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WUStL Updates Statistics Live!: real-time Web scorekeeping

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deep_friar
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Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:43 pm

WUStL Updates Statistics Live!: real-time Web scorekeeping

Post by deep_friar »

I am pleased to announce the public beta release of WUStL Updates Statistics Live!, a new online application for real-time quizbowl scorekeeping and stats. Members of the quizbowl community are invited to create free accounts and begin learning and using the system immediately.

This release follows the first fully successful use of WUStL for a regular-season tournament, the November 12, 2011 Gateway Invitational Tournament at Washington University in St. Louis. Full stats and standings are available here.

You can also view the hsqb thread on WUStL here.

Features:

WUStL allows tournaments to run faster, with fewer errors, using fewer staff, by eliminating paper scoresheets in favor of a point-and-click game entry interface. Using WUStL, scorekeepers and moderators can digitally enter each question as it is played and update results instantly at the end of each game.

WUStL natively supports several different good quizbowl formats. Tournament directors can specify whether or not their event will include negs, 15- or 20-point powers, and bouncebacks, and see stats calculated and reported accordingly. WUStL organizes stat reports by tournament phase (prelim, playoff, superplayoff) and bracket as appropriate.

Instead of requiring distribution of tournament-level passwords, WUStL allows tournament directors to manage their staff by approving (or ignoring) requests from users wishing to join the staff. The request system allows for better security and staff accountability while reducing communication demands on participants.

WUStL can be used in any number of game rooms at once from any computer, tablet, or smartphone with a reliable Internet connection and a Web browser. WUStL supports Mozilla Firefox and (mostly) Safari, but is optimized for Chromium/Google Chrome.

How to get started

Visit the WUStL home page at http://young-frankenstein.wustl.edu and create your free account. Once you have an account, search for tournaments to join, or create your own. Connect to your tournament and explore the intuitive, point-and-click interface.

Before using WUStL in a tournament setting, it will be helpful for all staff to have some prior experience. Teams should feel free to create test tournaments, or to use the system to keep score at practices.

How to support WUStL

WUStL is provided free of charge, and always will be. Of course, voluntary financial support of the project will not be refused.

WUStL is not currently open-source software, but if you are interested in helping with its development, please contact me. If I get around to working together with other contributors, I will need folks ready to write in PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, HTML5, and CSS3.

As stated, WUStL is currently in public beta, and developmental feedback is always appreciated. While the system is ready for live use, development of WUStL will continue as I find opportunity. If you find any issues with WUStL, please bring them up in this thread! If there are features you would like to see added, please discuss them here as well. I can't promise that all such feature requests will be prioritized, but it will always help to hear where the quizbowl community would like this project to go.

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