Online drafts protocol?

[BillyWaz]

Greg and/or Tom,

I did a cutline on Friday night, and an online last night. I was curious to what the protocol is when someone stops the draft and wants to change their pick. Here is what happened.....

On Friday in the cutline, Team 6 (I think) took Josh Gordon in the 6th round. The draft continued on down the 6th and up the 7th to that teams pick. They posted in the chat that they didn't take Gordon and the draft was paused. The moderator then told them that they could take anyone that was not "on the board". They did this without rolling everyone back, and this is the way I thought it was to be done. The team picking right after Team 6 (at 7 or 8) threw a fit that he was allowed Kendall Wright, but I feel it was the right call as we know he didn't intend to take Gordon there. Team 7 or 8 insisted that was their own fault and they needed to be more careful.

So last night in the online (as karma would have it), Team 1 (who was team 7 or 8 that was so upset about the decision to make the change in the cutline), chooses a player to start round 12. THREE picks after that were made, and the draft was paused. He insisted that he didn't make that pick, and he wanted who team 3 selected. Team 3 said "it's fine, he can have him". So the moderator.....THE SAME ONE FROM THE CUTLINE, rolls all the picks back, allows him to take the QB team 3 already had on their roster, and we all have to "repick".

Here are my issues;

1) I thought the rules was ONCE A PLAYER IS SELECTED AND ON THE BOARD, THEY CANNOT BE TAKEN OFF.

2) Why was the protocol completely different for these two drafts? My biggest fear was I was team 4, and already made my pick. So when he "rolled back" (he simply replaced a player in the cutline), who is to say team 2 for example says "oh wait, I didn't realize he was there" and takes my selection when we roll back the draft?

I am planning on doing a couple classics this year online, and I can tell you that I don't feel too good about it if there isn't a consistent standard protocol in place for EVERY online draft (cutline, DC, online, classic, primetime). While the change last night might not have a bearing on anything (and then again it might!), when we have teams all playing for a 100K or more prize, there needs to be some consistency, and maybe something spelled out immediately in the rules.

Just my opinion.....thanks!

[hammer]

I was in that Rotowire draft last night as well. I agree it would be better to have the protocol in black-and-white well before the main events arrive.

[Tom Kessenich]

Hey guys, our rules are clear in that no player who has already been drafted can be put on another team in the event of a rollback. I'll speak to the person who ran the draft to make sure he is clear on how the process should work going forward.

[BillyWaz]

Hey guys, our rules are clear in that no player who has already been drafted can be put on another team in the event of a rollback. I'll speak to the person who ran the draft to make sure he is clear on how the process should work going forward.

That is what I thought, and was shocked it was allowed. Where are those rules? I couldn't find them.

Also, is it always a rollback, or can the player just be substituted? I think just substituting a player makes a whole lot more sense, because otherwise people after them can change their minds about a pick.

Also, is there a "pick limit" as to when someone can ask for a "repick"? A full round later in the cutline was the latest I have ever seen. But again.....just substituting that pick out (rather than a rollback) seems like the logical choice.

Just some things to consider going forward.....thanks Tom!

[Tom Kessenich]

Hey guys, our rules are clear in that no player who has already been drafted can be put on another team in the event of a rollback. I'll speak to the person who ran the draft to make sure he is clear on how the process should work going forward.

That is what I thought, and was shocked it was allowed. Where are those rules? I couldn't find them.

The rules for all contests are on the Contests page where you also see the prize grid. Here is what is in the rules pertaining to this question:

If there is a computer failure, an error made with a selection by an owner or any other type of technical malfunction, the draft moderator can stop the draft at any time and correct the error and then resume the draft. We will allow the draft moderator to roll back the draft if a technical error occurred, but if the desired player had already been selected before the draft was stopped that player is no longer available to be drafted. All decisions will be made by the NFFC moderator during the draft and will be final.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Hey guys, our rules are clear in that no player who has already been drafted can be put on another team in the event of a rollback. I'll speak to the person who ran the draft to make sure he is clear on how the process should work going forward.

That is what I thought, and was shocked it was allowed. Where are those rules? I couldn't find them.

Also, is it always a rollback, or can the player just be substituted? I think just substituting a player makes a whole lot more sense, because otherwise people after them can change their minds about a pick.

Also, is there a "pick limit" as to when someone can ask for a "repick"? A full round later in the cutline was the latest I have ever seen. But again.....just substituting that pick out (rather than a rollback) seems like the logical choice.

Just some things to consider going forward.....thanks Tom!

These picks should just be substituted out now; we don't have to roll back all of the picks and have owners re-pick. However, since the Administrator allowed the QB to be picked last night he had to roll back the previous picks. But no, we shouldn't be doing that going forward and we'll make sure everyone is aware of that.

We have so many online drafts now that we've hired help for Tom and myself and you are correct we need all hands on deck doing the same thing when it comes to situations like this. We're on it, so thanks for the heads up.

[Marc Quitsch]

Seems as though Greg made it crystal clear on how the NFFC handles the rules. Each player has his or her own responsibility to the integrity of the draft too. The moderator always gives his cell number out. There is a HELP button. Those 2 things help us help the draft. I am VERY careful not to touch a button I don't mean to touch during a draft, because I don't want to be "that guy", but if I did make a mistake, I would type in "PAUSE" "STOP" "PAUSE" a bunch of times in the chat. It will let the entire league know immediately that there is a mistake and may be a roll back. No one is perfect. If it happens, it should be acknowledged ASAP. Much less drama this way.

I've done 2 Cutlines so far and there hasn't been one mistake by anyone. Good job by everyone I've dealt with.

My .02

[ulbkumn]

The biggest problem I saw with the issue on friday night since I was in that draft was that after josh gordon was taken the message board did blow up to see if that guy really wanted him in the 6th rd. It took that guy who took josh gordon a full round to have the draft stopped. Last year I drafted Maclin in the 10th rd by mistake but it was my mistake and not the computers fault. If you have josh gordon in your draft prep than it is your fault. The guy friday night did not time out. He picked Josh gordon by mistake and admitted to it. He said he meant to draft welker.

[BillyWaz]

I think one thing the NFFC should consider is drop Gordon WAY DOWN the list, and that way someone will get him only if they search for him.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I think one thing the NFFC should consider is drop Gordon WAY DOWN the list, and that way someone will get him only if they search for him.

Agreed. We need IT help there, but the request is definitely in for that.