Lack of Sportsmanship

[Sterrennacht]

Hey everyone,

Am I the only one who gets a bit put off when other players can’t be bothered to say hi, good luck, or have fun at the start of a game? Or worse—when someone stays completely silent the whole match and only says good game after winning? It just feels a bit insincere.

I know not everyone is super chatty, and that’s fine, but a little basic sportsmanship goes a long way. It makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone. And don’t even get me started on the really rude or abusive players or those who have zero patience for newer players—despite willingly joining the table...

I love this site and the games, but dealing with players like this can really suck the fun out of it. Maybe I’m just too sensitive about it, but does anyone else feel the same way?

[nik592]

You know what feels insincere to me? Someone who just says "good luck have fun!" at the start of every game and "good game well played!" at the end, as if by rote, with no meaning behind it. But that's my opinion. Yours is obviously different. Sportsmanship, as far as I understood it, includes playing reasonably - not rage quitting, not bragging when something goes your way, nor complaining long and loudly when it doesn't. Silence is a perfectly acceptable version of that.

You're not alone in your opinion (you'll find several other threads on this very topic, and you'll often see me weigh in on the side of those who actually find it insincere to say vague platitudes by rote at the start and end of games). But someone who chooses not to say those things is not necessarily rude, or unsportsmanlike. Different people see the world differently.

I only say good game when I think a game was actually good or well played (usually close results, or particularly good moves), and sometimes in response to others if I see their comment within about an hour of game finish. I play lots of turn-based and sometimes it can be 8 hours later before I see a game has finished. I've had people thank me for those games and all I get then is confused, usually because I've started another table of the same game and I didn't think it had finished yet, so why is my opponent thanking me? Oh, that's the one from the last game. Sometimes I say hi when other players say hi. I particularly DON'T say anything when I see the same player I've played a dozen times (sometimes 2-3 in a row) and they give me an identical platitude as if I'm a stranger to them. Other people who do this have pointed out their own position on that, and it's valid, but that's how I feel.

Providing people aren't rude or abusive (in which case you should be reporting them), does it matter if they're chatty? If you want to chat, you can try to chat with them. Some people just want to play games. I think both ways are completely valid.

[RobertBr]

Am I the only one who gets a bit put off when other players can’t be bothered to say hi, good luck, or have fun at the start of a game? Or worse—when someone stays completely silent the whole match

No, but as nik592 points out you do have a poor understanding of sportsmanship. It might bother you but it is, in fact, the normal behavior in the vast majority of competitive environments to remain silent during a game.

[richyfourtytwo]

I don't think is has to do much with sportsmanship tbh. But I find the utter silence that I usually encounter a bit odd too, to say the least. Especially since I mostly play cooperative games, some of which even encourage discussions.

Fortunately I found some other players as 'chatty' as me and I'm playing with them a lot.

[EllieK]

If I'm playing on the TV in the living room, I have to put down the joystick, retrieve the tiny keyboard from the drawer in the end table, turn on the tiny keyboard, and then type a message using 5mm x 5mm keys that are located on a 12cm x 8cm keyboard. When people type me a message in that situation I can only cringe and hope they don't think I'm rude for not responding.

The world is filled with variables.