Posts:
2
Registered:
Jun 10, 2009
From:
in a white house with black curtains
Site Etiquette
Posted:
Jul 29, 2009, 10:42 PM
Most online communities have general rules of etiquette posted to help new comers get aquainted with the site and to keep rowdy people in line. I find that lacking here...and believe it would be useful. Newbies don't know sometimes if it is ok to join a table, and if so how the play is organized, especially if there are a lot of people on the table. Older players tend to jump on newer players and guests for not knowing these unstated rules. Of course it is up to the table owner to manage their own tables, but a list of guidelines wouldn't hurt. Invictus's post is similar to this, and part of the general problem. Can the pente gods provide some guidance here?
Posts:
124
Registered:
Jun 8, 2008
From:
Stillwater, Oklahoma Banned: For abuse of mm_ai8
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 13, 2009, 7:33 PM
Interesting that there have been no responses since this was posted over two months ago.
Maybe it was guesswho's reference to "the pente gods" and no one feels worthy of that title. I'm thinking most people are too busy to be concerned about the coming and going of another newbie. But what I cant figure out is why the number of regular pente players in this community stays so small ... lol
Well, since no one has responded so far, I'd like to change the focus a little. Guesswho has some good points, and of course it is from his viewpoint, but it does validate the small number of new players:
"Older players tend to jump on newer players and guests for not knowing these unstated rules."
hmmm
Are most of you happy playing the same people over and over again? If not, then here's a newbie that has the impression of not being welcomed, by more than one player. Sounds to me like the "older players" are the ones who need some guidelines on site etiquette.
1. New players should be welcomed, encouraged, etc.
2. Spending time with a newbie means a little less time with your regular pente buddies. When a newbie is polite enough to watch several games without interrupting, invite them to play; dont just keep on ignoring them.
3. Rather than harvesting points off of a friendly newbie, which causes them to be ashamed to log in with such a low rating, MAYBE older-players could warn newbies about how good the players are here. And that it might be best to wait a little while until they get the feel of the place, before they start playing rated games...
4. Assuming every new callsign is just a older-player playing incognito is wrong-headed. So is booting people out of a room without any warning or explanation. Dont be so hyper-sensitive.
5. Why does anyone have to even address this stuff?
Posts:
542
Registered:
May 9, 2002
From:
Northeast USA
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 15, 2009, 2:02 AM
I remember this being discussed at length at least 5 years ago. At that time it was sort of a mix of "ettiquette" and "rules" and the idea was to force people to press an "I Agree" button when first creating their account, and perhaps upon each Log On. In addition, it would be posted some place prominently. On the rules end, it also included such things as NOT having multiple accounts -- for reasons already discussed here and for lots of other reasons. If players really want to play incognito for whatever reason, that's why the Guest feature was introduced. At that time, there was a lot of talk about ratings fraud, using the DB while playing rated games, etc -- so some of these things were handled elsewhere -- such as simply not having access to the DB during rated games nowadays.
I'm not sure if a final version of this Site Rules and Ettiquette Guidelines was ever adopted and put into use, but I agree that it would be useful.
Posts:
751
Registered:
Mar 1, 2002
From:
My Own Lil World Mostly
Age:
43
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 15, 2009, 10:09 PM
Whatever happened to common decency, respect, and such? Communities usually dictate the rules via passing them on by setting examples. Funny how one would have to tell someone to be nice to one another. I thought most learned that in kindergarten. Gotta love this community. It is one of the best online communities I have ever been a part of!
I agree with most of these tips for treating newbies well. While I had no problems when I was a newbie I have certainly seen a lot of others treated less than perfectly.
The question as to why some people need to have this explained to them is answered by the fact that people's idea of what constitutes friendly, welcoming and respectful behaviour varies from person to person. It is just a fact of life that we are all different in this regard. So let's not be condeming of those who do not automatically display 'the right attitude' and accept the fact that this stuff does need to be spelled out to them in print.
I don't think we need 'rules' of etiquette, but we could probably benefit from some form of charter that spells out what we all agree is the kind of behaviour that serves the greater good and helps build the size of the community.
I vote for a charter of etiquette to be placed as a link on the Dashboard as a constant reminder to everyone.
None of us are perfect - especially me - so lets all make a commitment to try a little harder to build this community up.
Posts:
124
Registered:
Jun 8, 2008
From:
Stillwater, Oklahoma Banned: For abuse of mm_ai8
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 17, 2009, 4:34 AM
tonight ...
I log on as a guest, and see a table with some "regular" players on it. Right about then, I got a phone call, so I opened up that table, and looked at some other things on the net while I was talking.
I didn't pay attention to the pente table, but then I noticed, I got booted.
Booted for no @$##%&@ reason!!!
I logged back in under this name, opened up that table, and everyone was like, "Hey, how ya doin?" I told them what happened. And they replied, "Well, you didnt say hi, so we booted you." Bullschidt, horseschidt, dawgschidt, what kind of crap is that?
How the heck is a real newbie supposed to know that rule???
Act like a bunch of Pente-Nazis ...
Ok, I get it. That's the standard operating procedure. Enjoy your clicks. Its good when people behave like that, so they can be avoided. I'm not making any excuses for such rude behavior. People, even people I don't know will be treated with respect.
Posts:
140
Registered:
Mar 8, 2008
From:
georgia
Age:
55 Home page
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 17, 2009, 10:01 PM
So sad and too bad........attitude of old players....sucks like a click....and a bunch of dicks.......like you just boot a player cause you can, and ingnore hi's cause you want to..............Looking forward to lots of new faces. Cause most of the kraneeeeeian people kiss ***...or are *** kissers !!!!!!!!!!yes a pun intended..............Jacck has always helped people and gone out of his way to be great!!! I still Love ya Jack!!!!!!!!!!!!Even though you asked for 12 undo's in a single game....xoxo Kris
Posts:
49
Registered:
Jul 21, 2009
Age:
7 Home page
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 17, 2009, 11:22 PM
Just curious......why do you guys go into a room full of people you know and pretend like you're not you? Personally I've in the past booted people that came into my table and just sat there silent because I find it rude and creepy (newbies typically won't act in this fashion either, think about it....when you come into a room of people you don't know and they offer hospitable introductions don't you normally reciprocate?).......but I don't think that's quite as creepy as someone who knows me pretending to be someone else and then flippin' out in a forum. Hide the scissors people.
Posts:
124
Registered:
Jun 8, 2008
From:
Stillwater, Oklahoma Banned: For abuse of mm_ai8
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 18, 2009, 4:26 AM
I like signing is as a guest for many reasons. First of all, because I feel like it. Other times, I am busy with something else on the computer, and I just like watching good pente being played. If I sign on under a name, everyone who knows that name wants to be acknowledged, which takes time.
If someone doesn't want to make a table "private" they can still have the common decency to ask someone to leave; rather than coldly booting someone, without any warning or explanation (if that's not too unreasonable, lol).
I make a point out of saying hello to newbies and welcoming them. Some really are new; new to pente.org and/or the game. Some are so unfamiliar with computers (like older people), that they don't even know where to type in a response to the dialog. Some newbies don't speak English very well or at all. I have met many, each one is different.
But it sounds like I have a lot to learn, until I can understand and predict what a "typical" newbie behaves like. I'll keep trying, you keep booting for no reason.
Anyway, it sounds like there ARE several un-written rules that newbies should be aware of. And that they are under suspicion of being "creepy" until they satisfy the paranoia of the pente-gods. Get in your little colored boxes all you newbies, and conform to the norm. The Pente-Nazis are coming!!!
Posts:
49
Registered:
Jul 21, 2009
Age:
7 Home page
You say tomato I say Bite me.
Posted:
Oct 18, 2009, 5:02 AM
Gawd where to start on this one.....1st the kettle says to the pot "What the f%#* did you call me?"......you're acting a bit of a fool here jack, cursing and throwing out the nazi moniker for someone ejecting you from a room in which they have every right to.......good explanation or not. Which brings me to my 2nd point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi One so selfless and absorbed in not offending might wanna take a minute to educate themselves on the inhuman (or dreadfully human unfortunately) brutality the nazis stood for. Synonymous with being booted from an imaginary room in cyberspace? Hmmmmmm the board will have to form a committee and get back with ya on that one methinks. In the meantime 3 out of 5 dentists, Jewish newbies (did he just make a BIBLICAL reference?!) and Corrie Ten Boom disagree and think you should collar that dog. Frankly if the worst thing that happens to me on any given sunday is being booted from a pente board then I'm having a good day.
Posts:
124
Registered:
Jun 8, 2008
From:
Stillwater, Oklahoma Banned: For abuse of mm_ai8
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 18, 2009, 5:50 AM
I didn't start this thread, an alienated newbie did. And Guesswho is not the only one being treated poorly by the pente-gods. Nor am I the only person getting booted out of rooms because of over-sensitivity and paranoia.
If a newbie does come with some skill, they get grilled for their "real" name until they are driven off by the Pente-Nazis.
Some people have talked of an effort to recruit new players. Oh yeah, that's rolling right along too. Sounds like they might get booted out as soon as they get here.
But it's a typical tactic to attack the messenger when there is no excuse for the bad news. Beautiful confirmation.
Posts:
49
Registered:
Jul 21, 2009
Age:
7 Home page
Re: Site Etiquette
Posted:
Oct 18, 2009, 6:11 AM
All true (sort of, but I'm not one to quibble......) jack but why not try common sense and reason (like the newbie who started this thread) instead of douchebaggery and flailing about like a mental patient set on fire?
