Apologies in advance for long rant.
Let me see how this works. You come to this board with a scenario. You receive detail response (as requested). An umpire comments that s/he does not understand the wording of a particular rule, but is quickly provided clarification by JEL.
Now, you pick up this banner and immediately break down the context of the sentence. You know as well as I that rules of any sport or sanctioning body are not written in a manner to not be read in full.
You offer different scenarios on a subject that is as simple as the infield fly rule, but for what purpose? You say to show how an umpire would stumble over the wording of the rule. I don't think may will if they take the rule as presently worded as a whole and apply it to the scenario at hand. If an umpire does miscontrue this rule, my opinion is because of pressure applied by a coach upon an umpire who has not been properly trained. So let's not confuse that umpire to the point of succumbing to that pressure.
That brings me to my next point. Having a discussion is fine. Presenting TWP and nearly impossible "what if" is also fine. And I can play the part of Devil's Advocate with the best of them.
However, there are times when these discussions need to be closed and under control so someone isn't going to catch the beginning and/or middle of the conversation and walk away with the wrong impression. This board often has posts about an unresolved disagreement among umpires at a meeting. If it happens in a closed and controlled environment, just think what can happen with the same discussion on here.
Dave, when you first came to this board, you did so acknowledging little to no experience with softball rules. If memory serves me correctly, it was because your daughter began playing and you wanted to understand what was happening on the field. Because you are a baseball umpire and knowing that the game and rules are different, I understood your reasoning. Problem is, IMO, too often you try to apply baseball rules, interpretations, philosophies and logic to the softball game and associated rules. And occasionally when they do not fit where you believe they should, you continue to argue in spite of precise and accurate responses from Tom, Steve, Steve, Larry, Larry, Glen, Bill, Brett, Sam, Sean, John, Dave, Mike, etc.
It is not anger or impatience. It is frustration. As I and others are occasionally reminded by some, this is not a closed debate. There is little room for argument for argument's sake after the original scenario and responses are noted. Yeah, there are clarifications and noted differences among the rule sets and interpretations and yes, some of us read things differently. That doesn't make it wrong, just different. However, even when there are different readings, once a clear, maybe even authoritative, explanation is given, is it beneficial to continue any contradiction just because you can?
Like I said, these threads are not closed discussions or debates. There are many people who umpire the games of various associations and sanctioning bodies that read this board. While some of us do it for enjoyment, entertainment, there are quite a few who have little or no formal training available to them.
While we have a good time with the banter and occasionally try to fool the next guy, others use these discussions as an educational tool to further their knowledge of the rules and game.
This is where the frustration occurs. There is nothing wrong with a good and even sometimes heated discussion. But the discussion should be more than just whining about wording someone may or may not understand. When many of us discovered this board, there were more damn IFR questions than possible scenarios including TWP. I would like to think that the reduced number we see now is a result of previous discussions.
Simple rules should be kept simple in discussion and conclusion. There is no reason to cause consternation for those seeking information and have someone sign off this board more confused than when they logged on. Leave the hard and heated discussions to the tough rules with multiple applications.
BTW, if you ever saw my daughter, you would have a hard time.........even thinking it was possible for someone to consider her less than attractive let alone ugly.
