Add a horribly-written incomplete essay on derby software

papers/derby-software.mdwn

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+Title: Software in Roller Derby
+
+Possibly because Roller Derby is full of skaters who are huge nerds,
+and skater spouses who are huge nerds, there is a lot more software
+available than you'd see in any other amateur sport.  Leagues may feel
+pressure from nerdy fans, nerdy NSOs, and nerdy skaters, to keep up
+with the latest in Derby software.  But there is no need to use any
+software at all for a successful bout.
+
+In my day job as a computer security analyst, I frequently deal with
+break-ins that were made possible by an over-application of
+technology.  Systems can get so large and complex that nobody
+understands how they work anymore, and this leaves them vulnerable to
+attack.  I see a lot of parallels with derby here.  Bout delays due to
+scoreboard problems, according to a text message I got from a skater
+during a 15-minute delay to bout start at Rollercon 2012, are "the
+most common problem in roller derby".
+
+If you make your Roller Derby technical infrastructure complex enough
+that only a few people can fix problems, you are setting youself up
+for problems in the future.  This is why I advise teams to limit
+technology dependence as much as possible unless they have a
+"dedicated nerd" at every bout, standing by to fix anything that
+goes wrong.  Something always goes wrong.
+
+Software engineers get paid to find ways to automate things.  So when
+a nerd sees the scoreboard operator and penalty timer struggling to
+pause their clocks in sync with the official timer, they think "this is
+something a computer could do much better!"  And they are correct;
+it's a menial task with microsecond precision: perfect for a
+computer.
+
+But their overwhelming desire to automate is precisely why you need to
+be wary of software engineers when you set up your bouts.  We abhor
+mindless repetition--eliminating it is what pays our bills.  But
+someone is going to have start up your infrastructure for every bout,
+and most nerds are not going to be able to stick with this menial
+task for very long.
+
+Another important consideration is redundancy.  Currently, the typical
+setup for NSOs involves a lot of paper and stopwatches.  Inaccuracies
+are going to crop up this way, sure, but you're not Gotham City either.
+Your scores are probably not going to differ at all if the penalty
+timer is off by 2 seconds from the scoreboard timer.  However, you also
+don't have to worry about batteries dying, wireless network dropouts,
+$800 computers being dropped or slammed into by skaters/refs, cracked
+screens, etc.  About the biggest problem you might face with the typical
+setup is a 50¢ pen running out of ink, or needing to grab a spare
+$10 stopwatch.