Shazzypaz wrote: ↑01 August 2021, 21:27Neanderthalman - glad to see your positive summary of spouses and housemates playing on the same IP but honestly doing so. My husband and I like to play together as partners. We prefer to be up front about it and state that we don't talk, etc - which is true and accurate. Some players understandably don't want to play in that situation. It has unfortunately soured us on trying to play together.
brizsett wrote: ↑02 August 2021, 11:43I've been following this post ever since the subject came up (but fortunately haven't met any of the cheaters mentioned so far), but I'd like to chime in in defence of same IP players. My boyfriend and I live together and since we discovered the board gaming world, we've been playing games nearly every day, mostly on our own. Most of them are tabletop versions, but there are simply games that you cannot play with two players only, so we both decided to register here on BGA to get to experience others as well. Sometimes we play two-player games here online, so same IP warning is not an issue there, but in games with more players we rigorously stick to the no-contact policy - separate rooms on separate floors, no chatting. We both want to win to be able to brag about it later, after all
So all I'm trying to say is that please do not discriminate against same IP players at the first sight, they (we) just want to experience multiplayer board games, which can be nearly impossible to organise in person.
It's a tough situation for both sides (as far as playing games for meaningless internet points go).
It's hard to give the benefit of the doubt to online strangers when jaded and aware of the fact that the drive to win can bring out anti-competitive behavior. In business ethics, there's a maxim that fraud results from three factors: opportunity, incentive, and rationalization. Individuals are increasingly likely to commit fraud if there's opportunity with little risk of being caught, something of value the want, and they can justify it to themselves. On BGA, colluding is not hard and carries little risk, players usually value ELO and leaderboard positioning, and it's all too easy to objectify anonymous strangers as merely a means to your end. Most players are intuitively aware of this and actively avoid situations such as same IP that would increase their opponents' opportunity to cheat. It's the same reason some only play random and won't join an open table with partners already in seats 1 and 2.
I don't typically join tables started by those on the same IP but will extend trust if they join and acknowledge the situation; basically have a fool-me-once policy. It can cause alarm when two players jump in nearly simultaneously, game starts, and you see the same IP icon on the accept screen and neither have raised the obvious issue in the chat. It comes across as if they're trying to quickly hoodwink the unsuspecting players already at the table. Probably not the case in most situations and more a testament to the difficult of securing a game for those players. In my view, always better to be upfront. Don't think I've ever left a game after it was addressed and assurances were offered.
If you find others are consistently skeptical, one option could be to reach out and try to coordinate plays with partnerships in the same situation. From memory, those I've played against or know on the same IP include:
3baou &
beepforsheep;
Floral Drama &
Ourtsavl;
KenH &
RobynneH; and
Emily0420 &
homelandsshi. And then there is of course, you two and your partners.
