFTER the draw.

I'm all for theme drawings in public rooms and I agree with NoHints. If you are an artist spending too much time drawing a lovely theme, only to finish with your word in, for example, the last five seconds, means that everyone in the room misses out on earning points including the artist.

As for voting against an apparent "unrelated drawing", this cannot really be done until the drawing time has finished and the word is revealed to the room. This way, if the word wasn't drawn, you can be sure that your vote will be valid.
If the artist draws their word in the last few seconds, I would advise not to vote against the artist, as technically the word has been drawn :)

Hi everyone -

I don't think the rules need clarication at all and here is why:

There are so many diverse groups of people who play who read the same word but with a different interpretation of it. I've drawn words that are a direct draw of the word from another perspective and have got slammed in the room for off topic draws.

There are many many words that have double or more meanings or sometimes people draw the verb meaning of it instead of the noun.

Lets think of a few examples:

Level: A level could be something that is level rather than on an angle.

It could also be a builder's tool. (Which i draw sometimes).
It could also indicate different floors in a building.


Another one:

Steer:

Where I come from a steer is a very common term for a young male bull.

Banger:

In the UK rooms it's a UK Term for a sausage.


So to 'vote' an off topic draw is not as clear cut as one may think, even if
they are 'theme drawing' the artist honestly has the whole time to draw the word.

My personal opinion is votes for off topic must be for repeat offenders who deliberately without any thought for the other players be drawing something that is so OBVIOUSLY not the word before a vote is valid for this reason.

So please remember when playing that your perspective is not the only one that matters in this game. That everyone else playing has their own interpretations of the same word.

So my dears, be patient, and even ask and you might learn more meanings of every day words and to me when you learn little things like this it really enriches your life and your vocabulary and in the end enriches your conversations with people.