It's super depressing but not unexpected to hear someone who is presumably a LO talking like this. The first half of your post is highly illogical. ALL play, all matches "manipulate" your skill level because everything is accounted for! I used to want to go up to the next level, so I made a real point of making sure my safes got marked, I'd want to play the stronger players, etc. I was doing everything I could to "manipulate" the system to drive up my handicap. Primarily, I was trying to improve and play my best. Managing players skill levels is a critical job of a captain. That means clearly and completely avoiding cheating, such as ever having a player miss on purpose, lose on purpose, etc. Sometimes a player drops unexpectedly, and sometimes this happens very late in a session. Why on earth, if your roster allows, would you not sit that person out until playoffs, and then see if you can win without them, and delay their use until the last possible moment. If for example someone on my team goes up from a 3 to a 4, and I don't think they are a very good 4, I'm going to play them against difficult competition. If they win, great we get more points and maybe they grow into their new skill level. If they lose, maybe they drop back down. That's a win win really. If my standings and rankings for the session allow that, why on earth would t I try to gain the most possible advantage for my team within the rules.
For some (ignorant) people, "manipulation" only has a negative connotation. This in fact is not true however. A quick visit to the dictionary shows this. Some distinction here should have been made between "manipulation" and cheating. It is actually unclear if you believe all manipulation is cheating, or wrong.
Sorry, but this post I'm replying to is another example of APA league operators showing that logic is an extremely rare commodity in that position. Very frustrating because I do like the APA league for what it could be.
KMRUNOUT
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Here you go, from dictionary.com:
manipulation
noun
1. the act of manipulating.
2. the state or fact of being manipulated.
3. skillful or artful management.
manipulate
verb (used with object), manipulated, manipulating.
1. to manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner: to manipulate people's feelings.
2. to handle, manage, or use, especially with skill, in some process of treatment or performance: to manipulate a large tractor.
3. to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage.
4. Medicine/Medical. to examine or treat by skillful use of the hands, as in palpation, reduction of dislocations, or changing the position of a fetus.
If you go to thesaurus.com, you will see that it shows two definitions: (1) verb - maneuver, handle physically, and (2) verb - change to suit one's desire.
When a word has multiple definitions, the context of its use usually determines the definition that applies. When I spoke of manipulation in my original reply, I was referring to manipulation of the Equalizer system. In the context of the post, I think it's pretty clear that the first definition of "manipulate" from dictionary.com and the second from thesaurus.com are the ones that apply - attempts to manage players' skill levels, especially in an unfair manner, to suit one's desires. For anyone who doesn't think that's clear, I'm telling you that's the definition I intended, so it should be clear now. Other definitions of the word are irrelevant in that context.
In your response to that reply, you used the word a totally different way, and I don't think your usage was entirely correct, as it was extremely broad and didn't quite fit any of the definitions above. But I suspect we will probably never agree on that point.
So how does not playing someone you think is better than their number equate to manipulation? By not playing that player, you are intentionally preventing the number from accurately reflecting that player's true ability. Refer to the top of page 35 in the current team manual, which addresses handicap manipulation. In the second paragraph it says "If you think a teammate's skill level is too low for any reason, simply call the League Office and ask them to raise the player's skill level appropriately." The next time that happens will be the first time, but that's how it is supposed to work. You are not supposed to let a skill level stay low, and intentionally sitting them so they stay low goes against that principle.
It is important to understand that I'm only talking about sitting a player SOLELY because you don't want them to go up. There are many reasons why you might sit a player out, but if you're doing it only to keep the number from accurately reflecting their true ability, then you are manipulating the system.
What if you think a player's number is HIGHER than their true ability? Is it ok to put them in a match they will most certainly lose badly, just to make their number "accurate"? I say no, if you have no other reason to play them in that match. You don't get to decide what's accurate, so attempting to "force" a specific result is manipulation, even if you believe the number you are trying to force would be more accurate.
As in the case of sitting the player out, there are also a number of legitimate reasons for playing someone against an opponent who will likely destroy them, many involving the strategy of the other matches. But if you do it simply because your player "needs a bad loss", then you are attempting to make your player appear weaker than they really are, and that is manipulation of the Equalizer system.
I often tell people the best 3 and the worst 4 in the league are the same person. That is, for certain specific players both numbers may be considered accurate. So why do I say it's manipulation when you try to make the system say 3, if 3 is considered accurate? It's because you are trying to force the 3 and PREVENT the system from saying 4, which is also considered accurate. Personally, if I think that's what you are doing, I will be more inclined to help the system say 4 when I get a chance, because those practices make me wonder what else you are doing to influence the numbers.
I couldn't disagree with you more when you say "Managing players' skill levels is a critical job of a captain." Captains manage the roster, the match ups, and other strategic aspects of league and tournament play. They do not manage the skill levels of individual players. That is my job. Specifically, the most important part of my job is to try to get the skill level numbers right. The number should accurately reflect the player's true ability. If you think it doesn't, I want to know that you think it doesn't, and why you think it doesn't (too high or too low, either way). We may disagree, but I still want to know.
I am also not naive. I know when a player is at the top of their skill level range, and I know that player's captain(s) probably know it too. Many times I will notice when you're "saving" one of your players, or when you set someone up to take one for the team. The more often things like that happen, the more likely I am to notice, and the more likely I will be to help that player get to the next level. So by trying to manage the skill level, you as a captain may actually be causing the very thing you are trying to avoid.
When you have a player you consider an "advantage", it is natural to want to save that advantage until you most need it. But keep in mind that as you progress, the stakes get higher and the potential consequences when you finally use that advantage get more and more serious. If you save that player until playoffs, then use them, I might ask "Why did they use this player, when this player hasn't played since week six?". If you get through the playoffs without them and use them in tricups, I may ask myself "Why did this player play in the tricup, when they haven't played since week six and they didn't play in playoffs?". If it's in the World Qualifier, I will not only ask a similar question, but I will also start wondering how the team got this far without having to use this "advantage", then I will do everything I can to ferret out and remove the other "advantages" your team may have. That's my job. To be fair, I will also try to ascertain if there are legitimate reasons why you haven't used your advantage. It gets worse if you make it part way into the World Championships and still haven't used your advantage. Remember, we know the player should be an advantage too. I'm just saying, sometimes it's better not to hide your weapons.
These views are the perspective of an APA league operator, who is tasked with protecting the integrity of the Equalizer handicap system in my area. Perhaps looking at it from that perspective will help you understand the logic of what I'm saying.