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Temporary URL: www.securitywriters.org/counter
The Purpose of the Counter
The time counter has a simple function: to count the length of the period of time between the moment when the save was sent to a team to the moment that that team sent the save onwards, or in other words, to count how long each team has been "holding the save". The page displays the time it took each team to play the last turn, and the time it took
The time counter is here only to advise. It is a service, not a restriction. Slower teams will not face any official penalties, but ideally, they will realize that they are keeping the rest of us waiting and will try to improve their time.
The Responsibilities of a Player
A player is responsible for the following:
- Sending the saved game when he's done playing for his team to all the current players of the next team.
- Sending the saves to the correct addresses of all the current players of the next team.
- Notifying the players of the preceding team if any change that they should know about is expected to happen (e.g. the player needs to be replaced, the player's email address will change etc') before the preceding team carries out its turn. Such a notification should be sent by PM, and preferably by email as well. Posting a notice regarding the change in the saved game threads or in any other thread is not enough.
- Playing the game within 24 hours of the time that the save was sent. Should all the players of a certain team fail to meet this requirement and hold the save for over than 24 hours, the amount of time that they were holding the save will be recorded as double in the counter.
In case that a certain player had to delay the game due to an RL event (business trip, health issues etc') or due to technical difficulties (the damn computer won't start, the cursed ISP is acting up again, I accidentally spilled hot coffee all over my files etc'), his team will not be penalized for the delay. Such events must be reported ASAP to me, by posting information under this thread or sending it by PM.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need webspace to host the counter?
Yes! And thank you for asking!
I can't use www.securitywriters.org as a host forever - I need some new webspace.
Got any? PM me!
Who came up with the idea for the counter?
Borc of Neu Demogyptica originally came up with the idea. He implemented it in his own page, but discontinued the service. However, that page is still online and can be found here.
Does the counter have any kind of official status?
Absolutely not. It only serves to advise the teams of how fast or slow they are playing, and how well they're doing in that aspect relative to other teams. Hopefully, the slower teams will take the counter's advice and try to reform their inside procedures or nominate new players for the team in order to finish their turns faster, and the faster teams will also take the counter's advice and keep up the good work.
How does the counter work?
The screenshot above was taken on the end of 450 BC.
The first row displays the icons of each team. You should be able to recognize these if you're playing the game.
The second row displays the time it took each team to play their 450 BC save.
The third row should display the time accumulated on each team's counter over the last 20 turns. However, in this stage the counter will only display the time that was accumulated since 470 BC (so in this example, we see the time that was accumulated over the 450 BC and 470 BC turns).
Is there any concept of "green hours" in the new counter?
The old counter allowed each team to select 7 "green hours" for work or sleep, and did not count those hours.
However, I feel that it is the duty of each team to have several players scattered around different time zones in order to avoid situations where the game has to stop for 7 hours because one of the teams' player is at work or asleep. Therefore, no such thing as green hours exist in this system.
Of course, should people object to this, or to any other rule of the new time counter, I will be more than happy to change the rules should there be enough public support for such a change. After all, the counter is only a service, not a policeman.
Are the rules subject to change?
Of course!
The counter is for the people, not against the people. If the people want it changed in one way (or tossed aside altogether), it will be changed.
If you'd like some change, I suggest that you discuss your idea publicly first (preferably, in this thread, to keep it all under one roof), and if there's any public support for your idea, start a poll.
I have a private request/complaint/suggestion/comment, where do I send it?
If you want to speak about something privately, please PM me.
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