what did your most annoying opponent ever do
helmet
time for a moan
lets here about the most dispicable behavior u have
encountered playing bg on the net i will start off with a couple.
first played someone last week in 5 pointer it was tediously slow
but i struggled on, eventually i said to him "isnt this lag awful" (3 or 4
minutes a move]
u will never believe his reply it was.... "my employees keep
coming and asking questions" this really infuriated me
and for first time ever i deliberatly dropped
second in another match i played someone from denmark started
pestering me to play for 10 dollars a point i said no but he kept on about it
but i stood my ground.next thing he starts critisising my moves even though he
300 rating points lower. then he starts on abiout me being to quiet.to cap
off this 30 minutes of very unenjoyable bg he fluked a gammon.
helmet
Graham Trevor Price
In <acummin.8...@es.co.nz> acu...@es.co.nz (helmet) writes:
>
> time for a moan
> lets here about the most dispicable behavior u have
>encountered playing bg on the net
I don't usually get too much despicable behavior because on
the net and in real life I will not play against undesirable
or unethical opponents even if I stand to make a lot of money.
However, I remember one more humorous, albeit annoying occurrence
a year or so ago on FIBS.
I was playing and winning the third of 3 1 pt. matches against
my opponent and suddenly he breaks out into a sort of Shakespearian
outburst after each roll (talking about himself):
"Am I so weak?"
"Can I be so bad?"
"Am I worse than a beginner?"
and so on. I couldn't really console him without insulting him
by explaining that dice can be cruel so just endured this
barrage until we finished. I couldn't believe someone could be
so emotional about losing 3 1 ptrs in a row, that is not that
rare an occurrence after all. I was embarrassed thinking about
the poor guy in such a state behind his terminal.
Graham.
wisn...@teleport.com
(helmet) wrote:
> time for a moan
> lets here about the most dispicable
behavior u have
Hi all,
I hope this develops into a thread...
As a newbie to bg and FIBS, I often wonder what behavior on
my part my opponents might find annoying/offensive, and this
information doesn't appear in the faq or any other materials
I've found to read.
For example, my service has a by-the-month fee, and I didn't
realize the some folks payed by the minute to play
and were justifiably irritated at my slowness.
I'm sure newbies often do annoying things just because they
don't know any better, and a thread like this would help
educate us and make us better opponents.
I just hope comments give only the circumstances, and don't
get into names!
Marsha
marina_smith
marsha, you are very lucky - many of us also pay per month, but then
also pay per minute for telelphone calls. Some unlucky souls pay for
both ISP and phone per minute. :-(
marina/mas on fibs
wisn...@teleport.com wrote:
--
Marina Smith - Reading U.K, to mail me remove XX from address
Phil Shulkind
Marina Smith <?@?.?> writes
>marsha, you are very lucky - many of us also pay per month, but then
>also pay per minute for telelphone calls. Some unlucky souls pay for
>both ISP and phone per minute. :-(
Me too, so I play on Richards PBM Server where you don't have to be
online :-) Maybe one day we'll have free local calls here too, then us
Brits can join the fun!
Phil Shulkind
PHILDEE ENTERPRISES
Professional Play By Mail since 1990
*NEW* web site : http://www.phildee.demon.co.uk
Christopher R-L. Osborne
I played a person on GamesGrid about two months ago who seemed nice and
competent and we chatted a bit. He then wrote, "could you please stop
doing that." I thought he was referring to my dice rolling and replied
something slightly waggish, and he repeated, "No, please stop doing that,
it is very annoying" I asked him if he was serious (I still thought he was
writing about the dice). He typed "YES". I realized he was serious and
wrote him, "what are you referring to?" He wrote that the habit of my
picking up a piece, moving it, and putting it back on its original space,
was too annoying to be allowed. I wrote him that I would try and refrain
from doing it, but that it was allowed by the computer program, and in fact
allowed by the rules of backgammon. He told me that the next time I did
it, he was going to drop and not resume the match. He then wrote after a
bit, "Before you play someone, you should read his/her preference file"
(which I immediately did) and it stated that he did not like to play with
people who picked up a man, moved it and put it back down (I must say, I
suspected that he had just changed his preference file to fit the
occasion). We then continued to play, and he finally wrote, "See, how do
you like it?". I had not even noticed that he had been repeating the
egregious behavior. We managed to finish the match without too much
sniping, but I could not believe (ok I am very naive)this casual rudeness
and certainly was the most annoying opponent I have played (other than
those who beat me regularly).
helmet <acu...@es.co.nz> wrote in article
<acummin.8...@es.co.nz>...
Hank Youngerman
What bothers me most is people who complain about the dice.
I recently had a game where I rolled 4's, 5's, or 6's on four
consecutive rolls, to first run past a prime, then race home. I guess
the odds on that are what, 1 in 20,736? I've also had games where I
danced twice in a row against a two-point board, then a three-point,
and - you get the idea. Gammon city.
It cuts both ways. Years ago when they started using computers to
deal hands for bridge tournaments, people claimed that computer-dealt
hands were more freakish than probabilities would suggest, and
although literally hundreds of people have analyzed the hands (myself
included) some people won't believe they're random. I feel the same
about FIBS. I mean, why in heaven's name would someone rig the dice?
When you win, or lose - accept that the dice are what they are.
Dean
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I hope this develops into a thread...
> >
> >As a newbie to bg and FIBS, I often wonder what behavior on
> >my part my opponents might find annoying/offensive, and this
> >information doesn't appear in the faq or any other materials
> >I've found to read.
> >
> >For example, my service has a by-the-month fee, and I didn't
> >realize the some folks payed by the minute to play
> >and were justifiably irritated at my slowness.
> >
> >I'm sure newbies often do annoying things just because they
> >don't know any better, and a thread like this would help
> >educate us and make us better opponents.
> >
> >I just hope comments give only the circumstances, and don't
> >get into names!
> >
> >Marsha
>
float a few out here...
1. never drop without finishing, but if you absolutely have to
then explain why to your opponent.
2. never complain about too many doubles being rolled its part of the
game and beyond your opponents control.
3. be polite in winning and defeat, before the match ends a quick
"good game (gg), or thank you is always nice, Also a good luck at
the start is always nice
4. Dont chat non-stop during a match if your opponent is barely
responding to your comments, some players like to play without
talking because they are concentrating.this isnt rude its a style
difference
5. dont wander off from the game to get a drink or whatever without
telling your opponent that you need a minute to do something. Also
dont wander off for more than a minute, finish the game first.
6. occasionally play with people ranked lower than you if you are a
star it lets people learn from an expert and raises the global
level of play, dont be a ranking snob.
can anyone add to this... I am sure its possible maybe we can get ten
good ones together.
cruelshoes
I'd like to add something here.
If someone invites you and you don't want to play them, a simple
"No thanks" is better than no reply at all.
It can get very frustrating to invite 3 or 4 people on the 'who ready'
list and not get any responses.
Also, if you're away or watching and don't want to play, remember to
toggle ready.
This will eliminate people inviting you.
Thanks for letting me add my 2 cents.
Don Rae
I've got one!
Don't offer to resign a single game in a position where you can still be
gammoned (even if it would require an extremely unlucky sequence)! I
think it is best to wait to resign a single game only when you have
clearly reached an ungammonable position.
Hank Youngerman
cruelshoes <cruel...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>I'd like to add something here.
>If someone invites you and you don't want to play them, a simple
>"No thanks" is better than no reply at all.
>It can get very frustrating to invite 3 or 4 people on the 'who ready'
>list and not get any responses.
>Also, if you're away or watching and don't want to play, remember to
>toggle ready.
>This will eliminate people inviting you.
>Thanks for letting me add my 2 cents.
In a way I agree... but if you see someone online who's been idle for
10 or 15 minutes, and you invite them, don't be surprised if they
don't reply. I never invite someone who's been idle for more than a
couple minutes.
And there are limits to the resign option. Imagine you have been
closed out, your opponent opens the 6-point and you roll 6-1.
Opponent now rolls non-doubles, leaving 13 checkers on, you roll 2-1.
I'd certainly accept a single point as the leading position. You need
four doubles in a row, coupled with opponent rolling 4 straight very
bad numbers. Give it up; life is too short.
On the other hand, not long ago I had 14 off and one checker on the
17-point. Opponent (with no checkers off) got a roll to get all
checkers to his inner board and offered a single point. All I need
are 5's or 6's. That was a bit much.
David Montgomery
In article <33ACC3...@iconn.net> dean...@iconn.net writes:
>how about a ten commandments of BG etiquette
> "good game (gg), or thank you is always nice, Also a good luck at
> the start is always nice
I agree with everything you wrote except the good luck comment.
This one I just don't get. I would like to understand why people
wish me good luck and what they mean by that -- perhaps someone
can educate me. While I want the dice rolls to always to be
determined by a fair and random process, frankly, I want my
opponent to have bad luck, all else being equal. Especially if
my opponent is better than me -- how else could I win?
David Montgomery
monty on FIBS
mo...@cs.umd.edu
David C. Oshel
Don Rae wrote:
>
> cruelshoes wrote:
> >
> > I'd like to add something here.
> > If someone invites you and you don't want to play them, a simple
> > "No thanks" is better than no reply at all.
> > It can get very frustrating to invite 3 or 4 people on the 'who ready'
> > list and not get any responses.
> > Also, if you're away or watching and don't want to play, remember to
> > toggle ready.
> > This will eliminate people inviting you.
> > Thanks for letting me add my 2 cents.
> >
> > >>
> > >In this vain, how about a ten commandments of BG etiquette, let me
> > >float a few out here...
>
> I've got one!
> Don't offer to resign a single game in a position where you can still be
> gammoned (even if it would require an extremely unlucky sequence)! I
> think it is best to wait to resign a single game only when you have
> clearly reached an ungammonable position.
On the other hand, unless you're playing for blood, what's the harm in
_accepting_ a 1-pt instead of a 2-pt resignation? Some of these players
are kids, and losing hurts. Or to slice it another way, FIBS is a great
place to meet everyone, including people who don't eggzackly worship the
game they enjoy so much.
azrael (dco...@pobox.com)
Dean
People wish you good luck as a form of pre-game blessing, the purpose of
which is to encourage an interesting and fun game, a component of any
contest between two individuals is (or should be) sportsmanship.
when you play backgammon you are playing a game, you may wish and
hope and fight to win but at the end of the day we are just playing a
game. The purpose of wishing your opponent good luck is to hope that you
are challenged as a player, how much more satisfying is a victory over
your opponents good luck then a victory over your oponents bad luck?
dean...@iconn.net TRIDENT on netgammon
David Montgomery
In article <33AE19...@iconn.net> dean...@iconn.net writes:
|David Montgomery wrote:
|> I agree with everything you wrote except the good luck comment.
|> This one I just don't get. I would like to understand why people
|> wish me good luck and what they mean by that -- perhaps someone
|
|People wish you good luck as a form of pre-game blessing, the purpose of
|which is to encourage an interesting and fun game, a component of any
|contest between two individuals is (or should be) sportsmanship.
|when you play backgammon you are playing a game, you may wish and
|hope and fight to win but at the end of the day we are just playing a
|game. The purpose of wishing your opponent good luck is to hope that you
|are challenged as a player, how much more satisfying is a victory over
|your opponents good luck then a victory over your oponents bad luck?
|
|dean...@iconn.net TRIDENT on netgammon
Okay, thanks for the translation. I'm all for interesting and fun
games, good sportsmanship, and a challenge. I just had the feeling that
all these people who were wishing me good luck were also hoping that
I would keep dancing on their 3-point boards, that I would miss their
blots, and that I would fail to roll big numbers in races, so I wasn't
sure what it meant. Now I know. :-)
Patti Beadles
"Good luck" is just a general salute to your opponent at the start of
the match.
-Patti
--
Patti Beadles |
pat...@netcom.com/pat...@gammon.com |
http://www.gammon.com/ | "I trust you. It's just
or just yell, "Hey, Patti!" | that I'm scared of you."
Steve Peterson
In article <5ok93k$4...@twix.cs.umd.edu>,
David Montgomery <mo...@cs.umd.edu> wrote:
>
>I agree with everything you wrote except the good luck comment.
>This one I just don't get. I would like to understand why people
>wish me good luck and what they mean by that -- perhaps someone
>determined by a fair and random process, frankly, I want my
>opponent to have bad luck, all else being equal. Especially if
>my opponent is better than me -- how else could I win?
>
Yes!!!! And then the truly amazing phenomenon is the small percentage
of these well-wishers who become extremely bitter and whiny when your
luck actually IS good....Maybe you just can't interpret the words
literally, like when somebody asks you "How do you do?" and clearly
means, simply, "Hello".
Duncan D. Robertson
I usually just say "Hi" when I begin an online match, but when playing
face-to-face I'm sometimes guilty of an idle "Good luck" remark--never
gave it much thought, however I guess I'm wishing us both equally good
luck and hoping that the game is decided mostly by good play. At any
rate, I certainly hope no one considers it annoying. And yes, if
someone is to have better luck than the other, "better me than thee." :)
helmet
In article <33B18E...@btigate.com> "Duncan D. Robertson" <nw...@btigate.com> writes:
>Path: ihug.co.nz!chi-news.cic.net!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-feed4.bbnplanet.com!old-cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cam-news-feed2.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!republic.btigate.com!use...@btigate.com
>From: "Duncan D. Robertson" <nw...@btigate.com>
>Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
>Subject: Re: what did your most annoying opponent ever do
>Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 16:34:46 -0500
>Organization: Northwestern School Dist 56-3
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>Message-ID: <33B18E...@btigate.com>
>References: <5o8j2u$b7p$1...@nadine.teleport.com> <33ad29fc...@news.demon.co.uk> <33ACC3...@iconn.net> <5ok93k$4...@twix.cs.umd.edu> <spatterE...@netcom.com>
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>Xref: ihug.co.nz rec.games.backgammon:8159
its like the players who type gg after each game no matter how bad,until they
start losing that is and gg no longer pops up after game
Greycat Sharpclaw
There is an allegation that "Duncan D. Robertson" <nw...@btigate.com>
wrote:
>> In article <5ok93k$4...@twix.cs.umd.edu>,
>> David Montgomery <mo...@cs.umd.edu> wrote:
>> >
>> >I agree with everything you wrote except the good luck comment.
>> >This one I just don't get.
snip
>I usually just say "Hi" when I begin an online match,
snip
Well, "Meow" works for me... but that's just a species advantage :)
Greycat
Gre...@idt.net.spamguard
Does anyone have any spare tunafish??
Remove "spamguard" from return address to reply
wilfo
David C. Oshel wrote:
> > I've got one!
> > Don't offer to resign a single game in a position where you can
> still be
> > gammoned (even if it would require an extremely unlucky sequence)!
> I
> > think it is best to wait to resign a single game only when you have
> > clearly reached an ungammonable position.
>
> On the other hand, unless you're playing for blood, what's the harm in
>
> _accepting_ a 1-pt instead of a 2-pt resignation? Some of these
> players
> are kids, and losing hurts.
sometomes there's harm... i've had people try to trick me into accepting
single point resign when it was a sure gammon (single pt not enough to
end match). obviously this happens occasionally by mistake, not always
by malice.
on games grid, where you can offer settlements, i had someone offer me
less than cube value in a gammon position
wilfo
wilfo
Christopher R-L. Osborne wrote:
> He wrote that the habit of my
> picking up a piece, moving it, and putting it back on its original
> space,
> was too annoying to be allowed. I wrote him that I would try and
> refrain
> from doing it, but that it was allowed by the computer program, and in
> fact
> allowed by the rules of backgammon. He told me that the next time I
> did
> it, he was going to drop and not resume the match.
ding, ding, we have a winner :)
wilfo