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Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I was very pleased to see the letter, and your great response, from “Confused and Concerned” about their account getting flagged. I despise spam in all it’s forms. But now I am just flabbergasted! I have now been SPAMMED with a copy of that very letter and your reply!!! It was the final straw.
I don’t usually “report” people who are on my “friends list,” but this pushed me over the edge. People … please, when you get a note from someone explaining what spam is, and that it is against Pogo’s rules, and that you are spamming … for crying out loud, don’t spam everyone with copies of that very note!
Angry and Frustrated with Spammers
| Dear Angry and Frustrated,Well, this certainly puts old Nettie in a pickle, doesn’t it? On one hand she is flattered that a letter from her column has been sent out to such a wide audience. On the other, it is a little disconcerting to have your advice so blatantly opposed in such a way. You make a good point. Perhaps it’s worthwhile to look at the nature of why people begin to send junk mail in the first place. It’s all about attention. We see so much repetition in the junk messages we receive, we don’t even think about what motivates people to forward a message, or even write one intended for mass forwarding. They do it for the attention. Most of the claims these messages make are preposterous. And whoever pens them knows it. Unfortunately they don’t care. They simply like to bask in the hysteria that their letters generate. Once we recognize that the reasons for most of these messages and e-mails are self-centered, it does make it a lot easier to click that delete button. People who are new to e-mail and messages often fall for the mass forwarding of messages and e-mail. All we can do is work on individuals one at a time. Even if we think we’re doing the world a favor by forwarding to a wide audience a description of what spam is, we are engaging in the very behavior we are fighting against. So, reasonable readers of Ms. Netiquette, let us continue to be reasonable. If Aunt Glenda is forwarding everything she receives in her message box, do everyone a favor and clue her in with a personalized message sent only to her explaining the reality of spam and unwanted forwarded messages. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I love playing Pogo games and usually leave chat on in my favorite rooms. Yesterday, I was in a Squelchies room for the over 50 crowd, and two people from the East Coast began a conversation about the new American Idol winner. Those of us on the West Coast hadn’t seen the show yet. While I don’t live or die according to who wins a TV reality show, I was looking forward to watching the AI finale last night after I’d followed this particular show all season long.
While I’m sure the intent of the East Coast chatters was not to ruin the evening for us West Coast folks, I think they need to be aware that there is a significant time difference between the time TV shows air for them and the time they air for us out here. It would be nice if they understood that their chat regarding the outcome of some popular contests may be a bit premature for others in the room.
From now on, I’ll keep chat windows closed on nights when a final contest show is on TV, but I’m resenting having to do that because some people are just inconsiderate.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent a bit – I feel much better now!
An Avid Pogo Player
| Dear AAPP,You bring up a very interesting issue. You did not mention whether or not anyone asked the players in the room to withhold the name of the winner, so I’m assuming that either no one did or the information came so quickly there was no time to ask. The polite thing for someone wishing to discuss the finale of a popular show is to ask players in the room if it’s okay to discuss the outcome. Instead of saying “I just can’t believe Manny Santos won!” you might ask “Is there anyone here who does not know who won the ‘So You Think You Can Floss’ competition?” Then give the room about 30 seconds to pipe up. If nobody says anything, then you can assume they either already know or simply don’t care. Of course, people converse without thinking and if you really don’t want to know who won something, then your best bet is to avoid chat altogether until you get to see the show yourself. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
A long-time friend of mine on Pogo was very upset with me recently as he stated that my Pogo mini was naked from the waist down. I, of course, checked immediately because I had not changed it and I had not been online. My mini was fully clothed as normal.
My friend was adamant the mini was naked. There are no naked mini’s as far as I am aware. He stated it was showing on his computer as having been changed and that my mini was definitely naked.
I am very confused – needless to say I lost a friend, but please tell me I am not showing as naked to the world, heaven forbid! Can someone mess with your mini? I did not believe this was possible. I live in a coldish climate and it way too cold at the moment to go naked, but seriously I am concerned if someone can alter my mini. Please advise.
Yours
Miss freezing
| Dear Miss FreezingYour Mini was never naked, and your friend was not hallucinating. As simple as they seem, Minis are pretty complicated. They are constructed out of many layers of images, and the base layer is a skin-toned. On that layer, the Mini “clothes” get placed. In rare cases, someone with a certain type of browser, in a particular game, with a slow connection may only see the base layer of your Mini and may wonder what happened to your Mini’s clothes. This same player may see your Mini fully clothed ten minutes later in a different game. It has to do with how much information the browser can load, and at what point it stops loading that information. The Mini you see is usually the Mini everyone else sees– unless you are on that certain type of browser in a particular game with a slow connection. There are no naked Minis, and it is truly unfortunate that your friend did not believe you. You may want to direct him to this column. Just make sure he doesn’t copy it and send it out to everyone on his Friends List! |
