A suggestion for everyone: AVOID online chess groups (unless they're people you know in real life)

Not only it's plenty of cheaters, it's incredibly full of people who defend them, even in front of proofs like accounts banned, ridicolously high ratings or victories against Grandmasters. I've been in four different chess groups (two on Chess.com, two on FB), it always happens this kind of stuff (they were italian groups, but I think it's the same for other countries, I don't see why it should be different). Why they defend cheaters? Some are in bad faith and, well, I don't really understand why they do this... some just don't care if someone cheats... some are naive and believe to cheaters' lies. Those people often even attack you (inventing stuff about you or accusing that you're actually the cheater).

I tell you just the last episode. I receive from lichess the notification that I lost to a cheater and I have my points back. I leave the group (the cheater is the group leader and captain, everyone calls him Master and he even offers lessons, this guy apparently continuosly creates new accounts because they ban him all the time... he says they ban him because there're jealous people who report him, and they believe him LOL). A person of the group contacts me asking why I left, I answer that was because their leader is a cheater. She gets mad, apparently I'm stupid and I don't understand that when people have high ratings just being reported leads to ban (???). "I show you", she says "Create a new account, go up to the rating of 2200, I'll report you and you'll get banned". Knowing multiaccounts are not allowed I tell her to directly report my main account. I add that I allow her to make my account massively reported by all the people she can get. "Let's see what happens", I say. "Ok", she answers, then blocks me everywhere and totally disappears xD Obvious bad faith! This is just to show the kind of people you find in such groups. AVOID!

Forgot to mention, all the people on the group of the "Master" showed their name and surname, including "Master" himself. Just the fact they show name and surname doesn't mean they're more reliable.

A fact that leaves me a bit of angry about that group is that many people believe him in good faith, I feel sorry for them, but people are free to believe who they want I guess... worse for them...

Humans have been living in tribes since millions of years. One for all, all for one, that's how it works with us humans.

Yeah but your "tribes are the people you know irl and people you talk to online and that you trust. Your tribes are not random groups on lichess that you join for no reason.

people with low self esteem are looking for attention / ackknowledgement / confirmation. that makes it slightly more likely that cheaters try to socialize and network.
that being said there are plenty of groups with good leaders and organisation that just unite people who are looking to improve and help each other out.

id not generalize too much there or even advice against chess groups. just join a group where the leader has thousands of games on lichess and you should be fine.

@VihaanDumir said in #4:
> Yeah but your "tribes are the people you know irl and people you talk to online and that you trust. Your tribes are not random groups on lichess that you join for no reason.

Very good point, I didn't add it because the post was long enough. I don't find itself particularly interesting socializing behind a screen (better doing it in real life), if too I've to socialize with liars, crooks and people who defend them then I say no thanks!

@Rookitiki Even when the leaders are clean (this is my experience at least) cheating seems to be tolerated (the bigger the group, the better, doesn't matter if members are rude or unfair), this seems to be the policy everywhere.

Yeah I agree, join well-known, respected teams where there's no risk of any misconduct.

@VihaanDumir said in #7:
> Yeah I agree, join well-known, respected teams where there's no risk of any misconduct.

That could be interesting, but I don't think there're any, I don't think it anymore after being in 4 different groups (all VERY famous and with LOTS of members) and seeing always the same stuff.

@sheckley666 said in #3:
> Humans have been living in tribes since millions of years. One for all, all for one, that's how it works with us humans.

To me it seems that humans work more like "one for one, one for one".

I prefer to be the lone wolf. I study alone. I play chess alone.