[blml] ...have we really come to this??? [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[Nigel]

[Ruchard Hills]
>> Another reason the ABF abolished R18 was that
>> the Rule of 18 was infracted so frequently that
>> it became an unenforced dead-letter law, due to
>> the Aussie style of mad overbidding.

[nige1l]
The EBU seem to have all but abandoned "rule of 18" and other 
restrictions -- and for the same reasons. A handful of masochists lost 
matches by slavishly complying with the old regulation. The vast 
majority (especially director-players) ignored it or found ways round it.

Some restrictions are now phrased as rule of x *or equivalent*. As 
David Burn previously pointed out, a secretary bird can drive a coach 
and horses through such regulations, especially if he's a director.