I have a similar field in RefTown. It is entirely optional, however. It serves two purposes. First, you can put something in there to remind you what you put it in. Second, it gives your assignor info that they may be able to use if your unavailability is conditional.

You could perhaps be available but only if the game were both at a certain time AND close to some specific area. You could be blocking because your assignor has a policy of not wanting you to work another game before his/hers but may choose to use you if really needed. If you list that you're have another game at XYZ at 1pm, they may still choose to waive their policy and still use you at 7pm if they're in a bind.

I agree. I once worked for an assigner who was known for calling folks who were blocked and asking why, for no apparent reason other than to see if they were blocking for other assigners.

If an assigner is only requesting an explanation so that he could "use" you later in the day, I understand that.

But I agree with your overall complaint. If assigners don't have to give you a reason for their actions, then we don't have to give them a reason why we're blocked.

I retired from officiating college basketball after the 2007-08 which was before the use of online officiating assigning was the norm.

Mark, Jr., has been umpiring college softball since Spring 2015 and Div. I since Spring 2018. He has two assigners who both assign NCAA Div. I, II, and III conferences and they use Arbiter. He has a third assigner that uses OfficialHub for two Div. I conferences and uses ZebraWeb for two other Div. I conferences. Only OfficialHub and ZebraWeb require an explanation for a "block".

Why does OfficialHub and ZebraWeb have such a requirement? Who knows! But the guys and gals here that officiate Div. I basketball or officiate/umpire any Div. I sport know that assigners at that level can be very persnickety. They may want to know if you are blocking them to take a H.S. game or a game in another conference. Some do care that your are taking a H.S. game or a game in another conference and some do! That it just how it is in the big city. But at the Div. I level, no matter what the sport, an official's assigners know which Div. I conferences from which he receives assignments and 99% of the time the official has declared a primary Div. I conference.

MTD, Sr.

Arbiter can be set by the group admin to require a reason for a block or decline as well. It is merely a programming feature which the group admin can opt to turn on or not. There is nothing about this feature that is proprietary which would only permit certain assigning systems to have it. The only reason you are not familiar with it through Arbiter is that those running Mark Jr.’s groups have not enabled it.

It isn’t sophisticated though. At least it wasn’t when I was on in one of the Arbiter groups which I used in the past. One could enter any text into the reason box, including gibberish, and the system would accept the block.

It all comes down to how nosy the individual assignor is and whether he cares about why you block or who else you officiate for. The computer assigning systems are just tools that the assignors use for convenience and to aide in tracking their assignments. The positives or negatives that is done with whatever information is requested or input into those systems is up to the person using it and totally dependent upon the values of that individual.

I agree with the possibility of assignors possibly needing to see info on the time and location of your other games, to see if you could help out. So in Arbiter, it was suggested to me when I started 5 years ago, to choose the option to "share" my schedule with my other assignors. Which I have always done, with no issues.

My issue here was giving a reason for a block, if it wasn't another game. I should have clarified.

I understand what you are saying, I think what some of us are saying or at least what I am saying is really up to the people that use the program. So if the assignor is not asking for you to put in a specific game, put in whatever you want to. Usually, these things are up to the person that is assigning. If they want to know what the reason is specifically, I would think they would tell you. Even on Arbiter there was a reason if we declined a game. Only certain people cared what the reason actually was.

Peace