Regarding callout etiquette

[Theognome]

If the time period of a callout nears the end and one of the opponants has not responded to a post, is it proper to post the required amount of posts in the callout regardless of this, or is it considered more proper not to?

[sum cun`T]

Do what you gotta do. If the callout's been agreed to, but for whatever reason it fails to start, then the whole thing becomes little better than a popularity contest to see whose vote gets across the line first. I know the callout you refer to, and if it was me, I'd be PM'ing the person concerned to find out what was up.

That might not be the way you want to play it - you might indeed decide to claim ownership for the person running away, but if no posts in the callout have happened, the victory is a little hollow. Well, for me it is. Then again, I'm not as hung up on the result as some about here are, so I can't speak for every last person.

So yeah - if you want to post in the thread, post to it, providing the callout HAS officially started. Otherwise, petition your opponent and see if you cant wangle a re-start, or work the stips more to your mutual advantage. Remember, its a game, but its a game where you have some limited control over the rules.

You can make it work for you, and I for one would be interested to see what you and your opponent turn up.

[Theognome]

Since I had taken the time to write the thing, I went ahead and posted it anyway. We can always rematch later if he wants.

[sum cun`T]

Ah, yes - I meant to get back to this.

The callout in question had a seven day time limit for posts on it, so ATVile still had some time left to submit his full complement of posts. Things can get rather hectic at times as I'm sure you're aware, and often bulletin boards must take a back seat to more pressing matters, though there is always the possibility someone might drop the thread simply because they cant be fucked with it, or are getting done like a dogs dinner as the case may be. I'm glad the two of you made the time to get your posts in though, and I commend you for making a sterling effort in a forum foreign to you using writing methods and styles which I suspect are not your usual mode of address. That shows courage not often seen about the boards and I've no doubt you'll improve in those areas should you persist in tackling them. In turn, this can only benefit your posting style further down the track, giving you a wider base to draw on when tailoring your flames and other writings to whatever community you find yourself in.

There's one other matter I should bring up, though I doubt its something you have much control over, and thats the issue of the votes which I've regretfully decided to deduct from poll.. At the time of writing, no less than three invalid votes have been deducted from your tally and one from ATVile's. Be assured that this is NOT a practice I relish doing. I would prefer to not have to touch the polls at all for a variety of reasons, however this forum has a habit of attracting people who are unable to act on any kind of honour system or distinguishing between fair conduct and outright arrogance.

Just so as you know, Boston Rob's and Anachy_Balsac's votes were removed because they were placed early while both of Deus's votes were removed because he cloned himself to stack the vote. I did consider leaving one of his votes up as valid, in spite of the fact in his premature critique he'd pbviously decided he was voting for you no matter what because his first vote was placed after voting opened. However from time to time we do get the odd person thinking they can score a few cheap points from forcing a poll's outcome in the manner Deus attempted and logic dictates to any reasonable thinking person that these people are not casting their vote based on ability and effectiveness of the participants. Obviously any and all such voter's opinions are therefore worthless, though this ought not reflect on the participants themselves (unless of course they are a party to it also, which I am sure you are not).

Once again, I thank you for a great TD thread and invite your continued participation in this board if you find it agreeable to do so. For my part, I'll do what I can to keep the playing field as level as possible. Even in the event you decide to try your hand at tearing strips off my good self by calling me "nice" or "fair" or "honourable"... them's there fighting words, pardner!