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Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I know that you have heard this before, but I would appreciate it if you would please address it again.
Not everyone enjoys seeing chat over and over day after day about someone being sick and all their medical problems.
I, for one, come to Pogo to enjoy myself. I find that when I state nicely that I would rather not see depressing chat and politely suggest that the chat would be better put in private chat, others jump all over me. Isn’t anyone entitled to an opinion on Pogo anymore? Players should take personal chat like this to private instead of making someone else have a depressing day.
Chill out, players, instead of jumping on others for their opinion and PLEASE remind everyone why there is a private chat.
Your Convo is Ruining My Day
| Dear Your Convo is Ruining My Day, It can put a damper on your mood when you enter a room where a few people are in the midst of a deep, depressing conversation. Unfortunately in life, we all face tragedies and heartaches from time to time. The most polite thing to do when one needs to talk is to find a willing ear and have the discussion in private. On Club Pogo this can be done by using the private chat feature. For Free Pogo members, they may want to talk in a private table game (checkers, chess, etc…), or over an instant messaging program. Unfortunately, not everyone reads this column, and for those unaccustomed to dealing with such tragedy, they may just be so “in the moment” that they don’t realize that they’re putting a cloud over other people’s experiences. Interrupting the player to inform them of this fact might upset them even more. Of course, there are also people who are attracted to drama like magnets. It sounds like this is the type of player you’ve been seeing. When there is no drama around them, they create it for themselves. They thrive on the attention and look for insult or attack in any comment from a stranger. So, either way, you’re better off just muting the player’s involved in such conversations. You don’t want to add any frustration to someone in the midst of truly grieving or dealing with a tragic situation, and you really don’t want to set off a drama hound. My advice is to accept the fact that you will from time to time enter a room where such a conversation is happening, and when you recognize that it is, mute the chatters engaged in it. If it’s the entire room, you can use the “Mute All” function by typing in the chat window:
That’s the “slash key”(/), the word “mute”, one space, and an asterisk. And to unmute the room, you can type:
That’s the “slash key”(/), the word “unmute”, one space, and an asterisk. “Unmute” isn’t actually a word, but you get the idea. ;) |
Ms. Netiquette,
I would like to address all the people that are sore losers that claim people are cheating in Canasta. The people who think you can get a program that will give you all the wilds and all the red threes. I have been involved in games of Canasta where it has gone both ways for me – lopsided win here, and a lopsided loss there.
Lately it is getting worse. People are crying “cheat!” and cussing at people in code. I try to explain to them that no matter what a web site tells you about cheats there is nothing you can install on your computer that will let you win or get an advantage on what cards you draw. In order for a person to be cheating they would have to hack Pogo’s system – which I hardly think anyone would do just to cheat at canasta. They would be more interested in credit card numbers like most hackers.
If I hear “nice program” after I say good game it infuriates me and then some will take it to the lobby and say don’t play with so and so he or she has a program. It’s getting out of hand and is unreal the number of people that get beat and say they are sick of the cheaters when in reality they are just sore losers who take comfort in their loss was out of their hands.
Thank you,
Cannot Con Canasta
| Dear Cannot Con Canasta, While it is true that some nefarious ne’er-do-wells have created programs that will actually play the game for you, there is no way that these programs can dictate the outcome of a deal. These programs do not go into the Pogo servers and pull out advantageous cards. They get dealt their hands the same way everyone does. What’s even more disappointing than the fact that these programs exist, is that there is an audience for them. People who use cheat programs are not playing the game and I fail to understand the point of even joining a game with a cheat program. Sure, maybe the program will play the hand better than you could, but where’s the fun? I find it sad, but these desperate cheaters don’t get any of my sympathy. And now presumably honest players are accusing other honest players of using a cheat program when it’s most convenient– that is, when the accuser loses. Chances are they’re not accusing others of cheating when they win. It’s an unfortunate state of affairs. I have suggested in the past, and continue to do so, that players deny the accusation once and move on. A simple “I do not cheat. I understand the rules of the game, know how to play the game well, and was dealt a nice hand” should suffice. If the accuser wishes to continue making the accusations, simply mute him or her and find another partner. |
Hi Ms. Netiquette,
I was just reading your column and as a general rule I do like to call bingo when I have a bingo. I have had the same experience as that reported in your column this week (Ms. Netiquette, 3/5/2010).
However, I found myself on the other side of the fence this week. I found I had little time to spend getting the badge so I went to a super speedy blackout sharing room. There was only one other person there when I entered and bingo was called on the 70th number. Nothing unusual there. Then another person entered for the next game. Bingo got called on the 66th number… way too soon for a sharing room.
I did not yell but I did politely put in chat that this was a sharing room and bingo shouldn’t be called until the 70th number. Then the next game the new person again called bingo early – on the 63rd number. Once again I made a informative and polite comment in chat: “This is a sharing room. If you do not want to share perhaps it would be best to go to a room where you don’t have to share.”
I received no replies back from either person and when the game was over I myself went to a different sharing room where everything was fine.
The sharing rooms were created for sharing and it is frustrating to enter one for that purpose only to find they refuse to share.
I don’t think there is a happy solution to this situation. There are people who get their jollies it seems by going against the rules and deliberately try to get other people upset.
Thanks for listening and for your column.
The Other Side of the Fence
| Dear Other Side of the Fence, First off, thank you for being a polite member of the Pogo community. And that “thank you” extends to each and every one of you who pauses to think about how you are going to respond to a given situation, and chooses the course of most politeness. The rude-nicks and manners-starved people get a lot of attention (especially in this column), but the greater majority of Pogonians are consistently polite and truly add to the Pogo experience. A sincere “thank you” to all of you is in order! Now on to your letter. You were polite, but were met with rudeness, and that is unfair. You handled it brilliantly. You made your request politely and when the other player did not comply, you found a new room in which to play. While you did find it irritating (who wouldn’t?), it sounds like you saved yourself a headache and I commend you. |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
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