pauloaguia: Yes, Black Rooks can become inactive. Also, it is possible for games/matches to go years if a player doesn't log in.

Actually, as I have thought about it...There are two classes of inactive players (Paid vs. free accounts). However, with the exception of the Black Rook, inactive accounts will revert back to pawns.

So, what I would like to see:

1. Anyone (paid or free) that hasn't logged in in over a month be flagged as inactive. This is just simply a visual note to other players. Nothing happens to the account or their games.

2. Anyone that hasn't logged in for over 6 months automatically forfeits their games. Even if there are vacation days left. An email should be sent before a forfeit is forced. There should be a way for the player to contact an admin (Fencer) and get an waiver for extenuating circumstances.

3. Any pawn that hasn't logged in in a year has their account flagged as "Dormant". To other players, its as if the account doesn't exist. If the Dormant player logs back in, their account is then reactivated. An email should be sent to the player when the account goes Dormant. Note, it shouldn't matter when the account reverted to a pawn. For example, if I paid for a rook account, then never logged in for the entire year, the account would revert to pawn AND go dormant at the same time.

4. When creating multi-game matches or tournaments, The creator should be able to set an inactive clause. If the player doesn't log into Brainking for a specified number of months (1 to 5 months...See item 2), they forfeit ALL remaining games. This way the players can still use auto-vacation but the opponents are protected from inactive players.

5. The main page, where it lists "Opponents Turn in..." games. could break the list of games into active vs. inactive games.


For rooks and above, these items aren't that important. But, for knight, bishop, and pawn accounts, where the number of games is limited, running into players that go inactive can be quite annoying.