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Thread: Waiting for an owner's reply

  1. #1
    gooding74's Avatar
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    Dobber Sports Padawan

    Default Waiting for an owner's reply

    I don't know if this is the right folder for this topic, but I am hoping to get the opinions of a few fellow keeper league commissioners.

    When you are doing "roll call" ie. emailing owners to confirm that they will return for the coming season, how long are you willing to wait for a reply?

    I sent this email out about a week and a half ago, and I received some form of response from all but one owner. This owner has been in the league at least as long as I have, as he was there when I first joined. He doesn't really say much, but he has usually replied when needed and paid on time. I've sent a couple more personal emails to him, also with no reply. I reached out to a few long-term owners that I thought might know him better than I do, and none replied. So I'm assuming they don't know him that well either.

    Our offseason activities (entry draft, arbitration, free agency) take at minimum six weeks (teams post bids to a forum, and bids must sit for at least 3 days before the team is awarded the player). They could potentially take longer if I need to recruit a new owner (the Dobber Hockey Forums really help with this!) I have at least a few other owners who are very eager to get started, but I don't want to start if the team is basically absent. This would be unfair to a new owner, who will need at least a few days to learn the many rules of this league (rules about contracts, players to keep, how to place bids, etc.)

    I don't want to kick this owner out of the league, in case he's travelling out of the country or dealing with a more important personal matter or something like that. But I just want to get an idea of how long other commissioners have waited when dealing with a similar situation. I'm thinking about sending him an email sometime this weekend stating that he needs to respond to me within the next 7 days, otherwise, I will begin the search for a new owner.

    Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. By the way, I like having these commish-level discussions, as they bring forward issues that don't get discussed very often, but are important to running a fair and enjoyable league.
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  2. #2
    pmorrow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    I send the first email as early as possible. Then another one two weeks or more later (I have found some managers just don't reply to emails but they still end up doing what they have to do league-wise). Then one final one when its getting down to a week or so before things are happening (deadlines etc). After that they're in the red zone. If I don't hear from them in a few days I'll probably send an email saying I need to know otherwise I'll have to start looking for a new replacement, if you want out of the league LMK no hard feelings etc. About 24-48 hours after that I'll begin my search and make the manager change ASAP. I would also have a backup schedule for your league in mind in case someone bails last minute. One year I had a guy who didnt select his keepers by the deadline so we all had to push things back slightly.

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    The Great One

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    Given how much activity your league requires in the off-season, I'd put an off-season schedule in place - including the roll-call period.

    I'd also start recruiting for a new manager now. If slow buddy confirms before you find somebody, no worries. If not, then I'd move on. He doesn't sound like he's an active contributor anyways.

    If probably sounds harsh, but otherwise you end up babysitting and holding back a whole league to suit the whims of somebody that isn't all that committed to begin with.

  4. #4
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    Dobber Sports Rookie

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    I just booted two GMs from my league (one the defending champ) for failing to respond to the check in thread and a follow up email. But NOW I'm having problem recruiting for the final spot and our Entry Draft was supposed to start this morning, yet I've had to suspend it pending the filling of the vacancy. I think, as a commissioner, you put in FAR more time in managing the league than the guys who just show up and play and, as such, it's up to you to do what's best. For you. If you don't mind putting everything on hold hoping this guy pops his head up, then hunker down and do that. If you do like I did and just jettison them, you may end up regretting it because everyone is recruiting right now. And I have a bunch of guys waiting to get started with what is arguably the best part of fantasy sports and that's the draft. So, I'm kinda regretting my decision but NEITHER of the guys I booted have even bothered to bitch about it yet (probably don't even realize they've been kicked out) and it's been 4 days since I cut them off. So, it sorta underscores my point in the first place. If they aren't responsive, they're no good to you. It's all well and good to want to show some compassion... life DOES get in the way. But, like I alway say, if it's important to us we find a way. And when it isn't we find an excuse. Everybody has something in their life. And this IS just fantasy hockey. But as commissioner, it's WAY more important to me than that. And I want guys who care enough to show up, set their lineups and participate in drafts and league business discussions. I've played nice guy for 7 or 8 years and sent subsequent follow up reminders, waiting, hounded, nagged and begged. But I've grown tired of holding the hands of other adults and this season I took a hard line. I think, in the long run, I'll be glad I did. But right now, I'd kill for another GM. And, like I said, everyone's recruiting right now. But I really do think the best interests of the vacant franchise is to find the new owner first, rather than trying to proceed with some sort of committee or "best available player" assignment in dealing with it. Good luck. You have my sympathies.

  5. #5
    butch's Avatar
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    Dobber Sports Master

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    Its frustrating not to hear back from GM's when doing any type of roll call .If he's been around the league for awhile I'm sure he knows the routine of the 6 wk auction etc..and perhaps he's just enjoying time away from the fantasy hockey grind .Its not like he was a rookie GM last season that still needs to prove his offseason committ level .

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    Dobber Sports Padawan

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    Thanks for your feedback everyone. I just sent the owner another note stating that I would need a response from him within seven days, otherwise I would begin the search for another owner. Kept it positive, tried not to make it sound like a demand. In the past I've been able to recruit new owners fairly quickly, as I've used both the forums here and my Twitter. So in a week's time I might be back on here looking for a new owner!
    Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding

  7. #7
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    Dobber Sports Rookie

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    It's hard for me to do sometimes, but staying positive with your messaging IS the right thing to do. In trying to instill some order, we want to be sure not to suck the life out of the room in the process. This is supposed to be fun and it would be a shame if an anal retentive type such as myself ruined things for everyone else. No regrets taking the high road.

  8. #8
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    Dobber Sports Supreme Grand Master

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    Some great suggestions above guys!!

    I think the best is to have an offseason schedule set up when the season is still going.

    So like next year before playoffs start... implement the schedule for next summer... get everyone to notify seeing this and then if they don't respond to your emails, you can say... hey i gave you the summer schedule AND you never replied to emails.

  9. #9
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    The Magnificent One

    Default Re: Waiting for an owner's reply

    Can't you text him? People do ignore emails or changes addresses.
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