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Good day Ms. Netiquette!
I’m wondering if there is a link somewhere on the Pogo site where some of the emails containing “warnings” or “free tokens” can be checked out to see if they are at all valid.
The last one I received was one warning of a ploy to steal a member’s account information. The only way I’ll ever forward one of these “warning” messages is if I was able to verify its validity…which so far, has yet to happen, but can’t find a way to check out the ones having to do specifically with Pogo….
Any ideas?
Keepin’ My Account Safe
Dear Keepin’,Oh, as you might guess, I have a few!First, we do not have any link, or page that deals with the specific hoaxes, or “phishing” sites that are out there. That’s because the page would read a little like this:
Any site that offers you tokens, Gems, badges, free Club Pogo subscriptions are not legitimate sites. Most of these sites are set up by people who want to hijack your account, steal your tokens, maybe spend your Gems, and possibly cause other problems for you, like clearing your stats or being so abusive that your account gets canceled. Some players freely give out their password to other people so that others may “earn their badges for them” or “earn tokens for them.” These people are unwise, to say the very least. And if I were to consume three more cups of strong British tea, I might begin a 7,500 word tirade on exactly how unwise they are. But I’m only on cup number one, so I’m still relatively calm for a Friday morning. To bottom line it: If you value your account you will never give out your password to anyone, and you will never type it into any website other than Pogo’s. Now to address another part of your letter. You said “The only way I’ll ever forward one of these “warning” messages is if I was able to verify its validity…” Unfortunately, even though your intent here is good, forwarding messages to recipients who do not wish to receive the forwarded messages is a Terms of Service violation. So if you choose to forward the message, you better make darn sure everyone you forward it to wants to receive it, or else you could find yourself in a bit of trouble. Except in cases of a small group of friends who all agree to receive forwarded messages, I strongly encourage people to get out of the “forwarding” business altogether. While there are certainly a few messages that have probably been helpful to people over the years, the vast, vast majority of forwarded messages serve no real purpose. |
Ms. Netiquette,
I have just been bombarded by people in two-player games, specifically Canasta and Jungle Gin with continuous rudeness. I played a game of Jungle Gin with who I thought was a nice, but quiet gentlemen (I have no problem whatsoever if someone doesn’t wish to speak), but at the end of a very good 700 point match, I won the game. It was a close game, and either of us could have won. It just happened to be me. When I said “gg”, he told me to go do something so offensive I can’t even repeat it!
I’ve had another person in Jungle Gin say “ty” every time I said “nh,” “nk,” etc…, but I was not told the same thing back (which was fine). However, when I won by 1 point by knocking, I was told that I was a cheat!
Then today, in Canasta, I had two people in a row that were so rude that I actually started to shake. The first gal was the host, and had set the timer to 45 seconds. I was thinking about a move, and she told me to “hurry up and play.” I made my move, and then responded by telling her that I was playing and was within the time limit she set. She then told me that I needed to take 30 seconds or less. I didn’t respond, but continued to play, and many of the moves I made were well below 20 seconds. She then repeated it in all caps. I then said that I was playing within the time limit she set, and that if it wasn’t fast enough then maybe she should withdraw and start a new game with someone, as I was going to finish (it was a rated game). She laughed with the emoticon and then said it was her room. I ignored it, and finished playing. She left.
Then right after that, a man came into the room as I was receiving a jackpot spin, and we played. He didn’t talk, except the “hi” and “gl’s” we exchanged at the beginning. I won the game, but it was close, and I said “gg”. He said “for u… now why don’t you leave.”
Has kindness gone out the window? I have lost more times than I’d like to count, but I always finish, and I always tell the other person “gg.” Isn’t that proper etiquette and good game sportsmanship? Don’t we all win and lose? No matter what the circumstances, it shouldn’t be this way.
I come to Pogo to play games, and many times find wonderful people… but more and more, it is becoming common on Club Pogo to run into players who are rude, mean-spirited people. I’m wondering if this is something I want to be a part of anymore for lack of kindness amongst the players.
Thank you for listening. I’d love the feedback quickly.
“Asking If There is Any Kindness Left”
| Dear Asking,Wow. I am so sorry to hear that you had such a run of bad luck with rude players. And boy, you really experienced a wide sampling of a variety of rudeness! Unfortunately these things do happen, and the more you play, the more likely it is that you will run into rude people.Usually, you won’t run into more than a few of these types of folks in a week, if you’re lucky. It sounds like you had an unusually high number of incidents recently, and I can certainly empathize with what you’re going through. Dealing with rude people can be emotionally draining. However, I encourage you to “big picture” it. None of the incidents that you described really had anything to do with you personally. You just happened to run into several people all in the space of a short time who were unhappy with themselves and regretfully decided to take their unhappiness out on you. The good news is that kindness has not gone out the window, and you are proof of this. When you are polite and kind to others you help balance it all out. There is plenty of kindness and good sportsmanship in the majority of the people that you will meet on Pogo. Rather than focus your attention on the people who are rude, revel in the wonderful folks who you have met along the way. You may have to develop a thicker skin when it comes to rude people, but when you truly appreciate and acknowledge a polite opponent; your reward is even greater than winning. |
Ms. Netiquette:
I recently was invited to join a pool league. Since I enjoy playing the game, I thought it might be fun to belong to a group of pool players online.
I was warned by several players that the league I was thinking of joining had a player who drank a lot and who was very belligerent with male players whom he had a difficult time beating.
I was well accepted by everybody else in the group, but this one person became upset with me for beating him consistently and had his wife bar me from the league! I did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment, and Pogo never even gave me a chance to tell my side of the story! I wrote to EA and nothing was ever done. Why not?
Want Resolution!
| Dear Want Resolution,It’s unfortunate that you had such a poor experience, but you must understand that Pogo does not manage the leagues in any way whatsoever. The unfair treatment you received is a matter between you and the league and has nothing to do with Pogo. This is why our Customer Support department never gave you the chance to tell your side of the story.It sounds like the members of this league are familiar enough with the tactics of this one gentleman to warn others about him. It’s unfortunate that they allow his behavior to continue without complaint. Tolerating the abusive behavior of a single member of a league serves nobody. Individuals in this league who find his behavior unacceptable should complain to the tournament director, even if that tournament director happens to be married to the problematic player. If nothing is done about the behavior, then players should find a league that values good sportsmanship. If you should decide to give another league a try, talk to the other members, and if they warn you of a player who has behavior issues, you might want to skip that league and find another. |
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Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for a fantastic year! I really appreciate all your letters and thank you all for taking the time to write. I wish I could print them all!
I will be taking a vacation for the next three weeks so there will be no Ms. Netiquette columns during that time, unless the Editor decides to run a “Best Of.” I look forward to being back on Friday, January 19th! I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a fantastic New Year!
Sincerely,
Ms. Netiquette
