Week 02 · lesson
Who Has Authority?
When a match is disputed, people often point to the loudest person in the room. That is not governance. In esports, the publisher owns and updates the game; an organizer runs a specific event; officials apply that event’s rules; teams manage their people. Those roles can overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
Receive: Separate the Jobs
| Role | Legitimate decision | Decision it should not make alone |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Software, patches, game-use policy | A ruling in every local match |
| Organizer | Schedule, bracket, event rulebook | A player’s personal conduct outside its event process |
| Official | Evidence-based ruling under the rulebook | Changing a published rule because a result is inconvenient |
| Team leader | Preparation and internal communication | Declaring their own team eligible after a dispute |
Money and authority are different. A sponsor may fund an event. That does not make the sponsor the referee. A popular player may have a strong opinion. That does not make the opinion a ruling.
Process: Trace the Owner
A tournament announces that matches will use a particular version of a game. The publisher releases a patch the morning of the event. Who decides whether the event stays on the listed version? Explain why the answer is not simply “the publisher,” even though the publisher made the patch.
Practice: Sort the Decisions
Assign a first owner to each: a roster name does not match registration; a game tool is disabled by a software update; a team arrives late; two teams disagree about a score. Then identify the record that owner should inspect. A decision without evidence is just confidence wearing a badge.
Apply: Make an Authority Map
For your classroom event card from Week 1, draw four boxes: publisher/game owner, organizer, official, team. Add one decision and one evidence source to each relevant box. If your event has no publisher, state that the teacher or class owns the challenge rules. Honesty is better than pretending every activity is a professional league.
Correct: Use the Boundary Test
Ask: could this person fairly rule on a problem involving themselves? If not, route it to another owner. Revise one box if your map gives one person every job.
Prove: Exit Evidence
Submit the map and a three-sentence explanation of one boundary that protects fairness.
process flow
Responsible Participation Loop
Notice
Identify the goal, participants, and available evidence.
Plan
Choose a respectful, accessible, and realistic next action.
Practice
Try the action in a bounded classroom scenario.
Review
Compare the result with the stated success criteria.
Revise
Document one improvement and the evidence that supports it.
Read this concept flow as plain text
- Notice. Identify the goal, participants, and available evidence.
- Plan. Choose a respectful, accessible, and realistic next action.
- Practice. Try the action in a bounded classroom scenario.
- Review. Compare the result with the stated success criteria.
- Revise. Document one improvement and the evidence that supports it.