Marfitalu: I do understand what tenuki is talking about, and I meant no disrespect for his opinions. There have been times when I have noted players who seemed to be manipulating the time rules. I find this more amusing than frustrating. As anyone who watches professional sports of any kind must realize, once a rule is adopted there is always the potential for it to be followed in a way that does not comport with what one supposes the intention of the rule to be.

As a lawyer, I am willing to argue to a court that a law is being applied in a way that thwarts its intention. In the USA, courts are often sypathetic to such arguments; in other countries, I believe courts tend to apply the laws as they are written and leave it to the rulemakers to change them if their intention is not being carried out.

Also as a lawyer, I know that any written rule is subject to being abused. Changing from one rule to another does not eliminate the potential for abuse, it simply changes the nature of that potential. As a game player, I tend to take a relaxed attitude towards this. Let those who find amusement in applying rules in ways they were never intended to be applied, do so; I can avoid those players when I recognize them.

And of course, let those who find amusement in arguing about what the rules should be, do so also!