Subject: One Table = One Judge (my addition to the cheating thread)
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 02:47:07 +0200
From: Manuel Bevand <onceupon@hol.fr>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

Hello all,

*** TENNIS . US Open, quarterfinals, Pete Sampras vs Michael Chang ***

- "Out!"

- "Damn you, the ball was in, I was closer"

- "No way, that serve was definitely out, get a clue"

- "Hey chill out Pete, according to the rules I was the serving player
so you are not responsible for telling whether the ball is out or not!"

- "What!? I'm really unsure about that .. let's call the judge"

- "As you wish ... JUDGE PLEASE!!"

- (judge coming) - "Yes gentlemen?"

- "Was that ball out or in?"

- "What do you mean?"

- "Well, we're arguing about the validity of Michael Chang's service"

- "What's your version, both of you?"

- "In!"

- "Out!"

- "Oh damn it, you both get a warning and lose a point. "

(Both Players) - "Hey! That's not fair!"

(Sampras) - "Screw you Mike, anyway, I saw you, you stepped on the line"

- " What? You cheater!"

And this goes on .... for a ridiculous amount of time.

Ok all, I suppose you got my first point. If Magic wants to be a
serious, professional activity (sport?) it should at least abide to the
standards of other "one on one" sports. That means a very simple thing:

        - One judge at each table -

Can you think of a single example were there's no judge watching a one
on one match, in any sport? I don't think you can. The reason is: there
is none. Serious sports take cheating seriously, and do the maximum to
prevent it. The sport of Magic, in its current state, is NOT serious.

Think about it:

One judge at each table, in pro tour events or higher, means:

-They can keep track of the basic stuff (did I play a land, did I tap
the right mana, did I draw a card already, etc..)
-They can keep track of the life totals, and what dealt the damage
-They can provide a secure presence for the less experienced player,
prone to be abused by the cheating shark.
-They represent the hand of Justice (no pun intended). They are living
and breathing ejection possibilities. They are watching you, in their
neutral, objective way. There's no way you're gonna get away with
cheating. unless you're a cheating professional.

But why would a "professional cheater" lose his time winning a few
grands on the Magic Pro Tour while he can earn as much in one night
playing Poker in Las Vegas?

It is time to get real. If people are cheating at Magic, it's mainly
because they are given the opportunity to do so, with thousands of
dollars at hand's reach. Cut off the opportunities, you'll stop the
cheaters. Whoever they are.

Now, the logistics. It is not sure that WotC is willing to provide a
hundred judges at each big event. A hundred volunteers who know most of
the rules wouldn't be too hard to get, though. They don't even need to
be level one judges! If I have someone watching, I'll be way more
reluctant to say, drop a cadaverous bloom on my lap.

Come on! This is not so hard!

Manuel "Poulidor" Bevand
Happy Soccer Fan

Thanks to Cathy Nicoloff for the spellchecking :)