Incredible toxicity in the chess community

I'm thinking you would fit the definition much better than I.

I think the far greater problem at the moment is not the toxicity, but the idiocy.

I am glad to see that I am not the ONLY one who gone through all this. I am still here because I love chess.

feels bad brah

oh btw my blitz is way better than yours OP LOL

At least when you're talking about chess. And it makes sense. An IM is naturally going to have more credibility and get more respect when he offers his/her opinion on a chess topic.  On any non-chess topic, forget it!

I disabled chat a few weeks ago just to try it out and I'm never going back. I can concentrate better knowing I'm not going to get an unpleasant message at a critical moment. I'm pretty sure it's also made some of the players who would prefer to stall and trash talk me, just resign instead, since they aren't going to get the satisfaction of doing so. Can't do anything other than that about the number of sore losers hurling abuse, that's just the internet for you. The popularity of chess has skyrocketed at a time when online gaming culture is extremely toxic, so unfortunately there is some overlap to treating chess like a videogame. The good thing is, they can never hack it so they end up quitting.

However, I have different views about the forums toxicity.

In every thread I've seen where somebody says they can't seem to improve and are thinking of leaving, they get plenty of advice and constructive criticism, even game analysis. The negative comments start to appear when the user has ignored or dismissed all of these comments.

'Venting' about the site conspiring against you and half the people you play being bots or cheaters is currently in vogue (especially among low rated players) and imho is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in chess. It's self-pitying, paranoid, rude, egotistical, and absolutely screams that competitive games like chess are simply a bad fit for your personality.

So yeah, absolutely here be trolls and tribal fascists and 'edgy' children. But honestly, none of those really bother me. The fascists aren't allowed to get too political which limits their ability to spread misery, the trolls are either entertaining or easy to spot, and everybody just ignores the kids when they act out.

I don't see a hive mind here, either, there's plenty of different approaches people take. It's just that opinions tend to converge when you get members who make the same self-indulgent, baseless complaints which have been posted a thousand times before, and then refuse to be helped or informed. That's the toxicity.

It's not just Chess.com, the entire internet is full of ugly, negative trolls. But here's an important piece of chess (and life) advice: pay no attention to those nasty, negative trolls! They mean nothing. Chess improvement requires a certain amount of hard work and self-discipline. And if you allow yourself to be distracted or discouraged by trolls and naysayers, you won't improve

What FizzyBand is trying to say is that chess is too much about ratings. It's amazing how you and many can't see it or justify it. Of course, Federer's opinion is better than mine on tennis but tennis is a fun sport. People playing tennis don't care about ratings unless they want to turn pro. However, with chess even casual players are hungry and arrogant about ratings. Like one could chess with another and he or she would look at the rating or ask what's your rating. In other sports, we just play. Hard to explain, either you see or feel it or you don't.

your bringing up a thread from 1 year ago?

It may be true that there is toxicity in the forums, but overall I think it's a pretty good forum with more constructive conversation than toxic conversation.

IRL OTB chess there's practically no toxicity. The chess community is friendly and supportive. Very welcoming (maybe not so much when it comes to women but we are working on it). There are some occasional jerks, but really not that many.

It is the internet where things go haywire.

Making up stuff about other people is toxic.

Chess is more toxic than other games? In CSGO for example, you can be yelled at by some random dude with a deep voice and thick foreign accent for hours. And the toxicity in that game isn't even close to what we've seen in mw2 lobbies. I've seen some truly disgusting behavior in other games that makes "heated" chess.com "arguments" sound G-rated. (Which they are supposed to be, since children frequently comment on this platform.)

The chess community is a lot nicer than the vast majority of playerbases out there. Don't engage with trolls, instead have fun with your friends and people who actually value you as a person. Have fun!

Depends on what you consider to be toxic. Offence is so easily taken today and often when it isn't intended. Often those looking for it will find it and does it really affect your day if someone is a little brusque?
The bottom line is this; hurt feelings are only hurt feelings and you will live. Just be thankful you aren't part of the war generation and you don't need to fear anything more than 'mean words' (whatever that means) on a silly chat forum. Just move on. Toughen up.

I think you’re talking about yourself.

id probly stop doing poisons if s/o could crawl thru my desktop wire & pop up behind me.

meanwhile ?...enjoy !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCChxBSRo1Y

Wow, describing yourself in detail is crazy