Claiming wins in tournament play

What is the proper etiquette concerning claiming timeout wins in tournaments? I have respected the On Vacation signs and not sent movement reminders to those that are on vacation. However, some of my opponents haven't put up the on vacation signs and have gone over the time limit consistently. Do I just wait it out 'til the whim to move overcomes them or should I be a stickler for the rules and claim a win I didn't earn? One opponent has expressed that they would rather lose than have an opponent fill up their email box with movement reminders, so...?

I'd say time them out. I respect vacation signs for friendlies. In tournaments, I have no mercy. You enter into a competition with the timeouts spelt out and no one should have any excuse if they fail to move in the alloted time, I don't care whether they are on vacation or not. (They shouldn't be entering tournaments if they know they are going on vacation at some point during the tourney and don't have a way of continuing the game whilst away!) Tournament games are automatically finished two days after the timebank expires, anyway.

Originally posted by DOlivier2004
I'd say time them out. I respect vacation signs for friendlies. In tournaments, I have no mercy. You enter into a competition with the timeouts spelt out and no one should have any excuse if they fail to move in the alloted time, I don't care whether they are on vacation or not. (They shouldn't be entering tournaments if they know they are going o ...[text shortened]... y!) Tournament games are automatically finished two days after the timebank expires, anyway.

In my last full tournament I won round one. In round two only one other player played. He was placed in the hospital and was timed out. When he was released I granted him game reinstatements and I lost both games. Be nice when it comes to timeouts. Botvinnik forced Tal to play or forfet. I think Tal had a mild heart attack during the title match in 1961. Botvinnik was a great player, but he was not a sporty player. The choice to time out or not is yours.

Originally posted by gambit3
In my last full tournament I won round one. In round two only one other player played. He was placed in the hospital and was timed out. When he was released I granted him game reinstatements and I lost both games. Be nice when it comes to timeouts. Botvinnik forced Tal to play or forfet. I think Tal had a mild heart attack during the title match in 1961. Bot ...[text shortened]... nnik was a great player, but he was not a sporty player. The choice to time out or not is yours.

It may be worth mentioning that time outs in tournaments occur automatically 48 hours after the time expires.

Originally posted by SirLoseALot
That choice may not have been Botvinnik's to make,if ya know what I mean.
But here,yes,it's your choice,and yours alone.

Well, I don't mind waiting. If it automatically times out, then oh well. It's not as if I am a factor in the tourney, but I, like most, like to do well. But I really prefer to win rather than be granted a win. Thanks for the input.