It's So Much Worse Than We Thought...

[@STUCUBE]

You can sign this petition if you want to protest the decision: shorturl.at/3EKAS

[@A_Glad]

Signed

[@soniccubing]

lazy af

[@pengusplayz5756]

Signed! DNF that mf 😫😫😫

[@SerKubos]

i singned yesterday lol

[@curiousNic]

Signed. I very much want to protest this terrible decision. #free2x2

[@sohamsengupta6470]

They had two options. They somehow picked a third option that was the worst of both worlds. You've allowed a run that uses a technique to stand, while ensuring the technique itself can never be used again. What the actual hell.

[@icespiceate]

Hmmm

[@chungusamongus519]

This is why communities need Grassroots events and to boycott this board's events.

[@joshm3484]

CCP paid for the record to stay 🤷🏼‍♂

[@Kosmicd12]

Should have a timer that the cube sits on and is triggered by picking up the cube

[@lux5164]

or maybe when the first move is made? not sure why it's not that to begin with. if the timer started when picking up the cube wouldn't you be able to turn the top face without the timer starting?

[@YT7mc]

@@lux5164turning the top face is effectively useless, it would save like 0.05 seconds max and would mostly be uncomfortable. The real issue is that it would cost money to develop and then produce new timers, and it would be very difficult to get them world wide. I’m not saying it’s impossible or an awful solution. However, it would be cheaper to develop a program which would have video input and then detect the first frame the cube moves to start the timer. You could take input from the timers they currently use as a stopping mechanism, or it would probably be easier and less error prone to just detect when the cube is still on a flat surface for a few frames and then retroactively stop the timer on the first frame it was still.

[@Buy3Get2]

Kosmic? What are you doing here haha

[@MrSluFa]

@@lux5164you could just make it not allowed to turn it before picking it up

[@MrSluFa]

What about when they are analyzing the cube

[@pengusplayz5756]

My favourite part was when Yiheng Wang said “it’s sliding time” and slid all over the place

[@darks_gene707]

*_Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝_*

[@Af5j]

real

[@sparklecat60]

KZbin is adding blue comments now too? Yiheng Wang’s name in your comment just got highlighted in blue with a search icon above it…

[@Margen67]

Penguins need HUGS

[@JohnPaulBuce]

_😂_

[@hairtoss7975]

Put the sensor under the cube, the timer starts when the cube is lifted.

[@clarewillison9379]

I’ve been saying this too. Change to sensor mats. Cube up: timer starts, cube down (even a corner): timer stops. I saw it as a solution to the problems Yiheng was having with his finishes before this, but maybe his coaches saw sliding as an easier way.

[@Skcubing]

This would be cool but really expensive and that’s def a problem. Also someone’s gonna keep their wrists or something on the mat while doing a few turns so idk.

[@tim..indeed]

​@@Skcubing Similar sensors exist in the professional world for less than $5. It would require some engineering to cheaply integrate them into timers but it would be necessary for the long-term health of cubing.

[@elijahfoster2]

@@SkcubingHow would it be more expensive than a hand-based timer? Should be much cheaper

[@EstrogenCubing]

You could do a U turn on 3x3 or U BR BL FR FL turn on Megaminx without the timer starting

[@ScoochCubing]

“There is now a world record that doesn’t follow the regulations of the wca” Best way to put it. Literally all you need to know to understand how stupid this decision is

[@AidanGrainger]

I do apologize for my brainrot ( link 4:57 ). It was a necessary protocol, we had to allow the Generation α to understand the severity of this decision. I hope I can be forgiven, my act was not in spite nor in a way to mock the WCA board and their decision, but a sacrifice needed to spread the wider concern to a greater demographic. I must thank you for your further sacrifice in containing the abysmal mess that was the reply in your video. It will be great in spreading the word. With all my heart, thank you, thank you soldier. WE MUST CONTINUE IN RALLYING AGAINST THIS!

[@Electrino52]

lmao no cap

[@Citruscuber]

Every 2x2er is brainrot so this was a worthy sacrifice thank you

[@wnesl]

Thats so skibidi

[@fc3x336]

Bro is cooked 💀

[@Skcubing]

Bros rizz levels are actually gyattastic

[@stangneshakon]

Ok, so now we're gonna use unofficial footage as proof? So basically, no one should ever film their solves in 2x2 again? If it is legal to slide when you're not being recorded, then there's no reason to record anymore?

[@STUCUBE]

True. That’s the problem and it’s why we need more recording of official solves

[@marcoguarasci]

Now it'll be illegal not to record your solve

[@pinklemonade6597]

Exactly, imo this just encourages people not to record solves it wont stop people sliding

[@fatsquirrel75]

It should just be required for elite cubers. We don't want every solve filmed and verified. But we do want that for every record.

[@AlanJia8]

Or just don't slide

[@iwa9691]

It would better to just legalise sliding. This rule is completely unenforceable and can only breed a culture of secrecy and mistrust. There’s just no point in rules that can’t be enforced.

[@FrostDirt]

But legalising sliding is also hard to define without having dangerous loophole. If you legalise sliding, would that mean solving the whole cube whilst having your wrist in the timer be a legal solve?

[@googleplexx7909]

Hopefully this is a joke

[@natcuber]

@@iwa9691 it's impossible to enforce it across all competitions and competitors, but it can be used to check the world's to cubers and records at any level.

[@thephysicistcuber175]

Why legalize sliding, but not starting with wrists on timer? What's the point?

[@Kevin-qj7fp]

read my comment about placing cube closer to timer after inspection ad palms on timer NO RULES ON normal routin rules of: over seer places cube YOU PICK UP CUBE TO INSPECT PLACE CUBE CLOSER TO TIMER PALM ON TIMER START CUBE CLOSER TO TIMER

[@sjr2799]

This is literally the end of 2x2 for AT LEAST a year. Nobody will even get CLOSE to 0.78 if it's not removed.

[@williamvandergrift9741]

Exactly. I think saying a year is insanely generous, probably like 2-3 at the minimum

[@sjr2799]

@@williamvandergrift9741 fair enough, 2x2 hardware isn't going to really improve a lot, just practice. Unless something else is discovered, we might never see another WR in 2x2. I'm taking 5 years or more.

[@AlanJia8]

​@@sjr2799Never is a little far

[@FlashRayLaser]

​@@AlanJia8Well said. I'm a cubing veteran so I was there to hear how sub-10 is impossible, then 9, then 8, etc. People never learn. Until people are doing max efficiency solutions at 16+ TPS, people will keep improving. 2x2 will see a day when someone near globally beats 0.7.

[@Lukashoffmann94]

⁠@@FlashRayLaser I doubt it. You will always have a mostly constant time in each solve for just picking up the cube and stopping the timer. Combined with how few variations there are for solving a 2^2, there just isn’t enough room to improve the time by over 100ms.

[@fredkaboom]

Experienced 2x2 solvers could tell the 0.78 was suspicious by watching full speed footage, so the no slow-mo "precedent" didn't even need to come into play. But rather than the record, I'm mostly upset that the WCA board overruled the WRC's unanimous decision. How are you going to get anyone to volunteer for these committees if you're just going to throw their work in the trash like that? WCA board needs to go due to lack of transparency, anti fair play, and damaging their own organization.

[@legoferrari14]

At this point the ruling needs to be given an official legal challenge in a court of law, because I can see this officiating call being challenged as match-fixing for the attention of a new WR but preventing future competitors from achieving the feat with the same technique.

[@curiousNic]

What a bogus decision. The “record” should definitly not stand! The move from the board members to overrule the unanimous decision from the WRC and the lack of transparancy is a really bad look for the WCA.

[@inseminggd]

I havent fully made up my mind about sliding itself, but i think everyone can agree that everyone should be treated the same and not let some solves with sliding stand and some not

[@BloxdFun-jf2yo]

God, I wonder what Yiheng thinks of all this. Did he even get the news yet? If I was Yiheng I would seriously consider asking the WCA to disqualify the record.

[@curiousNic]

@@BloxdFun-jf2yo That would be the right thing to do but he’s just a kid. I don’t blame Yiheng but I do blame the adults around him that should know better and didn’t stop him from sliding in the first place.

[@CGoody564]

Sliding is a legitimate technique. Cry harder about it

[@trollerthegreattrollertheg6234]

​@@CGoody564bro even I've got limits on being an embarrassment

[@eb9782]

I have no idea why tthis showed up in my feed, but I'm glad it did. It always amazes me when I get a glimpse into something like this - there are thousands and thousands of these passionate niche communities all over the internet, we're all in a few of them, and for each one, 99.9% of the world doesn't know that community even exists, but for that tiny group it's the most important thing. Super cool to read all of these passionate comments about something I literally had never heard of before seeing this video. Have a lovely day, ladies and gents

[@SeanCMonahan]

I agree! There's so much to know about so many things I don't even know I don't know about!

[@williamherring]

5:31 just a minor correction: five of the 21 *WRC* members have stepped down or changed roles. All of the five board members remain in their positions.

[@WYATTTHEBLAH]

people who are slower then a six year old ↓ ↓ ↓

[@Stupidsamhjfuhrngeh]

Ppl who have intrusive thoughts and want to smash I’m on the wall for some reason

[@CubingForEveryone]

That’s what wanted to comment

[@smitharsmile]

I average 15 secs but I am still faster because I live in my own world (in Minecraft)

[@garnerthecube]

I hope you’re not talking about Yiheng cause he’s literally 10

[@natcuber]

@@garnerthecube Did you not see the ppl at the end of the video?

[@CubeDough]

Dude I was literally making a video about this when this uploaded 😂 but fr, the wca board is being so ridiculous with letting this stand and not hassan’s

[@TheRealCube_Quest]

Real that makes no sense

[@spideyyt5408]

This reminds me of the OH wr by Feliks

[@CubeDough]

@@spideyyt5408 Can you elaborate? There’s so many WRs lol

[@spideyyt5408]

@@CubeDough 6.88 I think. It was a mis-scramble, but WCA let it slide.

[@CubeDough]

@@spideyyt5408 Ah alright. Yeah this is just ridiculous and honestly shouldn’t have had a second thought of the validity of the record

[@sub1hour]

Until the board reverses their decision on this, we must continue to speak out against them. The 0.78 cannot stand, please continue to create dialogue about this on cubing platforms, including the WCA Forum. Unless they change their minds, we will not remain silent.

[@ahahahahahahhaa]

Dont worry, Yiheng will get 0.6x avg before 2025. There will be no point talking about 0.78.

[@roddywishart4613]

Surely the timers need to be adapted to make sliding impossible. You can say its cheating in the most extreme cases, but if the fringe cases require scientists to study video footage then that's going to be a terrible outcome if practically applied

[@WishfulOA]

Timers with thumb pads seem to be a pretty simple solution to this, as you can’t really slide while keeping your thumbs on the pads

[@rouxfop4416]

@@WishfulOA problem is that the required resources to fully switch to 4 pad mode is not an option right now as it would mean that every single competition would have to renew their equipment, and you'd only imagine how costly that would be. Yes, for big tournaments and events this is definitely doable; but on a worldwide scale you'd need about the money and resources of a small country to actually make it work

[@TetraCubing]

Keeping the 0.78 actually goes against WRC precedents, where if a regulation is modified due to a certain attempt the regulation applies to that attempt. For example, Sebastian Weyer’s former 4x4 WR of 18.84 which broke the regulation about not touching the cube after stopping the timer. Because of this, a regulation was added allowing slight touches was added and his solve was not penalized *according to the new regulations*. Similarly, Ekaterina Kaneva’s 0.60 2x2 Russian NR single with a barely visible “karate chop” stop, which was why frame-by-frame analysis was disallowed. Her solve was not penalized, once again *according to the new regulations*. It should be clear that keeping the 0.78 is obviously against WRC precedents and that the record should not stand.

[@WTF-Cubing]

Cubing: ON FIRE, abolish rules committee over sliding. Ok, let’s check on my other hobbies… Magic: ON FIRE, abolish rules committee over bans 😑

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

This seems easily solvable by using timers that check for 10 fingers. Once a single finger is lifted, the timer starts.

[@Pepso8P]

Well maybe not strictly 10, I am sure you realize why that could be an issue for some.

[@Rerereeeeej]

4 groves where they can put the 4 fingers.

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

@@Pepso8P Are there any cubers missing a digit? If so, we can just deactivate whatever fingers we want in the device. Would be trivial to do from the proctor.

[@Pepso8P]

@@FortWhenTeaThyme Oh I don't know, I would guess probably not, I'm not watching the scene, just saw this video and checked the comments. I'm just thinking about the possible scenarios, which whoever would make such device might not do and make it strictly check for 10 fingers.

[@desertdude540]

Or switch to putting the cube on a large, semi-enclosed stand that has optical break-beam sensors that start the timer as soon as the contestant reaches for the cube.

[@Blue_Cubes_silly_animations]

it's nothing lesser than blatant bias to allow yiheng's solves while banning any further attempts at sliding. his 0.78 record should most definitely be removed if they're gonna enforce this.

[@WaterboyCuber]

the wca is a worse joke than i am; this is ridiculous

[@MicahTheis-not1.64]

Don’t DNF the 0.78 +2 the 0.78

[@infinity0114]

why ? yiheng didnt slide at all right ?

[@ahahahahahahhaa]

-2 would be better

[@davidconradt2934]

​@@infinity0114??? Thats the entire point of this controversy. If he didn't slide, then there would be no problem with keeping yihengs WR. But the fact is that he did. And that is why this ruling makes no sense. Banning the thing he did in a solve, but not removing his "cheated" record

[@infinity0114]

@davidconradt2934 hmmm but I don't see him slide at all , or did he slides but I'm not able to see it ? Probably because I'm not familiar with the rules of cubing 😢

[@MicahTheis-not1.64]

@@infinity0114 sliding if done well is really hard to see unless you slow down the video

[@coole29]

As a person with zero connection to this community seeking understanding, why not just change the rules to allow sliding? Obviously there's a reason, but as a non cube person can someoen explain it to me

[@sisterfister7891]

_There is no explaining, people are just mad that they aren't cooler or better than someone else. There's many rules in every other competition for stupid shit like this._

[@Lukashoffmann94]

The main question: When is the timer supposed to start? You need to be precise with the start of the timer, if the total task time is already this low. If you allow sliding, you no longer have that and technically you could just never fully leave the pads with your arms and therefore never start the timer. You could try to switch towards starting the timer on pickup, but there is probably gonna be a similar technique towards cheating there as well.

[@coole29]

@@Lukashoffmann94 that makes sense. You want timing standard and I didn't think about that. I appreciate it man

[@osbourn5772]

I also got here from the youtube home page and have never solved a Rubik's cube in my life. This whole issue seems really small and unimportant to me, but I guess it would be different if I were involved in this community.

[@DreamyAileen]

@@osbourn5772 when you're talking about world records, there's no such thing as "really small and unimportant"

[@theaxelotl44]

I'm actually so happy that the WCA is finally getting in some deep sh*t. They have always been making some "questionable" decisions, and it's finally getting to them.

[@BnazlepenK]

This is the cubing youtube channel weve always needed, the quality, the music, the narration, omfg.

[@fadilamiruddin1198]

I don’t understand what’s wrong with making sliding legal because if it’s legal for everyone than it won’t be cheating and fair game and thus naturally balances it out

[@unkarsthug4429]

Yeah, I feel like this is the only place to go from here, or at least set something more firm as a rule on it. Maybe start measuring from when the cube is removed from the surface to when it is put back down.

[@agsystems8220]

Because the limit is solving with your wrists on the pads and not starting the clock at all. It doesn't just warp the comparison uniformly, it breaks it completely.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

Are you telling me there's literal *input buffering* on an IRL challenge.

[@hoangnam-speedcuber4202]

The WCA simply wants to keep the record, and it is unfair! From my own perspective, the WCA should allow frame-by-frame analysis on every solve (no matter what level the cuber is).

[@BarakDiamantstein]

sliding should be legal as long as you dont touch the puzzle before lifting your hands of the timer

[@da_bomb17]

Why is sliding illegal? Like we're timing the solve not trying to time when our hands get off the timer right?

[@chicken29843]

It would frankly be easier to just allow sliding. There is no way this could possibly be consistently enforced and is only going to create more controversy surrounding did he slide or did he not slide especially with unfilmed solves. This seems like a really easy decision just allow sliding everyone can do it.

[@tiranito3715]

If we allow sliding then the minimum possible time to solve all cubes in all of human history drops down to 0.0 because you can literally just solve with your wrists on the sensors. kek. And even if you enforced a rule that you had to release the wrists from the sensors, you're still not being impartial, because who guarantees that everyone spends the same amount of time sliding? 2 people could take the same amount of real time to solve a cube, but one of them could spend a greater chunk of that time sliding, leading to their recorded times being different. Sliding is a mechanic that comes from the an exploitable characteristic of the time measurement devices used in competitions. It should not be allowed because it would mean that we might as well just never start the timer and claim that all of our solves are instant 0.0 second solves lmao.

[@Riverish]

Basically what happened in the swimming community with super suits. People think that these record can't be beaten, but they eventually will

[@austinplayz960]

i feel bad for zayn really, that must be so fucking demotivating

[@Skcubing]

I think what the WCA board did was absolutely unacceptable. Every single one of the WRC members agreed to penalise the 0.78 and they told the board because it’s such a big decision. The board disagreed and told the WRC that they did. The WRC had a vote again and they unanimously wanted to penalise it so they told the board that they were still going to penalise it which they are allowed to do without the board’s permission. The board then completely disregarded the WRC’s ruling and demanded that they make an announcement about keeping the 0.78. The WRC told the board to do it themselves as they didn’t feel comfortable making a statement which they didn’t support at all. This is so crazy as the whole point of the WRC is that they make decisions like these and what the board says isn’t definitive. I’m really shocked that the 0.78 is standing and I’m a bit scared for 2x2. #Free2x2 😭

[@Capense-q9m]

Never thought i would live to see rubixcube drama

[@kyrroti]

I saw another video about minimum moves. The person hosting the tournament also participated, so he already scouted out the cube state ahead of time with software

[@whatdoinamethischannel9749]

his hands slid at 0.15 seconds, faster than the timer can recognize that he removed his hand to solve the cube, so the technology is at fault in a sense for beeing too slow and outdated

[@morenpchangjw8868]

From the outside looking in...I think that a couple changes could easily solve your issues in competition. 1. Make sliding legal because it is too hard to regulate 2. Have a wrist guard bump to prevent prolonged touching of the sensor 3. Have a standard piece that can be used to place the cube the exact same distance from the competitors fingers and have the cube placed exactly the same way to maintain consistency

[@The_fourthone]

What makes it worse is that the record will likely stand for a very long time because nobody can slide to beat it

[@fryderyksadocha8044]

Bro I'm pissed and I haven't touched a rubix cube in 10 years 💀

[@carlosrocha256]

The solution should be to change the timers for ones that don't allow that. Starting a new era of speedcubing

[@solver5k]

This is shocking! Apparently the WCA needs a new Board of Directors.

[@axo342]

Another loophole I thought of a while ago is if it’s legal to purposefully stop the timer under 0.06 every time you get a bad scramble for an extra, it’s easy to do with practice

[@KyleDoesCubing]

Then we would need 17 more extras

[@PhilemonBarlow]

My uncle told me life isn't fair. BUT THIS IS COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS

[@EM-oe2lz]

Wait what? So let me get this straight, sliding is still effectively illegal but we're keeping yiheng's wr? What????

[@quillllly]

This is one of the absolute worst decisions I have ever seen in any high level competition. I think I see what they were *trying* to do but it still makes zero sense. I used to play Geometry Dash at a high level, and there was a point where the competitive list for the game decided to require your mic to be enabled and for the clicks of your mouse/keyboard to be clearly audible (sounds weird but it's actually very helpful proof for a completion) and decided not to remove old records that didnt follow this new rule. The biggest difference here is that in the case of sliding, this was already a rule. With audible clicks there was no way someone in 2016 could have known that high level completions would require clicks in the future. Sliding has always been cheating, and just hasnt been enforced. Additionally sliding provides an actual advantage, and allowing old records to use it but not new ones makes beating the world record virtually impossible.

[@MandelCuber]

Imagine, people start using Sliding in 3x3. Max’s 3.13 would be sub 3!

[@oddalibi]

I really hate the actions of judges when it comes to “niches” like cubing(aware it’s not really a niche) because I feel like I’ve seen so many examples of a judge not even knowing how to participate in whatever they’re judging but still making COMPETITION ALTERING decisions that make zero sense.

[@yinyangsepticruski]

I saw SpeedcubeNZ's video on the issue and I reacted in a similar way to others about the decision. I feel bad about Carter having to post this unfortunate news, but I thing that this decision was not the way to go about it. I feel like it should have gone in two specific ways: One is where they follow through with this, but also DNF YiHeng's WR avg. The Other (and hotter take I have) is to keep sliding in general for these kinds of events that way all top cubers have a fair chance at beating YiHeng's WR. Also, new "hate" comment just dropped: I hate the WCA's decision on controlling sliding.

[@STUCUBE]

Hate comment so valid

[@donoteatmikezila]

I don't see how someone's performance can cause such a huge change to regulations, and somehow the performance that caused the change isn't actioned against.

[@Rahhelthethird]

Isn’t that like how in javelin throwing they keep making the javelins worse after a record is achieved?

[@KingGooseTheThird-rg3sm]

This is like if every time someone broke a law THEY got away with it but the next person is punished. Like ohhhh yeah there was nothing about using an orange to plug someone's intestines so your fine.

[@shreksoffspring]

I believe the timer system is very outdated and now just completely unreliable, because it's nearly impossible to stop the timer at the exact moment your hands touch the mat, there's like a 0.03 second delay, which adding the time it takes you to fully drop the cube that's an added 0.02 to 0.04 seconds at least.

[@EddtheRexMan]

5:30 to be clear, i dont think any of the board members who stepped down have said why they stepped down. So it's wrong to imply that this is definitely the reason all of them stepped down. Agree with the rest of the video, just wamted to point out that we don't know the full story there.

[@recursiveslacker7730]

Well, this is a category killer. If the sliding record stands while all future ones can’t use it, then it will not be beaten.

[@TrojanCubingandFE2]

DNF THE 0.78. IF WE CAN'T SLIDE, HE CAN'T SLIDE. DNF THE 0.78.

[@alathreon8315]

I don't understand, why don't they do what they said, but also re-time the previous world record, everyone will be happy.

[@Peter-kt2gb]

Put the fries in the ba.....what am I even reading? 😂😂

[@武田ユノ3.0]

I still think that the G5 Stackmat timer should be used to replace the older G4 timer. You now have to remove your thumb from the timer to fully start the counter instead of just your palms which might make sliding more difficult, but I doubt that timer would improve solves because the thumb pads requires accuracy to hit which takes time.

[@notmecubes]

Was gonna make a video about this, but you articulated my thoughts on the situation better than I ever could!

[@suddenpanda9558]

Wouldn't the best solution be to use the timers option where the thumbs are also used to start and stop the timer?

[@unLuckyFetus]

I was 13 years old, trying to teach my 6 year old sister how to dive into a swimming pool from the side of the pool. It was taking quite a while as my sister was really nervous about it. We were at a big, public pool, and nearby there was a woman, about 75 years old, slowly swimming laps. Occasionally she would stop and watch us. Finally she swam over to us just when I was really putting the pressure on, trying to get my sister to try the dive, and my sister was shouting, "but I'm afraid!! I'm so afraid!!" The old woman looked at my sister, raised her fist defiantly in the air and said, "Scary assnigga, do it anyway!" That was 35 years ago and I have never forgotten it. It was a revelation -- it's not about being unafraid. It's about being afraid and doing it anyway.

[@The_speedcuber-Tperm]

6:01 🤓 erm actually 7 year old

[@cubingwithsami]

that's 100 % unfair

[@TheARStack]

Hey there. I'm a cup stacker, not a cube solver. I've never even owned a Rubik's cube in my life, but I find cube solving incredibly fascinating and I've made a fair share of cube solving related videos on this channel for some time. Regardless, I do want to mention that even though this is coming from the perspective of a cup stacker, there's some very similar parallels to this situation that cup stacking dealt with mainly back in the late 2010s. What we would call "wrist stops" (when you slide your palms towards your wrist when you stop the timer in cup stacking) have always been forbidden in the world of cup stacking, but new start/stop hand positions have been legally allowed since 2010. In 2016, the old owner of Speed Stacks, Bob Fox left the organization, and brought in new businessmen and staff to take over the company, which resulted in lots of rules that the previous administration didn't care about being unusually highly enforced. This resulted in a lot of "wrist stops" being deemed as scratches (or DNFs) after a video review (which all cup stacking tournaments are required to have). The problem got bad enough to the point where Speed Stacks released the Gen5 timer which has additional thumb pads to prevent starting and stopping the timer with your wrists (or slide starts/stops in your case). All four pads are mandated in cup stacking tournaments, while two pad mode is still allowed in cube solving competitions, which in result caused this particular issue. I'm not sure what the best solution to this would be, I know bringing up using all four timer pads in cube solving tournaments could be an option, but it's not just Speed Stacks that makes these timers used in cube solving tournaments (although they definitely do make the majority of them), and I don't believe in the idea of pushing a mandate on specific products to be used outside of where they're expected to be used (i.e. cup stacking equipment used outside of cup stacking venues and the like). Another option would be to follow the general rule of cup stacking competitions where everything's required to be recorded and reviewed, however cube solving tournaments are significantly larger and would require lots more cameras and someone would have to lend them the equipment, and reviewing all the footage would take weeks if not even months to do. We may as well just consider Wang Yiheng's 0.78 average as faux and just consider the 2nd place time as the current world record for now. And plus it may not even be completely his decision as to whether or not he's intentionally sliding to gain an advantage. After all, he's what, 9 years old? It's possible that one of his coaches or someone similar could even be telling him to do this without us knowing. There's no determining what's going on. In any case, this is an incredibly similar situation to where cup stacking was back in 2021, and there's no determining what's going to happen in this situation. It really sucks, I've been there.

[@WandererEris]

This is the kind of thing that should cause a community to move to a new governing body.

[@okboomer6330]

Shouldn't they just make it so that they have to have the tip of their fingers on the timer before starting?

[@MrStangeljl18]

Why don't they put a 1 inch guard on the front so you are forced to lift your hands?

[@The_speedcuber-Tperm]

I knew the video was about this when i read the title!

[@clarkkent1521]

How about putting the pads in front of the cube, so you have to pull your hands back to get to the cube. Your fingertips will be the last thing leaving the pads.

[@calciumgoodness4073]

Put the buttons facing the cube that the base of your thumb rests on. Time starts when you move you hand forward.

[@takecareyoself5379]

I miss when cubing was just a hobby with competition as side event. Now it's all about competition where it's physically, emotionally, even morally tiring yourself

[@cronosdimitri4584]

wtf let ppl have fun competing. the world doesnt revolve around u

[@sylvainguinepain5624]

There is an easy solution to this problem. They should start using smart cubes in 2x2 competitions. The timer starts when the cube moves and stops when the solve is complete. No way to cheat that.

[@crudbts1]

flip the sensors 180°, so hands start far from the body. You will have to pull your hands completely off the sensors in order to reach the cube.

[@benpearson49]

This could have been avoided with a laser. A line pointed at the table from above, breaking the line starts the timer. Pulling your hands out of the way stops it.

[@SmileyMPV]

The whole video I was waiting for a resolution but it never came, what a shame. Also, a lot of people seem to forget this is not just a 2x2 issue, the main event 3x3 is also very much affected by this. Many events are. Maybe not 7x7, but those 0.2s are a big deal at pretty much any event at top level.

[@azndeadman93]

I'm so late to this, but people saying to put sensors to detect the cube has it's own set of issues. How to allow sliding without benefitting from it? Put a legal placement area that the cube must be in before actaul solve attempt (i.e. extend minimum distance from timer to cube by some amount, maybe based off of person's size of hand)

[@DreamyAileen]

I'm not a cuber, but I feel like a relatively easy solution would be to change the starting position to fingertips along the top of the pads with the palm and wrist in the air above it. You wouldn't be able to slide at all, so no need for frame-by-frame analysis. I have no idea how it would impact performance though so maybe you'd have to make a new leaderboard for it or something.

[@UnicornOfDepression]

"Our champion cheated, but you can try and beat his time to set a NEW record, but only with much more restrictive rules." I've never even tried a Rubix Cube before in my 40+ years alive, and I find this ruling to be BS.

[@about99ninjas56]

I feel sliding shouldn't be illegal. If you're hitting a button to start the timer and then touching the cube, how is that not legit? Techniques are discovered and adapted all the time at high level of competition of multiple things. Look at tetris rolling. Its a different technique but is superior and it took over competitive tetris. You are still performing all the actions. But I don't "cube". I just watch random KZbin videos and comment. How the hell did I even get here?

[@shreksoffspring]

As a cuber myself, sliding should absolutely be illegal. This isn't a "different technique" it's pure cheating. Yiheng was twisting the cube without starting the timer, which defeats the purpose of even having a timer.

[@about99ninjas56]

@shreksoffspring IF HE HITS THE TIMER THEN TOUCHES THE CUBE HOW IS HE TOUCHING THE CUBE BEFORE THE TIMER STARTS? blame the timer or switch how the timer starts.

[@shreksoffspring]

@@about99ninjas56 he's not hitting the timer that's why it's called sliding, his hands don't leave the timer fully until he's already turning. It's obvious you don't know crap about cubing so go to another side of the internet.

[@zenko4187]

Don't know crap about cubing, but changing the rules and applying it retroactively is a shit move. If they decide to outlaw it going forward then fine, but applying it to all attempts previously is a logistical nightmare. Just slap an asterisk next to the current WR and move on.

[@about99ninjas56]

@@shreksoffspring yeah because I'm like 99.9999 percent of society who doesn't give two shits about "cubing"..... have a good day nerd

[@stephencunniffe823]

They should just remove it or put it in a separate list for sliding.

[@sveneerdekens8032]

I think it's time to reconsider all the super short events (2×2, Pyra, Skewb) where we've come to a point that the skill of handling a timer, with or without cheating, seems equally as important as the skill of solving the puzzle. Pretty harsh, I know but there are a bunch of worthy candidate puzzles waiting to enter the WCA and I think it would benefit the popularity of the 'cubing' scene in the long run.

[@JynxSp0ck]

It's not some kind of government organisation or anything so you can just start your own WCA

[@XxSteamStreamxX]

Maybe a solution could be raising the platform the cube sits on an inch or so, so you cant slide onto it without it being really awkward and obvious, but not enough to inhibit people normally picking up their hands?

[@alastor8091]

This is on par with having fire alarm collecting as a hobby.

[@windowsmoke]

They should get better timers that detect hands Vs arms, so for example if they had something attached to them to tell the timer where the silver's hands are, then sliding would become impossible

[@Danielfaa]

As a newcomer to the community it seems weird that people just accept that the timers have to be as they are. They were originally made for stack cups.

[@fran6b]

As long as the cube end solved, any kind of sliding in and out should be allowed, no question about it. Imo, it's by far the simplest and the fairest way to solved the problem. Sliding would then become a skill to master to separate the greatest and nobody would feel a sword of Damocles hanging our its head, which not fun.

[@Wylanteriel]

why don't they just put the sensors to the sides so the person has to move their arms side ways instead of forwards. Alternatively, the sensor could be placed beyond the cube so the have to move their arms towards themselves. Couldn't this significantly reduce the impact of sliding?

[@abhinavpv.2010]

This man is too good.

[@Skewber456]

Yiheng Didn't slide on the 0.90

[@AverieMatthews]

I was watching Hassan at a comp as you uploaded this and I started to watch for sliding lol

[@mikebozik]

SLIDE GATE! What can I say, just another sign that we are living in the end times...😮

[@fangbozhu7379]

We shall surrender in France, we shall surrender on the seas and oceans, we shall surrender on the beaches, we shall surrender on the landing grounds, we shall never slide

[@AngelosMerkouroglou]

How is anyone meant to break it now...

[@noah_cubez]

I already signed it! We need the WRC to change it!

[@hopree2839]

they should make the initial starting hand position to only place one index finger each

[@steamfire]

This sounds like a contest design fault, not a player fault

[@philhunter9134]

In our world, this actually matters.

[@RedsHitpostMedia]

We got speedeun drama in the cube community now 😭