|
I've tried to make sure that I don't jump in at some of the statements that have pushed my buttons, and I believe that I've let enough time go by that I can chime in.
Some of the posts that state things regarding refs helping teams and how bad that is have tweaked me a bit. There is appropriate help that refs are IMHO obliged to provide, and there are inappropriate types of help.
An example of appropriate help would be a player trying to find a particular location. "I need to find and stay in this spot for 20 min." In my example the location is marked on the handout map that everyone is given, it's night and you can't see the numbers placed on the physical locations. (This happened to me in my first 24 hour game.) Here it is completely appropriate to point the player in the correct direction. If players are having trouble finding locations on the map, it is cool for a ref to help, it's actually part of their job. I have also given tips to young first time players on how to flank someone. Of course I usually know the player that's about to be sacrificed and get a little too much fun out of it. However, I also know that I've helped give a kid a better experience.
Inappropriate help can be given purposefully (I hate this, and admonish my refs when they do it) or inadvertent (I try to teach refs how not to do this). When I'm walking, as a ref, I will scan side to side and I'm very conscious not to stop with my gaze on a player. That player may have worked very hard to find his hiding spot, and doesn't want it given up. I also never look directly at props that are supposed to be found. Just one of my things.
|