Subject: The Blight of Cheating
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998 17:25:31 -0400
From: "Len Blado" <lblado@snet.net>
To: <fkusumot@ix.netcom.com>

        While there is not enough information released by the DCI to
determine if cheating is a serious problem in Magic, most certainly
the perception of extensive cheating is a serious problem.  And has
been for a while.

        Every three months or so now, we go through a cycle where a
name player, or players, is accused of cheating.  Some of these
accusations are false on their surface, and should have been
researched more thoroughly before being disseminated.  Others have
a core of credibility which, even with the limited information
available, would meet most legal standards for 'proof'.

        Yet no significant player has ever been banned by the DCI
for cheating.  (The current list of banned players is available
through the Judge's Quarterly; ask your local judge for a copy).
And at Origins, it was the major topic of conversation at the
DCI membership meeting, with not one voice raised to claim that
cheating was not a significant problem.

        Part of the problem is the utter impotence of players,
even 'name' players, to address the problem.  Henry Stern, in
a nonofficial capacity, went so far as to point out that it was
a foolish player who didn't keep a close watch on their
opponent.  While this is good advice that I fully agree with,
it is a sad state of affairs that such advice should be necessary.
As a player, about all that you can do is to encourage a boycott
of a Pro's sponsors in order to fight back against players who
remorselessly cheat.  The rest is up to the DCI.

        And while the DCI is still growing, and learning at
is goes, in this major category, it has failed utterly to
address the concerns of the players.  One of the problems
seems to be that the DCI is unwilling to exact serious
penalties against the innocent.

        Now, if you've played in one of my tournaments (and
you may well have without realizing it), you'll know that I
personally tend to run things casually.  I hate to write
warnings, and I hate to harm your match chances based on
what could be reasonably construed as accidental mistakes.
However, even I have to adjust my style of judging when I'm
running a PTQ.  I find myself forced to issue warnings and
disqualifications for offenses that have the possibility of
cheating lying behind them, even when I personally believe
the player to be the victim of an innocent mistake.

        And at Pro Tours it should be even tighter.  It should
be the responsibility of every Pro Player to avoid the
*appearance* of impropriety, not just the act.  The penalty
guidelines should be established to put a major deterrent
on any sort of irregularity.

        Where would I draw the line on cheating?  First of all,
a distinction should be established between events witnessed
by a judge, or provable by game state, and events which are
merely the word of a player against another player.  Due to
the possibly biased nature of player vs. player testimony,
I would not award the same penalties upon acts that I would
if such was witnessed by a judge, or a reasonable set of
unbiased observers.

        However, for *any* infraction at a Pro Tour, no matter
how minor, I believe a written, not verbal, warning is
necessary.  Verbal cautions are a fine way to adjust the
playstyle of casual players to DCI standards- I rarely have
to warn a player more than once that what they are doing is
not acceptable for them to change their behavior.  However,
when you're talking about a contest in which some players have
honed their ability to cheat to a fine edge, any irregularity
should be looked upon as possible evidence of cheating, and
recorded to track trends.

        For most 'accidental' offenses which can lead to any
measurable game advantage (drawing eight cards to open the
game, dropping opponent's cards while shuffling, hand beneath
the plane of the table, etc.), an immediate match loss should
be assessed if it is clear that this infraction actually
occurred.

        For any offense which clearly displays a high possibility
that the player is attempting to cheat (extra cards drawn,
cards from deck outside of play area, clearly marked cards,
etc.) an immediate disqualification from the tournament
should be assessed.

        Now, it should be understood that I'm only suggesting
such guidelines for Pro Tour events, and I'm fully aware
that many honest players would find themselves penalized
by such stringent measures.  Also, I would not subtract
from the judge's discretion to issue lighter penalties if
they felt that the exact nature of the discrepancy did not
suggest cheating in any manner.  Unfortunately, I don't believe
that the current perception of dishonesty at this level can
be addressed by any less than such draconian measures.

        There is one last problem, though.  This is not a new
issue.  The DCI has been barraged by complaints about unethical
play at the highest levels for years now.  And it has done
relatively nothing publicly to address the issue.  It comes to
mind that perhaps there are internal Wizards politics that are
actively opposing measures that would severely cramp the ability
of players to gain advantage from cheating.  Perhaps what is
necessary is that the Pro Tours be operated by outside agencies-
that Wizards retreat to merely the role of sponsor, and forgoes
any day-to-day governance over the professional Magic scene.

        Wizards is attempting to make Magic a 'sport'.  Without
addressing in a dramatic way this single issue, it's impossible
for them to have the credibility to do so.  Many good men and
women may suffer because of attempts to clean up Magic, and that
is a shame.  But the attempt must be made, it must be soon,
and it must be unequivocal: cheating is not tolerated in
Magic.

        -Len Blado