Lag switch?

My teenaged son plays live action video games with folks from all around the world. He told me that some of his opponents cheat by using lag switches during games. I asked him how it works, and he said that the opponent hits the lag switch at a crucial time giving that opponent time to maneuver something into better position. He says there's a risk of losing the connection totally if the switch isn't timed right.

Hmmm...

I began to wonder if there are folks on Chess.com LIVE who do something similar during matches, like hit a lag switch to give yourself more time to assess a various position, or even more sinister, to just keep lagging your own time while the opponent's time dwindles down. Now, I'm not a sore loser, but I've always been puzzled when I playing move for move with someone, and the moment I get an advantage of some sort, the lagging begins. And just as my son said, sometimes the switchers 'abandon' the game.

I'm not crazy; I've seen this too many times to be imagining it. Am I the only one?

it is possible, but not likely. live chess 1 is just laggy and buggy. :(

i think u r right,i lose many times due to lagging in winning position.

After years of frustration with certain patterns of lag--some opponents always seem to lag during close endgames--at a free chess server, some inquiries generated the explanation from a site administrator there that use of a toggle switch, perhaps homemade, and/or rapidly unplugging and plugging in one's internet wire could artificially produce lag. Certainly, there would be the danger of disconnection (but there disconnection leads to adjourned games).

The lag has grown worse, but seems not to follow the same pattern, at a pay site where I play most of my blitz.

OTOH, my suspicions of foul play almost always seem more intense when I am otherwise playing badly.

I think that some players do artificially manipulate their lag, but probably less often than I suspect them of it.

Since the recent upgrade of Live Chess here, the lag is not as bad as it was. It does still seem worse with opponents from certain countries.

Chess.com's live chess has improved dramatically since this thread began. OTOH, a few other places that I play chess online have grown worse. On one free site, as many as 20% may be using a lag switch. I think it is under 2% on chess.com.

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/consumerelectronicsnetworks/f/lag_switches.htm 

There is no chess site in the world where %20 of the people are using lag switches unless there are only five people on it and one of them has a lag switch.  You're paranoid.  A lot of people just have poor internet connections.

Read both of my comments before you offer your sorry, ill-informed judgment.

How did this thread resurrect after being dead for 6 years? 

I always thought they were an internet myth.  I sit corrected. Thanks for the link, Ziryab.

I wasn't certain how they worked and whether they had to be homemade, and hence thought that they had to be rare. That's why I resurrected this thread.

It is my understanding that at least one online gaming community has taken measures against their use. I also think that ICCs "pools" may reduce their use because average lag must be under a limited threshold. 

I read them.  You're paranoid.

At your playing strength, it's of no consequence.

I'm quite sure I just played I guy who used that, [public accusations not allowed -- MOD].
I'm posting this because I'm sick of losing to people who does exactly that...
It was a min game and it happened in the last two games towards the end....

anybody plz play match with me

Read the thread, fool. There's a link.

There is a link but in a turn based game here, lagging on one side would only provide a little extra time for the lagger and the lag compensation code likely has a maximum amount of lag it allows anyway.

Lag is only an issue in bullet and fast blitz. In such time controls, a lag switch can produce a slight advantage for the user. With an increment, or at slow time controls, it changes nothing.

I agree. When most bring it up, they are normally doing it to imply something else entirely, such as post 16's sarcasm.

I don't understand all of that :horror