Can't create game with specific side any more

@connortheconman said in #204:

be free in their choice in stead of having others force them into unfair matchmaking

I can not see, that there before the change has been the force-button to unfair matchmaking.

A player called for white ... nobody has to go into this game. As a black-player this weeks, I would like to find a good white player and would not feel abusing behaviour, if he wins.

@duong21746 said in #208:

Upsetting a bunch of your users for what?

How can I practice my openings now? Sitting through a bunch of unrelated games or just aborting til I get the color I want?

Same frustration here. :(((((

And the question still remains. Why remove the color option for casual games?

@goldenCrab said in #209:

I can not see, that there before the change has been the force-button to unfair matchmaking.

A player called for white ... nobody has to go into this game.

Wrong, players are automatched

@duong21746 said in #208:

Why are they making this change? At least give me some reasonings behind it. Upsetting a bunch of your users for what?

How can I practice my openings now? Sitting through a bunch of unrelated games or just aborting til I get the color I want?

Thibault mentioned in his pull request that this is because people have been abusing it to exclusively play white

Has there been new info or REPLY from lichess? Will they bring this back for casual games? What a joke that they did this so haphazardly and in an ugly way, no info on it, buttons still there, nothing.

@BeDecentForAChange said in #213:

Thibault mentioned in his pull request that this is because people have been abusing it to exclusively play white

This only can be eventually abusive for rated games, or are there different server spaces, so that the white game server part is overloaded?

@wolfeskate said in #214:

Has there been new info or REPLY from lichess? Will they bring this back for casual games? What a joke that they did this so haphazardly and in an ugly way, no info on it, buttons still there, nothing.

That is because the feature is not disabled on the entire site. You can invite people for a game with a specific color, and can still pick colors against AI bots.

I was thinking, too, some players only play white. So what, let them?
My mum is 83 years old, she only plays white. She is pretty weak, comparably, around 900 rating. She knows a little bit her opening with white, and never bothered learning black side.
Others are in similar situation, and most play white.

I think it is no problem, the rating will accurately reflect their ability, it does not punish any challenger. Yes, my mum has white, but her 900 rating already reflect she has white.

This is disheartening, especially for older pensioners. Old dogs dont learn new tricks.
This change is indeed more about controll and demand how the game is played, and has little to do with rating distortion.

Sorry, thibault, but you did not think about this rating wise fully through, the rating pool is not affected by white/black.

And what about casual? no sense, no heart, just controll freak. These are the times, people are more and more concerned about envy. We can not buy anything with our rating (it is worth s.th. for GMs, ok), and rating is needed to pair people of about equal strength. But we live in times, there is the arbitrary number behind your name their pride, and they envy anyone who has a higher rating. Thibault might not be aware of that, but already thinking this was "abuse" is totally off the mark.
Its a game, and is thought to be fun!

@Munich said in #217:

I was thinking, too, some players only play white. So what, let them?

Because it's unfair to other players.

My mum is 83 years old, she only plays white. She is pretty weak, comparably, around 900 rating. She knows a little bit her opening with white, and never bothered learning black side.

The pieces actually move the same on the black side.

Others are in similar situation, and most play white.

I think it is no problem, the rating will accurately reflect their ability, it does not punish any challenger. Yes, my mum has white, but her 900 rating already reflect she has white.

This is disheartening, especially for older pensioners. Old dogs dont learn new tricks.

It's not about whether or not one individual in some circumstances should be allowed to do this, it's about a lot of people abusing the feature excessively. That's why the fair users of this feature are duped, because some people have gone thousands and thousands of games playing white exclusively

This change is indeed more about controll and demand how the game is played, and has little to do with rating distortion.

Sorry, thibault, but you did not think about this rating wise fully through, the rating pool is not affected by white/black.

And what about casual? no sense, no heart, just controll freak. These are the times, people are more and more concerned about envy. We can not buy anything with our rating (it is worth s.th. for GMs, ok), and rating is needed to pair people of about equal strength. But we live in times, there is the arbitrary number behind your name their pride, and they envy anyone who has a higher rating. Thibault might not be aware of that, but already thinking this was "abuse" is totally off the mark.
Its a game, and is thought to be fun!

You assume people are envious of the rating of those who play advantaged. Do you have any reference for this claim? It might just be that people don't want to be exploited for someone else's personal comfort, irrespective of their rating.