Why is it me that 'declined to start the game?'

[wtncffts]

This is an utterly minor, trivial thing and I'm not bothered by it, but more curious.

Say I'm at a table that starts, and I click 'accept', and all but one player does the same. We wait for a while, and it becomes clear that the one holdout will not accept. So I hit 'cancel game start'. Why does it tell me in that game's message box that I declined to start the game? I mean, I guess I technically was the one to 'cancel', but it's not me that caused the game to not start. I rather think it should identify the holdout as 'not accepting' the game start.

[aesche]

As you say, utterly minor and irrelevant thing that technically works exactly as it is supposed to. Any adjustment would be additional complexity and a waste of time.

[Jellby]

Because it was you who declined to start the game. The other player didn't respond.

[wtncffts]

Because it was you who declined to start the game. The other player didn't respond.

Yes, as in they declined to start the game. I 'canceled' game start. Again, I'm more curious why it was stated this way in the first place. I don't care whether it's changed or not.

[Meeplelowda]

I'm more curious why it was stated this way in the first place.

The only person who can tell you why is the person who originally wrote it, and it's a good chance that person no longer even works for the company given how long it has been worded that way. Anyone on this forum who isn't that person (or someone they directly told why, if that ever happened) would just be speculating anyway. Also, there are many instances of language on here that reads as unduly harsh or accusatory to the English ear because that's the closest translation. One example I can think of is the message when you return to the site after having been expelled from a game, which has been complained about before. I even have a friend who stopped playing on here because that message came off as condescending to him.

Edits to text strings can be requested in the bug reporting system. Here is an example of someone asking text in the lobby to be reworded: https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=88458

[Jellby]

Actually, for most text changes you can just suggest them here: https://boardgamearena.com/translation? ... cale=en_US Do not create a bug request if the string is there.

And I think it was me who suggested changing "refused" to "declined". I don't work and never have worked for BGA.

Yes, as in they declined to start the game.

I'm not a native English speaker, so I may get the nuances wrong. But to me, "decline" means to politely refuse, as in saying "not now, thank you". If another player does not respond for a while, you cannot assume that they are purposefully ignoring the prompt and refusing/declining to start the game. They could be offline, busy with something else, their browser/device could be frozen, or otherwise unaware that they need to click the accept the button. In none of these cases I would say "decline" (or "refuse").

[Meeplelowda]

Actually, for most text changes you can just suggest them here: https://boardgamearena.com/translation? ... cale=en_US Do not create a bug request if the string is there.

Thank for the clarification.

And I think it was me who suggested changing "refused" to "declined". I don't work and never have worked for BGA.

Nice to hear from the source.

Yes, as in they declined to start the game.

I'm not a native English speaker, so I may get the nuances wrong. But to me, "decline" means to politely refuse, as in saying "not now, thank you". If another player does not respond for a while, you cannot assume that they are purposefully ignoring the prompt and refusing/declining to start the game. They could be offline, busy with something else, their browser/device could be frozen, or otherwise unaware that they need to click the accept the button. In none of these cases I would say "decline" (or "refuse").

Unfortunately, you can rarely make everyone happy.