[MadALwx]

What's the point in having rules if they're bent right out the gate? Everyone here knew when the D500 was. Trust isn't the issue. The intent of rules? There's no intent. You play by the rules, or you don't.
There's also no reason to feel offended. I perceived it that way by the leniency. The fact that an advantage wasn't gained, as being the exception here, as anywhere else, I think is missing the point. Yes, this is a friendly game, but very competitive, as am I. If rules are going to be interpretive for different races, I don't see the point in competing. What about the first night race?

[Martinsville Wea...]

Everyone here knew when the D500 was.

Except obviously that wasn't the case...

WTH??? I thought this race started later? Did I make it in time???

NASCAR made a significant number of changes in the offseason, one of them being the new start times. I feel like there are quite a few people who still haven't realized that or who are still adjusting. In my mind it's similar to what NASCAR did with the #26 team. Since they forced Roush to shut down a team, they made a one-time exception to allow those points to be transferred to the new #26 team with Boris Said. Similarly, since NASCAR made a major change in their start times this year, I made a one-time exception to be a little more lenient with the deadline for the first race as people adjusted. It won't happen again this year; you can rest assured of that. But I would have a much more difficult time living with my decision had I not accepted his picks. His entire season shouldn't be negatively impacted because he didn't know when the Daytona 500 started and he was a mere 15 minutes late. (And for the record, I wasn't quite sure when the command would be given, either; originally I put "around 1:20" in my first post in this thread, and that is exactly when he posted. In a way, I feel somewhat responsible because of that.)

When Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, was He strictly following the law or was He doing what He believed was the right thing to do in spite of the law?

[MadALwx]

Oh here we go.

To be fair, his default picks should have been used. If he didn't have defaults for this year, last year's should be used.
If not, there's an unfair advantage to those you've already said can use last year's defaults. Or subject his current score to the 10% reduction.

I remember some missing certain races last year and provisions weren't made. Why should it be any different? Waiting to the last minute is gambling. Everyone knew the day the race was. This is a competition, it's everyone's responsibility to know when the race starts. We all did.

The rules aren't there for a theologic interpretation. They're black and white.
You're not subjecting the person to the same standard for which you granted a group leniency. Regardless of time submission.
At the very least, that should be corrected.

So the rules are a living document, adjustable to different circumstances? Where have I heard that before? Oh, the progressives. Hey, if you're going to use comparisons...

[JeopardyTempest]

Oy.

If you get in a horrible car accident and show up a minute late to jury duty, do they throw you in jail for being late?

Rules are rules, right? They aren't open to theological interpretation.



Do you really think any advantage was gained here?!?


If not, then I don't see the problem.
The PURPOSE of the competition is to be the best at picking NASCAR.
Not to be the best at keeping to every rule or taking advantage of the game setup.
And it's to have fun


I've played enough competitions through the years that are cutthroat. They get lame. Because they miss the point off the game in the first place. And it becomes desolate and about all the wrong things.


It sounds like you're probably tired of the theological bent to our reasoning (sorry, it's something many of us around here are very passionate about....... sorry, we can certainly reason in other ways, but it applies in a LOT of situations. I'm a teacher. This type of stuff comes up every day. There are times for leniency and times for sternness, and it's on a case-by-case basis, regardless of the "rules". If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be much of a teacher.).
Still, this reminds me of the Parable of the workers. Some people signed up early, and worked all day. Some people came last minute, and were hired then. They all got paid the same.
And of course the people to have come in to work starting early were outraged.
But in the end here, as with the parable, it's Martinsville's game, and he sets the rules as he sets them. Keep playing your game and worry about what happens to you. If the game gets blatantly unfair, you always have the choice to quit, though we hope you don't.


I don't think anyone in their right mind can suggest that he did this to try to help a specific person win. It was with the intention of counteracting a possible problem. And it apparently was spot on


Heck, He got them in before the race started anyways!

If there were 100s of people playing, the rules generally get a bit more rigorous by necessity (like in Virtual Chase). But even in there, we are usually lenient (to some degree) if you mis-enter a city or miss a deadline by a few minutes early on.
A choice like this by Martinsville continues to trend of all our games around here.

[MadALwx]

I'm not suggesting he's favoring.

I guess I'm misinterpretting competition and the reason for rules, especially with a simple competition. Really no reason for interp. This isn't a classroom with changing variables, or a workforce.

The deviation from the standard is allowing those whom missed the deadline to use last year's defaults. I'm ok with that now. But, he's not subjecting the person to the same standard for which he granted that group leniency. Windy falls into the group stated by Kevin. He should be using defaults for scoring. If not, there's now leniency from the very simple rule and an additional targeted leniency.

The advantage gained may be more evident at the end. The difference b/w a driver (competitor) finishing a race, or a DNF.

[Martinsville Wea...]

I have updated the standings from Daytona to make a couple of adjustments.

First, I have added rebelgtp with last year's defaults per his request with a 10% score reduction. That offer remains in place for anyone who wants to use last year's defaults, including for last week's race, but again, you must let me know before the deadline for California (around 3 PM Eastern Time on Sunday). There will be no extensions beyond that point for any reason.

I have continued to ponder Windy's situation in my mind and have decided on a compromise solution. I will still accept his picks but I have also assessed the same 10% penalty to him since they were technically posted after the deadline. I trust him and I know he gained no advantage, but it is also important to me to maintain the integrity of this contest, and I did post the approximate start time a full week before. So, I feel that is a reasonable compromise. The way things work out, it is a literal halfway compromise, because he lost 17 points this way as opposed to the 34 points he would have lost if forced to use his defaults. When things are reset for the chase in September, I doubt any of this will make a difference anyway. (And contrary to Mark Martin's 1990 season, I hope it doesn't!)

[Windy]

Sorry I missed this...

Previous years I believe it was a flat 100 points awarded if you missed a race. I'm quite fine with that. Even a DNF racer gets some points. I just wasn't as tuned in this year to the start times. I do this each week for the fun of it and to aggravate my family. They cringe when I say "Don't bother me I'm doing my NASCAR picks!" And at the same time I fully respect the competitive nature of ANY contest, even when like this it's for sh*tnickers and giggles. So I appreciate Kevin's fairness and will state this:

If after week 26 the 78 point difference in what I was awarded here make a difference in what my place in the standings are, I prefer to then have those 78 points deducted.

[Carol]

Danaka Patrick is looking so good. Was really an edge of seat 500 this year. Too loose, to tights getting use to the new wing flaps. All did great. Really wanted to see Jeff come in at least the top 10 would have been nice. Guess Jimmie lost his winning streak. Hopefully not for long. Not my most fav driver as you can guess. I think all did handling for the cars really well and by the last 200 laps or so, knew how the car would handle.