12-16-2021, 11:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-16-2021, 11:16 AM by DrChops. Edited 1 time in total.)
13. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations. (300 words)
Last Ultimus, I believe this exact prompt was given for Ultimus Week and I choose to do a write up for it. In that write up, I explained why the leagued should expand and how that would improve the league experience on a variety of different levels. One of the arguments I made suggested that more teams mean people can create players that play more in demand roles like QB and LB. A larger league would also allow for a larger playoff field, giving more players the ability to experience post season games. Further, open roster spots can be filled with bots with lower stats than active players, which accomplishes two roles: fills spots in positions that no one wants to play while also giving the players the feeling that they are more impactful of any given game, since their stats are higher than the bots. However, my opinion has changed on this topic for a variety of different reasons, which I will discuss below.
Increasing the number of teams would be great, there is no question. That would be nice, but more teams also requires more active players, which can be very difficult to maintain in an online environment were people will commonly 'ghost' the league one day. The most vital question that needs to be addressed before the league can be expanded is if the number of active players is enough to sustain the size of the league. I do not have the numbers in front of me, but it does seem that recent draft classes have been fairly small, not quite enough to plan on creating new teams. In addition, the DSFL feels very thin on human players, there are many bots that play key positions on DSFL rosters. This is probably the most existential issue an online game like this one can face, as part of the fun of the league is having your player square off against other human players. If it starts appearing that player counts are dropping since more roster spots are filled by bots, than people may lose interest and also drop out.
26. Football is a game that has been going on for a while, loved by fans all over. But what if you were able to make some rule changes? Talk us through your new version of football, and what would be different and why? (150 words)
There are many different rule changes you hear about frequently in the media that could be enacted to help improve the game of football, like replacing kickoffs with punts, making changes to roughing the passer calls or OT rules,. However, my biggest grip with the game has to be how penalties are handled and how anti-climatic it can be to see an awesome play called back by a penalty. The worst penalty at killing excitement is holding, specifically on offensive linemen. These calls are awful and are not enforced fairly, as blatant holds go uncalled while borderline holds are. They need to give OL players gloves that make it impossible to hold and stop wasting our time with these calls. This would be very controversial, and many OL players would likely complain. However, it needs to be done to improve the viewing experience for everyone and get rid of the 'is there a flag?!' thought after every single play. I am also a fan of no gloves, just remove holding from being a penalty.
29. Awards have been a subject of controversy for a while in the league. Tell us your ideas on how awards process can be fixed. (150 words)
Awards should be given out based, at least partly, on polls conducted on this forum. No 'back room' or other forces manipulating the outcome. I suggest this idea with full knowledge that it is a bad idea and could easily be abused, but I think it would be fun as different players have to campaign to get awards. All votes cast for the awards should be public, so someone can easily go back to see if the election was fixed. One of the facts of life is that bias exists and we can never remove it from any system that humans are a part of. People will always favor players from their team or their friends even if they are not aware of it. One way to at least expose bias is to have everything be public so you know exactly who is voting for who. This might be difficult if a single team decides to vote as a block for their players. This could easily be counteracted by other teams seeing this, and responding in kind. While this would dilute the legitimacy of the various 'Best ___ of the season' awards, it could generate comradery among teams and generate more rivalries, which is only good for the league.
Last Ultimus, I believe this exact prompt was given for Ultimus Week and I choose to do a write up for it. In that write up, I explained why the leagued should expand and how that would improve the league experience on a variety of different levels. One of the arguments I made suggested that more teams mean people can create players that play more in demand roles like QB and LB. A larger league would also allow for a larger playoff field, giving more players the ability to experience post season games. Further, open roster spots can be filled with bots with lower stats than active players, which accomplishes two roles: fills spots in positions that no one wants to play while also giving the players the feeling that they are more impactful of any given game, since their stats are higher than the bots. However, my opinion has changed on this topic for a variety of different reasons, which I will discuss below.
Increasing the number of teams would be great, there is no question. That would be nice, but more teams also requires more active players, which can be very difficult to maintain in an online environment were people will commonly 'ghost' the league one day. The most vital question that needs to be addressed before the league can be expanded is if the number of active players is enough to sustain the size of the league. I do not have the numbers in front of me, but it does seem that recent draft classes have been fairly small, not quite enough to plan on creating new teams. In addition, the DSFL feels very thin on human players, there are many bots that play key positions on DSFL rosters. This is probably the most existential issue an online game like this one can face, as part of the fun of the league is having your player square off against other human players. If it starts appearing that player counts are dropping since more roster spots are filled by bots, than people may lose interest and also drop out.
26. Football is a game that has been going on for a while, loved by fans all over. But what if you were able to make some rule changes? Talk us through your new version of football, and what would be different and why? (150 words)
There are many different rule changes you hear about frequently in the media that could be enacted to help improve the game of football, like replacing kickoffs with punts, making changes to roughing the passer calls or OT rules,. However, my biggest grip with the game has to be how penalties are handled and how anti-climatic it can be to see an awesome play called back by a penalty. The worst penalty at killing excitement is holding, specifically on offensive linemen. These calls are awful and are not enforced fairly, as blatant holds go uncalled while borderline holds are. They need to give OL players gloves that make it impossible to hold and stop wasting our time with these calls. This would be very controversial, and many OL players would likely complain. However, it needs to be done to improve the viewing experience for everyone and get rid of the 'is there a flag?!' thought after every single play. I am also a fan of no gloves, just remove holding from being a penalty.
29. Awards have been a subject of controversy for a while in the league. Tell us your ideas on how awards process can be fixed. (150 words)
Awards should be given out based, at least partly, on polls conducted on this forum. No 'back room' or other forces manipulating the outcome. I suggest this idea with full knowledge that it is a bad idea and could easily be abused, but I think it would be fun as different players have to campaign to get awards. All votes cast for the awards should be public, so someone can easily go back to see if the election was fixed. One of the facts of life is that bias exists and we can never remove it from any system that humans are a part of. People will always favor players from their team or their friends even if they are not aware of it. One way to at least expose bias is to have everything be public so you know exactly who is voting for who. This might be difficult if a single team decides to vote as a block for their players. This could easily be counteracted by other teams seeing this, and responding in kind. While this would dilute the legitimacy of the various 'Best ___ of the season' awards, it could generate comradery among teams and generate more rivalries, which is only good for the league.
BUD R. FINGERS - WIDE RECIEVER
S32 DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
S32 DSFL Pro Bowler
FORMERLY HANK "BEEFQUAKE" STEEL - DT - 2 TIME NSFC PRO BOWLER (S29 and S27)
![[Image: 020p.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/jSjP8bKw/020p.png)
S32 DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
S32 DSFL Pro Bowler
FORMERLY HANK "BEEFQUAKE" STEEL - DT - 2 TIME NSFC PRO BOWLER (S29 and S27)
