Others have mentioned this issue before, but since nothing has been done I thought it deserved its own thread. In several of the games I'm familiar with, certain highly ranked player(s) abuse the red thumb feature to avoid other top player(s) and thus indirectly "select" their opposition in Arena. This is problematic in at least two respects:
1) it creates an unfair playing field that goes against the spirit of Arena as BGA's premier competitive venue;
2) more frustratingly, it means that for premium games, it becomes virtually impossible for non-premium members to play while the red thumb abuser is online, especially for multiplayer games with lower traffic where there are just a handful of players searching for an Arena game at any given time. Even more frustrating than fighting on an uneven playing field is being denied from playing at all, but the reality of red thumb abuse means that days can sometimes go by without being able to match up to an Arena game.
I recognize that red thumbs perform an important site function, in allowing players to block opponents who are rude or unpleasant in the chat, etc., but a simple workaround, as others have suggested, is just to disable the chat feature in games with a red-thumbed player. You can still red-thumb players as you please, and red-thumbing can function as normal in simple games, but it should not affect matchmaking in Arena.
I've been an Arena champion for the past three seasons, and each season certain dishonest player(s) increasingly embrace new ways to cheat in an effort to win: abusing red thumbs, creating multiple Arena accounts to try and beat rivals without risking their main account, befriending lots of weaker players and playing Arena primarily with them, etc. Some of these practices exist in a gray area that is difficult to govern, but red thumb abuse in Arena has a fairly straightforward fix.
The onus shouldn't be on honest players to navigate the antics of dishonest players on the site; rather, it should be BGA's responsibility to maintain an equitable and enjoyable playing environment. I hope the moderators can take more action in this regard. I'll be leaving BGA's competitive scene, and possibly the site altogether, until such abuses are taken more seriously.
1) it creates an unfair playing field that goes against the spirit of Arena as BGA's premier competitive venue;
2) more frustratingly, it means that for premium games, it becomes virtually impossible for non-premium members to play while the red thumb abuser is online, especially for multiplayer games with lower traffic where there are just a handful of players searching for an Arena game at any given time. Even more frustrating than fighting on an uneven playing field is being denied from playing at all, but the reality of red thumb abuse means that days can sometimes go by without being able to match up to an Arena game.
I recognize that red thumbs perform an important site function, in allowing players to block opponents who are rude or unpleasant in the chat, etc., but a simple workaround, as others have suggested, is just to disable the chat feature in games with a red-thumbed player. You can still red-thumb players as you please, and red-thumbing can function as normal in simple games, but it should not affect matchmaking in Arena.
I've been an Arena champion for the past three seasons, and each season certain dishonest player(s) increasingly embrace new ways to cheat in an effort to win: abusing red thumbs, creating multiple Arena accounts to try and beat rivals without risking their main account, befriending lots of weaker players and playing Arena primarily with them, etc. Some of these practices exist in a gray area that is difficult to govern, but red thumb abuse in Arena has a fairly straightforward fix.
The onus shouldn't be on honest players to navigate the antics of dishonest players on the site; rather, it should be BGA's responsibility to maintain an equitable and enjoyable playing environment. I hope the moderators can take more action in this regard. I'll be leaving BGA's competitive scene, and possibly the site altogether, until such abuses are taken more seriously.
