The etiquette for GG

Wow, it seems that the etiquette for GG or 'good game’s has changed.
When I played sports 200 years ago, we said it was important for the winner to say “good game” to let the loser know they appreciated the effort and emphasize that we all win and lose.
Now, I googled it and the Internet seems to think the loser should say gg.
Why should it fall upon the loser’s shoulders? The winner has all the feel good serotonin they need from winning.

Wait till you see that some opponents find it appropriate to start the game by saying “gg”, and not even ironically.

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Sometimes when I’m in a bad position my opponent writes “gg” to pressure me into resigning…

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I think the conventions are inconsistent and certainly vary, even just across various e-sports and online games. In some games, “gg” is specifically used by the loser to indicate that they are resigning.

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AFAIK ‘gg’ is not really part of go etiquette. I associate ‘gg’ more with online gaming.

In go, both players usually say something like “have a good game” when the game starts (at least they do IRL in Europe), and when the game finishes they usually say something like “thank you for the game”.

If you want to be really nice, you could compliment them by saying “well played” (regardless if you won or lost), but I’m usually careful with such things, because a compliment might be received differently depending on context.

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which is sometimes shortened to “gg” in online Go


in other words: “that game was good
which also possible to shorten to “gg

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different connotation. in online gaming, “gg wp” can mean the opposite of “good game, well played”

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I can imagine that online go is similar enough to online gaming that go players (maybe younger than me, growing up with online gaming) would use ‘gg’ when playing go online. But I wouldn’t consider it ‘go etiquette’, as go etiquette is a lot older than online gaming.

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Yes, I was referring to online go etiquette and treating gg as synonymous with"good game" (from which it is derived).
As I mentioned I used “good game” in real life (sports) before online go was a thing

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I didn’t know ‘gg’ was a thing in sports before online gaming, but that’s probably because I’m not from an English-speaking country.

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I see more often gg from the kibbitzers as from the players, is there an extended etiquette (if any) for them too?

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Me neither and I am!

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When people complain to me (or report) about this, from a moderation standpoint I currently think

  • gg at the beginning: perfectly fine, as stone_defender says, it means “let’s have a good game”

  • gg at the end: perfectly fine, it means “that was a good game!”

  • nothing at the beginning: perfectly fine, there are tons of reasons why a player might not (or might not be able) to greet their opponent

  • nothing at the end: ditto. It is not “expecting the loser to gg”

  • gg: during play: not OK please report it. It is not OK to pressure your opponent into ending the game.

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It’s hard to know intent behind 2 little letters typed on the Internet. So I think the best course of action is to not presume maliciousness until that is unequivocally the only reasonable interpretation.

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GG
Thx u2

Isn’t it lovely that your opponent wishes you a good game?
Just thank your opponent for it.
And I don’t care if the gg-ing is in the middle of the game.

Why should you doubt your opponent’s sincerity?

Don’t make their problem your problem.
Focus on your game.

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To summarise: “gg” might mean any of “have a nice game”, “well played”, “please resign you loser”, “my keyword is broken only the ‘g’ key works”

Avoiding the ambiguity is as simple as taking the time to type the full sentence, “thank you for the game”.

Added bonus: your opponent will appreciate that you bothered to type in a full proper sentence! In today’s world of short-attention-span, it shows a very high mark of respect.

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Go requires lots of reading. My teacher told me reading is like muscle, strong reading gives one huge advantage in the game.

However, my understanding is also good players simplify the games first, and only exercise their power of reading when necessary.

My view is don’t over-read greetings. It’s never necessary.

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In case anyone is looking for unambiguously insulting acronyms, “ez” or “ez pz” works after you’ve secured a decisively winning position, such as by killing a large group.

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ez?

Ok, I guess technically it’s an abbreviation, but it means “easy” and “easy peasy”, which are childish taunts that might be said upon winning.

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