Coronavirus

This temporary page is to advise members of actions and ideas for playing Go while the country is continuing to experience the Coronavirus outbreak.

BGA Guidance

Restrictions due to the risk of infection with Covid-19 continue. Anyone thinking of planning a face-to-face event should think carefully about whether social distancing and related regulations, if any, in their part of the UK can be fully met.

Government guidelines may be found at:
* England
* Scotland
* Wales
* Northern Ireland

Events listed for 2021 and 2022 may get cancelled at short notice.

Tournament organisers are responsible for safety and legal compliance.

Virtual Clubs

A number of Go Clubs are still not meeting, but are arranging "virtual meetings" held over the internet. Here is a lot of information about remote working in general and tools for meeting virtually.

There are details of some options. If you have further advice to add here, please email the webmaster.

Discord

Information from Paul Massey

Discord is a good way of communicating with voice on the internet. There's an app for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Linux. You can also access it through a browser. It works well for Go clubs, because you can setup a server with multiple rooms or "channels". For example, you can create a general club channel and a channel for each board. It is easy to flick between channels, depending whether you're discussing who's playing whom or you're reviewing your game.

Here is a good guide to setting up Discord. In short, the basics steps are:

  1. Install the app or open the website

  2. Create a user - there's a simple registration process; you just need an email address

  3. Create a server - this is a private area just for your club

  4. Create channels - be sure to create voice channels rather than text channels

  5. Invite people - there is an easy link that you can share, which will give people immediate access. You can paste this link into the room description on KGS.

Use of KGS

Advice from Paul Massey

KGS is a widely used Go server. If you use it as your club room, here are some tips:

  1. It’s good to create a permanent room for your club, so you don’t have to set it up each time.

  2. Useful information to put in your room description:

    A link to the BGA club page description (for info. and for credibility)

A link to the club server (if, for example, you use Discord)

A link to the club ladder (if you have one)

A table of the current draw with handicaps.

  3. It helps doing a draw if everyone turns up at a pre-arranged time.

Zoom

Information from Charlie Harvey

Another tool for virtual meetings is Zoom, which is free for conversations up to 40 minutes, then £12/month thereafter (?). I think there are limits on the number of participants (unlike discord), but you get video as well as audio (also unlike discord).

OGS Server

Information from Harry Fearnley, with acknowledgements to Charlie Harvey, and Brian Zhang.

This information assumes that someone has already set up a room ("Group") on OGS for Your Club.

Signing up -- once only:

Go to https://online-go.com/

Near bottom, find the [Register] button -- click it --> "Welcome ..."

Enter a name -- needs to be unique on the OGS Site and Password.

Optional email: you will need this to use "chat" -- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

Sign up "for chat need email"

Get an email sent to you, and authorize/validate

Go to the OGS page again -- https://online-go.com/. Maybe go to "Settings" ...

Click on "Home" at top left at right of page click on "Groups" In Search box, at top right, type "Your Club".

Click on [Join Group] You will see a list of members at top right

For each game:

To challenge someone, find their name in the list of members at top right. Remember that there may be more than one page of members.

Left-click on that name, left click on "Challenge"

Select board size, time limit, ruleset and handicap -- you can agree these in a chat on the club page.

You should have sound on to hear challenges as the challenge icon is often off the screen, being in the top right corner and easily missed.

Communication with other people in the room:

For most people, you can communicate by using the (limited) "chat" facility in the Club's OGS room, so it is best to have this in a second tab or window whilst playing.

There is also a private one to one chat facility.

Last updated Thu Dec 08 2022.
If you have any comments, please email the webmaster on web-master AT britgo DOT org.

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