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Hi Ms. Netiquette,
I have a huge problem with folks interrupting our tournaments. They seem to have no knowledge of the rules of the games. I always thought it was bad form to stay in a room with a tournament going on. If I am in a room, once I know that a tourney in in place, I will leave.
The ones I’ve noticed seem to be new Club Pogo members and maybe they do not know any better. Am I wrong about this? It upsets me so much it affects my game and ultimately my rank.
Please let me know if I have a totally wrong idea about this. Thank you for letting me vent.
No Interruptions Please
| Dear No Interruptions Please,Well, you did ask to let you know if you have a totally wrong idea about this, and guess what? I’m taking you up on that offer! Grab yourself a cup of herbal tea – something with chamomile, as that’s a natural relaxant – and sit a spell. Ol’ Nettie has some bad news for you. Now, longtime readers will know that I empathize with both players and tournament participants around this issue. However, the onus is on those involved in the tournament to be the more generous and forgiving party. Is that fair? Well, actually, it is. Leagues, in many cases, must find a room in which to hold their tournament. While there are specific tournament rooms in many games, there are many reasons why they can’t always play in them. Thus, the responsibility of entering a room and holding a tournament while at the same time causing as little disruption as possible falls on the league and its participants. Thankfully, many leagues and tournament directors have done an incredible job of going that extra mile and have done an excellent job of working with the players to hold tournaments in an unobtrusive way. If you are a player, and you notice a Tournament Director doing a great job of this, please let him or her know. These folks volunteer a lot of their time to hold these events, and it can be a thankless task. So, while some folks will gladly leave a room when a league enters, others would rather stay planted and continue to play the game. This is their choice, and that is something that you’ll have to politely accept. |
Dear Ms. Nettie,
I did the most unthinkable. Yep, I broke the chain on the latest so-called religious messages. Should I bolt my doors to keep out the demons? Stay indoors for 72 hours to eliminate the bad fortune that is sure to doom me?
After deleting the rest of the forwarded messages, I decided to inform the mass mailer to kindly remove my name from future mailings. After all, it takes away from my Pogo playing! Do senders of this nature of letters mistakenly assume we are all on the same spiritual page, sharing the same beliefs? I sensed from her reply to me, she may be feeling rejected or even attacked.
Signed,
Return to Sender
| Dear Return to Sender,Generally, you’ll find a few types of mass mailers. There are those who choose their recipients carefully in hopes that everyone on their list agrees with their viewpoint. And there are those who feel that everyone *should* agree with them anyway, so why not send these important messages to the largest audience possible? It sounds like you politely asked the sender to take your name off and she was slightly miffed by that request. Well, she should get used to that. If you play the mass-mailing game, you’re going to find yourself in hot water with those you’ve spammed on occasion. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
Do you think it is wrong to give lots of gifts out to people who(for example) pop every balloon in Poppit!? And can you tell me why a lot of people do not say thank you for a gift that is given to them. My mother always taught me to say thank you when some one gives you a gift. Politeness must not exist anymore.
Thank you for listening!
Still Minding Manners
| Dear Still Minding Manners,Your mother taught you well. However, my guess is that back when she instilled that great advice, “virtual gifts” did not exist. Or if they did, the term was used to describe something else. It’s quite nice to take advantage of the ability to give gifts to other players when they achieve some sort of milestone in a game, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing it. You could make someone’s day! It’s an act of kindness. And, like all acts of kindness given out of kindness, one should not expect a “thank you”. If one is offered, be grateful. But, especially in the world of online games, you shouldn’t expect one. In many cases, you may be giving a gift to someone who isn’t aware that a gift is being given to him or her. Some people log on to Pogo for one purpose and one purpose only: to play games. They don’t dress their Mini, they don’t check their Pogo Messages or their Guestbook, and simply aren’t aware when they receive gifts. Finally, politeness still exists and it thrives amongst those who engage in it. Sure, you will find that there are a number of folks who seem to have forgotten the importance of manners, but you can’t let them color your overall outlook. So, keep minding your manners, and do your best to appreciate those who do also! |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
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