Live and in-person auction drafts

[madducks]

Do you use a real person as an auctioneer along with a draft board on the wall or do you use an automated draft tool on computer to list all of the picks, dollars remaining for each team, and to set a timer for each pick?

A couple of the new guys in my local 14 team mixed league (w/ Mith & Mag7) are pushing for us to become automated (Yahoo online auction draft) this year to accommodate those who cannot attend the live and in-person draft. Those attending the draft in person would still have to draft on a laptop. In years past we have used substitute drafters and phone-in drafts for those who couldn't attend.

It seems to me that automation would take away from the live feel of the draft and make it more rushed and impersonal. Most of the people in my league (10 of 14) have been in the league for over 10 years and enjoy the small talk/trash talk during and in between picks. We enjoy the slower pace because it gives us a little more time to catch up with friends and hang out together. The faster pace of automation would most likely leave no time for that. For some of us it's the one time of year that we get to see each other. Not sure what we are going to do. Has anyone ever had to deal with this situation before?

[mgwiz22]

I don't think the online version is anywhere near as enjoyable as the live auction.

[Controller Jacobs]

Live draft is so much fun, seems like it would suck the fun out of it to have everyone staring at their laptop

[Ken]

Thirded - I'll play in an online auction if that's the only way for it to work, but if you can get everyone together it is 10x better.

[DMT]

Eh, there's still plenty of trash talk even if you're on laptops, and the convenience/efficiency more than makes up for it IMO. We transitioned to automated awhile ago and not a single owner has ever called for a return to a live non-automated auction.

[Sour Masher]

Thirded - I'll play in an online auction if that's the only way for it to work, but if you can get everyone together it is 10x better.

Yeah, but the choice here is live, old school with a board or live with technology keeping track. I'm with DMT that it doesnt matter too much as long as everyone is together. You lose a little something, sure, but the software makes it easier.

[MagSeven]

To me it just seems strange to have a group of guys together in the same room all staring at a screen while they try to figure out a bid in 15 seconds.

[cavebird]

I can't imagine getting everyone together to do it unless it was an auction. And with an auction, you do it live and not online, way too much fun. For a snake draft, a computer seems far easier---nobody has to enter the rosters afterwards and you can just call out your pick as you put it in the computer anyway and pause the computer when the trash talk is so funny that nobody can function.

[Ken]

Yeah, but the choice here is live, old school with a board or live with technology keeping track. I'm with DMT that it doesnt matter too much as long as everyone is together. You lose a little something, sure, but the software makes it easier.

Is it? I was referring to "to accommodate those who cannot attend the live and in-person draft".

[Art Vandelay]

live always beats the computer (even if everyone is sitting in the room).

your newcomers may have to adapt to the old timers, yes?

[madducks]

Is it? I was referring to "to accommodate those who cannot attend the live and in-person draft".

If we choose to go with a person as the auctioneer instead of an online auction, then those who cannot attend would have 3 choices. 1-Find a substitute drafter. 2-Phone in and draft on speaker phone. Or 3-quit.

If we choose the online auction, then one or two people would draft online from home (or wherever) while the rest of us would get together and draft online.

BTW, i'm the commissioner of the league. So, i make the draft boards and input the rosters to Yahoo afterward. It's several hours of work that i wouldn't have to do if the draft were online. But, that's not an issue for me because i find the work very satisfying. I will gladly do the extra work required to have an old fashioned auction draft.

[cavebird]

I do a significant amount of the inputting of the rosters for my live draft league, but I cannot imagine doing it if it were a snake draft, so easy to do it on the server (we're CBS, but it hardly matters, they all have them). Get together, do it online if it is a snake. All the fun of in person (except the auction part, which is far better than snake) and enjoy not having to deal with the crap.

[madducks]

I do a significant amount of the inputting of the rosters for my live draft league, but I cannot imagine doing it if it were a snake draft, so easy to do it on the server (we're CBS, but it hardly matters, they all have them). Get together, do it online if it is a snake. All the fun of in person (except the auction part, which is far better than snake) and enjoy not having to deal with the crap.

Neither myself or anyone else in my league would ever want to change to a snake draft. Yuck.

[TranaGreg]

Generally I agree with the sentiment that live auctions are more fun than online, but I've experienced the opposite on both sides - a big part of why I left my 25+ year league was that the mix of new & old owners was simply a bad combo - there were a few guys who genuinely didn't get along, and most everyone else was really passive & quiet - auctions became kinda sad.

And on the other side I've sat alone in a room online laughing out loud during online auctions - like from the reaction last year in RJEL when Tim Tebow was mistakenly taken ... it all depends on who is involved.

[Gregg]

If we went away from live auction I would retire from the league.