2018 TTT: Communication Guide (Slack, Imgur, & PM's)

[NoPunIn10Did]

>>> return to the full Tournament Index

• Preparing for the Tournament
  1. Index & Overview
     
  2. Dynasty Preregistration
     
  3. Dynasty Management & Naming
     
  4. Communication Guide (Slack, Imgur, & PM's)
     
     • See also: About Imgur
     • See also: About Submitting Orders (via Forum PM)
       

Guide to Slack

Slack is a fairly user-friendly interface for interpersonal messaging. Here are the guidelines for getting started with Slack.

Step 1
Send me (NoPunIn10Did) a private message, providing an email address that I can send an invitation to.

• It doesn't have to be your primary email address.
• It should be one that you will actually check during the subsequent 24-48 hours.
• Your email address will not be visible to other users.

Step 2
Await an invitation email to our Slack Workspace (https://playdiplomacypbf.slack.com).

Step 3
When you sign in for the first time, pay attention to the naming guidelines (quoted below).

You DO NOT need to supply your real name to this Slack Workspace. Instead, supply the SAME username that you log in with at PlayDiplomacy.

If your Dynasty has picked a name, you should include this too like a surname. For instance, asudevil is a member of the Agaa dynasty, so he would show up as "asudevil Agaa." If you are an Observer, use "Observer" as your surname instead.

If your Dynasty has both a long name (e.g. "Chevalier de Lamarck") and a short name ("Lamarck"), use the short name as the surname displayed ("Shyvve Lamarck"). In your profile, in the "What I do" section, you can input the long name for your dynasty.

Step 4
Send me a message via Slack to confirm that you've gotten everything set up.

Recommended
You can run Slack in your browser, but I recommend installing the Slack apps to your PC and/or smartphone. There are android and iOS apps as well as a standalone Windows app, and you can customize your notification settings for each.

If you already use Slack for work or whatnot, no problem! Slack lets you log into multiple Workspaces at once with different identities and settings for each one.

How You Should Use Slack

1. You should use Slack to chat with your fellow Dynasty members.
2. You should use Slack to contact and negotiate with your opponents.
3. You can set up private channels in Slack for easy group communication (like a Dynasty-specific channel).
4. You can contact the GM via Slack to get rules clarifications.

How You May Not Use Slack

1. You may not change your displayed username to misrepresent yourself.
   • You may not use another Dynasty's name.
   • You may not use another user's name.
   • You must follow the naming guidelines mentioned in this post.
   • If I discover you've done this, I will kick you out of the tournament.
   • (The free version of Slack doesn't provide an administrative option that would enable me to prevent this; otherwise I would do so.)
2. You may not use Slack to submit orders.
   • Use this forum's Private Messaging system instead.
   • I may occasionally try to contact you for clarification via Slack, like to get a coastline, but that's about it.
   • The free version of Slack doesn't save all messages indefinitely, so I cannot guarantee that your orders will be kept 100% intact.
   • Additionally, I need to make sure that the moderators can look up messages sent to me in the event a dispute with the GM must be resolved.
3. You may not use Slack for abusive communications.
   • Diplomacy negotiations can get pretty tense, and that is to be expected.
   • However, it should go without saying that abusing our Slack workspace to harass or bully your fellow players, particularly when discussing topics outside the games currently played.
4. You may not use our Slack as your personal soap box.
   • Talking politics in the "off-topic" channel is not forbidden, but please try to avoid it.
   • Keep in mind: saying something racist (or sexist or whatever) is not the moral equivalent of someone calling you out for your racism/sexism/whatever.
   • Authority rests with the GM (me) to judge whether someone has crossed the line.
   • Really, just behave yourself. Save your rants for Reddit or Tumblr.

[NoPunIn10Did]

About Imgur

TL;DR Version
If you use a phone or tablet to view play in the tournament, you should probably download the Imgur app.

Long Version
Imgur is a picture-hosting site originally intended to be a supplement to various internet forums (Reddit in particularly). It has a number of tools that make posting images on phpbb forums (like this one) really easy. It has lately, however, been trying to transform itself into a social network in its own right rather than just a helpful tool for other sites.

The Good: Functionality
Imgur has a 5 MB size limit on images uploaded before it compresses them; this forum's native limit is considerably lower.

Imgur allows you to "hotlink" images from their site without any specialty boilerplate code (just a provided URL).

Imgur provides easy automated resizing of images to fit standard phpbb forum specifications.

The Bad: Redirects
Inside an HTML img tag, an Imgur image's full URL always resolves to the image itself. This is good, and it's easy to work with. However, if you link directly to that image's URL (like for full-resolution viewing), Imgur has their server set up to redirect you to the image's social page. This can be very annoying, especially if what you want to provide is a one-click-to-full-resolution link.

Most of my image URL's, as posted on this forum, will include a workaround such that following the direct URL from a desktop browser will get the actual image and not the social page.

However, this workaround has its limits (and I suspect it's a matter of time before Imgur detects it). What's especially frustrating is that from a mobile platform, my workaround doesn't work. Instead, Imgur sends you to the social page, and they then pester you to download their app.

As much as I hate to say this, if you plan to use your phone or other mobile device to play in the Tournament Through Time, you probably are better off downloading the Imgur app. It will allow you to download full-resolution copies of each map, zoom into them, and whatnot. It's a considerably better interface than their mobile website.

So Why Bother?
There's really not a better solution (for free). Most free image-hosting websites have much lower per-file data rates, and I keep my maps at too high a resolution to make that satisfactory. Very few image-hosting sites will even let you put your images directly in an img tag any more; they all, like Imgur, want you to instead link to a page that can serve up advertisements.

Ultimately I'm kvetching because I want something for nothing. I understand the hypocrisy in that. I've settled for Imgur because, even with their annoyances, the pluses outweigh the minuses.

[NoPunIn10Did]

About Submitting Orders (via Forum PM)

All orders and adjustments must be sent via this forum's private message (PM) system to the GM (me, NoPunIn10Did). Orders will not be accepted via Slack, though I will accept clarifications and minor corrections via Slack (though PM is still preferred).

In the interest of expediency, retreats will be accepted via public forum post or via Slack, but forum PM is still the preferred method.

Subject Line Formatting

Please put TTT in the subject line. Please list the year and season (Spring, Autumn/Fall, or Winter) as well as your power's name (or abbreviation).
As long as you include the correct game-year, you don't have to list the variant's name (since there's no overlap).

Optimally, format your subject line as follows:
TTT: <year> <season> < (optional) orders/retreats/builds> - <power>

Acceptable Examples (not an exhaustive list)

1. Ambition & Empire: 1763 Spring orders from Spain
   • TTT: 1763 Spring Orders - Spain
2. Ambition & Empire: 1764 Fall retreats from Poland-Lithuania & Saxony
   • TTT: 1764 Autumn Retreats - PS
3. 1812 Overture: 1815 Winter adjustments from Britain & Canada
   • [TTT] 1815 Winter BR+CA
4. Dissolution: 1992 Winter adjustments & favor orders from Iran
   • TTT: 1992 Winter Orders: Iran

It is also okay to directly reply to a recent reminder PM, but please avoid replying to old messages for new orders. It's difficult to keep track of 1902's Spring Orders when they're in a message whose subject line refers to Winter 1901.

Orders Formatting (Convoys in Particular)

I'm not all that picky about how your format your orders, as I will transcribe them into a standardized format prior to adjudication. Here are my recommendations.

I don't care about whether your orders are "preliminary" or not.

• Marking orders or retreats as preliminary will not change how I adjudicate.
• Orders and Adjustments are always held until the deadline.
• Retreats are always processed as soon as possible.
• See the House Rules for more details.

If you submit orders for two powers, group them separately.

• They should be provided in the same message, but it helps if there's space between the orders for Power #1 and Power #2 (like a blank line in between each list).
• This applies for 1812 Overture, where every player starts with two powers.
• This also applies to 1936 for Italy & Soviet Union, each of whom will also control a Spanish faction.

For Dissolution, all convoy paths must be listed explicitly.

• Please use DPJudge format.
• In DPJudge format, convoy orders are written normally.
  

  Code: Select all

  <Convoying Unit> C <Origin> - <Destination>
F Ion C Tun - Cro
F Adr C Tun - Cro

• Likewise, support orders for the convoyed move are written normally.
  

  Code: Select all

  <Supporting Unit> S <Origin> - <Destination>
A Hun S Tun - Cro
F Svn S Tun - Cro

• However, the move order for the convoyed army must include the entire convoy path.
  

  Code: Select all

  <Unit at Origin> - <Convoy Path> -  <Destination>
A Tun-Ion-Adr-Cro

• Explicit convoys are required for Dissolution and recommended for all other variants.

For all variants except Dissolution, when not using explicit paths, please use "via convoy" to avoid ambiguity.

• When it's obvious that the move wouldn't be possible without a convoy, this is not required.
• When convoying to an adjacent coastal space, providing an explicit path (as above) or marking the applicable army's order as via Convoy or vC is required.
• If I notice ambiguity, I will contact you to clarify, but this is done as a courtesy. It is ultimately your responsibility to provide this information.