Ms. Netiquette: The Thanksgiving Edition

Dear Readers,

As promised I will be printing some of the wonderful letters I received from people in gratitude of the helpful and kind people they have met on Pogo! I wish you all a very pleasant weekend!

Dear Ms. Netiquette,

I have been a Pogo member for several years and have made many short-term friends, but I wanted to let you know that some of those Pogo friends become real friends as well.

During the last year, I have gone through some major medical problems, and continue to have them. One of the friends, a gal I met in Pinochle, initial befriended me by helping me to learn the game of Pinochle. She has been supportive and loving as various medical events have occurred. It is now at the point that I can go into a room she is in and ask her for a virtual hug. She not only gives a cyber hug, she gives me encouragement and support. When I got more bad medical news yesterday, I knew that all I had to do was seek her out; immediately I felt the love and support of “just another Pogo player.”

We have never met in real life, but I do indeed count her as a true friend.

Sign me,

A Pogo Friend

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Hi Ms. Netiquette,

I met a very special person in Pogo. I was working on a badge and pushed the play now button and landed at his table. That day not only were the Pogo gods watching out for me badge-wise but they were actually introducing me to my soul mate!

I did not understand the game and he took the time and effort to explain it to me and so we played and chatted. I added him to my friends list and he added me. Most the time when you land somewhere the other person gets their badge and leaves. He took time to explain which was fantastic! The next day he came into a room I was in and we got a table and played together. Before long we exchanged phone numbers and are all over Pogo together daily and nightly.

Well needless to say I got the badge and I also have him! He is in the process of moving to be with me now. And to think all this from Pogo a badge a great gaming experience and my love! In my world of books Pogo ranks supreme after him of course! Thanks everyone at Pogo for the great games and my soul mate.

Keep up the good work.

You can sign me as…

Cribbage Connection

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Dear Nettie,

I have been a member of Pogo for several years, I was here before most games and way before Club Pogo. I have met several people along the way, some are great and some are not so great. About a year after I had joined Pogo, I met a woman who changed my Pogo experience forever.

She was just like me, a working mom, who needed somewhere to go where I could relax and de-stress from the daily tasks put forth in this world. I was shy, reserved, and totally unaware of all the things that happen on Pogo, and a lot of times I would leave more stressed then I came in. She taught me how to handle myself in the rooms, how to not be so shy, and how to handle the people who want to mess with you just for fun. All in a polite direct manner, telling them I don’t need it, and yes, she taught me the mute button. She is also the person who sent me my first Club Pogo Pass.

If it wasn’t for her, I would have left Pogo a long time ago and never came back. We’re still friends to this day. I chat with her as much as I can, and we’re real life friends. I know her kids and she knows mine. It’s been wonderful.

And I thank her everyday for it.

Sincerely

Grateful Canadian

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Ms. Netiquette-

I have found many friendly people here at Pogo and appreciate each and everyone that I have encountered for their unique personalities. I have gotten close with a couple of players who have helped me through some very difficult situations through the last couple of years. They are patient, kind, and listen to what you have to say, they have made me laugh when I needed it most and have also been there to shed tears some of them happy some of them sad.

Being a single parent, I find that sometimes the chat helps me work through issues of raising a child on my own and I have hopefully been able to help others.

Thankfully yours,

Another Pogo Friend

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Hi Ms. Netiquette,

Love your column! You asked us to write in with a positive story about a player we met here who has helped us… well I have just such a person to tell you about. I am a member of a QWERTY league, and I don’t get to play as often as I wished I could, but oh well– some Pogo is better than no Pogo, right? But I digress.

I have made a few good friendships with fellow qwerty players in the league, and one of them came to my aid last October. My mother passed away in May 05. I am still trying to deal with this, it has been a very hard loss for me. It would have been her birthday on the 12th of October. I mentioned it to my dear Pogo friend I’ll call “Froggy,” and she set a midnight tourney for me with a tribute page on the tournament. 16 players jumped in the tourney to play, and it was really beautifully done.

It really helped me to feel that everyone had not forgotten my mom, and that people still cared and remembered. It got me through a rough night, and I was touched by the caring that went into it. I sent a poem and a picture and she with the help of one of her friends turned it into a wonderful tribute.

Just wanted to say thank you, and I thought this is what you are looking for ;)

A Grieving Daughter.

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Hello Ms. Netiquette,

Before I was an official member of Pogo, I would play one of my favorites, Tumble Bees, pretty much every day. I was in a particularly nice room and met a lady there. We hit it off and went to play every day. I had just lost my mother and I was in a terrible emotional state and pretty desperate.

This lady and I talked for hours while playing. She was in similar straits, so we held each other up. We ended up talking on the phone, as well. We each made it through our grief and are now getting along with our lives. Without her, my life would not be the same.

You never know where your friends and support groups will come from. I found both on Pogo.

Thanks for a chance to publicly thank this lady for being there for me and to acknowledge the strong bonds that can be formed here on Pogo.

Chiya

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Dear Ms. Netiquette,

I met a very dear friend on Pogo after an operation that went wrong, without her I truly don’t think I would have carried on. I was so down and depressed and she was always there with a kind word and “would you a fancy a game of this or that?” just to keep me going.

We have since met up twice. She came to see me for a weekend and I just got back from visiting her for the weekend. She is like a sister to me. We have known each other for nearly 3 years now and our friendship continues to strengthen.

When I had another operation to rectify the problems from the first she called my husband everyday to see how I was and she never let me miss a badge and always kept everything ticking along nicely.

Then when I was taken into hospital with a blood clot on my lung for a week she called me at the hospital everyday, and when I was eventually allowed to sit back at my PC she was the first one with a cheery hello and a warning not to sit in the same place for too long.

If it hadn’t been for Pogo we would never have met and I will always be truly grateful to you for that as I know I have a life long friend who I will cherish for ever more.

A very loved friend

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Hello Nettie,

I have a friend that has truly helped me get rid of my extreme shyness. For many years I would go to school and try to make an effort to go to school dances and social events but I “chickened” out in the end. Every time my teachers had me do an oral presentation of something I cringed and sweated profusely. Face it I was a big scaredy cat. One day I thought ok, I’m gonna try to strike up a conversation and see how this goes.

Before you know it this one sweet lady starts talking to me on pogo and we become close friends. Thanks to Pogo and my good friend I can now strike up conversations at social events in my town. I still am nervous about it but with my good friend helping me along I’m a talkative person now.

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Dear Ms. Netiquette,

I met a wonderful friend here in Pogo land. I was going through a very hard time, I found last year that I had to have a hysterectomy, I have no children.

I was able to turn to her in my time of need, she gave me a shoulder to cry on, an understanding ear to vent to, as well as someone to make me laugh when things looked bleakest.

In turn when she was pregnant not that long ago, I was right there with her. She could tell me everything that was going on, and I got to enjoy the fact that a dear friend was giving life to a little baby. It helped me to go through the steps and feelings with her.

We have actually even spoken on the phone and plan one day to meet face to face.

Thank you for letting me tell you about this awesome lady, and thank you Pogo for being the reason that I met her.

Thankful For A Great Friend