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Dear Ms. Nettie…
I was on Pogo the other day, and might have been being a bit ‘salty’ in Main Chat. I received a T.O.S. warning. I hadn’t realized that I was offending anyone.
The next day, to be sensible about it, I took a few of my friends and went to Private Chat, where we wouldn’t have to watch our language so much. I wasn’t even chatting at all in Main Chat – and I received another T.O.S. warning!
The people in Private Chat were all friends of mine, and I’m sure none of them reported me… so I’m worried somebody is stalking me, harassing me by submitting abuse reports on me!
But, the question is, what was I warned for? If I said nothing at all in Main Chat, how could I have offended?
Now I’m worried I’m going to lose my account, which I’ve had for five years without any previous complaints. Doesn’t Pogo review the chat to see if \ anything offensive was said? Is there any way to appeal my warning?
– Concerned in Connecticut
| Dear Concerned In Connecticut, It is highly unlikely you are being stalked. Unfortunately, if someone files an abuse report in the Main Chat area, the chat log from all Private Chat is included in the snippet of text that is sent along with the abuse report to our Disciplinary Action Team. This is not how we would like it to work. Efforts are being made to see that we change this in the future so that it is clear which parts of the chat are private and which parts are public. In some cases, people do need to report abuse in Private Chat, so we do want to keep that functionality. Until this issue is addressed by Pogo, my suggestion is to cease ‘salty’ talk except in Uncensored Rooms. And always keep in mind the Terms of Service. While you can get pretty ‘salty,’ there are still rules by which you must abide (such as not engaging in hate speech, harassment, etc…). See the Terms of Service for more information on that. You may appeal to our Customer Support department and ask them to consider your situation. And finally– thank you for adding the word ‘salty’ to my vocabulary! I love it! |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I am sure you have heard this before but somehow things never change! I was playing Fortune Bingo and was continually called selfish and other names for “not sharing” when I claimed a bingo. This is always the case when someone claims a bingo and it makes it very difficult to play and enjoy a game there!
The worst was when I was in a room with one other person playing and someone came in again complaining that we were not waiting to claim our bingos. Then two friends of that person came in and joined in the harassing. Well, the other person up and left. I refused to do so as I have a right to play there and play correctly. My feeling is if my claiming bingo was that disturbing they should leave. What can be done about this? And was I wrong for staying put?
Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Frustrated in Fortune Bingo
| Dear Frustrated, Everytime we have a challenge in Fortune Bingo, this issue comes up. The bottom line here is that sharing is not part of the game, and if you get bingo, you have every right to claim it. You are playing the game the way the game was intended to be played. It is truly unfortunate that people who share try to make other players who are actually playing by the rules feel guilty. You have every right to remain in whichever room you choose to play. As soon as someone starts to lay on the guilt, mute them and don’t worry about them any further. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I am writing to you because, I recently read the article by the player “Grateful.” I would just like to say to them, I completely understand where they are coming from and I would love to be friends with them. I have a few disabilities due to Crohn’s Disease and the medications for this disease gave me some bad physical side effects. I think it is sad when people expect others to answer them in the chat. Sometimes people just don’t have the chat on and can’t see when you are talking to them.
I have read numerous letters to you on this subject. It seems that no one listens when you tell them that some people don’t want to chat or that some just don’t have their chat on. I will chat occasionally, but if I am in a room where I don’t know anyone, I usually just don’t chat. If someone congratulates me, I will say thank you. But I don’t normally carry on conversations with people.
Thanks for letting me vent. I would really like for “Grateful” to know that most of us understand what they are going through. I think everybody should have friends they can talk to when life gets to be too much.
Sincerely,
Grateful for Grateful’s Letter
| Dear Grateful for Grateful’s Letter, Thank you for your thoughts. Most people on Pogo don’t expect everyone to chat. They recognize that chat is merely an option. While I do encourage players to acknowledge and exchange pleasantries in the more personal table games, we must all recognize that not everyone is going to be a chatter, and let it go. If you really think about it, you will realize this is a good thing. Imagine a room full of 60 people– oh poobah, make it 30 even– all trying to chat at the same time. The chat would fly by so fast you would not be able to keep up with the conversation! Most people who enjoy a good chat find that a few chatters are all they really need to have a nice conversation. |
