I'm not proposing a rule change. I am proposing an alteration to current practice to establish a modus operandi for how we move our troops. It doesn't require much effort, in fact it requires more forbearance than anything else. If it is something we can all adhere to, I think it will dramatically improve the quality of our game which over the years has been nothing if not an experiment to improve the way we do things.
Now, on to my proposed code of conduct.
When viewing the movements thread it is practically impossible not to metagame. We see eachother's movements and even if we don't mean to we have been armed with information that can modify how we play the game. Not only should this not happen in order to preserve the organic nature of our gameplay, but this also isn't how war works in Westeros. you don't get to see what your enemies are doing. Under our current method scouting rolls are little nothing more than being able to officially use the information you have already seen by accidentally gazing into the crystal ball. In fact, I think that the accidental metagaming is mostly used (implicitly) when asking for scout rolls. Why waste a roll on somewhere you know is unoccupied? This is the problem.
Here is my solution.
We spoiler all of our movements and make a gentleman's agreement not to view eachother's movements without permission. This is the honor system, people, and just like you wouldn't cheap in monopoly by being a crooked banker you shouldn't cheat here. If one person doesn't abide by thsi and the trust breaks down, it will fail. Now, there are some characters who will absolutely know about movements. Anyone in the army moving knows where they are going. Scout rolls become even more important as mdoerators can add extra information like "where it looks like they might be headed." Here is an example of what I envision:
Movement for the First Army of the Vale
Users authorized to view this: Vale players
But what about a conflcit of interest where people have multiple houses and just view the movements of their enemies? Well, if people have interests on both sides, then we shouldn't be worried anyway. Presumably they will fight as hard on both sides.
But what if someone registers a character just so they can see other movements?
Well, we're on the trust system here. Don't be an
and that won't be a problem. Besides, not every character needs to know every single thing that goes on. For example, My Clegane doesn't need to know anything about Westerlands movement.