If there is a serious increase in cheating, then both the rules and how they are enforced may have to adjust. I was criticizing others for leaving out statements they thought were obvious but hey, I did it too. For that I am sorry.
So far I've been reading some people making claims that its getting "so bad"... but I'm not getting that from everyone, and no one has posted good evidence that this is more than overreacting on the part of several posters. For all I know it is indeed an epidemic that needs to be addressed, but because I haven't received such evidence, I advise caution.
Caution some posts by known, even respected judges are sometimes lacking, at least how I read them, and this causes me further concern. This concern is not alleviated and is in fact reinforced by the responses I have received.
Judges are either going to be invested with the power to do something about cheating, or they are not.
If they can't do anything about cheating, are they even "judges"? I guess I did ask for you not to assume things and if you thought I needed to read that, then I am definitely failing to convey my points. >_<
Theoretically, can an abuse happen? Yes, it can.
Abuse will "eventually" happen; maybe that's what you meant by "theoretically", but then that ignores past instances and the inevitability that it will happen again. Otherwise, my main concern were the posts either implying or flat out stating that judges never make mistakes or that at best, players are "guilty until proven innocent". No, not in the way that I believe you should almost always cut and/or shuffle the opponent's deck, but in the way that some judges seem a little overeager for "action". If you set out determined to find cheating, you will find it even if it isn't even there.
Is there recourse if abuse happens? Yes, Pokemon can be contacted. Abuses don't abuse in just one instance. They create a pattern of abuse. Many reports from many players would definitely get Pokemon's attention.
And players can vote with their feet. If staff at a location constantly abuse players, DON'T GO TO THEIR EVENTS!
Not every abuse is indicative of a "serial abuser" and sometimes honest mistakes happen; no matter what though it takes time to deal with and a lot of things can't be "undone". The good news is that (at least how I thought things worked), it was quite difficult for someone with a clean history to intentionally be set-up, let alone accidentally have a serious penalty levied against them. Factor in what some are advocating, and it stops being so difficult, hence my concern. Again to be clear, my concern is for calls to shift the standard or else enforce it far more stringently than I have seen or heard it enforced (at least by those known to me as "good" judges).
To be 100% safe from ANY potential of judge abuse, you will wind up with 100% chance of being the victim of cheaters.
To be 100% safe from one, the other, or both you have to not play. I was never calling for being "100%" safe. I was concerned that judges would feel community pressure to crack down on something that might not even be there, and as no one is perfect, when you go looking for something that isn't there, sometimes you think you found it anyways.
Judges for the most part give up their ability to play in events so that others can have the opportunity to play. They are making a sacrifice and it's insulting to treat them all as equivalent to thugs and bullies.
This comment is particularly disturbing.
Judges deserve more respect than you are giving them, Pokepop. Well, not sure about judges that think you all are exchanging your time for a magic "I'm never wrong!" card. The ones that sacrifice their time and opportunities to play without thinking they are somehow "above" human nature, the ones that don't get it into their heads that "I am a judge and so I am never wrong!" are amazing and I have thanked them before and I thank them again.
If I was treating all judges as the equivalent of thugs and bullies, I would do just that. If a player was a confirmed thug and bully, isn't he looking at some serious penalties? There are guidelines and rules about judging because judges are people too, and if people were perfect we wouldn't need judges in the first place. Most (nearly all?) judges are going to do the right thing but mistakes happen and we've had some "bad" judges in the past who didn't do the right thing; you cannot design policy while ignoring that.
When I believe people aren't thinking clearly, I express some concern. I take the chance I am going to get chewed out again to try and keep something worse from happening. Of course, tongue lashings from you still hurt because I still respect the sacrifices you've made for this game, Pokepop, though I don't agree that they make you infallible.
Especially from someone who admittedly hasn't participated in an event in years.
There is something to consider in that statement; after all I am relying on others to keep me abreast of the situation. On the other hand, would my experience alone be sufficient to know what is happening with OP the world over? Of course, I've got some reasons for not participating in OP, namely a lack of income, transportation and (because I felt the need to sell them off all but a few) no cards! Even if someone were volunteering to drive me to the nearest League which is 170 miles away (one way), even if someone was loaning me a deck to play, my health issues make it very uncomfortable for me to participate in long, highly structured events... and the drive alone would qualify, let alone any tournaments.
It's very frustrating to be told on one hand to stamp out cheating and on the other hand to also not do anything about cheating because we're going to round up all the players and send them to Siberia.
If you want to learn how judges do this, or want to help judges do this better, step up and help staff an event.
Pokepop, in this thread I don't recall asking you to do either. I expressed concern because I thought some were already trying to pressure judges with unrealistic demands. I know in the past I have grumbled about how at times it seemed like nothing was getting done... and so I did a little thinking and research and learned there is only so much that can be done. It is also hard to equate things like concern over no apparent action being taken against someone caught in the act and only finding out something was indeed being done about it later... to demanding that right now, you've got to do everything and yet also do nothing.
As for staffing an event, I've done so long in the past, but the same reasons I can't participate in Organized Play unsurprisingly prevent... participating in Organized Play as staff.
