Server Abuse

[Paul McKeown]

A couple of days ago I beat some player online, who then proceeded to refer to me as "an Irish c**t, whisky sodden, abused by priests, IRA supporter", et cetera, ad nauseum. Then the charmer told me that the Irish are all cretins and can't play chess, he didn't play with an engine, why should I, bla bla bla.

I blocked him, and reported him to the server's admins.

What, though, gets into these types?

I presume he was English, given the invective, but where do those knuckledraggers hide themselves? They obviously exist, of course, as someone has to buy the Daily Express, vote for the BNP, UKIP or whatever, and march with Britain First. What on Earth convinces them that their opinions are worth more than shite on second-hand toilet paper, though?

And how should one cope with such abuse on a chess server?

It leaves a bad feeling, after which it's simply best to stop playing until the mood has passed.

[Ray Sayers]

I joined Chess.com, beat a few people, 2 of whom took the time and effort to message me to insult me and accuse me of using an engine (odd, really, since I deliberately play 3 min blitz to minimise the chances of playing against someone with an engine). So I just left.

But it is just this feeling of anonymity making some people feel they can say anything, in combination with most site's shocking indifference to it all.

The world is full of morons; the internet brings them into our homes.

[NickFaulks]

I presume he was English, given the invective, but where do those knuckledraggers hide themselves? They obviously exist, of course, as someone has to buy the Daily Express, vote for the BNP, UKIP or whatever, and march with Britain First. What on Earth convinces them that their opinions are worth more than shite on second-hand toilet paper, though?

It's a relief to know that Paul McKeown would never dream of using extreme or prejudicial language online himself.

[Paul McKeown]

I never pay any attention to anything Nick Faulks has to say.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Paul,

You can imagine some of the 'feedback' I get from some of my blitz swindles.

I use to turn off messages but realised I was missing the insults so switched them back on.

I get nothing very imaginative, except in the ways they get around the sites naughty words blocker
by managing to add in swear words.

I often reply by simply asking if they want another game which usually invites another tirade.

I don't stoop to such things myself, I usually send a simple 'GG'.
On all sites , (except Gameknot where I share a nik with my son. ) I declare who I am. (It's an ego thing.)
In some rare cases after the insult the lad has looked at my bio and sent an apology.

I think if you named and shamed him on the sites forum (if it has one) others
may come forth who have had the same experience from the same player.

There again doing that may only result in the player getting a kick out of it.
But someone may drop you a line with the players real identity.

[Jon Mahony]

At a congress last year, an opponent started telling me before the round, he was furious as he’d just got his Chess.com account banned. He’d forced a draw against a German guy which gave him the half point needed to clench a tournament, the German guy sent him several PM’s saying the English offend him, they are beer swilling morons who know nothing of chess without using an engine - Unfortunately, said player wasn’t able to turn the other cheek and responded with a PM saying Germans gassing Jews offend him - I couldn’t think why they’d banned him

If you think Chess.com is bad, try online poker, especially if you get lucky rather than winning with the best hand.

[Joey Stewart]

Ive come to take it as a compliment for a great bit of swindling, the more abuse I get the funnier it is to me. After all, I won, and thats all that matters!

[JustinHorton]

It might have been Dennis Bell of Torquay

[MJMcCready]

Haven't heard that track since it came out.

I would turn off the messages if playing on line.

[Reg Clucas]

I would be tempted to say something like "I'm flattered that you think my play is so good that it could only be produced by an engine."

However, really it's best to totally ignore these people and not dignify them with a response. As Geoff has implied, it just gives them another handle on which to hang more abuse.

[David Pardoe]

I`ve played on Gameknot, who run some good events starting each month, which can run for months.
Each qualifier goes through to the next round, and usually the players are grouped in units of 4 or 5 players, in an all play all section. The winner of each section goes through to the next round. Usually you get around 300 - 500 players entering each grade section, covering players rated from GM down to those at the novice level.
Very good to play these players from across the globe, with a move rate at 1 move per 3 days min..
I usually try to have some dialogue with players just to chat about where they are from, etc..
I`ve had one or two occasions when I`ve faced players who appeared to be cheating, and one in particular seemed to play with a hugely varying standard.
One player contacted me to say he thought my play was too accurate, but I said it was just me playing without assistance. When you have three days to consider a move it is quite possible to find all sorts of neat variations that might not occur in `normal` play.
However, the downside of this is that, if you have several games running simultaneously against strong opponents, it can become quite time consuming analysing complex middle game positions. But quite fascinating to play really good players and start delving into deep analysis.
PS.. It might be that some abuse may come from disgruntled players, who might be in the higher success groups, seeing there egos dented by opponents that took them by surprise. Its worth doing some research on any opponents who put out blatant abuse, and maybe contact other players who they have lost to..

[Joshua Gibbs]

Seriously, as a first step I try and reason with them ("look I made X errors, an engine wouldn't do this.") After this I usually just inbox them continuously, follow their games and post on the website forums about them. I take screenshots of all of it.

It really upsets me when people accuse me of cheating, I think any serious person would be upset.

[Carl Hibbard]

A previous rather stupid post was removed.

[MartinCarpenter]

Random abuse while playing online multi player games is sadly rather endemic.

[NickFaulks]

Random abuse while playing online multi player games is sadly rather endemic.

Is it so different from sledging in Test Match cricket - which, by the way, I also dislike?