What Do You Think About “Blonde Lottso Rage”?

Dear Nettie,

Get comfy with the tea and get ready to laugh because I have a real zinger from the (VERY) strange but TRUE category for you this week.

It all started one night last week while working on a Lottso badge. It was late at night. I was in a room under the 30’s tab called (make note of this as it’s key to the story) “BLONDE AMBITION”.

I was in the room alone for about a half hour or so when another player entered the room and just launched straight into a tirade that it was HER ROOM and that she played there every night and I needed to go “find my OWN room”

I calmly explained to her that she was more than welcome to join me but that I was there first and had just as much right to be there as she did and would not be going anywhere.

Now Nettie, you might want to put the tea down for this next little bit unless you want to be cleaning off your screen.

About a minute goes by and then round 2 of the tirade begins. I WISH I could say I was making this up but, as the old saying goes… Truth IS stranger than fiction.

Our player says the following to me:(and please forgive caps but this is EXACTLY how it was typed to me in that moment):

“I just checked your profile and you have brown hair!!! ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?! CAN’T YOU READ?!?! THIS ROOM IS FOR BLONDES!!! EITHER YOU LEAVE RIGHT NOW OR I WILL REPORT YOU TO POGO AND HAVE YOU KICKED OFF FOR TOS VIOLATIONS!!!”

After cleaning the juice off my screen that I had almost choked on when I burst out laughing, I informed her that I would truly welcome her attempt to “report me”, as I would love to have seen her try and explain that argument to Pogo.

She again screamed at me to leave and get my own room and I told her I wasn’t going anywhere. I had just as much right to be there no matter what color my hair was.

I was able to stifle my urges to throw in a few good blonde jokes. When it was fairly obvious that I was calling her “blonde bluff” and was NOT about to leave, she called me a major selfish “B” and left the room.

What do you think Nettie? Should I have just left the diva? I was unaware that only blondes can play in a BLONDE room. Does that mean also that now that I have turned 40 I will no longer be able to play in the 30’s rooms? Please enlighten me on this one (and yes I AM being sarcastic lol).

I’ve heard of Road Rage, Air Rage, Parking Lot Rage etc… but… Blonde Lottso Rage? That’s a new one for me.

Just call me,

Ambitious NON-Blonde

Dear Nettie,

I have noticed while playing Poppit! that a message often comes up stating “so and so popped all their balloons, send them a gift”.

I do not chat or check messages, as all I do is play. I don’t want someone that I don’t know to “gift me” should I do well; that’s why I don’t chat. Yet, I feel somewhat guilty if by chance someone has sent me something and I did not acknowledge it.

Is there any way to turn off this feature in the games that offer it? Thank you!

Feeling Awkward

Dear Ms. Netiquette,

I read with interest the exchanges in your column on the subject of saying “thank you” for various things. There is one more point that does not seem to have been addressed by you or your readers — not all of us live in the US and not all of us share your cultural expectations of what is polite and what is not and we are not all of the same religion or political persuasion either. Many people seem to assume that everyone must think like they do.

In my country/culture, we don’t say thank you just to say it and certainly not for something as automatic as a game generating a prize to be given to a total stranger that we had no part in choosing or requesting. We don’t consider that to be politeness, just silly and fake.

However, we do consider telling intimate details about our sex lives, our health problems, and our children with total strangers to be shocking in the extreme. I do understand that everyone comes from a different place as it were and so I do not comment on other people’s choice of conversation. The mute button is there for a reason and barring that I can ignore whatever discussion is going on if I wish.

I would appreciate it if those people who feel that they are the manners police would stop a moment and realize that not everyone thinks the way they do nor do we all live in the same country or have the same cultural expectations. And no, I do NOT think that your way is better. Just do what you think is best and I will do the same.

I do think that it is nice (not required, just nice) to say “gg” or “nh” or what have you when someone has really played well or shown skill at whatever game we are playing. But not after every hand or every move, no matter how mediocre or based on the “luck of the draw”. And if an opponent is silent I don’t take it personally; I don’t need someone else to tell me how I’ve played – I know it myself. From Here, Not There

Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com

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