No. I don’t have to look at the game. If either player can see clearly that they have lost, beyond aji or other means of recovery or attack, then that player should resign. Otherwise, play continues until one player cannot see any worthwhile play, in which case they pass. The flexibility is important, and is also a sign of respect to the abilities of the players. If you have doubt that you should resign, do not. If you have doubt that you should pass, make your best move. It costs you nothing to play out an end position (well, depending a bit on the rules system). My opinions.
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Thanks to all of you for your input.
As @SanDiego pointed out: it was a bit confusing that the end of the fight was the end of the game ( as I see it now, all borders were closed and white had no more sensible moves to make).
I also liked the small recap:
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I can think of a few situations where not resigning can be considered impolite:
- You are a high ranking person receiving a teaching game and loss by a huge margin. It’s ok if a 18k taking a teaching game from 9k does not resign when there is no hope, but if a 3D taking a teaching game from 9D kept playing endgame (not struggling) after a game is lost by a huge margin. unless you specifically want to practice endgame, then I think it isn’t kind of lack of respect for your teacher. Your opponent can be extremely bored at that point ( if it is irl then you can see them starting to leave his seat and start texting people hinting you to resign) and since you’re the person asking for a favor(teaching game) , then you should be considerate of others’ feeling. I guess if you still want to continue, make sure you check with your opponent else he might be hesitant to offer a another teaching game next time.
And sometime resign can be impolite:
-resigning when your opponent play a fuseki you don’t like
- resigning when you are obviously winning as a gesture saying your play bores me. (Slightly impolite)
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Myself, I think it’s kind of entertaining watching a new player slowly fill in their entire area because they are too new to even realize it’s about space not stones? Usually I will even suggest to them they need to make some eyes. Anyone who says you can’t learn from playing out the endgame is wrong. The only way not to learn is to resign as soon as you think you’ve lost. I can’t tell you how many playable games I’ve seen prematurely resigned.
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I think it’s kind of entertaining watching a new player slowly fill in their entire area because they are too new to even realize it’s about space not stones
An interesting comment as the original rules of Go, used in ancient China, were in fact about stones. Technically, the winner was the player with the most stones on the board; so it was that your “territory” was simply an area which you had the ability to fill with stones.
Of course, to actually place all these stones would be very dull and so this phase would be inferred, with the consequence that the eyes of a group could not be counted as points as they couldn’t be filled – this was the origin of the two-point “group tax”.
Even in area-scoring rules like the Chinese, it wouldn’t be point-losing to play this way if all the dame had already been taken.
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My opinion and behaviour in general:
… as a player at the boarder from ddk to sdk.
I do not see any reason to resign early, if there is a fair chance, that my stones can get a opportunity to win the game. Not at all by playing silly or tricking the other player. Nor by playing the most abstract overplay to see other players time run out. But the 19*19 is big and sometimes a lost corner, for example, must not be the end/ loss of the game. A good idea in strategy can sometimes fix the all-board-situation and make it a close game again. With fun and new experiences on both sides.
When stones on the whole board grow closer in the end of a game, there appear ways to get back on the seat and learn something; for most players.
So I do not resign until I see, that the game is over, set and done or it would be nonsense to play any further.
And I do not mind others, to try out to fix their games with serious moves and good ideas or at least trying to find a good idea.
Last thing: If the a game is played to the end, when both players will pass, I do not see the point in resigning then. If any player thought it was worth playing so far, then it’s okay for me to let the auto counting do it’s job and see what difference in points comes out in the end. I even say it is interesting to see, what the result is.
(Sorry. I m not an native English speaker. Building my own phrases out of old school-English 
. )
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Some people resign early because they are sandbagging. Others resign early because they are behind, or are otherwise not enjoying the game, and don’t want to spend the time to finish. Still others resign early out of sheer stupidity: me.
I’ve resigned three times in games where AI says it was essentially even. Of course, I’m not AI and could never have seen the winning line. However, I think the real problem in cases such as mine is demoralization. It is important to maintain an optimistic outlook even in the face of great adversity. Real-life survivors very commonly attribute their survival to that very quality.
In fact it only loses points to play in your own territory if the remaining number of dame is an odd number.
I do understand. The point of demoralisation cane to me a few times. But today I try to play more beware, so it doesn’t carry me away so easy. Works fine for me.
To me it is a big help, to see the game with the look from the perspective of the stones. The black or the white ones. That way it is a step back to a neutral point of view, not so personal any more. And in for analysis it is good to see both sides, as well.
One thing to mention, I’d say it is important:
I learned the game in real life from people, who played the game for up to 30 years till that day. So I was introduced to etiquette, as you can find on ‘sensei’s library‘, and I play the game like an analog meeting, when I’m online. And I do play in the group regularly. I guess, that’s why playing to the end of a game and afterwards looking at the results is a normal thing to me. … We do it for experience and learn from every game, even the hopeless messed up ones 
. Most of them get reviewed. And I know I’m lucky to have some Dan level players around me.
And I understand that it is different to learn and play most or all of the time online.
[off topic, just a personal thought:
Turning games after mistake, was a quality I had got. In the way to sdk and playing games with persons on same level, it is getting rare to come back into a game after a bad move. On todays level, I got to play well all of the time or get beaten. I do think of this as a normal thing/turning.]
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One thing to mention, I’d say it is important:
I learned the game in real life from people, who played the game for up to 30 years till that day. So I was introduced to etiquette, as you can find on ‘sensei’s library‘, and I play the game like an analog meeting, when I’m online. And I do play in the group regularly. I guess, that’s why playing to the end of a game and afterwards looking at the results is a normal thing to me. … We do it for experience and learn from every game, even the hopeless messed up ones . Most of them get reviewed. And I know I’m lucky to have some Dan level players around me.
And I understand that it is different to learn and play most or all of the time online.