# Textured Stickers on Cubes



## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 11, 2015)

So, I have a megaminx which has a blue side and a dark blue side. I know the regulations say that Competitors with a medically documented visual disability may use textured puzzles with different textures on different faces. Textures/patterns must be uniform per face. Each face should have a distinct colour, to aid in scrambling and judging. My megaminx has dots on the dark blue side because I am partially color blind and can not tell the difference between the two. I would like to know if this could comply with the regulations or if it does not. Thanks.


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## Berd (Jun 11, 2015)

LeonardoBonanno said:


> So, I have a megaminx which has a blue side and a dark blue side. I know the regulations say that Competitors with a medically documented visual disability may use textured puzzles with different textures on different faces. Textures/patterns must be uniform per face. Each face should have a distinct colour, to aid in scrambling and judging. My megaminx has dots on the dark blue side because I am partially color blind and can not tell the difference between the two. I would like to know if this could comply with the regulations or if it does not. Thanks.


I would go with the safe option of buying different shades from the cubicle.


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## Dene (Jun 12, 2015)

If I were the delegate I would allow it. However I think it would be worth getting this case to the Board just in case. I'll alert them and someone will get back to you eventually.


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## Dene (Jun 15, 2015)

So the conclusion of discussions has been that you will need to get different stickers. 

To be honest I still think it's questionable whether this is in breach of the regulations, but that is a separate issue I am now trying to work on.


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## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 16, 2015)

Dene said:


> So the conclusion of discussions has been that you will need to get different stickers.



Sorry I was not clear in my first message. I have already tried different stickers. However, I have 3 problems/questions:

1) First as far as stickered cubes go, I have no problems restickering a 6 sided cube to get it to a point where I can distinguish all 6 sides. My problem is that the megaminx has 12 colors. I have purchased over 25 different shades of colors yet I still can not find 12 colors that I can distinguish adequately. However by using a sharpie to make a dot I can easily distinguish the similar colors. Just to give a little context, I can usually solve the minx often with an average of around 1:05 so I'm really looking forward to US Nationals, but if I can't "dot" one side there's a good chance I'll DNF several of my solves. I don't want to make a big deal about this at the competition and would like to resolve the question beforehand. I can bring medical documentation if needed, but to give you an idea, a if a projector tv has red, green and blue bulbs and the green bulb burns out, I can't tell the difference, it still looks the same to me.

If I can't make a single dot on all the pieces of one side what does Article 3d1 mean??
3d1) Exception: Competitors with a medically documented visual disability may use textured puzzles with different textures on different faces. Textures/patterns must be uniform per face. 

I would think a "dot" is the simplest type of "pattern" and therefore it would be allowed. However patterns are only mentioned in the second sentence and not the first. So what does this mean? Looks like the exceptions could use a little clarification in the next round of revisions


2) I have not yet tried mixing using Cubesmitsh's chrome or mosaic stickers, would those be legal? 

3) How does this question effect the upcoming stickerless cube regulation? I can solve the stickerless megaminx even faster than the stickered one, but with this one I have to draw my pattern on one side since applying stickers would violate rule 3d that seems to say all sides must be uniform and that you can not combine stickered with stickerless?

I worked with my dad, who is a lawyer and a solver, to come up with a modified Article 3d1 that I would propose as a reasonable accommodation to people with color vision deficiencies:

PROPOSED CHANGE

3d1) Exception: Competitors with a medically documented visual disability may use textured or patterned puzzles with different textures or patterns on different faces. Textures/patterns must be uniform per face. Patterns may be painted, drawn by marker, or applied with an overlay sticker. If the visual disability prevents the solver from seeing only a range of colors, textures/patterns need not be present on every side. Each face should have a distinct colour, to aid in scrambling and judging.

Does anyone have any opinions on this?


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## josh42732 (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm with you on this one. I personally don't see why they would not allow you to just put a simple and harmless sharpie mark on the face that you can't recognize. The WCA would be stupid to not let you do that. They would be almost discriminating against you for something you can't control. They would be telling you that, because of your color blindness, you are not allowed to compete in this event. I am supporting you 100% on this one. Also, the proposed rule is good.


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## AlexMaass (Jun 17, 2015)

Wouldn't regulation 2s allow you to use these dots on your megaminx?


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## Dene (Jun 17, 2015)

Hi Leonardo,

When I checked my e-mails this morning I saw the proposal on github and I thought "this is brilliant, who did this?" and now I know.

I completely agree with you, and I think the opinion of the few delegates that bothered to give any input was pretty unhelpful. I suspect they just don't know much about colour blindness and think it's simply dealt with, and prefer just to brush away the issue. I was planning on putting some thought into a proposal today, but you've gone ahead and saved me a big hassle, so thanks!

I'll continue to press this issue, and hopefully we can squeeze the change into the new regs for July.



AlexMaass said:


> Wouldn't regulation 2s allow you to use these dots on your megaminx?



Arguably, yes. But the problem is we already have a regulation for this issue, and the way most delegates are interpreting the current regulation means they aren't likely to be accommodating.


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## AlexMaass (Jun 17, 2015)

Dene said:


> Arguably, yes. But the problem is we already have a regulation for this issue, and the way most delegates are interpreting the current regulation means they aren't likely to be accommodating.


My gut says the WCA board probably would allow this though. It's worth requesting the accommodation.


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## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 17, 2015)

Thanks Dene,



Dene said:


> Arguably, yes. But the problem is we already have a regulation for this issue, and the way most delegates are interpreting the current regulation means they aren't likely to be accommodating.



That is exactly the problem. On two occasions, I've been told by delegates that dotted cubes would not be allowed. I'd like to not have the matter left to delegate discretion as Article 2s says. But rather on the day of the competition I would like to be focused on practicing & competing instead of "begging" for an exemption, or hoping that the delegate remembered that he/she said it would be okay two weeks ago.

Since Article 3d1 already exists, I would hope, we can clarify exactly what it means.


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## cubizh (Jun 17, 2015)

I think the current way 3d1) is written has some flaws that are being discussed, but what Leonardo proposed has at least an obvious flaw: using a marker is not a good way to uniformly mark stickers.


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## josh42732 (Jun 17, 2015)

Woah Super Moderator. Never seen that before. 

anyway, if


cubizh said:


> using a marker is not a good way to uniformly mark stickers.


 then we should have the delegates say if the cube is legal or not. If the marked pieces are too different from each other, then the competitor will have a set amount of time to get it fixed?? or they will get a DNF for that solve? I'm just making suggestions.


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## Dene (Jun 17, 2015)

AlexMaass said:


> My gut says the WCA board probably would allow this though. It's worth requesting the accommodation.



As it turns out, your gut is wrong. The two board members that responded to my query were against it.


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## cubizh (Jun 17, 2015)

josh42732 said:


> anyway, if then we should have the delegates say if the cube is legal or not.


That is already predicted by regulation 3k).
In general, the competitor can either fix the issue found with the puzzle or submit another puzzle to compete.


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## josh42732 (Jun 17, 2015)

cubizh said:


> That is already predicted by regulation 3k).
> In general, the competitor can either fix the issue found with the puzzle or submit another puzzle to compete.



Well, I've never been to a comp, so I don't know what is already implemented or not. Just giving ideas.


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## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 17, 2015)

cubizh said:


> I think the current way 3d1) is written has some flaws that are being discussed, but what Leonardo proposed has at least an obvious flaw: using a marker is not a good way to uniformly mark stickers.



There is no perfect way to do this, paint may add texture (even if a stencil allows it to be precise), overlay stickers may add texture, using a marker with a stencil may be the most unobtrusive way to accommodate. Besides, currently, people often compete with old stickers with slightly frayed and irregular sides.


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## AlexMaass (Jun 17, 2015)

Just had an idea, maybe use pieces from a black megaminx to replace the darker blue color? I think this would work out well. \You could buy 3 edge pieces, 2 corner pieces, and a center piece and cap.

Edit: nvm don't think that would work as you have tried all the shades from the cubicle
Maybe having tiny speck sized stickers, white on the lighter stickers, and black on the darker stickers could be legal and work.



Dene said:


> As it turns out, your gut is wrong. The two board members that responded to my query were against it.



What were their reasons for that?


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## Dene (Jun 17, 2015)

AlexMaass said:


> What were their reasons for that?



Essentially "just get different stickers".


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## Berd (Jun 17, 2015)

Maybe try the chrome stickers from cubesmith? Does that brake any regulations?


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## spyr0th3dr4g0n (Jun 17, 2015)

Have you tried resizing the stickers? I'm not sure if the rules state all stickers must be uniform in size, but I don't see it in Article 3. You could have stickers with a noticeable difference in size, and once the material is the same it should be fine.


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## AlexMaass (Jun 17, 2015)

Dene said:


> Essentially "just get different stickers".



You should try explaining the whole situtation.


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## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 18, 2015)

Dene said:


> Essentially "just get different stickers".



I guess I don't understand this answer. Why does Article 3d1 mention "patterns" if the delegates will not approve any legal way to put patterns on a cube?

Also does "just get different stickers" mean I can use my stickerless minx, but just put stickers on one of the two sides that confuse me?


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## AlexMaass (Jun 18, 2015)

LeonardoBonanno said:


> I guess I don't understand this answer. Why does Article 3d1 mention "patterns" if the delegates will not approve any legal way to put patterns on a cube?
> 
> Also does "just get different stickers" mean I can use my stickerless minx, but just put stickers on one of the two sides that confuse me?



Have you tried with a stickerless cube, having tiny speck sized stickers, white ones on the lighter stickers, and black ones on the darker stickers?


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## phasornc (Jun 18, 2015)

*What a cube looks like to a Color-blind Deuteranopia-type person*

I hope this will clarify things a bit. When Leo said he was having trouble distinguishing between blue and dark blue, he was actually confused by dark blue and purple, those colors are nearly identical to him. The following approximates what a Megaminx looks like to Leo using Photoshop's Color-blindness Deuteranopia-type view



The next picture is the Dayan stickers for the stickered Megaminx, normal view vs Deuteranopia view. Hopefully this shows the challenge of finding 12 unique colors, and why creating a pattern seems likes a "reasonable modification" to ask the delegates. And since they've already mentioned patterns, shouldn't they standardize exactly how patterns can be implemented. 



p.s. for those that do not know, in the United States, competitive events that are open to the public are required to make "reasonable modifications, aids, and services" for people with disabilities "unless it would result in a fundamental alteration to the program".


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## cubizh (Jun 19, 2015)

There may be some slight misunderstanding with textures. In my view, using textures in this situation doesn't apply at all. Textured stickers are meant for people with severe sight problems that can't see at all or enough to distinguish colors, so they need to use the sense of touch to solve the puzzle.

The issue mentioned in this thread is not that the competitor can't identify colors at all, it's that he can't distinguish between a certain number of colors (that exist in his megaminx).
Therefore, the first thing to do in this situation should be to find alternative shades of stickers, as it's advised in this and in all color blindness cases where the competitor may have troubles clearly identifying different colors. I think this was the course of action that most people suggested at first.

With some competitors, simply changing from regular to fluorescent or vice-versa works, for some, like in this case, it doesn't. Leonardo said he has bought 25 shades of colors to try. If anyone is under the same situation, I would advise instead to get something like what The Cubicle offers to sample all their 45 vinyl shades and see if you can find a combination of 6 or 12 that fits and are distinguishable. 

For Leonardo's specific case, it seems he only seems to need to change exactly one more elusive color that is distinguishable from the rest. Since I don't know the colors that he uses, I can't make suggestions or make further comments about his choices, but just want to point out that any color is acceptable, as long as it's distinguishable to him and the judges, and that includes black or white stickers too.

If after exhuasting this color search (which to me is always better and fairer to only use colors than any other further alternative) there is still a problem with not being able to find a color, the competitor should contact the WCA Board and provide more information (namely medical information about the competitor's problem) to make further arrangements and discuss alternatives.

Among those alternatives, I believe that there can be room for using stickers with patterns, providing they are indistinguishable by rotation and that the WCA Board and particularly the competition delegate can physically verify that they are acceptable and do not make individual pieces identifiable by them.

The regulation that you should use only colors was originally intended to essentially keep all competitors on the same level playing field by limiting them only to different coloured stickers. The main issue is that using texturized stickers can be a distinct advantage in certain cases, so in my view, it should only be used in situations that are very well medically documented and scrutinized, and should always be decided in every case individually by the WCA Board.

Given that, I don't see any reason why the competitor shouldn't be able to compete in this event after the discussion and arrangement of the best solution, in the proper channels.


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## Dene (Jun 24, 2015)

Whoops I forgot to post in here once I got permission to go ahead. The consensus now is it will be ok to put a marking on a face to help you with distinguishing the colours. I recommend making the markings as similar as possible to each other to avoid any potential issues.

I also came up with my own suggestion to modify the regulation:
3d1) Exception: Competitors with a medically documented visual disability are entitled to a suitable modification:
3d1a) Blind competitors may use textured puzzles with different textures on different faces. Each face should have a distinct colour, to aid in scrambling and judging.
3d1b) Colour blind competitors may use puzzles with different patterns on different faces where no distinct colours are available. Patterns may come from stickers or be drawn.

3d1b+) CLARIFICATION Patterns do not need to be present on every face, but only on faces where a distinct colour cannot be found. Patterns must not have any texture that makes them distinguishable from similar pieces.


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## LeonardoBonanno (Jun 26, 2015)

So to clarify, does this mean that currently my megaminx would be legal or only after the proposed change?


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## Dene (Jun 26, 2015)

Basically they're allowing it as per 2s. I don't really think that makes sense but just go ahead and do it, and make sure you inform your delegate beforehand. Even if they haven't been following the conversation they'll have access to it.


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