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Dear Ms. Netiquette,
How do you deal with a player who is a sore loser? I was playing Jungle Gin and unfortunately I won the game when the other player accused me of cheating. She told me that she was better than me because her winning percentage was higher than mine. Then I told her to look at the rating mine was 1650 her was 1450.
When I left the room I saw that she was telling people in chat that I have some kind of cheat program. I don’t even know what that is.
I thought this was very rude of her. This is the first time something like that has happened to me.
Confused Honest Player
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Ms. Netiquette,
This morning I happily logged onto to Pogo as I normally do every Monday. I decided to play Canasta, my first favorite game on Pogo. I haven’t played in awhile, because Pogo has come out with SO many new and fun games lately that I’ve almost forgotten all about it! Way to go on all the new games I might add… they’re wonderful!
Anyway, I joined a rated game against what I thought was another friendly Pogo player. We started out fine and in the first round my opponent froze the discard pile. I did what I thought was the only way to obtain the cards in the pile, that is by holding a pair until the opponent throws that card… Isn’t that the way to pick up the cards?
Once I was able to achieve this and pick up what a large amount of cards.. my opponent became angry and started calling me a cheater and a sandbagger and said that was the only way I could win. My opponent then left and I was forced to finish the rated game with a computer. When I finished the game and went back into the lobby, I also noticed that person was writing about me in chat again calling me a cheater and sandbagger, I thought it was very rude and not true at all.
Was I not playing correctly? Am I missing the Canasta rules? Is there some other way to pick up a frozen pile that I’m not aware of?
It’s very disheartening to come across people like these, sore losers I guess is what I would call them. I’ve been a Pogo member for almost 3 years now and enjoy all the games here. However, because of people like this, I find it difficult to play against other people in what I would hope to be a friendly game and normally just play against the computer, especially in Canasta.
Unfortunately, I know there is nothing Pogo can do, I just wish people wouldn’t be so rude during what is supposed to be a friendly game in our friendly web site!
Thanks for listening,
Supposed Sandbagger?
| Dear Confused and Supposed,It is unfortunate that you were both accused of cheating when you were in fact just playing the game by the rules. Is it rude to accuse someone of cheating because you’re losing? You can bet your tea and shortbread it is. So what does one do? How does one most gracefully counter such accusations? Politely, of course. If you’ve been accused of cheating in a public chat room, it is only natural that you want to clear your name. The difficulty is in how you communicate your innocence. The person who is accusing you is probably a little hot under the collar and very well may portray that in his or her chat. The best thing you can do is to keep it short and simple by saying something like: “I did just win a game, fair and square, and I am sorry that my opponent was not able to see that. I do not, nor have I ever cheated” and then don’t say another word about it. Your opponent may continue his or her tirade against you, but you really do not want to get into a public shouting match over this, as it will look like you may be protesting too much. If the player won’t let it go, you should mute the player or find another room in which to play. The less attention you give your poor sport opponent, the sooner the situation will fade. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I love Dice City Roller! But I’m very glad I read your column on people bidding on the same card in near empty rooms before I played that version. Tonight while playing, someone left because I was “playing wayyyyyyyyyy too aggressively.” Having already read your column on being free to play the game by the rules, I was able to stay calm and neither reply to the rudeness or storm out myself.
I DO bid aggressively for the extra dice, star or not. I love to fill as many cards as I can, even if my score ends up being lower. Thanks for the great game!
Sincerely,
Extra Dice Lovin’ Roller
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Dear Nettie,
I have a question about the Dice City Roller. Is it really wrong, if there are only maybe two or three people in a room, to get an auction that you want? To me this is a game. If I want the on auction then I will bid on it, since it is a game should the other player get mad at me for doing this?
Like this morning for example, I was in a room with one other person. I went to bid on one of the auctions and she happened to bid on the same one. Then she got all mad at me claiming I did it on purpose. First of all how was I supposed to know that she was going to bid on the same one? I have been in other rooms were this occurs when there are only two or three people in a room. No one in those other rooms ever complained about it since it is a game. I have never complained about someone outbidding me on an auction where there was only a few people in the room. I just figured it is a game what is there to get mad about. Also when bidding if you happen to click on the same one at about the same time then you can not stop it from happening.
What are your thoughts on this?
Sincerely,
A Little Annoyed
| Dear Dice Lovin’ and Annoyed,As Dice Lovin’ mentions, I did address this very issue just a few weeks ago, but it looks like it bears repeating. Bidding on the auction that you want to win is part of the game. Players who ask other players to only bid on auctions that nobody has already bid upon are in effect asking the players to disregard the rules. So, to the both of you– please continue to play the way that you want to play and do not let these people who don’t seem to understand the game get to you. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
Hello. I really enjoy reading your column every week. Never too young to learn about “netiquette”, etiquette, and just plain politeness.
This is in regards to the person who wrote to you about what happened to them when they attempted several times to ask some of the other players in the room to tone it down. They in turn, they jumped all over him. I totally understand and empathize with that player and other players who try to keep the chat “clean”–and I appreciate their efforts.
Part of your response to that person was this: “Sometimes people get frustrated with a game, or perhaps they spill coffee on their brand new ‘I Love Pogo’ tee-shirt and say things that they wouldn’t normally say.”
It is true that this can happen, however, some people are just “potty” mouths–they don’t need any “excuse” to behave so badly. I wish you would have added something to that affect in your response. Seemed to me you were excusing their bad behavior, rather than helping the person whom wrote that letter. Case in point:” Because you are so polite you may not realize when enough if enough. This happens to nice people all of the time. They have difficulty recognizing when nothing they can say or do will have any affect on the abusive player.”
I don’t think that particular statement applied to the author. Bottom line is, IMHO, there is NO excuse for “potty” mouths. Some people just have no concept of what is polite, of what is tasteful, etc… nor do they care. They thrive on conflict, and creating it, and they thrive on attention– any kind of attention. I have been a member of Club Pogo for quite some time, and have had the unfortunate experience seeing this on many occasions. Personally, if Pogo would grant me one wish, it would be to eliminate the “uncensored” chat rooms. I feel those rooms just give people the opportunity and excuse to behave so badly.
Just wanted to put in my two cents worth, so to speak. Thank you.
Fed Up With People Behaving Badly
| Dear Fed Up,You have given Nettie a lot to ponder! I’m over here in the UK right now visiting the Pogo UK offices, and drinking some of the strongest tea I’ve ever had and eating incredibly tasty scones! And yes, I’m absolutely covering them with clotted cream and jam. I am in Heaven. I just love being over here and listening to wonderful way that people speak. Everything seems so civilized. I’m hoping to get to the theater at some point. But I digress! While I agree with you that there is no excuse for “potty” mouths in a non-uncensored room, I also understand that the reality of life is that good people make mistakes, get frustrated, and let things slip out of their mouths that they instantly regret. In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as salty talk or potty mouths. In this world, however, it’s becoming more and more of the norm. Which is exactly the reason we do have uncensored rooms. The uncensored rooms give players who do sometimes engage in salty talk a place to go where they will not be offending the rest of the public. Language is a funny thing. A word that offends one person doesn’t always offend another. But usually that person knows the word itself is offensive. So, off to the uncensored room with them! The difference between someone who occasionally lets an offensive word slip and a potty mouth is huge. Potty mouths in a non-uncensored room probably won’t last long. Someone who simply loses their temper and says a bad word will hopefully recognize their action and apologize and everyone will move on. The player who wrote in last week really went beyond what was expected of him by asking the player to tone it down instead of just reporting the offending player. I encourage that kind of behavior, as it is more honest and direct. Cheers! |
