[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]IDL makes round 1 of the draft more even by letting poor captains pick first, and forcing elite captains to pick last.<br /><br />IDL makes round 2 of the draft more fair by letting elite captains pick first, and forcing poor captains to pick last.<br />[/quote]<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226] #1 is not always better than #2, thus higher pick order is not the sole determinant of pick quality.[/quote]<br /><br />Which is it?<br /><br />Are you saying that, given the option between first and last pick in a straight draft, you would have no preference for either?&nbsp; If so, you would be unique in that respect (and an idiot).&nbsp; If not, on what would you base your decision?<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]<br />[quote author=MassVC link=topic=511.msg4974#msg4974 date=1318436990]<br />However, I can do something to make elite captains lose.&nbsp; I can give them a crippling handicap.&nbsp; You are going to respond, &quot;But that is wrong!&quot;&nbsp; And it may be, but this discussion doesn&#039;t seem to be about what is right or wrong, but what is possible.<br />[/quote]<br /><br />I think it&#039;s about right or wrong.[/quote]<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]There is nothing the draft can do (and still be called a draft) to achieve more parity than it already does.[/quote]<br /><br />Which is it?<br /><br />Since early straight draft picks are [i]undeniably[/i] better than late ones, and since having two better players [i]undeniably[/i] helps with a team&#039;s success, captain skill level can be compensated for by a straight draft, and therefore the league can achieve more parity solely in virtue of a differently structured draft.&nbsp; <br /><br />There is no statistical question about it whatsoever.&nbsp; It is not up for debate.&nbsp; What is up for debate is whether it should ever be done.&nbsp; The consensus is no.<br /><br />So, again, I am not endorsing this idea.&nbsp; But without a doubt it is sound.<br /><br />By the way, the usual argument against it (the virtue of it, for God&#039;s sake, not the brute [i]fact[/i] of it), is not that it will make players ago away.&nbsp; You and NoStar are the only people who have made that point to me.&nbsp; The usual argument is that it is unfair (and that unfairness is intrinsically bad).<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]Constantly fucking with it, on the other hand, draws undue attention to the fact that poor captains actually have no chance whatsoever.[/quote]<br /><br />That would be very fucking sad if changing the draft order made some captains realize how shitty they are.&nbsp; But I think they know.<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]There are maybe 3 people who give a fuck at all about the draft, why waste so much time on it?[/quote]<br /><br />This is your thread.&nbsp; <br /><br />The last draft discussion I started was before the beginning of last season.<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]The other goals are also important though.&nbsp; Because the draft is a snake draft, it does the following:<br />&nbsp; - Motivates good players to captain (so a poor captain can&#039;t draft them)<br />&nbsp; - Gives poor captains an elite player they can learn from<br />&nbsp; - Gives elite captains a better chance at building a team[/quote]<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]Ralphis is saying that no matter where he drafts, he&#039;s going to have a successful season[/quote]<br /><br />A straight draft does the first two as well or better.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think elite captains are starving for the third in virtue of the second quote.<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]The goal of the draft is not to make a Ladna vs. Ralphis matchup always 50/50 odds.&nbsp; Rather, it&#039;s to make it so that one day it can be.[/quote]<br /><br />When?&nbsp; Explain how that happens.<br /><br />(Don&#039;t say by giving Ladna the early snake draft spot next season, since, as you have repeatedly said, that does not do the trick.&nbsp; And, as we have repeatedly seen, that does not do the trick.)<br /><br />This is the crux.&nbsp; You are telling me (and you are not the first person) that making the IDL fair will cause elite players to walk.&nbsp; Elite players do not want an even playing field; they do not want to have to put an equal effort into a game in order to win as does a bad player.&nbsp; Instead, they want the odds to be in their favor because they are elite players.&nbsp; They want it to be an uphill battle for the novice players.&nbsp; If you turn their 80/20 odds into 50/50 odds, they will walk.<br /><br />You might be right.&nbsp; You are probably right.&nbsp; But I cannot imagine why.<br /><br />On the other hand, you might not be right that this would discourage player growth.&nbsp; Novice players should find an even league attractive.&nbsp; In that league, their numbers are spread out, and each of them has a better chance on being part of a successful team.&nbsp; Since being new is correlated with (and causes) novice-level skill, this is likely to attract new players.&nbsp; These players will improve.&nbsp; This seems much better for the league than begging Chaindude and Fastidious to come back.&nbsp; And therefore you might not be right that this is BAD.<br /><br />[quote author=Ladna link=topic=517.msg4978#msg4978 date=1318461226]It&#039;s like if you have f(x) = -x^2 + 3x.&nbsp; Yeah at the beginning it&#039;ll be above water, but as x increases (the season goes on), the team ends up drowning deep in the sub-X-axis ocean.&nbsp; -x^2 is captain skill, 3x is draft position.[/quote]<br /><br />Oh no you di&#039;int.