88 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
Title: Why you shouldn't use Derby Software
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Introduction
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I just (21 Jan, 2014) found this half-written
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unpublished essay on my hard drive.
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There's some good stuff here,
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even though it's not up to my usual standard for publishing.
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Maybe it will help somebody convince their league to keep things simple.
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Maybe I'll rework it to suck less (probably not).
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You don't need technology to run a derby bout. It can make things
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a little easier on the NSOs. Fans might appreciate rinxter
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online updates. But the focus needs to be on the game, not your
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awesome technological infrastructure.
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Main points:
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* Shit breaks. Complicated shit breaks more, and needs bigger
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nerds to fix it. Stay simple, and you can recover quicker.
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* Low-tech solutions are cheaper, more durable, and easier to
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repair or replace.
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* Integrated solutions are awesome right up until the point
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when they fail. A failing scoreboard can be fixed while
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the bout continues. Tie your official clock into that system,
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and now failure means nobody plays derby.
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Possibly because Roller Derby is full of skaters who are huge nerds,
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and skater spouses who are huge nerds, there is a lot more software
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available than you'd see in any other amateur sport. Leagues may feel
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pressure from nerdy fans, nerdy NSOs, and nerdy skaters, to keep up
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with the latest in Derby software. But there is no need to use any
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software at all for a successful bout.
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In my day job as a computer security analyst, I frequently deal with
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break-ins that were made possible by an over-application of
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technology. Systems can get so large and complex that nobody
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understands how they work anymore, and this leaves them vulnerable to
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attack. I see a lot of parallels with derby here. Bout delays due to
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scoreboard problems, according to a text message I got from a skater
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during a 15-minute delay to bout start at Rollercon 2012, are "the
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most common problem in roller derby".
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If you make your Roller Derby technical infrastructure complex enough
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that only a few people can fix problems, you are setting youself up
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for problems in the future. This is why I advise teams to limit
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technology dependence as much as possible unless they have a
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"dedicated nerd" at every bout, standing by to fix anything that
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goes wrong. Something always goes wrong.
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Software engineers get paid to find ways to automate things. So when
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a nerd sees the scoreboard operator and penalty timer struggling to
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pause their clocks in sync with the official timer, they think "this is
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something a computer could do much better!" And they are correct;
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it's a menial task with microsecond precision: perfect for a
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computer.
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But their overwhelming desire to automate is precisely why you need to
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be wary of software engineers when you set up your bouts. We abhor
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mindless repetition--eliminating it is what pays our bills. But
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someone is going to have start up your infrastructure for every bout and chase down bugs,
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and most nerds are not going to be able to stick with this menial
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task for very long.
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Another important consideration is redundancy. Currently, the typical
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setup for NSOs involves a lot of paper and stopwatches. Inaccuracies
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are going to crop up this way, sure, but you're not Gotham City either.
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Your scores are probably not going to differ at all if the penalty
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timer is off by 2 seconds from the scoreboard timer. However, you also
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don't have to worry about batteries dying, wireless network dropouts,
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$800 computers being dropped or slammed into by skaters/refs, cracked
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screens, etc. About the biggest problem you might face with the typical
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setup is a 50¢ pen running out of ink, or needing to grab a spare
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$10 stopwatch.
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Technology has a place in derby, sure.
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It can help a lot if you bring it in at a rate that you can handle.
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But remember that you can do just fine without it.
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This is coming from a guy who's created three or four derby software packages,
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and two derby hardware gadgets.
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