If the forum couldn't figure out my view on the pips situation by my smart-aleck comment, I will say it plainly.
ITTF made restictions on aspect ratio and banned frictionless pips, because THEY COULD... and DID.
HOW did they achieve this by vote, when EVERY STRONG TT NATION could give a flying fluff if wierd acting pips existed?
HOW you ask? The same way a certain side of the political spectrum stacks the deck.
Find people, make them eligble to vote when they otherwise would not be qualified, promise and deliver free stuff paid for by the other ones qualified to vote, and greatly increase your position to where you now dominate any vote.
ITTF prez back in the day did a huge recruitment of nations to join ITTF as voting members with promises and actual giving of freebies to win over the delagates... who voted for the things the freebie giver wanted. It made zero difference what the major TT power nations delagates said or wanted...
Of course nearly every TT nation changed their national rules to be a literal cut and paste with very minor mods to become the ITTF rules... and hence, what ITTF boss did, controlled who lived and died in TT.
This really pissed me off back in the day, because it really pissed off the geezer crowd. Why worry about a bunch of GEEZERS?
WHY? ... because this geezer crowd contributed to TT for DECADES and got little out of it, then ITTF and the natl assns want to wipe out participation of the geezer crowd... which was a very large chunk of the TT population who CONTRIBUTED to the sport MANY TIMES more than other segments for WAY LONGER... and now we want to force that crowd to re-learn a new sport just to enjoy their lives?
That was pretty much tantamount to banning them from driving cars and learn how to operate some other piece of transportation that takes to long to master. It was morally WRONG and still is... but it is in the past. Almost no one spoke up for that crowd, but the reality is, ITTF and natl assns disenfranchized their most valuable contributors financially to the sport.
Why would a geezer crowd be so valuable financially? Who volunteers to stuff for free in a club? 90%+ of the time it is an older dude (A California word for either gender). Who is always chipping in with extra money to make a tournament have more prizes? Older dudes. Who cleans up at the clubs? Usually the older crowd. Who in large numbers shows up to a club and pays for membership and often coaching? Older dudes.
USA clubs were already a mm close to not meeting many expenses, and when the geezer crowd go away, the club cannot generate enough income to survive...
... so when you piss off the geezer crowd who was a contributor in many ways, many clubs are now under much more pressure to stay afloat... and hte quality of the club deminishes.
That is why I said what I said and I pretty much say this 1-2 times a year when the topic appears on forums.