The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

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ClevelandCavaliers
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The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by ClevelandCavaliers »

After History Bowl last weekend, I heard some rumors claiming that one player had cheated throughout the tournament by having a spectator look up and send answers to that player. Whether these rumors are true is not the question, in my opinion (while the huge number of coincidences is off-putting, I am still inclined to believe that player played honestly). Instead, the allegations themselves raise an issue that has almost never been comprehensively discussed before: how the upcoming national tournaments can effectively limit spectator-facilitated cheating.

The basic premise of spectator-facilitated cheating goes that a spectator can, while blanking their screens, look up answers to questions the moderator is reading and send them to players during active play. Even tournaments that have required two hands up may have unwittingly exposed themselves to this method of cheating by not requiring anything of substance from spectators. I believe that in order to truly have national tournaments that are not only free of cheating, but also free of cheating allegations, steps must be taken to address this new method of cheating. I have proposed some options below (note that these are far from the only ones):

1. Banning spectators
This would basically solve the whole problem. Understandably, organizations may want to stream matches in order to provide an atmosphere consistent with those in previous years. This solution would, however, be the easiest to implement; and if only the players can see the questions, then spectator-facilitated cheating is essentially impracticable.

2. Requiring participants to have cameras trained on their screens
This would be an even better solution to the whole problem, because it further limits the chances a player has to cheat. But it's up to the organizations themselves to decide whether they want to issue a new requirement so soon before their national tournaments.

3. Requiring spectators to have two hands on screen at all times
This could also help solve the problem, though lax moderators can at times let spectators get away with putting their hands down. A solution to this would be the requirement that as soon as both of a spectator's hands are judged not to be fully in screen, that spectator, without warning, will be kicked out of the match. People out of screen may be able to cheat, though.

I understand that both HSNCT and PACE NSC are allowing spectators at their competitions. To my knowledge, both organizations also allow players to request that a specific spectator be removed from their matches. This measure is, in my opinion, very good for maintaining competition integrity. I strongly believe that stricter rules on spectators and/or players to prevent the possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating, however, should be implemented in order to more truly guarantee the integrity of our national tournaments.
Andrew Zeng
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Re: The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by Important Bird Area »

ClevelandCavaliers wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 3:59 pm I understand that both HSNCT and PACE NSC are allowing spectators at their competitions. To my knowledge, both organizations also allow players to request that a specific spectator be removed from their matches. This measure is, in my opinion, very good for maintaining competition integrity.
For the record, NAQT's current spectator policy does not allow players to remove specific spectators- if players have concerns about the behavior of spectators, they should report those concerns to the moderator (and the moderator is empowered to remove spectators who are being disruptive).
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Re: The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by CaseyB »

ClevelandCavaliers wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 3:59 pm I understand that both HSNCT and PACE NSC are allowing spectators at their competitions. To my knowledge, both organizations also allow players to request that a specific spectator be removed from their matches.
PACE does not have a policy allowing players or coaches to request that an individual be removed from the game room. If a player or coach has an issue with someone's behavior, they may privately message the moderator or scorekeeper. The moderator is empowered to remove disruptive spectators after issuing a formal warning.
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Re: The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by BenWeiner27 »

ClevelandCavaliers wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 3:59 pm 1. Banning spectators
This would basically solve the whole problem. Understandably, organizations may want to stream matches in order to provide an atmosphere consistent with those in previous years. This solution would, however, be the easiest to implement; and if only the players can see the questions, then spectator-facilitated cheating is essentially impracticable.
At least for matches later in the tournament, if they were to be streamed over a platform such as Twitch or YouTube instead of having spectators in the Zoom call, the broadcaster can add a stream delay of 20-30 seconds through OBS which should, given the time factors of quizbowl, entirely mitigate this issue. This would obviously be tougher to keep up in non "high profile matches", but this would at the very least hopefully mitigate this method of cheating in any finals/semifinals type games.
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Re: The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone »

BenWeiner27 wrote: Thu May 20, 2021 10:55 am
ClevelandCavaliers wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 3:59 pm 1. Banning spectators
This would basically solve the whole problem. Understandably, organizations may want to stream matches in order to provide an atmosphere consistent with those in previous years. This solution would, however, be the easiest to implement; and if only the players can see the questions, then spectator-facilitated cheating is essentially impracticable.
At least for matches later in the tournament, if they were to be streamed over a platform such as Twitch or YouTube instead of having spectators in the Zoom call, the broadcaster can add a stream delay of 20-30 seconds through OBS which should, given the time factors of quizbowl, entirely mitigate this issue. This would obviously be tougher to keep up in non "high profile matches", but this would at the very least hopefully mitigate this method of cheating in any finals/semifinals type games.
This sort of delay has been the norm in broadcasts of various UK quiz leagues in the past year
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Re: The possibility of spectator-facilitated cheating

Post by ClevelandCavaliers »

With this in mind, both nationals may want to consider taking the steps of
a). Allowing individual players to request that spectators be removed from matches
b). Setting a short streaming delay during more high-stakes matches (all of playoffs?)

In conjunction with one another, I think that these two methods can effectively prevent spectator-facilitated cheating, especially in elimination rounds. These methods are certainly not foolproof. However, neither fundamentally changes the format or setup competitors need, and both could be very positive steps towards preventing cheating during the nationals themselves, and towards clamping down on the possible extent of cheating allegations after the nationals have concluded.
Andrew Zeng
Hunter College High School '22
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