Posting in this section: editing, please date threads, remove DOBs, etc

[Kevin Bonham]

To make it easier for us to keep threads in the right section, please:

* put the event date in the title of the thread for weekenders and other short events.

* for events that run over several weeks, indicate the likely starting and finishing dates in the opening post if you can.

* if you want to post about an event that has finished, or may have finished, look in the Completed Tournaments section to see if there is already a thread there.

Threads that are not dated in either the thread title or opening post may be assumed completed and moved to the completed section if they have had no posts in more than a month.

Threads canvassing general tournament ideas and proposals without advertising a specific tournament should be posted in Australian Chess, not in this section. Threads asking if a specific kind of tournament is coming up can be posted here.

For ongoing "club news" type threads there is no need to date anything.

Questions welcome.

Thanks very much,

Kevin Bonham
CC Admin/Moderator

[Kevin Bonham]

Just bumping the reminder to please date threads. In the thread title is preferable if the dates are known with certainty, otherwise early in the first post is excellent. This helps us keep track of events and get the moves to Completed Tournaments done with little work when they are finished. Thankyou.

[Kevin Bonham]

As someone has been extremely silly concerning the issue of when threads are moved to Completed Tournaments I would like to make the following clear:

* An event is completed when the last game has been played. Events will be assumed completed after the last scheduled day of play unless there is some evidence they are ongoing. (If an event is mistakenly moved when there are still games to go just ask and we will move it back.)

* Once an event is completed it may be moved at any time. There will not be any consistent time as to how long it takes before this happens since it depends on the mods noticing that one or more events have finished and moving them. Some of us (like me) tend to just check every now and then and batch-move events that have finished, including those that finished days ago or weeks ago.

* Typically tournaments will not be moved the very instant they are finished and will often be left in this section for a day or two. Posters wishing to draw the mods' attention to a thread not having been moved are asked not to do so until at least 48 hours after the scheduled end of the event, unless it was their tournament.

* If an organiser wants a thread left in this section for a while and not moved to Completed Tournaments after all games are completed they should contact the mods before the tournament is finished and explain their request, which won't necessarily be accepted. Note that there is no reason that brilliancy prize announcements, game files and other matters can't be added while a thread is in Completed Tournaments.

[Kevin Bonham]

Please be careful to avoid inadvertently publishing full player dates of birth in tournament files (eg list of entries etc) unless you have the consent of every participant whose DOB is published.

In a recent case I have edited posts to remove DOBs that were published in this manner but in future posts containing DOBs will be immediately deleted and the author sent a private message and asked to resubmit their post.

Publication of year of birth (eg to indicate who is eligible for ratings prizes) is acceptable.

[Kevin Bonham]

Disable smilies in crosstables

When posting crosstables where a draw is indicated by the letter D (eg the typical Swiss Perfect crosstable), you need to check the box marked "Disable smilies in text". This is found below the post window as the third of the Miscellaneous Options listed under Additional Options.

The reason for this is that ":D" produces a smiley unless that box is checked.

Please get this right as it is confusing to readers when it is wrong.

[Kevin Bonham]

I have just merged three (3) threads concerning the same event.

Please, in general, keep all posts on a given event to the same thread, and check to see if there is already a thread on the tournament before starting a new one.

[Kevin Bonham]

Editing Posts

There have been many recent cases where posts have had to be edited because of incorrect details.

Please take special care in proofreading tournament announcements, especially to make sure you have dates, round numbers, round times etc correct, before posting. Also read the post again after you post it to check it is correct.

If you make an error you can edit it if your edit is made within 24 hours of the original post. Beyond that the edit window applies, and if you need to have it edited you will need to contact an admin/moderator to have your post edited. I am happy to do this but cannot guarantee to do so immediately because of my other commitments.

[Kevin Bonham]

Again on the above - please can organisers take greater care to ensure that:

* Details of tournaments in post headers are accurate the first time.
* Organisers of an event co-ordinate with each other to work out who will post tournament notices and in what format and get it right the first time.
* Results are posted in the desired format including using the correct desired ratings system (etc).
* The opening post contains all relevant event details.

Posters have two days after posting a thread to edit the title of the thread. They also have one day after making a post to edit that post. I'll edit stuff that is outside this window where details change for reasons beyond the organisers' control. However I am getting too many edit requests regarding matters that could have been avoided with better organisation and I won't necessarily be approving those in future, especially if the rate of such requests continues to increase.

[Kevin Bonham]

Could posters who start a thread to advertise an event and then later want to post results from it please find their original post and post the results on the original thread instead of starting a new one? This (i) makes it easier for people interested in the event to find the results and details in one place (ii) saves me work when I archive them into Completed Tournaments. Thanks.

[Kevin Bonham]

I will be adding notes to titles to try to keep up with events cancelled/suspended/postponed etc but please PM me if I miss any that have threads that this applies to.

In the case of events where an impending closure of the event has been announced but some games are scheduled prior to the closure, I will wait til those games have been played and the event goes into hiatus before adding the note.

[Kevin Bonham]

COVID-cancelled and COVID-shortened tournaments are being moved to the Completed Tournaments section once the scheduled date of running has passed.

Suspended and postponed tournaments will remain in this section until they are completed or held, however any that are still here at the end of 2020 will be moved to Completed Tournaments then if there has been no announcement about their future.

[Kevin Bonham]

As part of the usual cleanup of finished tournament threads I have also removed all threads with no posts since the start of 2019, either to Completed Tournaments or Australian Chess.

The following threads were removed:

Chess on the Mornington Peninsula [thread moved to Australian Chess]
Queensland Open Trophy [thread moved to Australian Chess]
Redlands RSL Chess Club, QLD
Launceston Chess Club: News, occasional results, etc. [NB this is not the current Launceston thread]
East Sydney Chess Club*
NSW Junior Chess league*
Devonport Chess Club [NB this is not the current Devonport thread]
Canterbury CC*
Glen Eira Chess Club
Chess Tournaments Newcastle district
Inside the Kings of chess club, Gold Coast

* these are old Peter Parr threads that just contain stuff mentioned in his columns,

If anyone from such of the above named clubs as still exist wants the above mentioned thread about their club returned to this section they should make a post to that thread in the Completed Tournaments section and either confirm that old details (meeting venue, contacts etc) remain accurate or else post updated details.