|
|
Post by Rajiv on Feb 25, 2016 9:54:09 GMT 8
From the "Payments, credits, penalties & usage" thread: From "The price of popular games" thread: ....
..., I am looking at doing the following to deal with the issues of clustering, hogging and hedging:
- I will increase the price per player by $1 across the board for all games.
- For every game, I will reserve for a period of 24 hours after the schedule thread goes up 2 places for the team selectors or captains from the previous week's game, and 2 places for players who played in a less popular in the 7 days up to the day the schedule thread goes up.
- If there are places still available after 24 hours, the price per player will be reduced by $1.
- If there are places still available after 72 hours, the price per player will be reduced by a further $1.
- If there are places still available less than 3 hours before the game, any player coming in to fill up a place will pay a further $1 less.
I aim to introduce this with effect from the game on 1 April 2016.
.... .... Further on "The price of popular games" thread: ....
The following will be introduced earlier:
- With effect from the next game to be scheduled, the places to be reserved in each game will be as above.
- With effect from 1 March 2016, the number of names any player can put down within the first 24 hours will be limited to one other than himself.
Earlier on that thread: The problem of clustering persists. Starting from the schedule game for 1 February 2016, I will revive the system of reserving for 48 hours, in every other game, 2 places for players who play games that are slow to fill up (that is, not filled by the day before the game) or extra games, in the preceding week, in addition to the two team selectors. However, you still have to put your name down on the schedule thread as usual, and if more than 2 players claim the two places, between them, it will also be first come first in. It will suffice to qualify if the player concerned put his name down for game that was slow to fill up, or extra game, even if the game is ultimately cancelled, provided he remains on the list until the game either goes ahead or is cancelled. And from the "Attitudes" thread: .... ..., the Tuesday game has only 12 places instead of the 14 or 16 for the other games, so if I allow up to 4 per player, 3 players could fill all the places. As such, I'll limit it to 3 per player for the Tuesday game, in the first 48 hours. .... I've rationalised and updated all of the above under the "Filling places & withdrawals" section of the GIFFA System thread, as follows: .... For our regular games, in the first 24 hours after the schedule thread is put up: - Each GIFFA Player is limited to putting names down for himself and one other GIFFA Player.
- The first 4 places are reserved, two for the team selectors/captains from the game the week before, and two for players who make themselves available for a less popular game played or scheduled to be played in the 7 days before the expiry of the 24 hour period.
.... There are two restrictions on putting names down for others in the first 48 hours after each schedule thread is put up: 1. Each GIFFA Player can put a maximum of 3 GIFFA Players down inclusive of himself (1 more than in the first 24 hours). 2. No guests (non-GIFFA Players) can be put down. .... Additionally, after 48 hours, there is a maximum of 1 guest per player, until 24 hours before the game. Guests must be 18 or above in the current year. In the last 6 hours before the game, places are opened to any male aged 18 or above. In the last 3 hours, the age restriction is reduced to 16. .... Additionally, the restriction of 1 guest is now relaxed 24 hours before the game, not just 6 hours before the game. The restriction within the first 24 hours has taken effect today. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Mar 27, 2016 16:43:40 GMT 8
We have 11 players on waitlist for the game tomorrow (Monday at Macpherson). From the schedule thread for that game: .... From the "Payments, credits, penalties & usage" thread: .... ...., HYFA @ Macpherson has its put its prices up by 10% with effect from 15 February 2016. I will bear the increase until 1 April 2016. .... It will be $11 per player from April 2016 onwards. From the "Filling places & choices" thread: .... .... Going forward, the most sensible way to accommodate the surplus of players for the weekend and Monday games is to try to get the extra game at Khalsa on Sunday night going. Next week is school holidays, so people may be away. The Sunday after is a long weekend for Easter/Good Friday. I will resume scheduling this extra game on Sunday from the following weekend onwards, that is, 3 April 2016. .... The extra Sunday game will be $9 per player. Players have to make their own choices. Also from the "Payments, credits, penalties & usage" thread: From "The price of popular games" thread: ....
..., I am looking at doing the following to deal with the issues of clustering, hogging and hedging:
- I will increase the price per player by $1 across the board for all games.
- For every game, I will reserve for a period of 24 hours after the schedule thread goes up 2 places for the team selectors or captains from the previous week's game, and 2 places for players who played in a less popular in the 7 days up to the day the schedule thread goes up.
- If there are places still available after 24 hours, the price per player will be reduced by $1.
- If there are places still available after 72 hours, the price per player will be reduced by a further $1.
- If there are places still available less than 3 hours before the game, any player coming in to fill up a place will pay a further $1 less.
I aim to introduce this with effect from the game on 1 April 2016.
.... .... Apart from the Monday night game at Macpherson, I will postpone the $1 across the board increase until later in the year. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Sept 30, 2016 9:29:00 GMT 8
Since February 2016, the restriction on putting names down for others has been stricter in the first 24 hours than in the first 48 hours. In particular, in the first 24 hours, each GIFFA Player can only put a name down for one other GIFFA Player. This is not the same as putting names down for two GIFFA Players. However, players who are not playing continue to put names down for 2 other GIFFA Players. This is especially so for the Wednesday game. In such a situation, the second player loses the first 24-hour priority, unless one of the two is entitled to a reserved place. Likewise, when a player puts three names down (himself and two others), the third player loses first 24-hour priority, unless one of the two others is entitled to a reserved place. The player who loses first 24-hour priority is still entitled to the first 48-hour priority. For the schedule thread from 1 October 2016 onwards, I have made this clearer. On a separate note, the number of withdrawals after the team selector poll goes up remains very high for the Wednesday game at Khalsa. In September 2016, the numbers have been 4 for 7 September 2016 ( leaving us with 6-a-side), 3 for 14 September 2016, 3 for 21 September 2016 and 8 for 28 September 2016. However, the Wednesday game usually fills up very fast, often having players on waitlist even with the first 24 hours. I've discussed the problem of "choping" or hogging places before. I will re-consider introducing next year a $1 penalty for anyone withdrawing after the team selector poll goes up where the places filled up within the first 24 hours and the player withdrawing had a confirmed place within the first 24 hours. More generally, I've tidied up the "Adding names & withdrawals" section of each schedule thread to read as follows: |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Nov 1, 2016 10:10:32 GMT 8
From the "New timing for Sunday game at The Grandstand" thread: The Sunday game at Grandstand is struggling, cancelled last week (9 Oct 2016) with only 4 players, and withdrawals for today's game leaving us with 11, only enough for a game on the small pitch, and not enough willing to play on a small pitch. To make matters worse, the new manager at the Premier Pitch @ Grandstand is very sticky with cancellations less than 48 hours before the game. Further, I will be very busy for the rest of this month, up to 6 November 2016. In the circumstances, I will not be scheduling a Sunday game at The Grandstand until 13 November 2016. When I resume the game on 13 November 2016, it will be from 4 to 5 pm, in accordance with the current state of the poll. For the three Sundays in between (23 Oct 2016, 30 Oct 2016 and 6 Nov 2016), I will schedule a game at Khalsa from 6 to 7 pm. At least the manager at Khalsa does not give me grief if I cancel very late. For the Sunday game at Khalsa, we had 8 players for 23 October 2016. 30 October 2016 was the Deepavali weekend, so I didn't make any effort to try to fill the game. Apart from the Sunday night game at Grandstand not filling up, the Saturday game at Grandstand has been relatively slow to fill up for a few weeks now. Further, for several weeks now, the weeknight games have been filling up better than the weekend games. The Sunday night game at Khalsa is intended to provide more places for those who play the weeknight games. I will continue to schedule the Sunday night game at Khalsa until the end of November 2016. Also from the "New timing for Sunday game at The Grandstand" thread: Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand now inform me that the 4 to 5 pm slot is not available on Sunday for 13 and 20 November 2016, so I will keep it at 5 to 6 pm for those two weeks. However, if the game has not reached the minimum number by Friday, I will cancel the game. The Sunday evening game at Grandstand will resume from 13 November 2016 onward, at the usual time slot, 5 to 6 pm. Also to accommodate more players for the weeknight games, I am prepared to consider switching the Tuesday night game from a small pitch to a big pitch in the new year, even if that means having to bring the game forward an hour to 8 to 9 pm. I have added a poll to that effect. On a separate note, from "The price of popular games" thread: Certain popular games continue to suffer the following: - The game fills up quickly, within 24 hours of the schedule thread being put up, with several players already on waitlist.
- After the WhatsApp group chat is created the day before the game, there are several withdrawals, sometimes leaving us short a few hours before the game.
Penalties for late withdrawals only apply if the withdrawal is 5 hours or less before the game. The withdrawals from popular games are usually between 5 and 24 hours before the game, so no penalties apply. The issue was particularly bad with the Monday night game at Macpherson and the Wednesday night game at Khalsa. It is currently not so much an issue with the Monday night game, but remains a big issue with the Wednesday night game. .... To me, it looks like the same old problem of hogging/"choping" and clustering. What makes it worse if that we are left short on the day of the game, players who might otherwise have been able to play, and might have put their name down if the waitlist had not been so long in the days before the game, are no longer available. There is a serious issue here. At least once, it has left us to go on with the minimum number. Previously, it had resulted in a Monday night game being cancelled.
I have two alternative solutions where a game fills up within the first 24 hours of the schedule thread being put up, anyone who, having put their names down within the first 24 hours and having a confirmed place when the WhatsApp group chat is created, withdraws after the group chat is created ("Very Popular Game Scenario"):
- The player will have to pay a $1 admin fee (Option A - $1 admin fee).
- The player will not be allowed to put his name down within the first 24 hours of the schedule thread being put up for the same game in the following two weeks (Option B - 2 week restriction).
I will let the players decide which option will be implemented. I have added a poll above, and moved this thread from the "Introductions, Requests & Chat" board to the "Stand-Alone Polls" Board. The poll will close on 31 December 2016 and the outcome will apply to all schedule threads put up from 1 January 2017 onwards. Also, the management at HYFA @ Macpherson, and the new management at The Grandstand, repeatedly warn me that I will still have to pay for the pitch if the game is cancelled less than 48 hours before the game. So far, I have had to argue/plead with them to waive payment for the games that have been cancelled. Going forward, for games on those pitches, if we do not reach the minimum number at least 48 hours before the game, it will be cancelled. For all games, if we have enough 24 hours before the game, I will create the WhatsApp group chat as usual. However, if there are withdrawals after the group chat is created, which cause the game being cancelled: - Any payment for the unused pitch will have to be shared equally between those who withdrew after the group chat was created. I will first try to have the payment waived or reduced.
- If no payment is required for the unused pitch, those who withdrew after the group chat was created must still pay a $1 admin fee.
The above will take effect from the game scheduled tomorrow (2 November 2016, for Monday, 7 November 2016).
|
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jul 12, 2019 16:31:07 GMT 8
The problem of clustering has gotten worse since mid June 2019, especially since the start of July 2019 for the Monday night game at Macpherson (at the expense of the Tuesday night game at Macpherson and the Thursday night game at Khalsa), notwithstanding my attempts to use the priority system and admin fees to get a better spread of players across all games. The waitlist for the Monday night game at Macpherson, the Wednesday night game at Khalsa and the Saturday evening game at the Grandstand have been as follows: - Saturday, 15 June 2019, 4.
- Saturday, 22 June 2019, 2.
- Saturday, 29 June 2019, 2.
- Monday, 1 July 2019, 10.
- Wednesday, 3 July 2019, 4 (but reduced to nil by withdrawals).
- Saturday, 6 July 2019, 2.
- Monday, 8 July 2019, 8.
- Wednesday, 10 July 2019, 3.
- Saturday, 13 July 2019, 6.
- Monday, 15 July 2019, 12!!!
The game for Wednesday, 17 July 2019, which was put up this morning, already has 4 on waitlist. For the game on 1 July 2019, players surprisingly voted for switching to playing 3 teams over 2 hours, but unfortunately, a second hour was not available, and is unlikely ever to be available on a Monday night at Macpherson, as they have to close by 10 pm. I reintroduced the Tuesday night game at Macpherson at the start of the month, but the game has been cancelled in each of the two weeks so far (2 July 2019 and 9 July 2019) with only a couple of names put down. What is even more disappointing is that the Thursday night game at Khalsa and the Sunday evening game at Grandstand, both of which I have been trying for years to stabilise, have barely had half the players required in the past few weeks. We have not had a Thursday night game since 6 June 2019, while the Sunday games on 9 June 2019 and 7 July 2019 were cancelled, with several other Sunday games over the past few months filling up very late on, and even then, only after a lot of asking around. The game for this Sunday (14 July 2019) only has 6 names down at the time of this post (Friday afternoon). I have spent a lot of time over several years trying to sustain the Thursday night game at Khalsa and the Sunday evening game at Grandstand, but players clustering around the Monday night game at Macpherson, the Wednesday night game at Khalsa and the Saturday evening game at Grandstand undermines my efforts. I will stop scheduling the Thursday night game for the rest of this month, and if the game this Sunday is cancelled, I will also stop scheduling the Sunday evening game at Grandstand for the rest of the month. I will review the situation towards the end of the month, but I am not likely to resume these games until September 2019 at the earliest. Instead, for now, I will focus on the extra game on Monday night at Macpherson and, if I stop scheduling the Sunday evening game at Grandstand, I will re-start the extra Sunday night game at Khalsa. The entire system is based on a "pooling effect", that is, a larger group of players across a wider range of games. Clustering undermines the pooling effect, and I will look at other ways to deal with this issue. The Tuesday night 6-a-side game at Grandstand has just about been filling up, and I treat it separately, as it is the only regular game that is not 7 or 8-a-side. As most players only want to play 7 or 8-a-side, the pool for the Tuesday night game at Grandstand is smaller. To encourage PRG players to play the additional games, those who put their names down for Tuesday night at Macpherson or Sunday night at Khalsa will have priority in the first 24 hours for all games for which the schedule thread goes up that Tuesday or Sunday or in the 6 days after that day. To deal with the issue of "hogging" or "choping", I posted the following on the "GIFFA system & playing rules" thread on 10 April 2019: I have not had to apply this up to now, but I will do so going forward. As this has not been applied before now, I will delete the post from the "GIFFA system & playing rules" thread. |
|
From "The price of popular games" thread: