Hater protest
Disclaimer: This article is about rules. Its contents are not authoritative. Please consult official rules for up-to-date information.
| NAQT | gameplay rules • eligibility rules • correctness guidelines |
|---|---|
| ACF | gameplay rules • eligibility rules |
| PACE | gameplay and eligibility rules |
Before the game
During the game
The hater protest refers to a protest lodged against an accepted answer. While often lodged for legitimate reasons such as an incorrect moderator decision or answerline, the person lodging the protest is invariably interpreted as a "hater".
Basis
ACF rule H.5F explicitly allows protests to be lodged if "the opposing team gained points for an answer which should have been ruled incorrect, but was ruled correct due either to moderator error or to an error in the packet." Hater protests are possible under two options under NAQT rule J.1: "proper evaluation of a response" or "correctness of the rules in a question".
As a result, hater protests are almost always lodged by the opposing team (though instances of players lodging protests against their teammates have been recorded).