Good god what a pedantic pain you are HAWKEYE.
My wife gets most of what she wants because people above her in seniority don't know how to bid..like wise CSS senior to me.
The company stopped training initial FAs in the use of the bid system in 1996.
The company only ever printed one how to bid book and that was in 1988.
The biggest impact on available flying comes from Language speakers and the off-shore bases.
Don`t kid yourself that the company wouldn`t put the slip formula on the table.
You must be absolutely naive to believe otherwise.
Details about your alternative please.
I wait with bated breath.