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Bad behavior seen when playing anonymously

#1

Sometimes I don't like to log in, just play as an anonymous guest. It's less stressful, I don't have to worry about my rating, I don't add more games to my list that have to be analyzed later, etc.

But there are some annoying things about it. You'd think in a case where chat was disabled, people would be less obnoxious, but no, you'll often run into the following people much more than when you're logged in:

  1. The Von Bardeleben. This is the guy who has apparently never heard of resigning. As soon as you get a winning position, he just disconnects and leaves the game. So common that probably more than half of my winning games (when not logged in) end like this.

  2. The staller. Even more annoying than the above, he doesn't leave, but stays online and just lets the clock run out once he's losing. At least with the VB, you can get an automatic victory after a few seconds of inactivity. This guy makes you wait minutes or more.

  3. The time spammer. This will sometimes happen right at the beginning of the game, or when you're winning or losing... it's kind of random. Anyway, this person just gives you tons of extra time over and over again for no real reason. I guess he expects you to give him equal time back, but why start a 3 minute blitz game if you're immediately going to extend it to 20 minutes? It's just annoying.

  4. The cheater. Hard to prove sometimes, but after you lose a game and analyze it and the engine says your opponent played with 99+% accuracy, it's pretty likely. I guess there's no punishment for doing this if you're not logged in.

  5. The ghost. Like the VB, but they leave right at the beginning of the game, either after making just 1 or 2 moves, or before even making a move. Usually not that annoying, but sometimes I try to start a game and get multiple ghosts in a row (I think the record was 10 or 11). It's really frustrating when you just want to play chess and no one will let you.

  6. The draw spammer. This comes in two forms: They'll either request a draw in a totally lost position (for example, after they blunder a queen, or when they're a few moves from being mated), or they'll just request draws over and over at random, even from the very beginning of the game.

  7. The takeback spammer. Asking for takebacks, especially in anonymous, unrated games, doesn't bother me much. If it looks like a mouse slip I'll often grant it. Sometimes I'll even grant it for a non-mouse slip. But these people ask for them over and over again. Sometimes it seems like they want to rewind the game 10 or 20 moves and play it again from there. No thanks.

Sometimes I don't like to log in, just play as an anonymous guest. It's less stressful, I don't have to worry about my rating, I don't add more games to my list that have to be analyzed later, etc. But there are some annoying things about it. You'd think in a case where chat was disabled, people would be less obnoxious, but no, you'll often run into the following people much more than when you're logged in: 1. The Von Bardeleben. This is the guy who has apparently never heard of resigning. As soon as you get a winning position, he just disconnects and leaves the game. So common that probably more than half of my winning games (when not logged in) end like this. 2. The staller. Even more annoying than the above, he doesn't leave, but stays online and just lets the clock run out once he's losing. At least with the VB, you can get an automatic victory after a few seconds of inactivity. This guy makes you wait minutes or more. 3. The time spammer. This will sometimes happen right at the beginning of the game, or when you're winning or losing... it's kind of random. Anyway, this person just gives you tons of extra time over and over again for no real reason. I guess he expects you to give him equal time back, but why start a 3 minute blitz game if you're immediately going to extend it to 20 minutes? It's just annoying. 4. The cheater. Hard to prove sometimes, but after you lose a game and analyze it and the engine says your opponent played with 99+% accuracy, it's pretty likely. I guess there's no punishment for doing this if you're not logged in. 5. The ghost. Like the VB, but they leave right at the beginning of the game, either after making just 1 or 2 moves, or before even making a move. Usually not that annoying, but sometimes I try to start a game and get multiple ghosts in a row (I think the record was 10 or 11). It's really frustrating when you just want to play chess and no one will let you. 6. The draw spammer. This comes in two forms: They'll either request a draw in a totally lost position (for example, after they blunder a queen, or when they're a few moves from being mated), or they'll just request draws over and over at random, even from the very beginning of the game. 7. The takeback spammer. Asking for takebacks, especially in anonymous, unrated games, doesn't bother me much. If it looks like a mouse slip I'll often grant it. Sometimes I'll even grant it for a non-mouse slip. But these people ask for them over and over again. Sometimes it seems like they want to rewind the game 10 or 20 moves and play it again from there. No thanks.
#2

you forgot about number 8: The whiner, but i liked your list.

you forgot about number 8: The whiner, but i liked your list.
#3

Yes, I've experienced all of those things when playing anonymously, except maybe #3. Of the games I win, at least 90% of them end when the person just vanishes; it's rare that someone resigns a losing position. I don't understand it at all; how difficult can it be to just press the resign button? I would expect some people to just get angry and leave the game, but I'm constantly surprised at how extremely common it is for someone to leave without resigning.

Another thing to add to the list is the person who makes two or three moves and then quits if you don't fall into their trap. Or just generally people who play solely in order to make people fall into traps. I find that the most boring kind of chess imaginable.

Oh, and the person who gets into a losing position and suddenly starts giving away all their pieces.

However, there are some people playing anonymously who are very respectful and a pleasure to play against. They are rare, but you can somehow tell when you are playing against them.

Yes, I've experienced all of those things when playing anonymously, except maybe #3. Of the games I win, at least 90% of them end when the person just vanishes; it's rare that someone resigns a losing position. I don't understand it at all; how difficult can it be to just press the resign button? I would expect some people to just get angry and leave the game, but I'm constantly surprised at how extremely common it is for someone to leave without resigning. Another thing to add to the list is the person who makes two or three moves and then quits if you don't fall into their trap. Or just generally people who play solely in order to make people fall into traps. I find that the most boring kind of chess imaginable. Oh, and the person who gets into a losing position and suddenly starts giving away all their pieces. However, there are some people playing anonymously who are very respectful and a pleasure to play against. They are rare, but you can somehow tell when you are playing against them.
#5
<Comment deleted by user>
#6

Ugh, the takeback spammer is the most annoying. It is borderline hilarious, they always propose takeback when they made a blunder, which reminds me of their blunder. So the takeback spamming is kind of self-destructive...

Ugh, the takeback spammer is the most annoying. It is borderline hilarious, they always propose takeback when they made a blunder, which reminds me of their blunder. So the takeback spamming is kind of self-destructive...
#7

I personally come across all of these, even while playing with players using real accounts but the incidence rate has reduced significantly over time. It is annoying when someone lets the clock run out (especially because I enjoy Classical time controls), but I have been impressed that Lichess algorithms are catching such behavior & even taking actions on players that are repeated offenders.

Sadly, not much one can do against those without an account, except maybe block their IP addresses.

I personally come across all of these, even while playing with players using real accounts but the incidence rate has reduced significantly over time. It is annoying when someone lets the clock run out (especially because I enjoy Classical time controls), but I have been impressed that Lichess algorithms are catching such behavior & even taking actions on players that are repeated offenders. Sadly, not much one can do against those without an account, except maybe block their IP addresses.
#8

Yes , playing with anonymous players is very much risky .

Yes , playing with anonymous players is very much risky .
#9

@master_of_DARKNESS said in #2:

you forgot about number 8: The whiner, but i liked your list.
What is the whiner ?

@master_of_DARKNESS said in #2: > you forgot about number 8: The whiner, but i liked your list. What is the whiner ?
#10

I stopped playing anonymously because of all of them :) but i was playing anonymously when tried to test new ideas, quick games (bullet) that i hate most of the time, and when i forgot my password or worked on some other not configured :) terminal system.
There should be some cheat detection system for anonymous players alas, but still sometimes you can train against a computer... or a bot :)

I stopped playing anonymously because of all of them :) but i was playing anonymously when tried to test new ideas, quick games (bullet) that i hate most of the time, and when i forgot my password or worked on some other not configured :) terminal system. There should be some cheat detection system for anonymous players alas, but still sometimes you can train against a computer... or a bot :)

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