Is it within my rights (or my captain's rights) to, on a bonus, command the moderator to spell a word in the bonus prompt? I have skimmed both the ACF and NAQT rules, and neither has an answer to this.
Discuss.
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Skepticism and Animal Feed
- Auron
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QuizbowlPostmodernist
- Wakka
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NAQT might view it as dilatory, depending on the circumstances.
Both sets of rules tend to assume that a moderator is competent. I would guess that you are within your rights to ask the moderator to spell a word, and only the most egotistical of moderators would probably refuse such a request if reasonable. I will even spell out words that I know I will have trouble with. (French is my kryptonite.)
On the other hand, if a moderator makes a reasonable attempt at following a pronunciation guide and you request the name to be spelled, I don't think that you have the right to have it spelled if it gives away the national origin of the name and affects the difficulty of the bonus.
Both sets of rules tend to assume that a moderator is competent. I would guess that you are within your rights to ask the moderator to spell a word, and only the most egotistical of moderators would probably refuse such a request if reasonable. I will even spell out words that I know I will have trouble with. (French is my kryptonite.)
On the other hand, if a moderator makes a reasonable attempt at following a pronunciation guide and you request the name to be spelled, I don't think that you have the right to have it spelled if it gives away the national origin of the name and affects the difficulty of the bonus.
Just answering from the high school side of things, if it's an untimed match I would find nothing wrong with asking for a word to be spelled on a bonus. I'm not sure how it'd work on a toss-up, but the majority of competent moderators I've met spell the word if they can't pronounce it on a toss-up.
In a timed round game, I could see how this would be denied in most circumstances due to time concerns and so forth.
In a timed round game, I could see how this would be denied in most circumstances due to time concerns and so forth.
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Skepticism and Animal Feed
- Auron
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But when a moderator is competent, that is when knowing the spelling of a word can be most valuable.QuizbowlPostmodernist wrote: Both sets of rules tend to assume that a moderator is competent.
Sometimes, on a bonus, you are given a word, and have to figure out what country its from. (Or, alternatively, figuring out what country it's from can help you find what you need). Some languages have very peculiar spellings, and linking an ethnic spelling to a particular pronunciation can help you figure out what language that's from, and therefore possibly what country it's from.
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Skepticism and Animal Feed
- Auron
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- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:47 pm
- Location: Arlington, VA