Casey Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 I went to an Internet Bridge site today. Took some time to get a seat, but eventually I got one (at Match Points), sat down and was dealt a pretty good hand first up. As I could count only three losers, I opened Two Clubs and opponents, as I figured they would, kept quiet. There's times you might's well tell the cops nothing from nothing, as yer lawyer would tell you. Ended up in a not so easy Three No Trumps South. I counted my winners as one does, came up one or two short as you always seem to, decided to take a Heart finesse which lost, but I'd had to take it anyway, it's often like that. West returns a Club, and his partner East lets fly with the sort of language I thought was confined to good ol' Yahoo Bridge, namely, "Why the fuck ya return a Club ya stupid blind so-and-so? Ya can't play for nuts, anyone could see a Spade return was on!" Etc etc, a la vintage McEnroe when he didn't like a line call. Wouldn't have made much difference as far as I could see. It was true I'd set my Hearts and could count enough winners to make contract, but if West had led the Ace of Spades, I would just duck, answer any return and play her out. If he led away from the Ace, I take with Dummy's King and do the same. As it was, West ended up being squeezed and he having ditched the Ace, I made the King on the last trick. I politely thanked the Opposition for their donation of an overtrick to which I was not really entitled, but East missed the point entirely and stormed away in a huff. Sometimes when the Opposition start bitching (a little more politely than I've just described) in my local club, I just look at 'em and say, "Now look here, what you give to the poor is on loan to the Lord, y'know!" (How else ya think you'll ever get it back?) Why do people have to carry on like that? It's just a game when all's said and done, isn't it? I was always told that my partner was the only friend I had in the room, so what was the point of abusing them? Is it my imagination, or are people just getting ruder and ruder towards each other? Or is it just the Net? Casey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 I think it's easier to be ruder on the Internet. You don't see people's faces or hear their voices, and you can say things you wouldn't to people in real life without any consequences except maybe getting banned from a web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Ask and ye shall receive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintpoppet Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 What really gets my blood boiling are the comments people leave on youtube and such like sites... some people work really hard to express their feelings on film only to have it slated by 13 year old boys (at least that's what the grammar level would have me believe). It's so rude! Would they say these things to the makers face? I doubt it! When did we all become so negative and cruel? You'd think we'd want to encourage other peoples creativity but obviously not. I don't think constructive criticism is practiced much online these days (other than on nice mature sites like this!) and people feel it's ok to have an opinion without backing up where they're coming from with it. It makes me sooooo angry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeydid Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I hate to be the one to say it, but I don't think it is confined to the internet. How many people do you see ignore their server at a restaurant so they can yammer on a cell phone? How much more often do you see people flipping each other off on the highway? How many screaming children do you hear now at the movies? I think basic good manners have gotten lost in America at least, and it's getting worse everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknowing1 Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I agree with Jeydid. It isn't just confined to the internet. Basic decency toward one another is being lost. It doesn't take much to say please and thank you, hold the door for someone or even wait their turn in a line but for some reason people just don't seem to feel that it is necessary anymore. It's like people have a me first mentality and that manners just don't apply to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yep..we went to the flea market yesterday. There were these three young punks standing just outside the door, blocking the way, cursing a storm. You can talk how you choose, but some respect for children, please! My daughter was pushing the 2 yo in a stroller, I was hobbling along with severe back pain..and this poor man was trying to get in the door with some "thing" he was carrying that was as wide as the door. They barely stepped aside to let him by, but none of them would actually open the door. We couldn't get passed them to open the door for him, so he struggled trying to hold the thing (which was also about half as tall as he) and open the door at the same time. And the whole time, they just kept on with "that motherfucker! I'll kick his fucking ass!" No consideration for anyone else there. As I said, I couldn't care less how anyone talks..but with a 2 yo there..she repeats EVERY word she hears..and not just once, but over and over, days later! And the poor guy with the thing..he finally managed to get the door open, and braced it against himself. My daughter had had enough, left the stroller and pushed past the punks to hold it while he continued in.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage Nabooru Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I'm often a source of dread for my mother, in that if I find some brat being rude to me in public, I'll push him aside myself. My mother is one of those types who believe it is always best to let others walk all over you......but I'm not so easy. If it had been me, Lizard, to give you an idea, I would have grabbed each little punk by the shoulders, pushed him against the wall, and given a hearty "If you're not gonna help, then get out of the way, you ignorant little shit!" And I'm not just saying that online. It's something I would most definitely do. I don't care if a kid is four years old and the grandma thinks it's cute when they're rude. If that's the case I give her a piece of my mind as well. Not that I'm rude or a snob. Years of working in the shit industry have taught me that only on very, very rare occasions does the clerk behind the counter or the waitress in the restaurant deserve the regular amount of cursing and rudeness that they get every day. I'm much more likely to spit on some Daddy's Little Girl in a fur coat who's being a bitch too loud on a cellphone than reprimand my server for not pretending that I am the only person in the entire place eating that day. EDIT: By the way, Casey, for those of us who don't play bridge, trying to tell us about a game using actual Bridge terms is like telling us about your day in ancient Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitchu Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 EDIT: By the way, Casey, for those of us who don't play bridge, trying to tell us about a game using actual Bridge terms is like telling us about your day in ancient Chinese. Not to me. I barely know a club from a spade, but I love Casey's storytelling of bridge games... just as I would love sharing the passion and care of anyone telling well the story of something they love, whether I understand the nuts and bolts of it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 A lot of people are inconsiderate, some are down right rude, and a few seem to be particularly mean and nasty; I think being online emboldens such types to be even more so. The worst rudeness I ever experanced was online, on a Christian forum. What was suprising to a certian extent was that the person in question personally attacked (using every four letter cussword) a few people (all women) but was never banned...I guess because he believed in god. What I really hate is when people are in line and just as it's their turn to be waited on their cellphone rings AND they answer it. So instead of being able to talk to the teller or cashier, they are loudly chating away to some friend of their's on the phone. I think that's just plain rude. And it's not just young women who do that..I've seen every age and gender display such rudeness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 EDIT: By the way, Casey, for those of us who don't play bridge, trying to tell us about a game using actual Bridge terms is like telling us about your day in ancient Chinese. Not to me. I barely know a club from a spade, but I love Casey's storytelling of bridge games... just as I would love sharing the passion and care of anyone telling well the story of something they love, whether I understand the nuts and bolts of it or not. Agreed. I couldn't hope to identify half the game-related terms he used, but it was great reading about it all the same. A good story is worth hearing in any language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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