The Slow Draft Dilema

[Money]

Yesterday in a slow draft that has been under way for a week, I never made a pick. Before going to bed, I sent out a note saying that I wasn't going to watch as often as normal but would not deliberately hold up the draft and would pick when it was my turn and convenient. In the past I've championed the cause to keep things moving. In this event until last night I left it to others. It's never very popular. I got a response back that I'll share, only because he's tried to discredit me by copying the NFBC. I disagree with the view point taken here. I realize this makes me look bad, but I don't care, here goes.


Ugh!

In every slow draft I've done, someone has to send out the "Draft Etiquette" email.

What makes you the authority over "Draft Etiquette?" Has anyone cheated or not followed the rules set forth by NFBC and documented on their webpage under "rules". No? So then you have nothing to complain about. I think it is unreasonable for you to have your own set of rules for which you expect the other 14 teams in the league to comply with.

Did you state your fake rules at the start of the draft so we all could be aware of them?

Is there anything in the NFBC rules that states that we must notify you of our daily schedules and when you can expect our picks? I don't think so. Are we required to use Autopick? Nope, I don't see that either.

Are you in any sort of position to enforce negative consequences if we don't meet your expectations? I mean, did Greg and Tom appoint you Deputy League Commissioner or "Sheriff of Draft Etiquette", Nope, I don't think so.

And just a hint, the other 14 teams in this league see you as the COMPETITION and want to see your team lose. Making you happy is not our objective. If they know something bothers you, they are far more likely to continue to do it than to change the behavior. Maybe frustrating you will cause you to lose interest and not focus or to make a mistake.

I don't mean any offense to you. I'm sure you are a fine, upstanding member of the other 99% who thinks they are entitled to have everyone else do things their way and then complain if they don't. Consider, however, what a slow draft is and why others sign up for them. It clearly states that team owners get 8 hr per pick, so you clearly knew what you were getting in to when you signed up. If the pace bothers you, maybe the Satellite Leagues or Online Leagues which start soon will be more your speed.

I personally don't care how long people take to pick. I'm doing several slow drafts right now, so there's always a pick to be made on my horizon. I like the pace. It fits with my work and travel schedule. Im sure others would agree.

Its great that you and others have the enthusiasm and time to stalk the draft from your computer all day. But realize that nobody made any fake rules requiring you to do so...

Best of luck to you all.

[rockitsauce]

That is exactly why I am 1 and done w/ slow drafts. Never again.

I think the guy was a condescending dick, but he is right w/ regard to nobody is breaking the rules by taking their entire 8 hrs/pk. Fine. If these people want to squeeze the life out of these drafts let them. Soon enough the only people willing to participate in them will be those who think it is perfectly reasonable to take 6 or 8 hrs for a pk and who never communicate w/ their fellow leaguemates.

Good luck w/ that.

[glenlake22]

"I'm sure you are a fine, upstanding member of the other 99% who thinks they are entitled to have everyone else do things their way and then complain if they don't."

This sentence makes me question the intelligence of the author so much that the rest of the material becomes virtually irrelevant. I would delete the message and move on.

[mattjb]

I am the guy trying to push my league forward and i'm sure it's not making me popular either.

But if everyone takes the attitude I can take as long as I like the league simply wouldn't finish. If everyone took just a quarter of their time, 2 hours per pick, the league would take 2 months to complete and obviously when the leagues are starting only a month (or less) from the season's start people have a responsibility to move things along. I would suggest in future the slow draft cut off needs to be by Valentine's Day.

[mattjb]

A couple of suggestions...

Make it 2 hours per pick but turn the clock off between 11PM EST and 11AM EST
Picks could still bemade during this time but no time restriction.
Then give each player a certain number of time extensions they can use during the draft (maybe 5, 2 hour extensions)
That way if you really need the extra time (and don't want to go on auto) you can tick a box for the extra time. this would also relax the other people logged in to the draft room as they would know a pick isn't happening.

Thoughts?

[ToddZ]

K
I
S
S

The system is fine just the way it is. Perhaps adding the capability of autopick for multiple rounds would make things go faster around the wheel as well as COMMUNICATING to your fellow drafters.

We're hearing from the vocal minority on either extreme.

A few can't draft fast enough, a few feel they are entitled to the full 8 hours. These are the people we hear from.

If the system were broken, would we really be approaching 50 of these things? FIFTY!!!!

The vast (and silent) majority like things just the way they are.

Otherwise there is NO WAY we would be approaching 50 of these things.....FIFTY!!!!

[Money]

A couple of suggestions...

Make it 2 hours per pick but turn the clock off between 11PM EST and 11AM EST
Picks could still bemade during this time but no time restriction.
Then give each player a certain number of time extensions they can use during the draft (maybe 5, 2 hour extensions)
That way if you really need the extra time (and don't want to go on auto) you can tick a box for the extra time. this would also relax the other people logged in to the draft room as they would know a pick isn't happening.

Thoughts?

I hear ya. With the explosion of this format they're sure to be tweaks next season. Greg will probably have a survey asking for suggestions, although I don't think much needs to be done. They have already adjusted on the fly by offering Fast/Slow drafts. I'd have entered those, especially after finding out they only take 4 hours. I'm not sure I could keep up, my knowledge of the player pool does not stretch 750 players deep.

I'm the guy in these formats that picks on auto almost every round. At the end it is very easy. After about the 35th round if you loaded 10 guys into the q, I'd bet you get half of them over the next 5 rounds. It's pretty simple.

And why is it so unreasonable to ask if someone is going to be away for extended periods of time during non sleeping hours? Almost everyone in each of these drafts does this (communicates), a couple resist and take from the experiance of the others. I'm not going to apologize for asking fellow players for a little consideration. As I stated earlier I wasn't even the main one soliciting the communication, I just drew his ire after sending out a note after going a whole day without making a pick.

I tried to suggest a draft amongs like minded players and didn't get much traction. I'll try again next year.

[mattjb]

I'd also suggest the option of adding a cell phone number and get an automated text message when you're on the clock.

[Outlaw]

As Todd said 50 or more completed. We had one guy in one draft, who would be online chatting and for whatever reason wouldnt make his pick for 1, 2, 3, 4 hrs.... there are all types in life.... I do agree thier should be some tweaks next year. I am sure they could hit 100 leagues if they cut the time down. Too many people just cannot commit weeks at a time or find it just too much hassle. I like the 2 hr time limit and shutting it down for 8 hrs or so at night.

I personnaly did all the 3 of the fast/slow drafts and would enter them before these 3-4 week slows.

[Money Men]

I have not participated in any of the slow drafts, so I have no horse in the race so to speak, but I am continually amused by the irony of people complaining about slow drafts being SLOW.

[BK METS]

Well, in every slow draft I was in, I have tried to move things along by gathering phone numbers, etc.. to text people who might be on the clock for a few hours or send reminder emails. I have been accused of being "The Slow Draft police" , "deputy slow draft commish", and some other names that I would rather not mention on these boards.

The thing is, it typically only 1 or 2 out of 15, that really slow things down, and even with that, drafts for me haven't lasted more than 3 weeks, other than 1.

I do believe there should be something in the rules for this league explaining the reasoning for the 8 hours between picks (sleep, work, etc), not to mull in the draft room for 6 hours, and a sentence saying that all owners should do whatever possible to make picks within 2 hours, unless an emergency situation occurs, and all members should be aware of the ability to draft from their cell phone and use the "auto one" button, when they are not going to be available for more than 2 hours.

Just my thoughts, for whatever its worth.

[bayareabluejays]

Is there any sort of default notification sent out after a pick is made?

Or is it simply the team on the clock's responsibility to be ready to draft?

[Joe Sambito]

An email gets sent after every pick.

[616Fantasyguy]

I know my opinion doesn't mean much, but I personally like the slow drafts and think 4 hours per pick would be fine. Eight hours seems a little excessive, and almost never gets used in the drafts I have been in. But, 4 hours would cause people to check in more and the drafts would be done in half the time.

[Peeig]

Agree 100% with Todd....................this is a great format..............it serves a wide base of players. There are probably ways to adjust slightly, but its a very cool format allowing a lot more people to participate.

[edelman24]

I've done a ton of slow drafts and it used to drive me insane when people took forever, it still does, but I've given up caring about it and just let others take charge. Something I had been thinking about though, assuming it can be tracked, why not have each user's time per pick posted next to their names on the message boards when the signup lists are being formed. Therefore if someone chooses to take 7 hours per pick everyone is aware of it before they sign up. To me that is all that is needed to deter this from happening and having drafters together who can move the draft along. Just a thought.

[BK METS]

Another thing I would do is change the name of these drafts to "draft champions" league. I would take the word "slow" out of the title but still give drafters the opportunity to have the 8 hour clock for overnight circumstances.

[Nevadaman]

edelman24 » Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:57 pm

I've done a ton of slow drafts and it used to drive me insane when people took forever, it still does, but I've given up caring about it and just let others take charge. Something I had been thinking about though, assuming it can be tracked, why not have each user's time per pick posted next to their names on the message boards when the signup lists are being formed. Therefore if someone chooses to take 7 hours per pick everyone is aware of it before they sign up. To me that is all that is needed to deter this from happening and having drafters together who can move the draft along. Just a thought.

I love it!!! GREAT IDEA!! I will add another. Why not have West Coast and East Coast slow drafts that would go along better with sleeping schedules, etc?

[Greg Ambrosius]

I think timing is everything and this is odd timing. We have more than SIXTY full Slow Draft Leagues and a One Round Que that anyone can use, but not everyone does. There are things we can do to educate folks on how to make these faster, but they are called SLOW DRAFTS after all!! And honestly, most are on pace with the same finishing time period as all of the others. Not all go as fast as the $1,000 Slow Draft League, but that one is for crazies!! Just kidding guys.

This could have easily been discussed at season's end with ideas on how to improve a really good thing. Odd, just very odd.

Jump on in these last few days of Slow Drafts everyone. I trust you'll have a good time and even get done in plenty of time for Opening Day.

[Money]

I think timing is everything and this is odd timing. We have more than SIXTY full Slow Draft Leagues and a One Round Que that anyone can use, but not everyone does. There are things we can do to educate folks on how to make these faster, but they are called SLOW DRAFTS after all!! And honestly, most are on pace with the same finishing time period as all of the others. Not all go as fast as the $1,000 Slow Draft League, but that one is for crazies!! Just kidding guys.

This could have easily been discussed at season's end with ideas on how to improve a really good thing. Odd, just very odd.

Jump on in these last few days of Slow Drafts everyone. I trust you'll have a good time and even get done in plenty of time for Opening Day.

Your absolutely right Greg my timing and approach on this was off. I should've waited. Frustration got the best of me. Sometimes when a draft is on track time wise it's because of meteoric runs at certain times. When lengthly delays ensue on a daily basis many people stay up later than normal to compensate and catch up.

I can't believe I end up in the dog house this early in the season. I'll make it up to you the only way I know how to. I'M HEADED BACK TO THE SIGNUP PAGE TO ENTER MY THIRD NFBC XII EVENT.

Keep the signups for the slow drafts coming guys. There is no better way to get a grasp on the player inventory for this upcoming season!!!

[gpchurchill]

K
I
S
S

The system is fine just the way it is. Perhaps adding the capability of autopick for multiple rounds would make things go faster around the wheel as well as COMMUNICATING to your fellow drafters.

We're hearing from the vocal minority on either extreme.

A few can't draft fast enough, a few feel they are entitled to the full 8 hours. These are the people we hear from.

If the system were broken, would we really be approaching 50 of these things? FIFTY!!!!

The vast (and silent) majority like things just the way they are.

Otherwise there is NO WAY we would be approaching 50 of these things.....FIFTY!!!!

dude...pujols or braun. why is it taking you 90 minutes to make your choice? you are up in slow draft 45. please make a pick and post it.

ty

[gpchurchill]

oops, i mean slow draft 44 of course.

[ToddZ]

dude...pujols or braun. why is it taking you 90 minutes to make your choice? you are up in slow draft 45. please make a pick and post it.

ty

Dude? Really?

It's not my team.

Maybe Lawr should have named it something other than "lawr and averages" so it would have been more clear which one of us was managing it.

[gpchurchill]

dude...pujols or braun. why is it taking you 90 minutes to make your choice? you are up in slow draft 45. please make a pick and post it.

ty

Dude? Really?

It's not my team.

Maybe Lawr should have named it something other than "lawr and averages" so it would have been more clear which one of us was managing it.

i don't care which one of you is the gm and which one of you is averages. just make the damn pick. you have pick #5. couldn't you use the auto-draft? it has been over two hours.

[ToddZ]

i don't care which one of you is the gm and which one of you is averages. just make the damn pick. you have pick #5. couldn't you use the auto-draft? it has been over two hours.

What part of IT'S NOT MY TEAM don't you understand?

We have a company account under my name.

This is Lawr's team. I have nothing to do with it.