Hi !
I'm writing this thread because the one about WCoP got locked without any warning: in fact, many of us thought that, with the results of zomog's poll, the decision was already pretty clear. Apparently not, as we saw the exact opposite being decided, without actually having time to argue against it.
I'm also posting this here as this situation is actually akin to others that we have seen recently, even though it was generally more about people's bans. There is a clear lack of transparency, recently.
Now, let's be clear: I don't actually care that much about the tiers that are gonna be chosen for the next WCoP. In fact, the probability I will personally get involved in it is very, very close to zero. This being said, I have a problem with decisions being made against the apparent consensus. Let's also be clear on something else: I am not saying that there has been any move by the TDs to actually "force" the decision against the relevant consensus. I'm simply arguing that, considering that the only tangible thing that we saw was zomog's poll, the least the TDs should do would be to show some sort of poll of their own. I can conceive that you TDs don't want to get everybody's opinion on wether SS OU should be the only tier in that tournament this year or not, but why ask all of this in such obscure manner ? And besides, why only ask current teams ? These teams are precisely made out of SS OU players only. For instance, even though I'm clearly not a fan of low tiers in WCoP, it's definitely unfair for lower tier players: how could they ever see a change in the format if the only persons whose opinions are taken into account are SS OU players ?
Finally, even though the spectators are obviously less important than the actual players, I don't think that straight up ignoring their opinion is the right move.
What I propose is this: we should make a poll similar to what is done for the OU surveys. Make two subgroups inside of the poll: one being the qualified voters (setting the bar higher than for OU surveys, so removing the ladder feat, asking for instance "have you played SPL, WCoP or Snake/SCL in the last 2 years", or something like that), and the other being the rest. Then, you analyze the results, and base your decision off that. You can even argue that a slight majority for a format change wouldn't be enough to change it now or something. Just don't let a discussion run with a conclusion that seems obvious to pretty much everyone, then declare that you choose the exact opposite without letting anyone argue there anymore.
tldr: please more transparency in general, and in particular on this WCoP matter.
PS: I've seen quite a lot of discussion on the smogtours discord, but these discussions are far harder to keep track of if you're not there when they happen. I think it's preferable to have clear answers that anyone can find afterwards on this type of issue.
Thank you for reading !
I'm writing this thread because the one about WCoP got locked without any warning: in fact, many of us thought that, with the results of zomog's poll, the decision was already pretty clear. Apparently not, as we saw the exact opposite being decided, without actually having time to argue against it.
I'm also posting this here as this situation is actually akin to others that we have seen recently, even though it was generally more about people's bans. There is a clear lack of transparency, recently.
Now, let's be clear: I don't actually care that much about the tiers that are gonna be chosen for the next WCoP. In fact, the probability I will personally get involved in it is very, very close to zero. This being said, I have a problem with decisions being made against the apparent consensus. Let's also be clear on something else: I am not saying that there has been any move by the TDs to actually "force" the decision against the relevant consensus. I'm simply arguing that, considering that the only tangible thing that we saw was zomog's poll, the least the TDs should do would be to show some sort of poll of their own. I can conceive that you TDs don't want to get everybody's opinion on wether SS OU should be the only tier in that tournament this year or not, but why ask all of this in such obscure manner ? And besides, why only ask current teams ? These teams are precisely made out of SS OU players only. For instance, even though I'm clearly not a fan of low tiers in WCoP, it's definitely unfair for lower tier players: how could they ever see a change in the format if the only persons whose opinions are taken into account are SS OU players ?
Finally, even though the spectators are obviously less important than the actual players, I don't think that straight up ignoring their opinion is the right move.
What I propose is this: we should make a poll similar to what is done for the OU surveys. Make two subgroups inside of the poll: one being the qualified voters (setting the bar higher than for OU surveys, so removing the ladder feat, asking for instance "have you played SPL, WCoP or Snake/SCL in the last 2 years", or something like that), and the other being the rest. Then, you analyze the results, and base your decision off that. You can even argue that a slight majority for a format change wouldn't be enough to change it now or something. Just don't let a discussion run with a conclusion that seems obvious to pretty much everyone, then declare that you choose the exact opposite without letting anyone argue there anymore.
tldr: please more transparency in general, and in particular on this WCoP matter.
PS: I've seen quite a lot of discussion on the smogtours discord, but these discussions are far harder to keep track of if you're not there when they happen. I think it's preferable to have clear answers that anyone can find afterwards on this type of issue.
Thank you for reading !