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Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I have been a Pogo member since 2004, and I have run into some strange folks in the game rooms, like many people have. I simply pick and choose as needed and move on. I’ve seen people gripe and harp whenever they are losing a Challenge… “Pogo is at it again, won’t let me win”…blah blah blah. I never believed for a second that Pogo is manipulating and controlling the outcome of my games, especially those that require a little decision making on my part, such as Jungle Gin.
But yesterday I got a player that make me just plain mad. She accused me of cheating within a short time, because I won 2 hands in a row (Jungle Gin)… not 2 games, mind you… just the 1st two hands!
She first asked what “cheat program” I was using. At first I thought she was kidding, (a cheat program??), but the smiley never came. I answered I do not cheat. Then she stated basically “you have a 48% win rate but are already at a 1604 rank, how weird is that?” I did tell her she was a poor loser idiot and I left… yeah; she got my goat. But she should have realized that if I were able or willing to cheat, I would not have a 48% win rate, and would be an expert player. The time I have with the advanced score never lasts long; I’m always back to fluctuating between beginner and intermediate. The important thing for me is, I really enjoy the game.
I know my response to her was not the appropriate one. What should I have said? I don’t appreciate feeling like I have to defend myself when I have done nothing wrong.
Devoted Pogo Member
| Dear Devoted Pogo Member, Excellent question and good for you for wanting to know how you could have better handled the situation. You were faced with a ridiculous accusation, and you did let your fingers slip and you typed how you felt, rather than what might be a more polite response (or non response). hat, of course, is at the core of good manners – being able to rise above what we’d sometimes *like* to say. You actually handled it just fine up until then end. And, ultimately, being rude to someone who has falsely accused you of something of which you’re clearly innocent is not a huge deal. If ever you should run into a similar situation, I would suggest you simply mute or ignore your opponent, finish the game and then find another. She’s not worth your time. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
Why is it that when you type something perfectly acceptable Pogo scrambles it and it appears as though you are cursing?
This has happened and the other player threatens to report it as abuse… what can be done about this?
How can you monitor to ensure that it is not cursing? This has happened to me and I am concerned that I would be accused of using profanities!
Could you please reply,
Not a Cusser!
| Dear Not a Cusser!, Pogo’s chat filter is both robust, and well – let’s just say it causes a little eye-rolling from time to time. In an effort to keep players from bypassing the filter, we occasionally block perfectly acceptable words. I haven’t seen exactly what has happened, so I can’t read exactly what was said, but it could be that some of those threats were actually people just joking around. Long time players know the chat filter quite well, and an “Ooh, I’m gonna report you!” could possibly be a joke. The typer should follow that sort of joke with a “winkie”, or “;)” to indicate the joke. And if someone should actually file an Abuse Report, our Customer Experience staff can see what was really typed, so there’s no reason to for worry. If a report is filed, they’ll see what was really typed and the abuse report will be marked as false and no action will be taken. There will be no notation on your account. It’s as if the report was never filed. The next time this happens a quick “Darn filter!” or “The filter got me!” should communicate to everyone in the room that your message was clean. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
First let me state that I agree completely that the room player was rude to ask another player to leave. However, I can understand why one could be irritated with another player coming into the room and staying. A lot of times a person may be playing alone because they don’t feel very social or in order to work on a Badge that is much more difficult to get if playing with others, like needing to get the first bingo or Lottso card or a bonus of some variety.
I have experienced this. A player comes in late in the game and causes the game to end before you get what you have been working for. This can be quite irritating. My solution, rather than be rude, is to just leave and go to another room. But, to be honest, this solution doesn’t usually sit well with me.
Signed,
There May Be a Reason
| Dear There May Be a Reason, Thanks for your letter. While I do recognize that there are certain Challenges where having a room to yourself simplifies things, or allows you to earn progress at a faster rate, one must remember that those particular games were created to provide a more social game experience. Thus, the onus is on the person earning the Badge to either suck it up and continue playing despite the fact that the other person may slow down the progress, or simply leave and hope to find an empty room. It might be frustrating, but it is what it is. Nobody has any claim to any game room. End of story. As for whether or not it sits well doesn’t really matter. Players are free to enter any room, and many of them hit the “Play Now” button so they don’t even have a choice as to which room they enter. You can’t help the way that you feel, so it’s understandable that you find it irritating. But, as you point out, you can help how you respond, and it looks like you’ve found an appropriate solution. |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
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