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« on: May 17, 2017, 02:11 PM »
When it comes to defaults, I think it's a bit of a mixed bag.
Defaults suck, both for the artist and for their opponent. Nobody feels good about them, and they are a loss; that said, I think people--at least in the time that I've seen, though it probably hasn't always been the case--are pretty forgiving about them when it's a result of freak chance. When it's accidents, or crazy things coming up irl, people have been pretty good about being understanding and making sure that the person's okay.
I think that people are also generally pretty good about it when the defaulting artist makes a genuine, sincere apology for the default; things like depression and other unforseeable hardships do happen, and on a site like void where a great many of us do know what that's like, I think that there's a fair bit of sympathy extended.
I think the problem typically arises with serial defaults/incompletes that were clearly done last-minute to prevent a full default. It's hard to believe an artist truly feels all that contrite when it's a repeat thing, and when the offers of sympathy and assistance seem like they're being ignored at best and exploited at worst. One or two times is easy to forgive, default after incomplete after default, not so much.
Personal responsibility as an artist is important once you're making a commitment to people other than yourself, and I think people should try to plan accordingly; people who know that they have a tendency to not finish (or start) their battles should think hard before accepting a challenge. If school or work tends to get in the way, then plan your battles for breaks or vacations even if it means you can't battle that often. If you tend to have hard-hitting depression that rears up periodically, give yourself a long drawing time so that you have the best chance of being able to get work done while you're feeling good. TALK to your opponent, and if you realize you're not going to be able to finish, let them know so they can also have the option to halt work and cancel the battle.
If there is an option to properly cancel a battle, I'd like to see a hard penalty for a default and a much gentler penalty for (repeat) cancellation (with the other artist then able to submit their battle as a BB, as suggested elsewhere in the thread). If we make it so that the battle can be canceled all the way up to the last few days but must be accepted by both participants, it allows for sudden or unavoidable issues but also means that in order to cancel, both artists have talked it out and worked the situation out among themselves. While I know that facing the problem head-on like that can be difficult for artists with anxiety, it would seem a lot more respectful than just disappearing on an opponent.
I don't know. I know it's a tough issue, but for the sake of both oldies AND newcomers I think it's important that there be some sort of system in place.