I am bringing this point forward from another suggestion I started. I hate the missed turns that seem to follow having "some" new players joining my 1 vs 1 games.
One of the 1st things new players should be made aware of is there are players to turn to if they need someone to take turns for them.
Maybe a "welcome bundle" should be sent to them, (e-mail or pm) when a new player signs up. A bundle of info, so that before a player ever takes his/hers 1st turn in their 1st game, they have the recorces to turn to if they need it. One of the 1st things they need to know about is there is players who will take their turns if needed. So until they establish a partnership with a few players/friends, they dont have to miss turns. Let them know that there are forums to help them with stratagy, Q & A, Society of the Cooks Training Grounds, etc.
I really do understand that in "real life", things come up. But unlike established players who have these "friends" to turn to for covering their turns, the new players simply for-go their turns. After doing this once or twice, it may becomes a habit so to speak.
This site has recorses that are informative like this forum, I feel that these new players simply need to be made aware of that they exsist. If they know that sit in subs are avalable, maybe it would eliminate most of their missed turns.