In the Columbus Ohio League a few years back, we used to have some sort of pinball boot camp to prepare for that situation. All that meant is that Therese Edwards would stand very close and taunt us while we were trying to play 
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There was a trash talker tournament locally that I unfortunately couldnât attend, but I think it was the same deal 
I did run a seinfeld-themed side tournament once (the main tournament was called Summer of George) where players got two minutes on the game. While they were playing they would be asked two seinfeld trivia questions and would earn extra time if they could answer correctly.
Again: Itâs all about setting expectations.
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âŚand that was the best side tournament EVER!
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Iâm sorry you felt I was putting words in your mouth. Iâm 100% certain I quoted you exactly. You wrote to conclude your opinion with the following generalized statement: âIf you canât manage to keep your mouth shut while youâre not playing, you should be watching from very very very far away.â
The crowd is also not playing. They are not keeping their mouths shut. And they are very audible and could be categorized as distracting by those who are more sensitive to noises around them. Thus, according to your if-then statement, they should be watching from much further away. And I strongly disagree.
If the other player in question had been in the crowd of spectators and reacts audibly in the same vicinity of the player on the pin, is that now OK?
I recall one specific instance where Robin made a fantastic nudge save on Embryon in a match we were playing together, and from the bar area with TVâs (probably 15-20 feet away?), I reacted loudly with something akin to âNice!â or âAwesome!â Should I be reprimanded for this outburst? Do I need to be further away in order to be invested in my match by watching my opponentsâ play and reacting to it?
Iâm genuinely curious at your thoughts here, because I respect you and your opinion.
I so wish I could have played in that⌠What a great idea!
I think all these calls for quieting down tournaments arenât going to work and will ultimately turn away more competitors than outbursts will turn off. Iâve yet to have or see a new person indicate to me somehow that they were put off by someone getting mad at a game. Seen plenty of folks get put off by not understanding the games or being able to play for more than 15 seconds⌠probably hundreds of those. And if pinball is going to get more popular, Iâd be shocked if it wasnât also going to get a lot noisier in all aspects.
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I have had people tell me both âitâs not fun playing when [screaming player] is playing next to meâ and straight up âi donât feel safe near [screaming player]â and Iâm just one person.
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If spectators are disrupting the game the way I saw that player yell on the stream I would be talking to them. Yelling commentary about what happened in the game right next to the player is not good no matter who is doing the yelling.
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I would also agree that this could be considered player interference as well. Screaming at someone 3 feet away from them while they are playing during a playoff match can really break that playerâs concentration. What if that player drained because of the yelling behind him/her?
Colinâs argument is the audience isnât keeping quiet. First of all, I think that is different but if an audience member said the same thing at the same level of volume which resulted in the player to be distracted or ultimately drain that could also be considered interference. Hereâs what the PAPA/IFPA ruleset has to say about that:
Any player who deliberately interferes with the play of another player, through distraction, touching the machine or player, or disrupting tournament procedures, will receive a score of zero for the game. Any repeated offense under this rule will result in ejection of the player from the tournament. Any non-player, or tournament participant not playing in the game in progress, who deliberately interferes with the play of any tournament game, will be ejected from the facility.
Accidental interference is regrettable but can happen. Any player or non-player who accidentally interferes with the play of any tournament game will be warned. If the interference was sufficient to cause the loss of ball, this will be treated as a major malfunction. If the interference terminated play for all players (for example, tripping over a power cord and pulling it from the wall), this will be treated as a catastrophic malfunction.
Does anyone have ideas on when and why a TD should request behavior changes from the minority being demonstrative vs requesting behavioral changes from the minority bothered by the behavior?
Is it a greater benefit to tighten the standard of group behavior or ask those offended to take personal action to mitigate it, like headphones or other methods of minimizing their discomfort?
I think a TD who does not plan on enforcing rules i.e. will let players behave in a manner that is distracting to others, should be informing people of this beforehand. At least that way nobody has to regret spending money on airfare and hotel.
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Asking someone to âwear headphones if it bothers youâ is the wrong solution. That just makes it seem like you are the wrong one for being distracted by the player. Now I have to wear headphones if I donât want to be distracted. Which changes the way I play because I have a disadvantage of not being able to hear the machineâs noises and callouts.
Imagine this situation. Letâs say I was bothered by someone in an establishment, screaming nonstop, maybe at the movies. I asked the owner/person in charge to talk to the person because the screaming/yelling was bothering me and disrupting my enjoyment of the movie. Iâm a paying customer and also deserve some rights too. They come back and tell me to sit elsewhere or deal with it. I would probably then just leave, not bother getting my money back, and never come back again. To me it says that person is more important than I am, and I am better off just leaving and being respected more elsewhere
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If youâre in a closed group itâs just whatever your group can work out.
If you are trying to add new players to your group I would look at how to create an inclusive environment where people who are not part of the in-crowd will feel welcome. The worst thing you can do is tell new people they just have to accept whatever is going on (if you want them to show up again).
Often you wonât even hear feedback from new players and you have to be proactive in reaching out to solicit feedback. People are generally not comfortable telling strangers why they donât feel welcome.
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Please provide the time-stamped link so I (and others) can understand the exact instance to which youâre referring. That would help out a lot here in dealing with a specific example vs generalities.
I can only speak for myself and it is because doing this in a negative way is completely unnecessary and turns off new players and teaches aspiring players bad behavior.
I totally understand your emotions getting the best of you, thatâs why the card system is perfect. But I donât think some of the insanely negative outbursts that occur at tournaments is acceptable at all, and I would never ask someone who complained about it to change their ways instead. Because to be honest, id rather have the person that cannot get a grip never return than the people they offended. People acting like that all the time probably need to take a break anyway.
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The former.
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Yeesh, that clipâŚ
My least favorite kind of complaining is anything in the category of âWhy will the game let YOU do this, but wonât let ME?â
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What time does it occur? This link just starts at the beginning of the stream for me.
03:46:25