Approved Battling the Showdown Lag-Monster

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Lag sucks. Poor internet sucks. Internet that randomly disconnects and stops working sucks. This will be an article talking about losing thanks to lag and broken internet, and how to prevent situations or avoid losing too many ladder points when it happens, as well as ways to find out if you're lagging or if it's just the other person being slow or having internet issues themselves.
 

Bummer

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Out of all the pitches you've thrown at us, this is the only one thus far that hasn't been done often in the past and could actually provide some merit of insight or entertainment. However, since you're a new user around these parts, I have no clue how capable you are as a writer, so before I feel more comfortable approving/rejecting this idea, I'd like you to either 1) write a short sample of what the article is supposed to look like, or 2) write a full skeleton of the article where you bring up all the points you'll be covering.
 
Out of all the pitches you've thrown at us, this is the only one thus far that hasn't been done often in the past and could actually provide some merit of insight or entertainment. However, since you're a new user around these parts, I have no clue how capable you are as a writer, so before I feel more comfortable approving/rejecting this idea, I'd like you to either 1) write a short sample of what the article is supposed to look like, or 2) write a full skeleton of the article where you bring up all the points you'll be covering.
Alright, I'll try to make one in the next couple days. Thanks!
 

Bummer

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I thought about this topic some more, and odds are that this article might be better to write for The Player instead, seeing as that webzine is more geared towards the simulator community and not competitive Pokemon battling as a whole. Vacate , what are your thoughts?
 
Okay, have a sample done. It's the intro and the first tip to prevent falling too much the ladder because of internet. Please note that if this is accepted, I intend to write a bit detailing ways to identify lag on your own side between the two shown sections.
Should I pos this in The Player's article submission too?

[Intro]
Have you ever lost games that you were most definitely going to win because your computer started lagging and you thought your opponent was just timerstalling? The time warnings at the sidebar not popping up right? Or you just get disconnected and the page won't reload? Well, it sucks when that happens, because here are three truths of life: Lag sucks. Sucky internet sucks. Sucky internet that randomly disconnects without warning and refuses to work again for half an hour REALLY sucks. Let's face it- when one has to deal with seriously malfunctioning computers, internet, etc. they lose many battles not because of skill, but because of luck. Not even hax luck. Just real life luck, and that's always terrible. But, while our computer overlords might laugh at our face and decide that we aren't allowed to have ladder points, we can certainly fight back, despite our severe disadvantages. And here's a few of our limited combat options.

[Section Two]
To prevent too many losses due to lag, you'll want to try and find patterns in your internet's downtimes. While pure computer issues aren't uncommon most lag and disconnect issues are because of internet. There aren't any sure-fire times, and the pattern easily breaks itself, but if you can find something similar on every occasion, your cause will be greatly aided. For example, your internet goes out about every fifteen minutes. When it comes back on, check the time, and guess how long your battles will take. If you don't think you can fit a battle into your predicted time slot for laddering, just finish your matches and wait. Patience is a virtue, even when you're forcing creatures to pummel others until they faint for entertainment. If you want to spend as much time as you can laddering, gauge the amount of time it takes for your internet to come back up.

And, always remember, don't take risks. Tilt is very real, and after losing one match thanks to internet, you could very easily find yourself angered and want to challenge whatever god is controlling the terrible luck of yours. If this happens, you'll find yourself continuously pushing at the time in which you can battle and soon find that you've lost hundreds of ladder points simply from anger. And, once in this mutinous mood, it's quite common that one doesn't battle as well as they usually do. If you feel a shift in emotion, stop immediately until you've calmed down. With more limited time, it's much harder to work yourself back up to the ladder's peak.

Unfortunately, these patterns you'll find aren't always exact. They could greatly vary, causing you to suddenly lose a load of points or lose a lot of time that you could've been using to battle. However, the times, especially for how long it takes for internet to come back up, seem quite stable. Of course, due to the possible fluctuation, use this as a foundation, not your sole method.
 
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Hm.

When I first saw this, I had mixed feelings regarding a subject like this; mostly because the one question that came to mind above all else was "would this really generate interest/would people care?". Then I realized that a lot of people on PS! do complain about lag, losing matches due to it, etc. It is therefore due to this that I see this as an invaluable tool and resource that could provide some insight to a lot of users who are experiencing similar issues.

That being said, this is fine by me. Antemortem, your thoughts?
 

antemortem

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I find this idea very cute and it'll be an entertaining read for The Player. While not educational or very informative, I think your writing style will provide some needed contrast against the themes of our current articles. I'll approve this and work on getting you access asap
 
hi KoalaNoob you should have access to The Klin now! If you have any questions or concerns, dont hesitate to contact any of The Player staff(Antemortem, Scene, Vacate, as well as myself!)! Have fun writing. :>
 
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