Here's the article on vacation abuse (from the Help & Support section):
https://support.chess.com/customer/portal/articles/1444860
There is a link to report someone in the article, but the theme seems to be that it's vacation abuse if a player is prolonging a game where he's in a losing position. If he's just being a doofus, I'm not sure it qualifies as abuse since we're allowed to use vacation days as we see fit.
This is the reason why I don't play Online Chess on this site anymore. Try doing a tournament. Usually takes years before they finish because they are filled with these types of people.
This is the reason why I don't play Online Chess on this site anymore. Try doing a tournament. Usually takes years before they finish because they are filled with these types of people.
There are plenty of tournaments that have a no vacation stipulation.
Right. The problem with that is that you can't use vacation time at all. There are cases where vacation time can be used, for example, if you go on vacation.
But the problem is that there is a huge amount of players that only use it to prolong games. So now I have to find another tournament to play in because these people abuse it? No, I just wait until chess.com realises this abuse and fixes it.
Last year year I had to go out of town unexpectedly when I suffered a death in the family. I timed out of several games (these were part of a no vacation tournament) and prolonged several others by a number of days.
I felt terrible when someone from the tournament contacted me and asked me when I was going to move. I gradually got back into the swing of things, and the tournement continued. The thing is, I simply did not have the brainspace, at the time, to deal with chess, or even to withdraw from the tournament.
This is an enormous website and you have to assume that at any moment in time there are players who have just been kicked out of their house, lost their job, are running a marathon, whatever. Vacation time constitutes abuse when a player prolongs a losing position, but shouldn't there be some leeway for those who just need to get back on their feet? If somebody in your tournament has taken a lot of vacation time, maybe you should just assume they really needed the break. After all, you get more time to look at the position too, right?
I have since been in tournaments with players who take simply forever to make a move, and I try not to let it bother me. There are worse things to get worked up about than how long it takes somebody else to make a move. If you are bored looking at that game, start another!
Of course, it is different if someone is doing this to be abusive, as you have said. But unless your opponent is taking vacation time to prolong the torment of a lost position, you should just deal with it. If you don't like how long it takes them to move, don't play them again.
The OP shouldn't be so quick to judge, or to make assumptions that he's deliberately abusing vacation time.
As a premium member, you should already know that each month you get more vacation time added to your account. That's how he suddenly gets more vacation time.
I've been doing similar in my own games in this past month. A death in the family, another in the hospital, and guess what? I'm suddenly not so concerned with my 3 day chess games. I've got a month+ of vacation time saved up since I haven't had to use it in a long time, so guess what? I'm going to use it! My mind was not in the game, therefore I should sideline it until I am ready to continue when my mind is back in to it. But just like the guy you are complaining about, saying he's online doing other things, well, I do that too. My mind might not be in the right place to play a deliberate correspondence game due to all that is going on, but I do find a brief reprieve from real life when I log in to this site to do Tactics Trainer or post on the forums for a bit.
So what's to say this person you are calling out as "abusing his earned vacation time" isn't in a similar boat? Maybe his mind isn't in the game. Maybe he's stressed out and not willing to sit down for 5 minutes looking at your game, lest he throw the game by making a stupid move he normally, in his right mind, would not have made.
Maybe he's simply taking advantage of one of the benefits of being a premium member: You earn vacation time, so why not use it? Chess.com does not rule our lives (well, I speak for myself on that one - Don't know about you). Maybe he just doesn't feel like playing. That's his right.
But most importantly, can you say for a fact he is or is not experiencing or doing any of the things I just mentioned? No, I didn't think so. To presume is wrong. There's many reasons why he could be using his vacation time, and they don't all contain the word "abuse".
Althouth it can be very annoying, isayoldboy is absolutely right.
Now I'd like to ask how many days do you get for being a premium member. Do you get 30 days when you upgrade, or if you are premium you get 4 days intead of the normal 2?
Sorry about the bad news, Nomadic and oldboy.
His homepage notes confirm the OP's allegations.
Only 9 cheat-cation days left.
by Aighearach 4 days ago
cheater
by goodguess 8 days ago
zspecs may have violated our Fair Play policy - it has been noted and they may have their account restricted.
by pentolankorek 2 weeks ago
Be careful thow. There are 2 members-- zspec (singular) and zspecs (plural)
zspecs plural. I'm hearing some hardship stories. I'm not saying there should not be a reason for vacation time. I'm saying it should not be abused. Read the original post before you share your hardships.
It seems perverse to accrue vacation while on vacation.
zspecs plural. I'm hearing some hardship stories. I'm not saying there should not be a reason for vacation time. I'm saying it should not be abused. Read the original post before you share your hardships.
To be fair, there was no indication in your original post that the guy was a genuine cheat. In my experience most vacation time on this site is "legit". There are a few bad apples but ample vacation time is one of the things that makes this site what it is, in my opinion. Either study the game (as you seem to believe your opponent is), or bring the game to a rapid close and don't play that opponent again. If he is taking days to study the position, doesn't that mean you have the opportunity to do so as well?
" How do I contact a site moderator to tell zspec to correct his vacation abuse? 
There's 2 ways. You can use the "help & support" forum. Or you can send in a complaint ticket in "help & support". For the ladder, scroll down to the bottom of any page on this site. See the green pawn(lower left hand corner)? Site map, FAQ's Help Translate? Follow the yellow brick road.
FYI.... Support says taking vacation and playing timed games is definitely vacation abuse. Vacation pause is meant for just that, vacation. The player is being messaged by support as to how vacation may be used. .
Vacation is not abuse. It is a privilege of paid membership.
I sometimes have several games going at once (eight now). Some require thought that I cannot give them when I am preoccupied. For example, when I ran the state elementary a few weeks ago, I needed almost two weeks vacation time for a one day event. I could have moved in one or two games, but not the complex ones. This week I have not yet taken vacation time even though my life has been turned upside down as a new foster parent for a four year old boxer. Even so, if a game gets complicated in the next few days, I may need a week of vacation until I can concentrate better.
I'll still contribute to the forums while on vacation. Forum comments are like drinking cheap California wine. Not wholly satisfying, but the basic drug is present.
I'm playing in a tournament against kskonge. He went on vacation, yet I saw him playing blitz games today. I agree with a previous post: if you are on vacation, once you log back in the vacation is over. Some tournaments are held up for a ridiculously long time over things like this.
When I was young and had no responsibilities, I agreed with this notion. No longer. I disagree.
I wish they had provisions about overall time to finish a game. You shouldn't have to wait several months to finish a game. If a guy has a busy period, I understand. But if his whole life is too busy to keep up with Chess.com, ever, then why do I have to dangle on the hook? And more likely, if he has a hundred active games and doesn't feel like addressing that responsibility that he took on, at a certain point there needs to be a whip to crack.
I'm playing online chess with a guy named zspecs. The time frame is 3 days. This guy goes on vacation, comes back makes a move and I'm thinking good he's back no problem. Immediately after his move he goes on vacation again. Then repeats the cycle. I would play 14 day moves if that was okay with me. It gets worse. His vacation ran out and I'm thinking, good, we can finish this game. He got a whole new supply of vacation days. Not only that but he's not on vacation. He's on the website playing timed chess. Little green dot shows he's online. Would be nice if I could find a way to report a problem player other than starting a forum topic. How is it when you use your vacation time you get more? How do I contact a site moderator to tell zspec to correct his vacation abuse?