Template:Scheduling Intervention

This is currently a draft document.

This document details how we go about arbitrating scheduling disputes in matches where all players would typically need to agree a time for the match to be played, but an issue or multiple issues mean it might not be possible for all players to agree a time.

It should first be pointed out that it is extremely rare for this to be necessary (less than 0.01% of matches).

Principles

• The next best situation, if all the players can't agree a time, is for all but one of the players to schedule the match for a time that the other player might be able to make.
• It is recognized that sometimes a person or people might be asked to do something they don't want to do in order to make the match work (e.g.) being awake at an inconvenient time.
• Nobody is under any obligation to agree to anything they don't want to do, and should not feel bullied.

What we look at

• The email thread to see who has replied, how promptly people replied, who is available and when.
• How long it took the people involved to bring the situation to the attention of the administrators.
• The availability logger (if it exists).
• Other matches involving the players in multiple leagues.
• If someone has extreme unavailability (this might count against them).
• If a player has previously been accommodating to others in terms of available times.
• How often a player has forfeited in the past.
• The timezones of the players involved.
• The match situation (i.e. the league or knockout phase of the tournament).
• The possibility of playing the match later than the scheduled deadline.
• Asking people to do something inconvenient (where they might be able to make the match) is deemed more appropriate than asking someone to do something impossible (where it is certain somebody won't be able to make the match)
• What might be the fairest decision for all players involved.
• It is recognized that different people or groups looking at the situation may come to completely different conclusions.

When the decision is reached

• Asking a player to sit out is never a decision taken lightly.
• A decision will be made by the league administrator(s).
• The email thread will be informed of the organization's preferred time for the match and who might need to sit out.
• If a player asked to sit out ends up being able to play the match, this is deemed a successful outcome.
• If another player offers to sit out and the match can still take place one player down, they become the player sitting out.
• If the player who is asked to sit out is unable to make the match, a form of recompense may be deemed appropriate, particularly if that player's availability was good.