I'm a total novice player and from what I can tell here its ONLY 'its your turn' pente players that have played this game without the restriction.
I would say that as a beginner, I NEED (not want or would like to or maybe should...) to learn the CORRECT rules of the game if I ever wanted to play on a 'real' board with people who have NOT played at IYT.
How embarassed would I be if I started a game of this with friends without knowing the right rules??? Saying 'Oh yes, I can play this game'!! I'd be laughed out of the room!
I dont care how IYT have had players learning the game, I'm just glad I didn't 'learn' there and then come here only to have to 're-learn' the correct rules of the game.
Thats my humble NOVICE opinion. Rules are rules, why does everyone have trouble seeing that?