Arbiter and the Over-riding of Blocks.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by LRZ

... it's another manifestation of arbiter's hierarchy, where officials are an afterthought, a necessary evil.

I understand the difference between block and a firm block from the assigner's side, one provides more flexibility, but for an official, what's the difference? Why would I have a need for both?

If I have a doctor's appointment, family event, church event, vacation, tickets to a sports event, or a concert, etc., I block for those reasons. As far as I'm concerned those are firm blocks.

Why would I have a need for something less than a firm block?

Come to think of it, I've also had a few experiences with less than firm blocks being assigned to me. Our Arbiter assignments build in a ninety minute travel "delay". Back when I was working, I indicated that I would not be able to leave work before 5:00 p.m., yet I often received assignments at 6:00 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. Once I even got an assignment at 5:30 p.m. (ten minutes from work). No big deal, I tried to sneak out a few minutes early, but maybe that's the reason for the "flexible" blocks.

[LRZ]

"Why would I have a need for something less than a firm block?"

Billy, you illustrate my point, especially as many officials apparently are unaware of the "firm block" option. In my view, arbiter is set up primarily to facilitate assigners' work, and not equally to assist officials in managing their schedules.

[ChuckS]

Think of a block as "I don't really want to work then, but if the assignor is in a bind, I might be able to"....and a firm block is "I am on vacation, or otherwise 100% unavailable".

But I agree - when I first started, I thought a block was a block!

[JRutledge]

When a block was overridden on my site, I just decline the game. I am blocked for a reason. I do not have to explain that block. If that is a problem, I will not be doing too many games for that person. Or they will have to get over their problem.

Peace

[LRZ]

For many years, we had one assigner who dominated the assignment field in this region. Not only was he extremely vindictive, but he was also less than understanding. His dictatorial reign continued for the first several years of arbiter, until he died, several years ago.

Things are better now: our assigners honor "soft" blocks and understand if there is a mix-up.