Why people say gg?

[BalGAmor]

The likes of GG, GL;HF or Well Played are not necessarily used sarcastically.

If some use it in a negative way, I prefer to believe that most people use them for what they are intended to be: a short, simple way to congratulate or salute another player.

It is part of the gamer's etiquette, and we're not all bad, right?

[Romain672]

let's say the person winning the game by a large margin says "gg" first 3 turns before the game is over. The game isn't over. They haven't seen what potential plays their opponent has. What can we infer from this? What would be the reason to say "gg" before the game's end? True, while I can't absolutely know for certain what's in their mind, I can make an inference that the person winning is doing saying because they are enjoying how much they are winning, which is a sign of arrogance.

To add my experience to it, in coop games, I regularly said 'gg' as soon as I see an obvious 100% to win.
It's mostly to save time, I have already said gg, so as soon as the other player did their move, I can join another game / leave the tab and do something else.
That's 2 seconds gained, but that's how I work. And I suppose some others would do it too for the same reason (even if it's PvP games).

[RicardoRix]

I almost always say gg. Sometimes I don't if I lose becuase I'm a bit of a bad loser.
It's gaming vernacular, and kind of courteous sign-off to a game more than anything.

And the same as 'goodbye' shouldn't be interpreted to mean 'I'm happy to leave you'.

gg.

[FDHenneberg]

I used to say gg after every game, but since I realized how many people don’t react, or even feel these two little letters to be passive-aggressive or triumphant or whatever, I just got lazy and stopped saying it automatically. Now I only do that when we already had some exchange during the game, or it was a really interesting game, gg when I lost and thanks for the game when I won. Interpreting anything into “gg” or its absence is far fetched. I was part of a community where people might have taken it to be unkind not to say gg or anything like that, but on BGA, not communicating at all is so common that there’s nothing to interpret into that either.

Still, 4 pages into the umpteenth repetition of this age-old discussion (happy to take part in it anyway!), we still haven’t got any answer to the only really important question:

How exactly do you "not allow" them?

[tbhp]

It's all about appearances. They care about "appearing" polite, when in reality, it has nothing to do with actual politeness. Saying "gg" in a blowout as the winner makes you arrogant. As the loser, it makes you look like an idiot prostrating in front of the winner like a weakling.

That seems to be projecting your own views into the convention. Those ideas don't exist unless you make them exist in your mind.

Saying gg is like a handshake at the end of a real life game. It's not literally meant to comment on whether any of the players had a "good game". Maybe someone played terribly or had terrible luck, but that's not the point. The point is to say "it was nice playing with you, this game was played fairly and within the spirit of good sportsmanship, I accept the defeat/victory".

[tbhp]

And again, I say that appearing polite is being polite. They’re the same thing.

Well, I would say that politeness only works if it follows the person's true intent. Otherwise, is it really politeness? I would call it simply convention then.

I think the point of politeness is to convey what we mean in terms that everyone can understand. They are like shortcuts that avoid us forming convoluted sentences that would amount to the same meaning. But if the person doesn't actually mean it, then I'd rather they were not "polite".

If someone hates me and doesn't actually want to wish me a "good day", then maybe it's best they say nothing. And if someone can't accept a loss and as a result they don't want to say gg, then they shouldn't feel forced to say it either.

[tbhp]

There is no way saying "gg" first as a winner can have any positive connotations for the loser, unless the winner tries to actual build a connection with the loser.

I disagree. I don't particularly care for it if it's a casual game, but in a tournament setting I appreciate that the winner says gg, as this feels like a proper acknowledgment of the game that was played.

Also, sometimes you get particularly unlucky on the last turn, so when the game ends you are still mentally recovering from the loss and not really in the mood to say gg, so the winner saying it first is a good way to break the ice and for you to follow through on it.

[Hervor]

I always wonder, if the people complaining about "gg" being mean or insincere also go off on people IRL who say "good morning" and correct them, that it is actually a bad morning.

[Archisian]

The point is to say "it was nice playing with you, this game was played fairly and within the spirit of good sportsmanship, I accept the defeat/victory".

Then why not just say this? This conveys far more and is much more personal than "gg", which everyone here has acknowledged has no real meaning because it's something that has to be done in a social ritual.

[Archisian]

I always wonder, if the people complaining about "gg" being mean or insincere also go off on people IRL who say "good morning" and correct them, that it is actually a bad morning.

Let's not pretend that this is comparable. We are talking about general greetings in a neutral setting and we are talking about a social ritual at the end of a competitive contest.