Irrelevant unauthorised information

I had got involved in a discussion about whether you can adjust the score when a player used an overheard remark to make a successful play on a board that was not the board that the overheard remark related to. I deleted my final post because I had got fed up with the discussion and my reaction was getting too personal and rehtorical. I know how I would rule, and I think my ruling would be lawful and what would be expected of me. The thread involved some interesting discussion of that is meant by "information". There was also discussion of "extraneous information" as opposed to "unauthorised information", which the laws do not seem to distinguish, but explains my use of UI/EI below.

This is what I deleted.

I must admit to being perplexed by this discussion. Law 16A says nothing about information being relevant, useful or useable. Law 16A3 says he may not base a call or play on (any) UI/EI.

I do not understand the problem. If the player knows the UI/EI is not relevant he does not use it. If the player knows the UI/EI is relevant he must not use it. If he thinks the UI/EI relates to a board he will never play but is not sure, he notifies the TD and the TD confirms that the UI/EI is irrelevant and allows play to continue.

I do not expect a player to be in a position of having UI/EI and deciding to use it on a board he knows it does not relate to. I expect to have been notified by the player before he use he bases a call or play on what he has heard.

If, subsequently, it is suggested that a player gained UI/EI that was irrelevant but he did base a call or play on the UI/EI, and he did not did notify the TD in advance, then Law 16A3/4 allows me to adjust on the board. There will always be some doubt as to the source and information that was overheard (especially as it seems to only be heard by one player), so as a TD, I would urge on the side of caution and not assume the UI/EI was necessarilly irrelevant. I would expect that the other players and organisers would expect the TD to adjust in such circumstances.

Do you think that Law 16A3 does not apply to irrelevant information that is not authorised?