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Hi Ms. Netiquette,
I was just wondering about something. When is it ok to “boot” a player from a game like Euchre or Spades? A few months back I was the host of a game of Euchre when a very rude player came in to play. Everything was going great and then this particular player decided to be very rude to everyone in the room. Because I was the host, a message came on the screen and asked me to boot or not to boot that particular player.
The player was being very disrespectful to everyone so I booted that player. Did I do the right thing? When is it ok or not ok to do so?
Thanks –
Confused About Booting
| Dear Confused About Booting, It sounds like you were not the person who initiated the boot, and you were asked whether or not you agreed to the boot. So, not only did you do the right thing by agreeing to boot the player, it would have been impolite to your tablemates if you chose not to boot the player. You ask when it’s okay to boot, and the answer is pretty simple. If the player you would like to boot is engaging in rude behavior then you should consider using the boot. Rude behavior includes unpleasant chat as well as simply not taking a turn for the purpose of stalling the game. Unfortunately, poor sports will sometimes stall games if they are losing the game or don’t want you to win. Some players, sadly, who have very high ratings in certain table games will do this if they don’t want to take the loss of the game because it will affect their rating. This is why we have the boot feature. It does take a majority vote for the boot occur. So, if you decide you want to boot the player, your tablemates must agree to the boot in order for it to take place. Of course, in four-player games, honest players do sometimes find themselves in a game where two players will cause problems and and block any booting attempts. In these cases, there’s really not much one can do. The best thing to do is to leave the game as soon as possible and find a friendlier table. |
Hi Ms. Netiquette,
Last night I was in a Spades room and someone in the room was being racist. He never said any racial slurs, however he did say that non-whites didn’t know how to play spades, and also called those who were non-white stupid and ignorant.
I replied to this person telling him that he was being racist and that he should stop. I didn’t report him as I’m not quite sure if he was violating the TOS, but it even offended me and I’m white. I don’t see how the color of someone’s skin would have any bearing over their skill in any particular game. What would you recommend I do about this if I come across behavior like this in the future?
Appalled in Spadesland
| Dear Appalled, I’m very sorry that you were exposed to such bigotry. What this player was engaging in is considered hate speech, and hate speech is a violation of our Terms of Service. In order to create an account on Pogo, you must agree to our Terms of Service. Hate speech is a major violation, and we take it very seriously If you should come into contact with this type of behavior again, do not respond to the player. Simply use our Report Abuse feature and file an abuse report. Responding to players who engage in hate speech may have the undesired consequences. If the player sees that you are upset by the language, that may encourage him or her to continue to spout hate speech. Or it might make him or her decide to target you, personally. So, the best thing to do is to report the player for abuse, and to not say anything. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
Oops– sorry– yet another opinion on this subject!
There was a time when netspeak annoyed me greatly but I was never rude enough to mention it to the players involved.
Over time, as I got to know more players I realized that a lot of folks had their first computer and had never learned to type.
Many are typing with two fingers and some only one! I give these people a great deal of credit for their ability in keeping up with chat using netspeak.
As a typist I would find it harder to learn netspeak than typing all the words so I’ve compromised.
I use a combination, I use “gg,” “wtg,” etc. but never “u” or “ur,” etc. In conversation I use proper words.
Do the people that object to netspeak expect everyone to take a typing course before they join in a chat? I sure hope not because then they’d have to learn to spell! LOL
Thanks for reading,
Duffer Always Learning
| Dear Duffer Always Learning, I received so many letters this week regarding netspeak it was truly a challenge to decide which one to publish. The vast majority of the players who wrote in regarding netspeak agreed with my response. Some made me LOL (laugh out loud), and many people wrote in explaining why they use netspeak. Some are handicapped, some do not know how to type, some find that with the size of the chat window and the speed of the chat, it’s just a lot easier all the way around. And of course, many can type just fine, but simply prefer to use abbreviations. Oh, and let me just mention that the vast majority of letters I received from “netspeakers” were very well written. A few people who were concerned that this would damage the English language should take note. You do not have to sacrifice the English language to engage in netspeak. You can actually do both. I eventually decided upon your letter because you transitioned from having never used netspeak to understanding why some people do use it, and then went as far as incorporating some of it into your own life. Thank you for sharing your story with us! |
