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Dear Ms. Nettie,
I have noticed during numerous games in the past that players who speak a language other than English have been treated unkindly by others. Some folks even threatened to report them when they were just chatting with their friends. Not only were they rude to them, but they called them terrible names and even told them to leave the room.
Having immigrated to the US more than 34 years ago, I speak four languages and meet several times a week with friends from France, Holland, Italy & Germany, because I like to remember my roots. By the time Europeans reach the fifth grade, they usually master at least 3 languages and it’s only natural to keep it up by using it.
Not long ago I arrived in a solitaire room to meet my friends and caught the tail end of the conversation which included one player telling our friends to speak English or they would be reported for rudeness. One of my friends was near tears when she told me in private chat that it isn’t usual to be scolded by the “unkind” Americans, when she spoke French with some of her Canadian friends.
When one player told us to leave the room, I told him politely that Pogo is international and that we’re all paying our dues to play here. Not sure what else could be done. Might be a good idea to announce to the American population that there is another world out there.
It’s times like this that makes me ashamed to think that I live in a country that hates the rest of the world.
Any advice?
Sincerely,
Speaka de English
| Dear Speaka de English, It’s always unfortunate when certain people do what they can to make others feel unwelcome. The players who demand that others either speak in English or leave are out of line and in most cases are likely breaking the Terms of Service to which they agreed upon signing up. That said, please don’t follow in their footsteps by thinking all of America behaves this way. Claiming that you “live in a country that hates the rest of the world” is simply not true. You’re making a gross generalization that’s inaccurate. Most people are welcoming, and most people are pretty well-mannered. In any culture or country you’re going to find folks who are unfriendly. My advice is simple. If you’re in a room chatting with a friend in another language and someone begins to give you or the other person a hard time about the choice of languages in which you’re speaking, then I would politely remind that person to use the mute. If the player continues to give you a hard time, you and your friend should take that same advice and promptly activate the mute. Of course, if there are glaring Terms of Service violations, then you’ll want to file an abuse report, which will automatically place the offender on mute. Pogo is an International site, and from time to time we will see people speaking in other languages. It’s not against the rules, and it’s entirely up to each individual on how they want to handle it. You can join in the conversation if you speak the language. Or you can observe the language and admire it even though you have no idea what’s being communicated. You can ignore it, or you can mute the player. Threatening the player, however, can get you in trouble. Use the tools Pogo has for you, and you can better manager your gaming experience. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
Some people are using caps all the time and yelling. These are not newbies that don’t know that doing that is irritating, these are people who know better but want the attention.
Since there are rooms for cap lockers that suggests to me that Pogo is aware of the problem. Why don’t they do something about it? A rule of no multiple sentences of caps would make some of these rooms much more enjoyable.
Today alone we have had four people in the room using all caps. It disrupts the conversation, and makes it hard to ‘hear’ others.
Yes I know I can use the mute button, unfortunately the conversation doesn’t make much sense when you only see one side of it.
Nettie, please use your influence and see what can be done to make pogo a yell free zone.
Tired of Wearing Earplugs
| Dear Tired, Coincidentally, I received another letter this week on this very subject. In it, the letter writer quotes me from a much, much earlier column. Read on, and I will respond after the next letter. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I am knowledgeable and well-versed in netiquette, but I learned something by reading through your archives. In 2006, you were addressing a member’s question about caps representing yelling and said this:
“So, is it yelling? Certainly there are times when players use caps to essentially yell their message. But, on the other hand, for some of our players eyesight is an issue, and believe it or not, the size difference between lowercase letters and uppercase letters make a marked difference. This is why you will often see “CAPS ONLY” rooms in many of the Pogo games.”
I feel a little foolish (and perhaps egocentric as well), but I had never considered the CAPS ONLY rooms to be for the vision impaired. Sadly, I just assumed they were for people that had extreme attitudes or liked to yell. I wish I was joking.
Color Me Naive.
| Dear Tired and Color Me Naive, Thank you both for your letters. I definitely got a chuckle out of the assumption that the rooms were for people with “extreme attitudes or liked to yell”. Indeed, there are players who are visually impaired who do use Caps in order to better see the chat. Yes, they could use the “Big Text” option available under the “Chat Options”, however many players have, for many years, grown accustomed to viewing and using Caps, and do not want to. Players who do prefer using and reading all Caps would be most at home in an ALL CAPS room, and I strongly urge them to play in those rooms. For those who just enjoy yelling, well… not much we can do there. The reality is that you’ll see people typing in all caps from time to time for whatever reason, and if it bothers you, you know what you can do. Rhymes with “fruit”. As for Pogo “doing something about it”, it’s not against the Terms of Service to type in all capital letters, and it shouldn’t be. It’s a preference for some folks, and the rest of us either have to suck it up, or use the mute! |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
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