Responsibility of player when TD makes a favourable and questionable ruling?

[haugstrup]

So many options!

[pinwizj]

@jeff_rivera

your responsibility as a player is to accept the ruling and whine at Josh later. Always whine at Josh.

My wife doesn’t accept my rulings at home, but will whine at me anyway

[JSwain]

Good point. Multiball scenario is a tough one though to warrant the tilt out and end multiball scenario. Boy are you going to piss off a player. 6 Ball multiball on Aerosmith. 5 balls trapped up. One stuck. Game is tilted trying to free it. Here is a new ball on a new game to compensate for that minor mishap

[chuckwurt]

I think I’ve made this point before. If it’s a 6 ball MB and one of the 6 is stuck and the rest are in play, I’m not telling him/her to trap up until it’s down to one stuck and one in play. I’ve found out that’s just me though. Haha

[haugstrup]

PLAY BETTER

[Grabowski]

[jeff_rivera]

Are these “play better” messages directed at the player or the sloppy machine?

[Grabowski]

Lol, that’s the standard go-to saying in the community now when something goes wrong. It has that “2 sh$ts, 0 f$cks” attitude which is funny.

[PinballNarcissist]

@gammagoat

My friends gave me a hard time afterwards for allowing the TD to make a ruling I would never had made. They thought I should talk the TD into opening the coindoor and ending my multiball. I’m I a bad person?

I try and yield to the TD as much as possible even if I disagree with the ruling. One thing I wonder though. If I am at a big tournament (let’s just say Pinburgh because they have multiple TDs) and I feel like there’s an unfair ruling, is there a process in place where I can request a second opinion from another one of the TDs?

[gammagoat]

Don’t know if opinions have changed in the last year.

WCS - You make the ruling

[pinwizj]

@PinballNarcissist

I try and yield to the TD as much as possible even if I disagree with the ruling. One thing I wonder though. If I am at a big tournament (let’s just say Pinburgh because they have multiple TDs) and I feel like there’s an unfair ruling, is there a process in place where I can request a second opinion from another one of the TDs?

I have definitely brought up “I don’t believe that’s the correct ruling, would you mind double checking with another official?” . . . and haven’t felt guilty about that at all.

I know at Free Play Florida this past November I had a TD come free a stuck ball and he asked me, “What flipper would you like it on?” . . . my response was “You shouldn’t be asking me that”

[jdh]

“Responsibility of player when TD makes a favourable and questionable ruling?”

In my opinion your responsibility as a player remains the same whether if it’s unfavorable and questionable or favorable and questionable. Be quiet, accept it, and if you still have questions discuss it with the TD sometime after the tournament is over.

They are running the tournament. If you don’t agree with their judgement that’s fine, but you signed up for the tournament presumably knowing and accepting who would be calling the shots. If you have questions about their capability maybe you shouldn’t play in their tournament, and if you don’t have questions about their capability then accept their ruling in the moment and discuss it later. Players lobbying the TD for specific outcomes is bad and sets a bad precedent for future rulings and TD interactions.

[unsmith]

@jdh

In my opinion your responsibility as a player remains the same whether if it’s unfavorable and questionable or favorable and questionable. Be quiet, accept it, and if you still have questions discuss it with the TD sometime after the tournament is over.

I’ll go one step further and say the only responsibility a player has is to ask for a ruling if they are unsure about something. Whatever the TD decides is law.

[flynnibus]

@unsmith

I’ll go one step further and say the only responsibility a player has is to ask for a ruling if they are unsure about something. Whatever the TD decides is law.

This assumes TDs are all equal… or there is only one. Frequently officials during live play are subordinates to an overall TD. I think there is merit to the question about ‘escalation’ in these cases.

It’s pretty typical to have the ability to escalate an inquiry to a ‘ground jury’ or similar to address these kinds of situations.

[yancy]

In my opinion, if a tourney is a big enough deal to open coin doors for stuck multiballs, TD should disable interlocks before play begins. Seems lazy to effectively say “I care enough about this to potentially ruin your game, but not enough to prepare the machines for it.” Like @JSwain said, old flipper rubbers. Cheap (or free), quick & easy.

[gammagoat]

@yancy

In my opinion, if a tourney is a big enough deal to open coin doors for stuck multiballs, TD should disable interlocks before play begins. Seems lazy to effectively say “I care enough about this to potentially ruin your game, but not enough to prepare the machines for it.”

Most hosts in my basement leagues do not disabled the interlocks. Most bar leagues I am in someone has the keys, but the interlocks are not disabled.

[pinwizj]

@gammagoat

Most hosts in my basement leagues do not disabled the interlocks. Most bar leagues I am in someone has the keys, but the interlocks are not disabled.

My interlocks are not disabled at home . . . I guess I better get that going before the Power 100 Championship in October

[yancy]

@gammagoat

Most hosts in my basement leagues do not disabled the interlocks. Most bar leagues I am in someone has the keys, but the interlocks are not disabled.

Those both fall in the category of “not a big enough deal to interrupt multiball for a stuck ball.” Play on! (Again, in my nigh-worthless opinion.)

[alwysmooth]

Just not practical unless you own the games. Messing with other people’s games that volunteer to bring them to a big show/tournament by disabling interlocks could also result in a pretty nasty criminal/civil court proceeding if you didn’t re-enable them and the person or their children got shocked or electrocuted.

[yancy]

Meh, people take seemingly crazy risks for pinball all the time. Ungrounded games in expo halls. Bringing your game to a show for the weekend where just about anyone can wheel it out on a dolly without being questioned. I’m willing to risk rubber-banding the interlock on a tourney game I don’t own. Most pins don’t have interlock switches to begin with.