Help on Anonymity

Anonymity on BOUNCED

All games (with the exception of a few that are not for statistics and have been clearly marked) are played under anonymous rules. This means that at no time before a game has completed should any of the players know, attempt to know, or aid in others knowing the identity of other players in the game. A player is anyone involved in a game.

It is the responsibility of all users of BOUNCED to understand and uphold this standard. This web page expounds on the meaning of this agreement.

What is Identity?

A player's identity is that which would allow someone else to deduce that the player's power in one game was being played by the same person who:

is playing a power in another game,
has a given name, or
has a given username on any known computer system,

Basically, this is the usual understanding of identity. However, it is not enough to insure that the exact identity is kept secret. Information which would lead to a "good guess" as to the exact identity of another player is also included in this definition of anonymous.

Why Anonymity?

Playing in an anonymous game reduces the chance of "meta-gaming" (or externalities if you like economics and game theory). The term meta-gaming refers to the use of knowledge, pressure, or incentives outside the framework of a single game to influence the outcome of the game. Examples include allying with someone because they are a friend, taking revenge on a player because of a previous game, or using knowledge about the ranking of a player to determine whether to eliminate them.

Anonymity also gives players the freedom to change playing styles and become better players without being judged by their previous record. Many players would like to improve. The easiest way to do this is experiment with new playing styles.

Anonymity prevents communication outside of the press interface. This is necessary in order to keep the games fair. Any other sort of communication (even e-mail) allows much larger bandwidth and further secures the sense of friendship. This places the other players in the game at a serious disadvantage.

Examples of Broken Anonymity

One person with two accounts on BOUNCED:
Clearly this person knows the identity of another player in a game that has not finished. There are no valid reasons to have two accounts (see below).
A Game Master inviting someone to play in their game:
There is no reason to tempt favoritism.
Two friends deciding to play in the same game:
Private games can be organized if friends want to play in the same game. They do not count for statistics and can be non-anonymous. In fact, they are quite popular on BOUNCED (of course, you don't see the listing for games you cannot join, usually). See below for options should you and someone else you know both play on BOUNCED.
A player using his or her username in a press message:
A username refers to anything which would relate a player to their identity on an electronic system (BOUNCED included).
Two players communicate about a game outside of the press interface:
Obviously the only way this could happen would be if they knew each other's identities. This gives both players a huge advantage over players who must communicate using only the press interface.

Practical Considerations

In practice, it is impossible to insure complete anonymity. Examples include:

Press messages sent by the same person often have similar "feels" or "looks."
Similar people tend to join similar types of games. This means that when playing a particular variant, a player has some idea of what other players might be playing that variant.
Game Masters necessarily have more information about players in their games which can compromise anonymity in other games.
Players ask for the same recesses in different games.
Game settings (rank and commitment) necessarily limit the possible people playing (and therefore add some measure of identity).

However there are a number of steps that can help to insure anonymity:

Players should try not to use the same "persona" in two different games. Signing messages as the name of the power or the common title of the leader of the power is fairly harmless. If a player chooses a different signature, it should be changed from game to game.
Players should try not to reveal personal information that might be linked between games.
Game masters should never reveal information about the powers that would directly link them to other games. This includes recess requests and which powers are late. It should be noted though, that often recess and tardiness coinside because of other linking factors (such as national holidays or network outages).
Game masters should try to grant recesses (instead of extending deadlines) for players who will be away when possible. If a player can't respond to press in multiple games at the same time, it can be easy to deduce they are the same person.
Game masters should not start games for their friends and then invite them (unless the game is a private game). The friends then know that each other are in the game. If one player would like to teach a friend how to play, they should not be in the same game. There are plenty of other games running on the system and waiting for players.

There are some ways in which revealing identity is okay:

During the "EOG" (end of game) phase of a game: When the outcome of the game has been determined officially (and not before), players may (but do not have to) reveal their indentity.
Timestamps on press messages: Players do not need to worry about sending press messages in separate games at similar times. There is too much hassle involved with preventing this and there are enough players with similar time schedules that this is not worth worrying about.
Game Master's username: This username is known to all other players. While the players should not make their identities known to the game master, the reverse is okay. This helps players identify game masters who's style they like.
If the system administrator says it's okay. There may be other exceptions (although almost all of them would be for games that should not be for statistics).

What If My Friend Also Plays?

If you know a friend who also plays on BOUNCED, you have two options. Either are fine but they cannot be "mixed and matched." You must stick either with one or the other:

You agree not to ever play (or GM, or be an observer with press abilities) in the same game. This will require active communication to insure that it does not happen.
You agree never to discuss the details, existance, or any other information about any game on BOUNCED (whether you are in it or not) until after that game has completed (meaning that the outcome has been declared officially).

Using the same computer to access BOUNCED is probably asking for trouble if you attempt the second option.

But I Need a Second Account Because...

No, You Don't. If you are worried about trying something new because it might ruin your record, play in a game that isn't for statistics. If there aren't any, send e-mail to bounced@dipbounced.com and request one. You don't need one to take "mercy" replacement positions. People take those all the time. They cannot lower your power ranking. Almost every replacement position is filled within hours (if not minutes). There are no excuses for having two accounts. None. Not one. Zero.

When Identity is Revealed Accidentally

Occasionally, through no fault of either player, two players learn each other's identity. In such a case, both players should try to ignore the fact as much as possible. It should not be referred to at any point during the game (either in press or outside should the players know each other through another mediuim). The game master should be informed. If they think it will cause a problem, either one or both can be excused from the game without commitment loss.