Written by Weedmonkey on August 21, 2009
7 Things Every Magic-League Player Should Know
When you're a judge, every day presents a range of issues that Magic-League players bring to #judges4you. These range from simple issues like misreports and disconnections to the more difficult and complex rulings and corner cases. I will address the simple issues that occasionally sprout up in this article, along with things all players should know about so that the Magic-League experience is better for everyone.
1. Direct all questions you have during a tournament to #judges4you
Every so often there will be a player that will PM a judge about what to do in his match because of disconnection/opponent taking too much time/opponent not in #magic-league/etc. These should always be directed to #judges4you for a couple of reasons. The first is that it provides for transparency in rulings, which maintains the integrity of judges as well as make things far easier if additional judges are needed. Secondly, if the TC is not around for whatever reason (such as playing in the tournament himself/herself), you will get a ruling much faster than if you wait for the TC to show up. Finally, it can be just plain annoying for judges when you get unnecessary PMs. You'll understand this when you run trials and masters :)
2. Auto save your logs
This is something that many players don't do but everyone should do. There has been many a ruling I have observed in #judges4you where logs have been required and one or both players haven't been able to supply them. It makes things far easier on everyone and allows us to give you the best ruling possible if everyone logs their matches. Here's how:
In Magic Workstation: In MWSPlay, go to Options -> Preferences. Click on the General tab, then then check the "Auto Save Message Log" box.
In any other play application: This can vary from application to application. Judges can help you out if you're having trouble figuring out how to auto save logs, just ask.
3. Players always have the right to appeal a ruling
This is something that many players who aren't regulars on the tournament scene may not be aware of. Some players have a tendency to throw a temper tantrum when a ruling doesn't go their way for whatever reason, which really is unnecessary. If you disagree with how the judge ruled, you can appeal. If you choose to do so, simply say that you want to appeal--and DO NOT engage in unsportsmanlike conduct toward judges and other players. A higher level judge is required to handle your appeal, and may or may not overturn or otherwise modify the original judge's ruling based on the information given.
4. If your opponent isn't in #magic-league at the beginning of the round, have some patience and wait
Every so often comes a PM or a question in #judges4you along the lines of the following: "
Another thing many players both new and old neglect to do. There are a number of guides ranging from how to start to a list of each 'other' format the league supports, and it's an easy reference for someone if they forget something. So next time you see a judge run something like a Make Your Own Standard tournament or a player ask how to get started, you know where to go.
Something people are aware of but some simply don't care about:
If you are interested in becoming a judge, take the judge test. The test is 10 questions and takes up to 35 minutes to complete. It will take anywhere up to 72 hours for your results to be returned to you depending on backlog of tests to be graded and the availability of judges to grade tests. If you receive a passing grade of 8/10 or better, you will then be notified either by email or in IRC as to whether or not you have been accepted as a judge.
Something many users of Magic-League's java client (referred to as 'javies') may not be familiar with is how we all chat with each other. Magic-League operates on the chat medium known as Internet Relay Chat, or IRC for short. Think of it as kind of like MSN or AIM, but on a far bigger scale.
We currently reside on the SolidIRC Network (irc.solidirc.com). You don't necessarily have to use the java client to chat (in fact, it's mandatory for all judges to use a program specifically for chatting on IRC). Programs such as mIRC and KVIRC allow you to chat on Magic-League, log your conversations, run programs such as trivia and much more.
5. Read the guides
6. Feel like minibegging? Become a judge instead!
Minibegging noun: 1. The act of requesting a tournament verb 2. Making aware to judges that you wish that they ran a tournament.
Some judges don't mind this at all. Other judges become infuriated by this. Magic-League's official stance on this is that it isn't permitted on league channels (it's spam). If you are really that desperate for a tournament that you have to resort to begging for it, then my suggestion is to become a judge. For those of you who are too lazy or otherwise uninterested in becoming a judge yet still feel the need to beg: don't.
7. Internet Relay Chat
Well, that's it. Hopefully this article has managed to clear up some things that players aren't familiar with and improve the Magic-League experience for everyone. Until next time,
Roo
MistyFatDog on 2009-08-21 23:59 EST womp womp, #mini4you has minibegging!
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Boogaloo on 2009-08-22 02:32 EST Necessary + Good = Staple
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Balthazar88 on 2009-08-22 04:49 EST Awesome sauce!
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CalebD on 2009-08-22 06:29 EST My that judge link is handy. *curls up in a corner to wait for his rejection*
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six on 2009-08-22 14:30 EST addendum: when your opponent hasn't showed and you've won the match, you should tell us in #judges4you so it can be documented. most of these rules, such as always ruling in #judges4you and not in PM are designed to protect the players and the judges at the same time by offering transparency. everyone can see what a judge rules in #judges4you, so there won't be any problems.
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darkwizard42 on 2009-08-22 14:30 EST !
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neosystems on 2009-08-22 16:21 EST I've a couple addenda too (you knew I would :P):
1) If you have a sealed deck problem, update your masterbase.
2) Once you have mIRC, make sure you turn on timed logs, so you can show us you contacted your opponent X minutes ago.
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Spartan89D on 2009-08-22 18:10 EST I'd suggest adding a link to the Chatzilla Firefox extension under #7.
( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/16 )
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Weedmonkey on 2009-08-22 19:03 EST I'd rather not, for various reasons which I won't go into here because the comments for this article aren't for arguing the merits of various IRC clients. Suffice to say however that from my standpoint mIRC and KVIRC are the two applications I strongly support.
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SteveMan on 2009-08-22 19:45 EST Why'd you tell them they have a right to appeal, I always hated dealing with those
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Spartan89D on 2009-08-22 21:24 EST Weedmonkey, it's the only IRC client that isn't a standalone program. It's just the most convenient one.
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Weedmonkey on 2009-08-22 21:31 EST It is far from convenient :/
Steveman: You're not a judge anymore, so why does it concern you again? :P
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Spartan89D on 2009-08-22 21:43 EST How is it not convenient? download, install.
Click on IRC link
/j magic-league
done.
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Boogaloo on 2009-08-23 00:53 EST Chatzilla wasted 10 minutes of my life. I want those 10 minutes back
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neosystems on 2009-08-23 17:57 EST CONGRATS Roo on J2! :D
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metzel_usa on 2009-08-25 21:44 EST so basically roo runs m-l now...gj roo
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GaryOak on 2009-08-26 07:09 EST good job roo
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kburts on 2009-08-26 18:10 EST what if i never have a hope at ever passing the jtest? (like i got a 3/10) is there another way of becoming a judge :P
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CMA-Flippi on 2009-08-27 09:46 EST donate 10.000 USD to magic-league.
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skathe on 2009-09-03 16:59 EST "Minibegging noun: 1. The act of requesting a tournament verb 2. Making aware to judges that you wish that they ran a tournament."
because you're definining the present tense of a verb it cannot be a noun (minibeggING)
if you would define, instead, the infinitive form (minibeg) then you could define it as both a noun (nice minibeg faggot) and a verb (i need to minibeg more)
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CMA-Flippi on 2009-11-03 15:18 EST Or we use common sense and hammer those that break the rules.
