Are Commissioners necessary?

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Cult of Dionysus
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Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby Cult of Dionysus » Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:32 pm

This may be an esoteric question, especially for those who have been, but are commissioners necessary?

It goes without saying that someone needs to set up a league. It shouldn't be done by committee. Just see who how things went when some guys tried to set up the "stratified management" league concept. It crashed and burnt much like the Hinden burg... only with more flames. The best league's are the brain child of a mad genius!

But do you REALLY need an actual commissioner once a league has been set up? Crazy question, but bear with me!

Commissioners serve two functions post league-creation. First, they adjudicate disputes. Second, they fill vacancies. If you think they do more or less... I couldn't really care cuz I'm drunk out of my mind and fully intent on pontificating. (Side note: no matter how drunk, I always maintain my spelling!)

If a league's bylaws are properly done, does it really take a commissioner to apply them? Isn't it really a league issue to deal with disputes? Why should the commissioner have to judge disputes? Most likely he owns a team, and is as partial as anyone. So shouldn't it be up to the league to deal with the dispute?

And as for filling vacancies, which, speaking from a ton of experience, is my least favorite part of fantasy football, shouldn't all league members be responsible for maintaining the viability of their league? I have found that most leagues have about 20% - 30% turnover year to year. It sucks. It's painful. It's true. No matter what you do, guys want out. If you run a good league, it's probably kids or work. If you run a bad league, it's probably you. But why should you or me have to deal with filling the vacancy? I don't mind dealing with the clusterf#ck that is MFL, but when 3 guys tell me they can't continue, I feel it. It hurts. I hate it.

My thesis: league's should be commissioned by leagues.

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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby onetwothree » Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:57 pm

If you've had a good commissioner, you'll know the answer..

At minimum, someone to set up the league and hold the funds. Then there are commissioners who provide weekly updates, coordinates dates, keeps everyone informed and even more.

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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby skip » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:02 pm

While I think the vast majority of things that take place in a league do not require a commissioner, there are still a couple of items that I do not want left up to a "committee" or the entire league.

I am and will always be opposed to vetoes. The more people involved in the process of dealing with potential collusion issues, the bigger the problem. There are some leagues members that are without reproach that can be trusted. And there are others who should never be involved in the process because they are of suspect character. While this is usually a small minority, I'm sure we've all had them in our leagues.

I also do not believe that every rule change needs to go before the league. While the majority should (scoring, lineup, etc.) there are occasionally rules that require immediate application and need to be decided by a commissioner.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby snaps06 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:40 pm

Commissioner duties:

1) Maintain the integrity of the league and enforce the bylaws. Someone needs to do it, and do it right.

2) Fill vacancies.

3) Hold funds, enforce payment.

4) Set dates (or at least hold polls to set dates) for drafts, rule changes, polls, anything that needs votes basically.

5) Post updates, playoff scenarios, and generally keep everyone engaged all season long (and all year long in dynasty).

Most of those duties are only able to be done properly by a select few fantasy footballers. I've seen bad commissioners destroy leagues quickly, and good commissioners hold leagues together for years. I've also seen "rotating" commissioners, where each year someone new takes the reigns. But overall, I feel like the commish is an extremely important person that does a lot more than what most fantasy players notice, and the good ones usually don't get the thanks or respect they deserve.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby ArrylT » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:45 pm

It is human nature to want a leader in any situation. Especially when it comes down to minutae that many do not have much interest in.
Someone where the buck stops with. Breaks ties. Has final say. Forces momentum when the committee argues into stagnation.

It is better to rely one on one person who you can (hopefully) count on to be relied on, than hope that your fellow 11/13/whatever owners can all carry a part of the load.

Finally the Commissioner also can set a standard. A league with a quiet, barely active commish, can be a dull comatose-like league unless someone else steps in to fill the vacuum (and ergo they should be the Commish). On the other hand a strong active commissioner will inspire many ofthe fellow owners to contribute more, be active more. At least that has been my experience.
Please speak to clarion contrarion before considering the use of vetos..

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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby Ray Finkle » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:55 pm

Finances and the occasional poll concerning league wide changes is important but my main league runs very smoothly with a good group of dudes.

However, despite everything being detailed in bylaws and the league constitution I find my biggest contribution is notifying and reminding owners of key league deadlines, dates, times and updates which in turn keeps everyone engaged.

Love my league and league mates but due to "life" and quite frankly, alcohol, short term memory is not a strong suit of our league.

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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby Coogan Football » Tue Apr 18, 2017 8:15 pm

ArrylT wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:45 pm It is human nature to want a leader in any situation. Especially when it comes down to minutae that many do not have much interest in.
Someone where the buck stops with. Breaks ties. Has final say. Forces momentum when the committee argues into stagnation.

It is better to rely one on one person who you can (hopefully) count on to be relied on, than hope that your fellow 11/13/whatever owners can all carry a part of the load.

Finally the Commissioner also can set a standard. A league with a quiet, barely active commish, can be a dull comatose-like league unless someone else steps in to fill the vacuum (and ergo they should be the Commish). On the other hand a strong active commissioner will inspire many ofthe fellow owners to contribute more, be active more. At least that has been my experience.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby moishetreats » Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:43 am

As I see it, a commish has three main functions. The first one, anyone can do. It's the last two which moves the commish out of the league manager role and into something different.

1) League admin. Collect dues, remind people of deadlines, set schedules, call for rules votes. Find replacement owners.
2) Adjudicate issues, questions, concerns that come up. And they always do. And create an equitable process to do so. Deal with disgruntled owners, both those who stay in the league and those who leave in a fit.
3) Set the vision for the league. What's most important to the owners in this league? And how do we keep that central as the focus? And how does the constitution reflect and implement that vision? And how are all the owners brought to collective buy-in and general happiness?
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby Goirish374 » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:25 am

I cannot, in words, express my profound dissatisfaction, frustration and regret at having not gotten to this post last night when Cult was still raging.

That being said, i have a few thoughts:
-I reject any arguments along the lines of league integrity or supremacy over the veto format. The owner veto format is terrible--but the commish veto format replaces the will of several people with the will of one person, which is absolutely more tyrannical and serves only one interest--that of the commish. The myth of the objective commissioner is exactly that and i applaud the poster above who mentioned it.
-many of the things people have mentioned do not require a commish. Holding funds, for example, can be entirely managed by settings within leaguesafe. Yes, you need someone to physically set up the account and check the boxes and enter the email addresses. Even if it is just resuming a pre existing league, there are small things to do. Does this require a commissioner? No. Any motivated league member would do
-however: there is absolutely an argument to be made that the same person doing something once a year instead of once every 12 years has an inherent *efficiency* advantage that, upon inspection, translates to many, many administrative duties.
-herding cats. Things come up every year that bylaws don't cover: draft date, FAA start times, etc. my mind asplodes just thinking of trying to solve these by group discussion. Most of these have nothing to do with actual FF, but are critical to making a league run.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby MEuRaH » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:34 am

I would be shocked to find a league that doesn't have a commissioner. Even if there was such a league, there would still be someone who handled the majority of rollovers, settings, rule changes, etc, and would then assume the role of commissioner by default.

Someone needs to:
-- Collect dues
-- Pay for hosting
-- Make payouts
-- Recruit new owners
-- Facilitate rule changing/adding conversations
-- Update rules & settings (waivers, free agency, playoffs, etc)
-- Adjust appearances / CSS files
-- Make schedules (usually)
-- Make decisions on big issues (collusion, trade errors, etc)
-- Adjust draft orders

I would feel very lost in a league without a commissioner. If you leave all these decisions and tasks up to the owners, the workload will be unbalanced, since some people will want to do too much and other people will want to do nothing at all. Also, voting will eventually result in ties since all leagues have an even number of owners (as a commissioner, I often abstain from voting to make outcomes work, and only get involved when a tie needs to be broken). So what happens then?

I'm not saying it can't work, but I definitely don't see how it could.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby MEuRaH » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:38 am

Goirish374 wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:25 am I cannot, in words, express my profound dissatisfaction, frustration and regret at having not gotten to this post last night when Cult was still raging.
Can you explain this? I searched and I don't see anything on these forums.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby skip » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:39 am

Goirish374 wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:25 am -I reject any arguments along the lines of league integrity or supremacy over the veto format. The owner veto format is terrible--but the commish veto format replaces the will of several people with the will of one person, which is absolutely more tyrannical and serves only one interest--that of the commish. The myth of the objective commissioner is exactly that and i applaud the poster above who mentioned it.
Then you have had some horrible commissioners. The veto format has ruined every single league that exists and is the fastest way to chase owners out of your league.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby dlf_jules » Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:03 am

Cult of Dionysus wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:32 pm (Side note: no matter how drunk, I always maintain my spelling!)
That's impressive.
Cult of Dionysus wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:32 pmMy thesis: league's should be commissioned by leagues.
Oh, never mind.
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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby MARKinMI » Wed Apr 19, 2017 2:01 pm

As a commish I'm constantly reminding Owners of things they'd forget if i wasn't. Anything from obscure rules in a contract league that only come into play once a year to dates of things like roster cut downs and initial waivers. Somebody has to guide a league over the course of the year. I have some of the most experienced owners in my leagues that exist in this hobby and I know I still have to send out reminders on a semi regular basis. Especially considering how many leagues most people play in and hard it is to keep the different nuances straight. Throw in the other stuff like handling disputes, leaguesafe setup, calendar setup.... The commissioner is most important part of a league. He or she is the roots/ foundation that everything else builds from. Look at guys Like Ryan McDowell and Scott Fish, they're two of the best commishes I know. Their owners love their leagues. A good commish goes a long way to smoothing any rough edges a league might have.

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Re: Are Commissioners necessary?

Postby Goirish374 » Wed Apr 19, 2017 3:22 pm

skip wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:39 am
Goirish374 wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:25 am -I reject any arguments along the lines of league integrity or supremacy over the veto format. The owner veto format is terrible--but the commish veto format replaces the will of several people with the will of one person, which is absolutely more tyrannical and serves only one interest--that of the commish. The myth of the objective commissioner is exactly that and i applaud the poster above who mentioned it.
Then you have had some horrible commissioners. The veto format has ruined every single league that exists and is the fastest way to chase owners out of your league.
I think you have misunderstood my post.

I agree with you about the league ruining potential of the veto format.
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