When I started Out of this World Baseball and ran the initial draft, I gave owners three options:
1) Send in a list via e-mail
2) Log on to a chat room of sorts that I was available at pretty much all day during work hours.
3) Sign up for "live draft via e-mail", where each pick as it was made was sent to everyone doing live drafting, either via e-mail or chat room. The next owner then had 30 minutes to make their pick.
On the occasion that I didn't have a list or a pick by the end of that 30-minute window, I gave the team a computer pick.
It worked pretty well, for 30+ rounds. We did a round a day, two rounds per day after the first two weeks of the draft, and I emailed out the full round's results at the end of each day. It got tiresome after a while, sure, but eventually everyone went to computer picks.
Of course, it relied on a few things: making the rules very clear beforehand -- no pick in, you get a computer pick. I usually let the 30 minute window grow to an hour, with a reminder email after 30 minutes. I was pretty impressed with the courtesy and dedication of the other 15 owners in the league. With very few exceptions, I never had to be too much of a hardass.
Maybe I just got lucky with the owners I had, too.
