How long till saved games expire naturally?

[awts]

I intend to finish all saved games if I can, but what if the people who left games never come back? (I've used 'waitfor' with each name.) It would be nice just to have an end point to look forward to while I'm waiting for them to come back. I've read a few threads that talk about saved games expiring but the timescales given vary.

One player just came back then when I clicked on resume quit on me straight away by disconnecting again with no comment or explanation .

When it says I can't start new games, does that mean I can't be invited either? No one has invited me since I got quit on earlier today, giving me the fifth saved game. But I'm a nice person, on wifi not a phone, I don't start games I don't expect to finish, I resign rather than disconnecting if I have to stop... I got caught out by consciously accepting the risk of other people dropping out of games with me (I thought it was my lot as a newbie to accept that risk in the early days). I also seemed to have a negative reputation from day one without knowing why (though I now think it might have been a particular player who also swore at me), which also made me not as wary of negative reps as I might have been.

I'd be happy to give up my experience and start again better informed, if only that was an option. Without that, I just need to know how long I may have to wait.

[AllanM]

Hi awts.  Your saved games will expire after 5 or 7 days, depending whether the opponents are human or bots.  The FIBS front page on log on was showing this information until recently but seems to have stopped now.  As for your reputation it is now GOOD, if you use the commands t repbot ask awts and t repbot list awts you can see your reputation and complainers and vouchers.  As far as I am aware you should still be allowed to accept invitations with 5 saved matches, just ensure you're READY.  Hope this helps.

[awts]

Thanks for that info - really glad it's not six weeks or some other very long time as I think some earlier threads implied!

I'm happy to say that one of my opponents has come back so I'm back to four saved games. And another opponent kindly vouched for me after I asked them to (suggested by someone else very helpfully on chat, too) so I've got a green reputation again .

I didn't receive a single invitation to play while I had five saved games, but the steady trickly of invitations I'd had before that came back as soon as I was back down to four.

I don't know if it's coded to have invitations not work on someone with five games, if it was a glitch, or if I was being announced as "Evil player ____ with five saved games has just logged in" on the public chat, which meant no one wanted to invite me.

Either way I'm so keen to avoid going back to five games that I rejected playing with someone who had 'no vouchers or complainers', which didn't seem quite right somehow - rejecting someone before they'd had a chance to prove themselves either way.

[socksey]

Patti has decreased the time for which saved games expire over the years, hence, the difference in some information you read in old threads.  As far as I know, AllenM has instructed you properly for current expired time.   

It is well advised to check repbot information before playing anyone.  If it is a new player, you are taking your chances even with repbot help.    

Checking saved games is also a plus, but as you point out, being a newbie, you have not gained the insight on how to avoid droppers, so if you "show saved" on a player with low experience, then that information may not help a lot.   

The most I can say to you is keep checking and keep playing until you know your players and who will not drop you.     I'm not familiar with WiFi so I don't know if you have a function to mark your friends (which you should do every time you play someone who finishes a match especially if they are losing).    If you don't have a friends function, then making a manual list might help.   

Good luck to you and welcome to Fibs!   

socksey



A joy that's shared is a joy made double. - English Proverb

[diane]

WiFi is just a reference to the wireless network he is using at home..what interface are you using awts?

Interfaces for mobiles, androids and other similar gadgets, such as BGOnline or similar do not give you full functionality of fibs - so you cant easily do commands and keep games moving. If a command is lost - you have no option but to wait a few minutes for the interface to realise and resend..if you use an interface such as javafibs on a PC or Mac..well you can do a whole lot more. You have the functionality of fibs commands as well as a lot of add on possibilities which come with the interface. Give it some thought Players do look at interface when taking invites or sending them..and javafibs does inspire more confidence in me when I see a player is using it - it tells me they are more likely to know what they are doing.

[awts]

Thanks very much for all your replies.

I take the point about interfaces and their limitations, but if I limited myself to sitting down at my PC to play backgammon then I just wouldn't get much chance to do it. I use a mobile device, but on wi-fi, so although I'm in the same building with a good broadband connection, I'm not always in the same room or place. That flexibility makes all the difference for me.

It helps being able to check the basic telnet view within the interface too though so sometimes when things seem stuck I can see that my 'roll' command has gone (several times) and it's just a case of waiting.

I'm looking at installing one of the other clients too so I probably will do that, but I can't see it ever being the major way I play because it limits me to sitting still in the one place I'm usually wanting a break from at the point when I start up a game!

[diane]

oooo...there may be hope for you yet..

If you can see the telnet screen  - can you use it to send commands?

If you then learn and use the commands, you dont just have to wait, you can get proactive in the process.

I understand about the flexibility of a mobile device, but, as I have said to others...if you can use a computer to log in once a week, even..you can explore fibs, see more of the available commands - maybe pick up and finish a saved game. That in itself will then start to improve the experience of Fibs for you.

[CharlesFoty]

What commands are to be used in such situation? Sorry if the question is silly but I am new here and need some help.

[Zorba]

show saved displays your saved games, opponents online will have an * next to them, if they are also set to ready they will have ** next to them.

invite someopponent without mentioning a matchlength, will invite the opponent to resume the saved match. If he joins, the saved match will be loaded so you can continue where you left off.

You might need to issue a board command to show the position where you left off last time, and be aware that it might be someone offered a cube or resignation that has to be accepted or rejected to resume play.