[steve2005]

I have had a run as a substitute being asked to play in a team match with an unknown partner.
I accepted one of these and got seated for board 1 of a 12 board match.
It lasted only till board 2 when people started withdrawing and match was cancelled.

The question I have is why would anyone start a team match without 8 reliable players.
Why are team matches even allowed to request a sub before the match has had a bid or played a card?

[pilowsky]

steve2005, on 2022-March-28, 17:08, said:

I have had a run as a substitute being asked to play in a team match with an unknown partner.
I accepted one of these and got seated for board 1 of a 12 board match.
It lasted only till board 2 when people started withdrawing and match was cancelled.

The question I have is why would anyone start a team match without 8 reliable players.
Why are team matches even allowed to request a sub before the match has had a bid or played a card?

The only conclusion I can draw is that because anyone can start a team match, some people just do it because they can.
They then frantically advertise for random subs who get drawn into an often boring match that random people frequently withdraw from.
This fantastically annoying state of affairs has been the subject of frequent criticism on this forum in the past with multiple people (including myself) begging for a change to the system so that a sub can specify which format they are available for.
But like "Mrs McCave (who) had twenty-three sons and named them all Dave, it wasn’t a smart thing to do. But" they've done it and don't seem inclined to change.
One solution would be to auto-sub in robots until the match spirals into the drain.

[steve2005]

pilowsky, on 2022-March-28, 18:50, said:

The only conclusion I can draw is that because anyone can start a team match, some people just do it because they can.

Maybe there is a way to exact revenge.
Accept the invitation and then withdraw if it's board 1.

[pilowsky]

steve2005, on 2022-March-28, 19:12, said:

Maybe there is a way to exact revenge.
Accept the invitation and then withdraw if it's board 1.

Possible - but that might have an adverse effect on your TCR or BCR.
Of course you could play really, really, really ... until 2 other players quit which is all it takes to for the team match to auto-close.
Not recommending such a course of action but I imagine others might.

[steve2005]

pilowsky, on 2022-March-28, 23:04, said:

Possible - but that might have an adverse effect on your TCR or BCR.

i didnt think tcr was affected negatively if a sub. only positive effects possibe

[pilowsky]

steve2005, on 2022-March-29, 10:37, said:

i didnt think tcr was affected negatively if a sub. only positive effects possibe

Good question.
If a sub leaves a tournament and a tree falls in the forest do you hear the sound of one hand clapping?

[smerriman]

steve2005, on 2022-March-29, 10:37, said:

i didnt think tcr was affected negatively if a sub. only positive effects possibe

If you're replaced by the original player, your TCR isn't affected. But if you quit for any other reason, your TCR goes down, since that is just as annoying for others / the director.

[pilowsky]

smerriman, on 2022-March-29, 16:20, said:

If you're replaced by the original player, your TCR isn't affected. But if you quit for any other reason, your TCR goes down, since that is just as annoying for others / the director.

These are bogus team matches that are set up by someone who just uses the sub pool to fill seats.
The so-called director (who typically never does any actual directing) just keeps banging on the sub button until all seats are filled or everyone quits in frustration.
I'm sure there are genuine team matches where a sub is coming in because of a genuine problem.

Genuine team matches where a group of eight people want to play a game in a team format are not the problem.

[diana_eva]

Just like someone can start a table without 4 reliable players that was scheduled beforehand, it is possible for someone to start a team match without 2 set teams reserved and arranged in advance.

Not all games on BBO are set games, in fact the vast majority are not, they are "take me to a seat" style.