At the moment the only approved way of using lichess with an external chess board is to use a bot account. From a user perspective this is a very unfriendly solution. A person with a connected chess board is NOT a bot, and someone who wishes to play a game against a real person is unlikely to want to play with somebody labelled a bot.
From a technical perspective, I understand why the above solution is recommended. Anything that uses the API to make moves, bypasses the client side cheat detection, and this needs to be guarded against to ensure the trust is maintainied in the lichess eco system.
It would be nice if there was new distinct account type/flag for users who wish to use a connected board. This could be a specialised version of the bot account at a technical level, but from a users perspective would show up a someone using a connected board.
This would have the following advantages:-
1) Users are clearly marked as using a connected board. Other users can choose whether to play or not play those users
2) Users are not incorrectly labelled as bots, and can play on lichess as a person
3) A more lenient set of restrictions can be set on a connected board user
As a connected board user goes via the API then some restrictions would need to apply.
These could be anything from:-
1) Users can only play classical games
2) Cheat detections picks up any moves made quicker than the board allows
3) Users need to register the board, including serial number with a trusted site. Stops a user creating multiple accounts for the same board
4) etc
The limitations and cheat detection can evolve separately (or as a specialisation) of the human/bot accounts.
I realise that people who want to play with a connected board are a small percentage, so adding support is always going to be a low priority. However I would like to think the work to add support could be relatively support, and then the board integration and any associated contributions can come from the community.
I am not affialiated with any of the board makers, but I am a software developer who would like to help add support if an API became available (without the compromises of playing under the guise of a bot)
I would appreciate any thought or comments.
From a technical perspective, I understand why the above solution is recommended. Anything that uses the API to make moves, bypasses the client side cheat detection, and this needs to be guarded against to ensure the trust is maintainied in the lichess eco system.
It would be nice if there was new distinct account type/flag for users who wish to use a connected board. This could be a specialised version of the bot account at a technical level, but from a users perspective would show up a someone using a connected board.
This would have the following advantages:-
1) Users are clearly marked as using a connected board. Other users can choose whether to play or not play those users
2) Users are not incorrectly labelled as bots, and can play on lichess as a person
3) A more lenient set of restrictions can be set on a connected board user
As a connected board user goes via the API then some restrictions would need to apply.
These could be anything from:-
1) Users can only play classical games
2) Cheat detections picks up any moves made quicker than the board allows
3) Users need to register the board, including serial number with a trusted site. Stops a user creating multiple accounts for the same board
4) etc
The limitations and cheat detection can evolve separately (or as a specialisation) of the human/bot accounts.
I realise that people who want to play with a connected board are a small percentage, so adding support is always going to be a low priority. However I would like to think the work to add support could be relatively support, and then the board integration and any associated contributions can come from the community.
I am not affialiated with any of the board makers, but I am a software developer who would like to help add support if an API became available (without the compromises of playing under the guise of a bot)
I would appreciate any thought or comments.