Well, this is unfortunate.
So, it would appear that Julia has made a new post in regards to judges hosting, or judging an online tournament. Things like DevPro and Dueling Network administrators no longer being able to be Judges, or vice versa. The exact post reads:
OK judges!
I’ve had a couple of questions about these topics lately, so I wanted to put it all in one place, easy for you to reference and read.
Of course ask me questions if you have them, and I will answer them for you.
Can registered Konami judges judge for other games?
Yes, registered Konami judges can judge for other games. I do have a few rules about it, and here they are.
1) You cannot wear your Konami judge shirt while judging for another game. This seems obvious, but, well, let’s just put it out there.
2) You must abide by the standards of behavior set forth for Konami judges, even while judging for another game. Do your best to represent judges everywhere.
3) You should not talk smack about Konami (well, about any company for whom you are judging, really). That’s ungracious. Judges will doubtlessly compare games and companies, but your conversation shouldn’t be insulting or degrading towards any of them. It gives a very bad impression both of yourself, and of the programs you are representing.
Can registered Konami judges judge or organize unsanctioned events?
Yes, registered Konami Judges are allowed to judge and/or organize unsanctioned events. I do have a few rules for this, and here they are.
1) You cannot wear your Konami judge shirt while judging an unsanctioned event. You should avoid wearing anything that would suggest you are there as an official representative of Konami.
2) You must abide by the standards of behavior set forth for Konami judges at a sanctioned event. Even though the tournament is not sanctioned, you still must behave in a way that will be a credit to all judges everywhere. While you do not represent Konami at an unsanctioned event, you do still represent judges.
3) You should not talk smack about Konami, or about Sanctioned events. People might like to complain about prizing, policy, or any number of things but it shouldn’t be coming out of judges’ mouths.
Judges who wish to organize unofficial tournaments must avoid giving out cash prizing. Cash prizing is specifically prohibited by our license agreement. Even though the event is not sanctioned, it gives a bad impression to see an official judge promoting an event that violates this agreement.
Can registered Konami judges judge or organize unlicensed application online tournaments?
No, registered Konami judges cannot judge or organize unlicensed application online tournaments. These are different from an unsanctioned TCG tournament, since they are run using a system that violates a copyright.
The initial reaction is probably “Well why is it OK to judge/organize unsanctioned events but not online events? That’s not fair.”
And I can see that point of view.
I understand that the online tournaments are popular with players, and they want to continue to do them.
The problem, as pointed out earlier, is that the online events are violating the TCG copyright. When registered judges are openly supporting and promoting copyright violations, it creates some real problems both for the Judge Program and for Konami. I do need to insist that registered judges not act as judges OR as organizers for these online tournaments. I’m not requiring this in order to be vindictive or controlling, I’m requiring it because it is necessary.
Hopefully this makes our position clear on everything. Once again, let me thank you for the effort and time you’ve invested in volunteering for us! Let me know if you have questions.
While we’re not entirely sure what this means in regards to being allowed to Admin rated games on DN, we’re certain it means we can’t host tournaments on it. Because of this, todays tournament had to be canceled, with everyone refunded, and a rebuilding done. A new system, new prize support, and new organizer will be appointed to ensure that the tournaments stay within the rules.
On that note, I’d like to announce that ARG will be sponsoring future tournaments of ours, as part of our rebuilding process. We also have an upcoming interview with Jim McMahan in regards to the upcoming ARG open, with exclusive information. Be sure to check back soon to see what you can learn and how our tournaments are going to greatly improve.
