It's because they enjoy being an idiot. It's not against the rules to be an idiot.

It might be an interesting exercise to find a similar thread for each newly created one

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/why-dont-people-resign

Most of you either missed the point completely or just couldnt miss out on an opportunity to be condensending.

For those who are of the former:  Im specifically talking about people who do it in a vengeful manner.  Like someone who has one possible move that does not equal a checkmate and they spend 5 minutes on it.  And then on the next move...and the next.  And when you ask why, they reply with "lol".  If you havent met them yet you are lucky.

Well, mostly people don't resign because their opponent might lose on time, or might blunder. I just sometimes like playing till the end

I don't like to resign. Very rarely do I do it. WHY? because people make mistakes. I have won "hopeless" games. Hopeless games can be stalemated. Plus I learn strategy from them. When someone resigns that I am playing it is depriving me of my victory I earned. I'd much rather checkmate someone then have them quit. 

I rarely resign! Particularly against lower rated players <1600 Even as high as 1700).

Why? Because most lower rated players are not very good at end game play (This is because they don't play them very often and because players resign) and quite likely to make a mistake, which could get you back into the game, or even get you a drawn/stalemate game.

I my option, most players resign far too early. They should play out more games to improve their end game. By resigning early, they forfeit the opportunities to practice and improve their endgame.

One of my principles in playing chess is: "No one ever wins a game by resigning!"

Usually people who just got done watching Brave Heart won't resign in a losing position. Even in the face of a obvious checkmate.

If they want to quit, so be it, ratings increase.But after saying this,there must be a host of reasons as to why a player quits his/her game/s. A unavoidable situation I'm afraid,out of one's control,tttttttttoooooooo bbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddd.

One of my opponents explained that he did not want his rating to go below a certain number.  This was turn-based so he could delay the inevitable.  I had fun trying to find the quickest win.  My "grandmaster"  chess computer resigns readily, which I find annoying.  After all you can just press the new game button on a machine.

he took 3 minutes between each move just to waste my time

It seems as though you already know the answer to your question.

That would depend on the nationality of the player. If you take a male opponant from southern Europe eg. Spain, Italy, Greece etc. pecentage wise the macho element may be a factor. On the other hand, us English or our Scandanavian cousins will except our position in any particular game and reisgn gracefully. It is stoicism and largely due to our weather.

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/why-wont-my-opponents-resign

Of course it's better manners to resign in a lost position, so that would be my advice (in most cases) to the eventual loser.  But to the eventual winner who gets upset about non-resignations, my advice would be different:  play time controls that don't get you upset when your opponent uses all his/her time.  After all, better manners aside, they have a right to (all of) their time.  Another approach would be to resign when you realize they're just running their time down, which is fine if you don't care about your rating (and you'd still feel good about outplaying them to that point, right?), but I suppose that's a case of rewarding the "bad" behavior.

Then again, it's easy for me to say that ... I've been playing mostly bullet on this site!

P.S.  According to ChessBase, Nakamura played out his recent loss to Carlsen far beyond the normal resignation point.  But it suggested he did it so the audience could see how Carlsen would finish the job.  Hey, maybe that's what these people who don't resign are doing!

Maybe they're  hoping you'll have a fatal heart attack before they get checkmated, or that a supernova will bombard earth with enough gamma rays to destroy all life forms prior to their own demise on the chessboard. Well, it's just a thought...

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/star-verge-supernova-could-threaten-life-earth

This reminds me of how I was hung, drawn and quartered in that rapid chess tournament last Friday ...

when im beat i resign. but if im playing someone who as losed but keeps playing it does not matter sooner or later the game will be one this is nothing to get upset about everyone in chess as got the right to play to the death. no worrys

 I know its their goal to waste my time...i just dont why they do it...as in what they get out of it.  I didnt talk junk or antagonize them.  Normal games just turn into immature, spiteful games. 

As for those trying to fight games out to the end, learn from losses, or go for stalemates, I do the same thing and have no problem with it.  I dont resign when I lose my queen or find myself down on material.

What are you the thread police?   You could tell by the thread title exactly what the thread would be about.  So why did you click on it?