The S25 ISFL Rules Summit has recently come to a close. GMs, Head Office members and Department Heads were encouraged to submit proposed changes to the rulebook and league procedure. With 21 voting members (14 teams, 5 HO members, 1 league owner, and 1 simmer), 15 votes were needed for a proposal to pass.
Below is the full list of proposed rule changes and the final voting results for each.
1. Eliminate Rule 4 Section 3 of the Awards Section as it too strictly limits player flexibility. Rule 4 Section 2 (the 60% rule) has shown to be more than enough of a clear limiter without Section 3 on top of it.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
2. Change the fine for not posting offensive line bots to $1 million for the group, not per bot.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
3. Amend Rule V.B.9 to read, "Inactive players with 57 TPE or less are not eligible for the ISFL draft. Players fitting this criteria will instead enter free agency upon the conclusion of the ISFL draft stream for their regression class". This could potentially be implemented immediately, at HO's discretion.
16 For - 5 Against
Rule Passes
4. Awards Committee nominates up to 5 GM pairs for ISFL GMotY.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
5. Implement a GM HOF. This would follow the same rules/set up as User HOF, where committee nominates and they are on for 3 seasons, 2/3 vote needed to stay.
15 For - 6 Against
Rule Passes
6. HO does not vote on player awards or pro bowl. Head Office continues to vote on user recognition awards such as MDM and GMotY.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
7. The free agency thread will be posted at the conclusion of the final set of regular-season games. A player becomes a free agent if their contract has expired, or when they choose to exercise a contract option. A team may discuss a potential contract with a player as soon as they become a free agent, even if that player's team is still in contention, but may not sign new players until the opening of the Free Agent Signing period following the Ultimus.
15 For - 6 Against
Rule Passes
8. BUDGET RULE PACKAGE for immediate implementation
a. Contract offers to inactive players must be marked as 'IA' when posting and must be only 1 season in length. When 48 hours has passed since posting the IA offer, the contract is considered accepted and will be processed.
b. If the inactive player becomes active within the above 48 hour period, the offer remains valid. However, the player may decline the contract and request an active one instead.
Active players must explicitly accept a contract offer by replying to the relevant thread.
c. If an active player becomes inactive while a contract offer is outstanding, GMs must modify the offer to make it an IA contract. In this case, the 48 hour waiting period can be counted from when the original, active contract was posted.
d. If the contracted salary of a player sent down to the DSFL is less than $4M, the player will be paid $4M instead.
20 For - 1 Against
Rule Passes
We also conducted a special rules summit addressing some issues impacting both the DSFL and ISFL. With 33 voting members (14 ISFL teams, 8 DSFL teams, 5 ISFL HO members, 3 DSFL HO members, 1 league owner, and 2 simmers), 24 votes were needed for a proposal to pass.
Below is the full list of proposed rule changes and the final voting results for each.
1. Give Head Office members PT passes - the job is extremely time intensive and stressful, and as such HO members should be compensated with PT passes. That time would be better spent working on league related issues. At the very least a UW pass.
28 For UW - 20 For Full PT Pass - 5 Against
Rule Passes - HO Receives UW Pass
2. Change the formatting of payouts for backup updaters. Rather than pay them a base salary at the end of the season based on backups done, each updater will receive $1,500,000 per backup done during the season to be paid out the Monday following. At the end of the season, these backups will be paid their base salary and awarded their accumulated PT passes for the following season.
23 For - 10 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
3. Implement a standard update reply: Updated! (Insert any comments)Bank: xx Total: xxxx
28 For - 5 Against
Rule Passes
4. Buff the strength caps for each CB archetype by 5 to create a more balanced gameplay style across the board. This means that All Around archetype would go from 70 to 75 cap (costs an additional 25 TPE to max out) and Man to Man and Zone would go from 65 to 70 cap (costs an additional 10 TPE to max out)
12 For - 20 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
5. Give PT (or at least UW) Passes To DSFL and ISFL GMs. Like HO all gms deserve a pass on point tasks as gms have a lot on their plate as it is and this would help them out.
26 For UW - 8 For Full PT Pass - 3 Against
Rule Passes - GMs Receive UW Pass
6. All members of HO (interns included) absolutely can’t be in a war room for a DSFL team or ISFL.
11 For - 22 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
7. All Head GMs must be hired by Head Office.
5 For - 28 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
8. All GM hires must be approved by HO (This is already the standard practice, but does not appear in the rulebook at this time.)
30 For - 3 Against
Rule Passes
9. All safeties be designated SS. Each team is allowed to designate 1 player as FS before week 1 of the season. This player MUST play at SS or FS only, at all times. If you fail to designate one before week 1 of the season, you do not get one. If your designated FS is no longer eligible to play for your team, you are allowed to designate a new FS. FS designation can be changed for week 3, the week after the trade deadline, and for the beginning of the playoffs. This is to be implemented immediately if passed.
18 For - 15 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
10. All players play their designated position from week 1 throughout the season (RB/FB, TE/FB, DE/LB, FS/SS). A player's position can only be changed in the strats for week 3, the week after the trade deadline and for the beginning of the playoffs.
4 For - 29 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
11. Users may choose to forgo entering the DSFL draft if the user has retired a player that was active in the most recent league season AND regressed at least once in their career. Players that exercise this option will enter the next ISFL draft and are not eligible to play in the DSFL for the remainder of their career. Players who wish to exercise this option must 'opt-in' and are responsible for notifying the Rookie Mentor team of their intent prior to the ISFL draft.
6 For - 27 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
12. All Weekly TPE Opportunities (Defined as: Activity Checks, Weekly Training, Trivia, Point Tasks, Predictions, revisited upon other future weekly TPE opportunities) must be posted within 24 hours of the new League Week (Sunday 12:01 AM - EST). Predictions must also be posted at least 24 hours before they are due. Ultimus Week, off-season point task opportunities (training camp, new training opening, wiki updates, and other future TPE opportunities), must also be clearly defined with timelines and posted within 24 hours of the stated date.
23 For - 10 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
13. Change VIII.D.4 to allow brand new users to change their name for free once, assuming it's done before the DSFL Pre-Draft. This should be in addition to the current rule.
30 For - 3 Against
Rule Passes
Please feel free to tag @bex with any questions!
Below is the full list of proposed rule changes and the final voting results for each.
1. Eliminate Rule 4 Section 3 of the Awards Section as it too strictly limits player flexibility. Rule 4 Section 2 (the 60% rule) has shown to be more than enough of a clear limiter without Section 3 on top of it.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
2. Change the fine for not posting offensive line bots to $1 million for the group, not per bot.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
3. Amend Rule V.B.9 to read, "Inactive players with 57 TPE or less are not eligible for the ISFL draft. Players fitting this criteria will instead enter free agency upon the conclusion of the ISFL draft stream for their regression class". This could potentially be implemented immediately, at HO's discretion.
16 For - 5 Against
Rule Passes
4. Awards Committee nominates up to 5 GM pairs for ISFL GMotY.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
5. Implement a GM HOF. This would follow the same rules/set up as User HOF, where committee nominates and they are on for 3 seasons, 2/3 vote needed to stay.
15 For - 6 Against
Rule Passes
6. HO does not vote on player awards or pro bowl. Head Office continues to vote on user recognition awards such as MDM and GMotY.
14 For - 7 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
7. The free agency thread will be posted at the conclusion of the final set of regular-season games. A player becomes a free agent if their contract has expired, or when they choose to exercise a contract option. A team may discuss a potential contract with a player as soon as they become a free agent, even if that player's team is still in contention, but may not sign new players until the opening of the Free Agent Signing period following the Ultimus.
15 For - 6 Against
Rule Passes
8. BUDGET RULE PACKAGE for immediate implementation
a. Contract offers to inactive players must be marked as 'IA' when posting and must be only 1 season in length. When 48 hours has passed since posting the IA offer, the contract is considered accepted and will be processed.
b. If the inactive player becomes active within the above 48 hour period, the offer remains valid. However, the player may decline the contract and request an active one instead.
Active players must explicitly accept a contract offer by replying to the relevant thread.
c. If an active player becomes inactive while a contract offer is outstanding, GMs must modify the offer to make it an IA contract. In this case, the 48 hour waiting period can be counted from when the original, active contract was posted.
d. If the contracted salary of a player sent down to the DSFL is less than $4M, the player will be paid $4M instead.
20 For - 1 Against
Rule Passes
We also conducted a special rules summit addressing some issues impacting both the DSFL and ISFL. With 33 voting members (14 ISFL teams, 8 DSFL teams, 5 ISFL HO members, 3 DSFL HO members, 1 league owner, and 2 simmers), 24 votes were needed for a proposal to pass.
Below is the full list of proposed rule changes and the final voting results for each.
1. Give Head Office members PT passes - the job is extremely time intensive and stressful, and as such HO members should be compensated with PT passes. That time would be better spent working on league related issues. At the very least a UW pass.
28 For UW - 20 For Full PT Pass - 5 Against
Rule Passes - HO Receives UW Pass
2. Change the formatting of payouts for backup updaters. Rather than pay them a base salary at the end of the season based on backups done, each updater will receive $1,500,000 per backup done during the season to be paid out the Monday following. At the end of the season, these backups will be paid their base salary and awarded their accumulated PT passes for the following season.
23 For - 10 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
3. Implement a standard update reply: Updated! (Insert any comments)Bank: xx Total: xxxx
28 For - 5 Against
Rule Passes
4. Buff the strength caps for each CB archetype by 5 to create a more balanced gameplay style across the board. This means that All Around archetype would go from 70 to 75 cap (costs an additional 25 TPE to max out) and Man to Man and Zone would go from 65 to 70 cap (costs an additional 10 TPE to max out)
12 For - 20 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
5. Give PT (or at least UW) Passes To DSFL and ISFL GMs. Like HO all gms deserve a pass on point tasks as gms have a lot on their plate as it is and this would help them out.
26 For UW - 8 For Full PT Pass - 3 Against
Rule Passes - GMs Receive UW Pass
6. All members of HO (interns included) absolutely can’t be in a war room for a DSFL team or ISFL.
11 For - 22 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
7. All Head GMs must be hired by Head Office.
5 For - 28 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
8. All GM hires must be approved by HO (This is already the standard practice, but does not appear in the rulebook at this time.)
30 For - 3 Against
Rule Passes
9. All safeties be designated SS. Each team is allowed to designate 1 player as FS before week 1 of the season. This player MUST play at SS or FS only, at all times. If you fail to designate one before week 1 of the season, you do not get one. If your designated FS is no longer eligible to play for your team, you are allowed to designate a new FS. FS designation can be changed for week 3, the week after the trade deadline, and for the beginning of the playoffs. This is to be implemented immediately if passed.
18 For - 15 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
10. All players play their designated position from week 1 throughout the season (RB/FB, TE/FB, DE/LB, FS/SS). A player's position can only be changed in the strats for week 3, the week after the trade deadline and for the beginning of the playoffs.
4 For - 29 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
11. Users may choose to forgo entering the DSFL draft if the user has retired a player that was active in the most recent league season AND regressed at least once in their career. Players that exercise this option will enter the next ISFL draft and are not eligible to play in the DSFL for the remainder of their career. Players who wish to exercise this option must 'opt-in' and are responsible for notifying the Rookie Mentor team of their intent prior to the ISFL draft.
6 For - 27 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
12. All Weekly TPE Opportunities (Defined as: Activity Checks, Weekly Training, Trivia, Point Tasks, Predictions, revisited upon other future weekly TPE opportunities) must be posted within 24 hours of the new League Week (Sunday 12:01 AM - EST). Predictions must also be posted at least 24 hours before they are due. Ultimus Week, off-season point task opportunities (training camp, new training opening, wiki updates, and other future TPE opportunities), must also be clearly defined with timelines and posted within 24 hours of the stated date.
23 For - 10 Against
Rule Does NOT Pass
13. Change VIII.D.4 to allow brand new users to change their name for free once, assuming it's done before the DSFL Pre-Draft. This should be in addition to the current rule.
30 For - 3 Against
Rule Passes
Code:
ISFL Rules 3, 5, 7 and 8 pass. Rules 3, 7 and 8 will be added to the rule book and go into effect this season on their respective timelines. Rule 5 will go into effect at the discretion of the Hall of Fame Committee.
Universal Rules 1, 3, 5, 8, and 13 pass. Rules 1 and 5 will go into effect with the S26 UW being the first passes issued. Rule 3 will go into effect at the discretion of the Updater Head. Rule 8 will be added to the rulebook and continue to be enforced. Rule 13 will be added to the rulebook and will go into effect during the off-season.
Please feel free to tag @bex with any questions!