This is a valid point, and it would be very reasonable to implement superko for example. I think you might get some bad press in Japan forI can't understand why you need to prevent other people from playing suicide moves to sell your program. I find it very frustrating to be restricted unnecessarily. It is enough that your program doesn't play suicide moves to sell your program in Japan. Also with superko. You don't need to stop your opponent from playing it, it is enough that your program recognises it and plays accordingly. Even in Japan this would be desirable. This means that you won't annoy the beginners by playing in infinite loops.
Sorry, not political, real. If I start by implementing Japanese rules, I will make
suicide illegal. I'll do Japanese rules first, since most people play that way. Once
I make suicide illegal, it is a change and an option to allow it. But I agree that it
is a minor issue. The various ko rules are a more difficult issue.
Barry Phease mailto:barryp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~barryp
David Fotland