2011/05/31 Update: Board Coordinates & Playing Fair
Hi again, chess-lovers!
You may have noticed a brief period of down-time this morning as we applied some fixes and added a few features. Here are the highlights!...
Outside-the-board Coordinates
You liked it in Live, so we brought it to Online Chess, Vote Chess and our learning tools as well! You now have three options for board-coordinates: inside the board, outside the board, or none at all!
To change your options, visit your echess settings page (which also affects Explorer and Vote Chess boards), your Tactics Trainer settings page (which also affects Computer Workout), and finally, your Chess Mentor settings page.
Live Chess Changes
In-Game Stats: At the beginning of every Live game, you will now see your Win/Loss/Draw history with the current opponent in the Game Chat area.
Chat Request Options: Check your Live Chess settings for a brand new "Chat Requests From" control; this is exclusively for non-game chat. (The existing setting for in-game chat is unchanged.) You may now entertain chat requests from Anyone, from Friends Only, or from Nobody.
Fair Play & Good Sportsmanship!:
Similar to how members with a high echess time-out ratio get restricted from tournaments, we have implemented something to discourage poor sportsmanship in Live!
As you may know, we have a Fair Play Policy. Players who are detected to be ignoring that policy by wilfully disconnecting from (or just ceasing to play in) a significant percentage of games will be cautioned by a system pop-up.
If the behavior continues, the members will be restricted so that they cannot create or accept open challenges - only play with Friends. This restriction is automatically removed as the member plays subsequent games "fairly," without intentionally disconnecting or simply running down the clock.
We're just giving the golden rule a little "boost!" We're hopeful this will encourage a few people out there to simply resign when they've lost - and make Live a more enjoyable experience for everyone.
That's it for now! Let us know what you think in the Comments!
