Pitboss etiquette

[Old Harry]

Since pitboss seven (which never happened) we've had one rule for most of the pitboss games here: Don't be a jerk. It seems to work pretty well for anyone who played in or has read pitboss seven (I know even reading those two words hurts some of you, I can only apologize). For recent arrivals there are some finer points of pitboss etiquette that can be a bit obscure though so I thought a thread where everyone suggests issues and/or explains how to avoid them might be a good idea.

I'll collect a set of guidelines into this first post if anyone suggests them. Here are a few to get you going - and please shoot them down if I've got anything wrong. This is not an exhaustive list. If you think of something not covered here then please Don't Be A Jerk.

1. Play your turn as soon as you can. A fast turn pace is a happy turn pace.
   
2. If you can't play your turn(s) find a sub. Otherwise you might find it hard to get into future games. (Thanks retep)
   
3. The person declaring war can choose which half of the turn timer they get, so long as they didn't move after the victim on the previous turn.
   
4. Don't try to play after another player on a regular basis. If you are trying to prevent them getting the second half when they attack you then you're playing clock games and Krill will find your pathetic civ and crush it. If you are planning to attack them then just drop behind them one or two turns in advance (it's actually less likely to telegraph your intentions). In fact you can play before them the turn before you attack - there is no problem with letting your victim double move you.
   
5. If you are at war with someone don't log in before/after they've played unless they have given you explicit permission. (Edit: Controversy! See thread for details...)
   
6. In a peace-time turn split (eg a settling or hut-popping race) the turn you realise there should be a split is when the order is established.
   
7. The tech thread is not the place to argue about in-game issues in an AI diplo game - the lurkers should be able to get both points of view and arbitrate without giving spoilers. (If you haven't got many lurkers post in the tech thread asking lurkers to come look at your question).
   
8. Sending in-game messages with numbers and letters (gold and city names) are a grey area - assume they are banned unless the setup specifically allows them edit: with the new ai diplomacy options it seems to make more sense to use gold to send messages, just don't be surprised if someone accepts your deal...
   
9. No naming units with messages for other players. (I really want to play a variant of AI diplo where you are allowed to communicate, but only by gifting named units, but no-one else seams that keen )
   
10. Global lurkers should give no spoilers - even asking what turn someone plans to finish a wonder can tip them off that they have competition...
    
11. Don't hide your research by changing it just before the turn rolls
    
12. Try to only log in once per turn, or play all your moves in one session - this is harder for teams or if you have a surprise or simming to do, but it makes figuring out turn splits easier.
    
13. In the event of a reload forcing you to replay your turn, replay the turn exactly like you originally played it, to the best of your ability. (Thanks novice)
    
14. It is the responsibility of all players to check that the settings are correct once the game is hosted. (Thanks Krill)
    

Edit: War time turn splits seem to be a source of confusion, hopefully listing the advantages of going first and second will mean people are less likely to assume going second is best and thus try to play clock games.
Advantages of going first:

1. Can use promotions for XP received defending on the previous turn
   
2. Can use promotions for new units
   
3. Can hide (newly produced) units from prying eyes
   
4. Can track what your opponent has produced more easily
   
5. You don't have to watch civstats for your turn
   
6. *If logging in outside your half is allowed* Can use persisting vision given by airships/planes/floating eyes to log in after your opponent to see what they did
   

Advantages of going second:

1. Whipped units will appear before your opponent plays
   
2. Going second allows you to move twice before an opponent's builds complete. ie you can move HA/knights 4 tiles through culture before you have to deal with units built in reaction (thanks Krill)
   
3. You can re-connect resources that were pillaged on that turn (thanks Donovan Zoi)
   
4. *If logging in outside your half is allowed* Can track what your opponent has produced more easily
   
5. *If logging in outside your half is not allowed* Can hide what you are researching the turn after you acquire a tech
   
6. If you control a wonder at the turn roll in most cases you get the economic benefit (see PB42 where we repeatedly took the Great Lighthouse from Superdeath then let him recapture the city)
   

[retep]

Play your turn or if you can't/want find a replacement.

Lets avoid another PB21

[dtay]

4. If you are at war with someone don't log in before/after they've played unless they have given you explicit permission.

11.Try to only log in once per turn, or play all your moves in one session - this is harder for teams or if you have a surprise or simming to do, but it makes figuring out turn splits easier.

I kind of disagree with 4 (which is a special case of 11). it's clearly ideal to only log in on your side of the timer since it mechanically ensures no double moving, but I don't see it as a big deal or really requiring explicit permission to log in on the opposite side to take screenshots or check what your opponent did, etc. Especially the "after your opponent went in the 2nd half" variety, where there isn;t even an informational advantage besides you get more time to think about it. Though I think the guy in the second half deserves the right to log in before the guy in the first half to look around if he really wants, though if it happens consistently it could get a bit suspicious i guess. But we have to significantly trust other players anyway...

Seperate issue - I actually like messages of the corn for corn variety, though not the gold-countdown or spelling out words techniques. It's a matter of degree of how much information transfer you want to allow between teams, and I think the ability to send non-binding signals "I'm feeling peacable-y" or "Here's a bizarre batch of resources, try to interpret!" is fun and roughly the right amount of communication that it improves the game.

That said, it seems like what degree of communication-by-trade is allowable is being determined on a game-by-game basis, so certainly people should be aware it's a thing to be careful/attentive about.

[GermanJoey]

Regarding 4.), I too was under the impression the rule was that you could "look but not touch" if it wasn't your half of the turn - so you could look at your and your opponents troops, formulate plans, make sims, etc, without holding up the timer, but not change any builds, whip cities, or move units. Apologies if I'm mistaken, I haven't been in as many games here. I mean, it's a trust issue but there's also the fact that an opponent could catch you with screenshots, with the potential for have all your illegal moving units deleted. And, obviously, you shouldn't do this when you're trying to establish a split, so that you don't get misinterpreted...

I wouldn't have any problem not peeking during not my half of the turn if someone asked, as long as they were OK with a pause if I needed one.

[Fintourist]

Reg 4 options vary. Majority of people are fine with ther opponents looking things outside the split, but some consider it uncomfortable. Consequently I've tried to quickly ask my opponents before if they allow it.

[SevenSpirits]

Yeah I also disagree with 4.

[Krill]

Look on the bright side it stops Parkin from playing.

[spacetyrantxenu]

On number four I'm in the group that says don't log in until your part of the split. Doing otherwise unnecessarily invites suspicion and people can't reasonably be expected to have screenshots for everything.

[SevenSpirits]

On number four I'm in the group that says don't log in until your part of the split. Doing otherwise unnecessarily invites suspicion and people can't reasonably be expected to have screenshots for everything.

Does being the last player to play and therefore being logged in when the turn rolls also invite suspicion? Is getting to see the game state before the opponent plays in a turn a perk reserved for people who play later than everyone else?

[Krill]

I wasn't being facetious about Parkin. If the same player constantly ends the turn then yeah, we're generally suspicious of them for playing clock games for their own benefit.

Sometimes the player of the first half of the turn will not play the turn until there are 30 minutes left so they are basically ceding that right to the player going last because of the first players delay.