So Parity Internet Roulette begins again.

I can't believe this is considered a reasonable system/solution.

That's only because your carrier pigeons can't fly fast enough.

This system is first come, first served - albeit there is a lot of demand, and it fills up quick. But first served nonetheless.

The only other system I could think of (other than something that privileges certain people, e.g. previous players) would be one of pure chance, a lottery. Which is more akin to roulette I'd think.

There are reasonable arguments in favour of a lottery, but I think it's been surveyed quite exhaustively and decided against. No easy solution, certainly. But in the absence of any superior insight I'll defer to the ones who we pay to think about these issues deeply.

I assume you realize that this isn't really first come first served.
Given that it sells out within in a minute, the sentiment that its first come first served in way that one person is more deserving or wanted it more or its there turn, that this sentiment is misapplied.


I realize that it has an exciting quality for those who are able to set the bar for excitement at this level it is no way to run a railroad. And yes even a lottery, or roulette, would be more 'fair' and with the proper promotion more exciting.

That's fair. My view is mostly based on the experiences I heard about last year, in that if you went on at 10:20 you could still get in. Selling out in 2 minutes suggests it's less likely that everyone ready at 10pm had a chance. 

It is arguably more important for an administrative procedure to *appear* fair than to actually be fair, mostly because it's often impossible to truly measure real-world fairness, the appearance of fairness is easier to implement, and the appearance of fairness more directly enforces trust in the administrative procedure (you're more likely to trust the system if you perceive fairness, than if you were dealt with fairly but didn't feel it).

From this perspective, the lottery system might appear to be more fair than the queue. You didn't get in? Well you had the same chance as everyone else and just got bad luck. Had nothing to do with OCUA's servers, or dumb registration questions, or mobile/desktop layout, or compatibility with your adblock, etc. The lottery loser may also feel less regret because their personal failure -- "why didn't I preload the page/set a 2nd alarm/buy better internet/upgrade to the 256GB iPhone 11 Max Pro?" -- has also been assigned to chance.

I'm not salty tho. I got in.

How much did the 256 GB iPhone 11 Max Pro cost you?

Oh shit I did not realize phones are selling for $1700 now. AND THERE'S A 512GB VERSION FOR 2 GRAND!!!alsdjkfasjdklf

... dumb registration questions...

Yingding over here lowkey throwing shade at OCUA.

But GMs need to know that I ran a 55sec 400m in high school, that my favorite color is cyan, and I'm an accomplished nerd.

Jersey colours are being chosen democratically this season. Finally, progress!

We've played together. You know that's always been my most reliable throw.

Parity sold out in about 2 minutes this year. So yeah, you have to be on the site right at 10 but that is a good way to secure your spot.

Parity spots for Open sold out in 2 mins. There are 31 spots for women today. I was very leisurely. I waited to see if Chris got in, then strolled casually through registration. 

Me too Justine! I got fomo the morning after when every boy was talking about the race to register.....

My army of Ticketmaster-esque bots bought most of the spots and now I'm selling them off at a 300% markup.

Anytime your MO is ticketmaster-esque, you are probably either wrong / awful or merely misguided.

The men knew that parity would sell out quick. We know it's first come, first served.  Other people just made it through the application faster.  Hate the player, not the game.

Geez, Sina. "The opens knew that parity would sell out quick." You've been away a little too long. Get with the times.

Why don’t they save the last 5 spots of parity and have a online auction 2 days after the registration day. With money going back to the league or charity like Erik. 

 

I did not make it in because I registered at 10:03

Rules will mirror A Knights Tale, with a requirement for every participant to have a (or act as their own) bard to introduce themselves. Last 48 registrants get in. The last 12 spots are decided by innovation and creativity of the bardic presentation that will preceed all combatants. Bonus points for eloquent Olde Tyme language contrasted with modern intro music. Example: "Forsooth, no man more determined doth live than Sir Geofford the Lionhearted!" with Achey Breaky Heart playing in the background.

Replace gendered pronouns as needed should there need to be a women's division for the jousting tournament.

This could work as long as everyone is okay with their league fees doubling due to increased cost of insurance.

Your position will be secured by your demographic. Priority goes to ethnic minorities, native status, women and children, the disabled, the elderly, students, and military personnel.  

Most affirmative action programs are geared towards proportional representation. This means we want the population of players to roughly reflect the same demographics as Canada.

So first change is we actually need to go to 61/59 women to men. We want about 14% visible minority, and 86% white. We need ~6.5% Asian, 2.5% Black, 3% Aboriginal, 1% Middle Eastern, and about 0.5% Latin American but let's just round that up to 1.

I'm sure Hadrian can chime in when we've hit our targets.

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood's picture

I mean, that is basically my wheelhouse...

Hadrian's first controversial misstep as commish : affirmative action! Now everyone who didn't get in can blame quotas.

Why can't straight white men ever catch a break!?!

Which is why we can't have nice things in the first place!

Almost everyday is straight white man day...

fact

Step 1: Set reminder (2 if you're me)
Step 2: do all your dog waiver, shirt size, childhood memories in advance.
Step 3: get to a peecee or Mack computer device with a non-dialup connection
Step 4:. Open a world clock app on your phone
Step 5:. Open registration page at 9:57pm EST
Step 6: Hit refresh a few times at 9:59:55
Step 7: Register