Why people say gg?

[dehschouten]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

[tbhp]

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.

That's like asking "why have a handshake instead of making a speech?" The whole point of the convention is that it's quick and everyone understands what it means.

It wouldn't convey "far more", it would contain exactly the same meaning that is contained in gg. Also, people don't necessarily want to get personal, they are just acknowledging the game.

[illy831]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

Right. And if it’s competitive, that exists within a social setting. After a game where we may be trying, hard or not, to win, we all return to the social setting.

[Archisian]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

The disagreement I have comes from us different definitions of politeness. Some people here treat politeness primarily as adherence to social rituals, like saying “gg.” without thinking about it. I tend to see politeness as connected to kindness or a genuine regard for the other person. Because of that, words within a social ritual that are detached from a genuine feeling don’t carry much meaning to me. It would be better if nothing was said at all. But now, there is a social pressure to have me respond, even if I don't want to. In a "casual setting" where there are no stakes or some kind of positive/negative outcome arises, responding is no big deal. Even if someone chooses not to respond, I think most here would think judging that individual to be a bad person is a major leap, because then it means that the person who originally gave the greeting must now be owed a response.

This ties into when the winner says “gg” first. The winner is the one who benefited and they are declaring the experience a positive one, while the loser may not feel that way. In that situation it can easily come across as either tone-deaf or passionless, even if it’s intended as politeness. This also places burden on the loser to respond with "gg." as well, lest they are labeled as a "sore loser".

When I say a competitive setting, I’m talking about the structure of competitive games, not the emotional tone. If a game produces winners and losers whose goals oppose each other, it is inherently competitive. Even if players treat it casually, the overall structure is still competitive. That's not to say people can't be emotionally invested in the outcome. I see games as competitive, unless they are cooperative ones like Arkham Horror, for example. There will be a winner and a loser. I care about that outcome. And I shouldn't be made out to be a bad person because I reject this particular convention.

[Archisian]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

Right. And if it’s competitive, that exists within a social setting. After a game where we may be trying, hard or not, to win, we all return to the social setting.

Not all setting are the same. Would you agree that a random pick-up game of basketball where no one is counting the points and the NBA Finals are different settings?

[illy831]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

Right. And if it’s competitive, that exists within a social setting. After a game where we may be trying, hard or not, to win, we all return to the social setting.

Not all setting are the same. Would you agree that a random pick-up game of basketball where no one is counting the points and the NBA Finals are different settings?

Totally. And in any social setting it's up to you to choose whether and how to participate — lots of ways are fine!

In both a random pick-up game and the NBA Finals though, friendly postgame acknowledgments are common. And I'd put BGA a lot closer to the random pick-up game category but that's just me

Please feel absolved of any social pressure to either say gg or to respond to a gg by the way. Having stated my positions for why I do it I really don't mind when someone doesn't! People often say gg back, or first. If they don't I assume nothing beyond they're not up for being talkative, or they aren't up to opening the chat feature, which is difficult to navigate on mobile anyway. Even, by the way, your stance of rejecting the very notion of gg because of how you approach games here — I find it peculiar maybe but I don't think it makes you a bad person. You do you!

I don't think you've encountered a single person in this thread who seems to think it is a very big deal, so to the extent that such people exist I do not think they are worth worrying about.

[Archisian]

That's like asking "why have a handshake instead of making a speech?" The whole point of the convention is that it's quick and everyone understands what it means.

A speech can understand and empathize with others, easing the tensions of a hard-fought competition. Not 100% of the time, but much more than a simple handshake. People understand what it's "supposed" to mean, but it really has no meaning. Handshakes can be made with someone whose guts you hate. No amount of politeness can hide that fact.

It wouldn't convey "far more", it would contain exactly the same meaning that is contained in gg. Also, people don't necessarily want to get personal, they are just acknowledging the game.

Are you sure that's everyone's intention when saying it?

[Archisian]

Right. And if it’s competitive, that exists within a social setting. After a game where we may be trying, hard or not, to win, we all return to the social setting.

Not all setting are the same. Would you agree that a random pick-up game of basketball where no one is counting the points and the NBA Finals are different settings?

Totally. And in any social setting it's up to you to choose whether and how to participate — lots of ways are fine!

In both a random pick-up game and the NBA Finals though, friendly postgame acknowledgments are common. And I'd put BGA a lot closer to the random pick-up game category but that's just me

Please feel absolved of any social pressure to either say gg or to respond to a gg by the way. Having stated my positions for why I do it I really don't mind when someone doesn't! People often say gg back, or first. If they don't I assume nothing beyond they're not up for being talkative, or they aren't up to opening the chat feature, which is difficult to navigate on mobile anyway. Even, by the way, your stance of rejecting the very notion of gg because of how you approach games here — I find it peculiar maybe but I don't think it makes you a bad person. You do you!

I don't think you've encountered a single person in this thread who seems to think it is a very big deal, so to the extent that such people exist I do not think they are worth worrying about.

I really like this response and I agree with almost all of your comments. The only difference is that I don't see BGA as more of a pick-up game. More like an MTG tournament. It's not as intense as the NBA Finals, but there are stakes (even as someone simply winning and losing).

[illy831]

I really like this response and I agree with almost all of your comments. The only difference is that I don't see BGA as more of a pick-up game. More like an MTG tournament. It's not as intense as the NBA Finals, but there are stakes (even as someone simply winning and losing).

Appreciated and that's fair!

[JimBut]

General greetings are a kind of social ritual, and for most of us, this place is a casual, not too competitive setting.

Even in competitive settings there are plenty of social rituals, rugby forms a line to shake hands with the opposing team at the end of the match, Judo has bows and sometimes a handshake, BJJ has a slap and fist bump