Hi there everyone.
The subject of online GO manners has come up a couple of times in the last few months on OGS, so I thought it would be a good idea to write up a little something to help everyone.
Below will be a list of basic rules and reasons for those rules when playing go online. I hope you all find this useful.
Chat Rules:
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You are not obligated to talk to anyone in the chat. And no one is obligated or expected to talk to you in the chat. It may be nice to say something like “Hi there, have a great game!”, but, it is not an expected part of playing go online. Everyone has the right to not respond to anything you say in the chat. And you have that same power too.
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If someone is being abusive in the chat, please, contact a moderator, and do not engage in further conversation with the other person.
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Do not use abusive language in the chat, or otherwise insult people. It’s not nice, and it does not represent the sort of community that we should all want to build here on OGS.
Game Manners:
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It is polite to resign a game when you know you cannot win the game. This is because it can take a lot of the game to finish. HOWEVER: If you can’t tell if you are ahead, or behind, it is always better to play the complete game out. This is not only going to benefit your game because you will end up playing through end game moves and learning, but it will also give you a better sense of the value of the different shapes and scores in the game.
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If you are a stronger player, it is your duty, should you wish to take it up, to educate newer players, on the etiquette of the game. Let them know kindly that there is nothing to be done, and that they cannot win the game. Do so in a friendly way, and inform then as to the reasons of this conclusion. DO NOT!!! shout at them and try to force them to resign by being abusive in the chat, and indeed not accepting when they hit the “Pass” button if indeed you reach the end of a game.
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Air bagging and sandbagging, are strictly prohibited in this server. what they mean, is you are doing this: “actively manipulating your rank to deliberately misrepresent your skill”. It is not always easy to prove (or even decide) if someone is doing this. If a person sets out to have a lower rank than their skill with determination, they can probably achieve it in a way that we can’t police. However, we do attempt to prevent it where we can.
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When you start a game with another person it is rude if you know you are losing that game, and simply leave the game and the room, without resigning, making the other player wait for the clock to time out. We call this, “Escape via time out”, and it is also against the rules. If this happens to you, then please report it to the Mods, so that they can investigate further, and hand out warnings if needs be.
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When the game ends, there is a phase of the game called “Stone Removal”, where dead stones are removed. If you and your opponent cannot agree on the dead stones, then please, also call a Moderator. They may take some time to get to the game so also hit the pause button and wait patiently. Similarly, you can jump on the forums and put up a post asking for a strong player to let you both know the situation between the stones. Someone is bound to jump on the opportunity to help. Similarly, you can also play out the situation, and see what happens. but do not, start an argument and start resuming the game over and over again.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE!!!
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Have fun. This is a place to play GO, have fun, learn, make friends, and just be yourself. It seems a corny rule to put in, but consider this; if you’re not having fun then something may be wrong. Perhaps you’re taking the game too seriously? Perhaps you or someone is breaking the rules and spoiling that for everyone else? Perhaps you are just having a bad day. There are any number of reasons that you may not be having fun, but, that in no way gives you the right to spoil someone else’s fun, and indeed ruin their day. Also, no one has that power over you, unless you are breaking the rules. So, have fun, be a part of the community, and help us all make this a place worth being!
((If anyone has anything they would like to add to the list above, and then either edit them in, if you can, or post them below.))