reza: I think you are not being reasonable about how you define playing fair, your definition of cheating, or the reality of playing games on the internet. Just how will you police people from not using outside help and computers? The only way that I can see is to play them face to face. That is not how it works on the internet. I hope you read my last two posts before we were told to bring the discussion here. Since there's no way to stop people from using computers and outside help, I think a more realistic policy is to just allow it to be done and not restrict it. I didn't say to encourage it, just not forbid it. What good is a law if it can't be inforced? All's it does it make for disrespect of the law in general and make people more likely to cheat in other ways. Picking on the one person that freely admits using a program will just make the others keep it secret. This type of action will encourage more cheating and secretiveness. You cite Ed Trice's program. What stops him or someone else from using it in the very tournament that you're talking about? Just play your best and beat your opponents if you. If you don't want to use outside help, then don't. Complaining about it is not going to help in this instance. Least ways, I don't see how it will help. You've gotten you feelings off your chest, but there's really nothing you can do about it. Or have you come up with some ideas?

Bernice: The expression around here is "passing the buck" or "buck passing". It also has an opposite when someone sees it going on and puts a stop to it, it is said that "The buck stops here." I believe this comes from hunting years ago and has something to do with deer. The expression is very old. Our money has five units, but the one called dollar also has the name buck. As in $5 could be called five bucks instead of five dollars. I also once heard that a president in the early 1900's had a sign on his desk that read, "The buck stops here" and that is how that expression got started.