On Wed, 4 Feb 2004 11:18:14 -0000, "Ian Hurley"
wrote:

Is it just me, or are the majority of people who play on ICC unbelievably
rude ? If you beat them, they abuse you verbally. If they beat you, they
gloat and remark on your poor strength. I have encountered dozens and dozens
of players like this. It doesn't seem to be a problem on the Chessbase
server, or any other chess server I've played on.

Has anyone else noticed this?

At the end of all games, win or lose, I say "Thanks for the game." In
my experience, I get no reply at all 85 to 90 percent of the time. Of
the times I do get a reply, about 80% of the time it's after I lost.
Of those I later play the who responded after I lost, if I happen to
win this time around, I get a response to my "Thanks for the game"
only about half the time. But I've rarely had someone gloat after a
win or be abusive after a loss. It's happened (today, in fact, which
spurred my reply to your post), but it is rare. Maybe one in two or
three hundred.

If I get a reply (or an initial communication) of "good game" after I
played badly, I do respond with "laugh" because, to call it a good
game is laughable.

The best you can do is ignore the rude, add them to "censor" and "no
play" list if they particularly bug you, and go on. Don't let their
attitude ruin your day. I figure they must lead a pretty sad life to
become abusive over a lost game of chess or, worse yet, to feel they
need to gloat after beating *me* at chess. 8)

Ricky